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.

Critical Reflection on Project Learning

The Project topic which my group and I have been working on was “Miscommunication within university project group”. We have decided on this topic because we feel that it is something which many of us can relate to in the future when we are in the working society. Good communication is essential to maintaining an efficient workplace, Miscommunication can lead to employee conflict, a drop in morale, turnover etc and in certain cases, neither side of a miscommunication issue is aware of the problem until it is pointed out to them. Therefore, it is important to know what can be done when such situations occurs.
 

For the presentation, I would be talking about the video which we had done regarding about our topic and explained what is happening, why it had happen and lastly the solution to solving the issues faced in the video. I started my presentation by connecting back to the statistics which Kok Zheng had mentioned earlier, to allow the audience to understand how important and relevant our topic is to them. After explaining the situation in the video, I then proceed with the solutions to how the situation could have been properly handled with the used of what we have learnt like the Johari window, verbal and nonverbal communications etc. In our presentation we provided a few solutions for miscommunication and one of them which I am talking about that is related to our video is, of cause communicating more. Open communication is essential for building team trust. Everyone in the team needs to talk to one another in an honest and meaningful way. For example, in a meeting all members in the team have a chance to talk about their progress, and discuss about the problem which they are facing. This time spent face-to-face is an important part of getting to know each other. It also creates opportunities for team members to talk, and to help one another solve problems. With this, it helps to widen up the open area within the Johari window within the team because the Open Area is the most important quadrant, as, generally, the more your people know about each other, the more productive, cooperative, and effective they'll be when working together. After which I will pass on to Rati with other solutions methods which can also be applied in real life situation and lastly the conclusion.
 

 On the actual day of presentation, I know that I had not done a good job because I was nervous which lead me to forgetting all the points which I had initially wanted to elaborate on. In the end, I had to rush through the points without elaborating much on them, thus, not providing enough supporting details. Another point which I should take note of is my movement. Because during the presentation, I was constantly moving in front of the audience which can prove to be distracting to the audience as they could lose their focus. I have learnt a lot from this presentation in terms of delivery for example I should avoid reading from notes or the slides as I tend to focus my thoughts on the notes, thus losing contact with my audience. Reading can also reduce my voice to a monotone, removing energy and enthusiasm from my delivery like what some of my peers mentioned. Instead I should directly address my audience which is much more engaging. On the other hand, some of my peers and team mates were very good as they were able to maintain good eye contact with the audience at all times, not reading from any script and their pacing was good as well and these are a few factors to being a good speaker. The other thing which I think I need to learn from them is being able to have a good pace as I believe with good pace we are able to communicate clearly and effectively, thus, drawing the attention of the audience as well.   
 

Lastly, from this experience I am able to understand myself better in terms of my own strength and weaknesses for presentation and I could work towards them to improve myself to become a better presenter. Like how others would think of Steve Jobs, who makes a presentation look effortless but that polish comes after hours and hours of practice because nobody is born knowing how to deliver a great PowerPoint presentation. Expert speakers hone that skill with practice. With all of the being said, I believe I still have a lot to learn and improve in terms of my presentation skills.

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

 

 "An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind." -Mahatma Gandhi

Conflicts can arise anywhere and the quote by Mahatma Gandhi nicely illustrates how conflicts are bad and it will be highly beneficial for us to make a conscientious effort to try and resolve conflicts, especially interpersonal ones.

Max and Kenny were friends and had known one another for quite some time. They are studying in the same university and are sharing a room at one of the hostels in the school. One day, Kenny came back to the room only to find that his computer was no longer working. He then begins to question Max as to what had happened and why it had happened. Max himself, was not too sure if the computer was spoilt because of him but told Kenny that the computer was still working fine the last time he used it. Kenny then gave Max a bewildered look as he continues to wonder about how his computer could have been spoilt. Max however, got angry as he felt that it was just a small issue that could easily be settled by purchasing another new computer and told Kenny that he was making a big fuss out of it. Having heard that, Kenny exploded immediately and scolded Max before stomping off angrily. Max was taken aback by the huge reaction.

After the incident, Max tried to talk to Kenny but Kenny gave him the cold shoulder and did not want to speak to him. Friends of both Kenny and Max got to know of what had happened between them and tried to act as peacemaker but were unsuccessful. One of their close friends, Peter told Max that Kenny had exploded that night because of the sarcastic comment and he had been tolerating his bad attitude and speaking manner for some time now. Kenny was in a particularly bad mood that day because he had just broken up with his girlfriend and that incident resulted to his negative reaction. Max then asked Peter why Kenny didn’t try to confront him about his unhappiness, only to be told that Kenny had actually confronted him but it was no use. Max, however, never felt that Kenny had actually sat down with him to talk about the issue and thought that Kenny probably did hint at the underlying problem, only to assume Max had gotten it. 

With both parties being unhappy about each other, neither of them were willing to end the “ cold war “. Meanwhile, both of their friends were caught in the middle of their problem and did not know what could be done. In addition, both parties were stubborn, making the issue even harder to resolve.      
 

What do you think Peter or even their other friends should do to resolve this issue?
Or What do you think Max and Kenny could have done to prevent the incident from happening ?
 

