The Big O ..for Oral Presentation!

I am disappointed with my poor slide management during my oral presentation today. I feel that insufficient emphasis on the slides was given on the recommendation that our group had proposed.

Also, I feel that there was not enough cohesive 'connection' between my group members during the actual presentation. Perhaps this was because we were pretty nervous then.

At the start of my presentation, I tried to remain calm by maintaining good eye contact with the audiences. Since the audiences were my classmates, I received encouraging gestures such as smile (Thanks Jane!) and nod from the audiences which assured me that 'I am doing fine and I should not panic'. Thus, I could remember and convey my points pretty smoothly.

I feel that there is still a lot of room for improvement in my presentation skill. Thank you for listening and commenting on our presentation. I really appreciate it!

Mirror mirror on the wall..

Reviewing on my first blog post, my understanding of the value of effective communication skills has not changed at all. Effective communication skills still top my list of becoming the next successful 'superwoman'.

I feel that I still have a lot to work on to improve my professional communication skills. Firstly, I think I need to expand my 'professional' vocabulary base so that I could use the right word to create certain emphasis in the messages I want to convey. It is very important to be understood and accepted.

I think one of the communication skills that I have developed most in this module is my organizational skill. Since most of the class assignments were group-based rather than individual, I learnt the importance of being a good leader and a good follower. As different ideas often spring up during group discussions, it is crucial to give every member a chance to express their ideas and to keep an open mind.

Having classmates from different countries such as India, Malaysia, China and Singapore, and a bubbly tutor from Ohio, America, I had great exposure to the different cultural values and norms in the different countries. For example, I learnt to avoid some colloquial terms which were rather insensitive to the minority groups in the different countries.

Another important skill that I have picked up during the course of this module is presentation skill which I will further elaborate in the next blog post.

All in all, I have enjoyed my learning experience in ES2007S! Warm hugs to all of you!

My Biodata

My family moved in to Singapore at the age of 12. My dad chose Singapore due to its close proximity to Indonesia and its highly recognized education system. As I was not exposed to English language at a young age, I had to attend a language school for six months in Singapore to adapt and learn the proper use of English language.

In 2000, I entered a local government secondary school in Toa Payoh District. In secondary school, I was frequently involved in sport events such as intra-school basketball competitions, annual cross country run and sports day apart from my CCA. I found my passion for sports since I joined the Outdoor Activity Club as my CCA. It was through this CCA that I became more self-reliant, resourceful and adaptable. Through the frequent outdoor camping trips where we often had to share our basic necessities such as food and shelter, I learnt valuable organizational skills and leadership skills which were not taught in class.

In Junior College, I was an active member of the college tennis team. Despite having no prior experience in tennis, I was warmly welcomed by the team. I enjoy the challenge of picking up new skills especially in sport activities. Until now, I have experienced the thrill of various sport activities such as rock-climbing, scuba diving, hiking, fencing, tennis and biathlon.

Academically, I have always had a great passion for numbers and I like to do critical thinking. Therefore, I chose to specialize in Statistics. This semester is my graduating semester. I am looking forward to venture into the working world. Although the economy is not doing very well at the moment, I choose to stay positive and I feel that now is a right time for me to learn and hopefully make a significant contribution to the economy in the future.