Critical Reflection on SEM2902

Being in an engineering field, limits my chances of improving my language and presentation skills. Before attending this course (Interpersonal and Work Communication), I wasn’t confident of my own presentation skills and had to read from the presentation slides if not I would have a script written before every presentation. The feedback was of cause not good because of the lack of eye contact with the audiences and not being fully aware of my own nonverbal behavior like for example standing on one leg while reading from the slides which can prove to be distracting to the audiences.  Everybody has realized the importance of communication and therefore, they want to be a better communicator. It has left no field untouched, be it in business, medical, Arts or Law, or even engineering it has become a must.

This course has enabled me to be able to understand more about the different type of communication skills which can prove to be helpful. In terms of presentation, it has made me understand the importance of target audience, preparation of PowerPoint slides and delivery, just to name a few. For every presentation, firstly, I need to identify the target audience and always try to speak clearly and use words they can understand. For example when presenting to business students, instead of using words like binary I can replaced it with the number “1” or “0” to have them understand it better. Secondly, the slides cannot be too lengthy because the audience is only capable of holding three or four points in short term memory. Giving them too many points and they will forget everything. Lastly, one of the tips which Garr Reynolds gave for delivery was to make good eye contact with the audience and never to turn your back on them. Because when your listeners see your eyes scanning their faces, they feel invited to engage with you. They feel encouraged to signal to you how they feel about what you're saying with nods, frowns, or skeptical raisings of their eyebrows.

 

In terms of communication, this course has enable me to be more aware of the verbal and nonverbal communication detail which consists of a complete package of tone, expression, hand and eye movements, postures and gesture which should all be interpreted along with the speech. With that, I am able to identify the different nonverbal communication cues and react accordingly to the situation, making me better at communicating. But no matter how good I am with communicating, there are bound to be conflict among people. Taking the Thomas-Kilmann conflict mode instrument we can measure a person`s behavior in conflict situation and then respond to the conflict. For example if I am acting as a mediator, I will have to find ways to pull the avoiders into the negotiation and to tame the competitors. It can help me to understand their preference in dealing with others and how they can adapt their behavior comfortably to work with others who have other preferred working style. These are just some of the few skills which I have learnt from the course that can already improve my communication skills with others, which could affect my Johari Window as well. Before the course, I was kind of shy and would often avoid actual face-to-face talk unless it is important. But as the course progresses, I found that I was starting to engaged in conversation little by little with the importance of having interpersonal communication made clear to me, thus, widening my open area in the Johari Window. The open area is the most important quadrant because when people know more about each other, the more productive, cooperative and effective they are when working together.

 

After going through SEM2902 (Interpersonal and Work Communication), I cannot stress enough the importance of having good communication skills and the ability to communicate well is not only an essential life skill, but arguably the most important one when I am in the working society.