         

Commented on: Angela

                           Hyirahh Syahirahh
                           Kok Zheng                  



Response to Mr Beta Han

 

Dear Mr. Han,

Regarding the full refund request due to the issues caused by our company’s product, our company sincerely apologize for not being able to grant permission to your refund request as it is against our company policy. Sorry for the inconvenience caused to you. After discussions with various department managers, our company came out with a solution for you. Our company has released a new and improved product which is the T15s wireless speaker. This product has improved performance with increased battery life, wireless range and sound quality. This product will definitely enhance your enjoyment for music. You can trade in your T15 wireless speaker with additional top up in order to purchase the new T15s wireless speaker. I will give you more details after your response. Looking forward to hear from you as soon as possible.

Thank you for your feedback.

Best Regards

Fu Lin Zheng

Creative Customer Care Consultant

 

Done By: Kok Zheng, Lin & Steven

Five Components Of Emotional Intelligence

In the article “5 Main Components of Emotional Intelligence”, M.Beard (2012) provided a brief overview of the article as stated by Daniel Goleman. Beard listed down the following components: self-awareness, self-regulation, internal motivation, empathy and social skills.


For self-awareness, he mentioned three distinct traits which are confidence, a sense of humour and being aware of  one’s impression on others. The traits can be achieved by recognizing and understanding one’s moods and motivations and their impact on others. To do so, one needs to keep track of one`s emotions and recognize these.


For self-regulation, the three traits are being conscientious(for example, taking personal responsibility in regards to  work), being adaptable and being responsive to someone in a manner which would not escalate the situation even when he/she(or, that person) is rude. It is all about controlling one’s impulses. One needs to control their emotions and think before responding.
For internal motivation, there are only two traits which are motivation to complete a task and perseverance in the face of adversity. This can be achieved by having an interest in learning which means self-improvement vs. a pursuit of wealth and status; pursuit of wealth and status is an external motivator.


For empathy, the author mentioned three traits which are perceptive, proactive and social situations. All can only be achieved by understanding ourselves and putting oneself in another person’s shoes to interpret their emotional reaction.

For social skills, the three traits are communication, influence and leadership, and conflict management. All of these can be achieved by having good interpersonal skills through building a rapport with others.

Done by: Steven, Hany, Zong Hong & Keryl


 

Evaluating Verbal and Nonverbal Behavior

We all know that we can communicate both verbally and non-verbally. It is important to realize that non-verbal communication speaks the loudest in our communication.  Even when we are not speaking, we are communicating through our bodies. This includes our body language, eye contact, facial expression and even our posture while we are sitting/standing. Non-verbal communication is basically the primary means to convey emotions, attitude or relationships with others and we often relied on it to say things that are difficult to vocalize. For example, gestures such as pointing or demonstrating the size or shape of something may suffice in basic interactions.

My grandmother is 85 years old and she is constantly being admitted to the hospital due to her old age which is leading to many illnesses like diabetes, high blood pressure. A hospital stay is never pleasant. Besides having pain, being sick, patients have to also endure needle punctures. When patients are nonverbal, they have a difficult time to communicate with the nurses who are taking care of them. Especially with my grandmother who only speaks Hokkien. There was this incident with my grandmother who was having a hard time communicating to the Filipino nurse who was taking care of her. When she could not reached for the call button on the side of her bed, she would yell for someone to come, but many times her calls would go unanswered. During one of the visit with my parents, she was trying to communicate with the nurse in Hokkien at first but the nurse did not understand what she wanted. She then tried to look at the pillow and points to it, indicating that she wanted it raised or she wanted to be lifted up. The nurse tried to rotate the pillow instead as she could not understand the nonverbal cues from my grandmother. When my grandma saw us, she immediately communicated in Hokkien with my parents to indicate that she wanted her pillow to be lifted up as her head was a few inches away from the pillow making her uncomfortable. She said to me in Hokkien that it is very difficult to communicate with the nurses in Hokkien because sometimes they could not even understand her “yes” or “no" responses and all she could do is through her nonverbal cues like nodding her head or pointing using her finger.     

From this incident, I realized that the difference in culture and age can be a challenge when communicating. However, even with the communication barriers there are still ways of communicating with people who do not understand you through the use of nonverbal cues like what my grandmother did by looking and pointing to the pillow. Being in this course has enable me to be more aware of the nonverbal communication detail which consists of a complete package of 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.  

 

Edited 28/2/2016

 

Commented on: Rati -7Cs

                          Sayi

                          Kok Zheng 

Strengths and Challenges in Communicating Blogpost 1

Communication is the act of transferring information from one place to another and the purpose is to get message across to the others clearly and unambiguously. Communicating clearly and effectively is a few skills which are required of us in a professional and business world setting. It is extremely important to have our message being delivered clearly to prevent any devastating effect.

I was able to identify some of my strengths and weaknesses with my own communication. One of my strengths in communications is being an active listener and in non-verbal communication. I am able to focus on the person`s communicating, not only with my ears but also with my eyes and other senses. With that I am able to put myself into their shoes and understand the speaker from their point of view and provide better feedback. For example, a person might tell me that they are happy when they are frowning or staring at the ground and I know that their non-verbal behavior does not match what they are saying. With that observation, I can then act or react accordingly.

One of challenges I face in communication has got to be self confidence. Most of the time, I am not the person who initiates the start of the conversation as I am afraid of saying something wrong which might make the conversation weird. Another problem would be speaking in front of the class as I would become nervous. When I am nervous, speaking is proving to be a challenge as I tend to forget the things which I want to say. 

This would be a good opportunity for me to review and improve on my weaknesses. One of the things which I can do is to enlarge the open area in my 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. Hopefully, I can be much better at communicating by the end of the course.

            Edited 31/01/2016      

Commented on: Mei Ying, Rati, Angela , Yar Zar