Monday, April 13, 2009

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!

16 comments:

  1. Hi Jaenette,

    It's quite late now, you still haven't go to bed yet???Try to sleep earlier, it is good for health!!!=)

    After reading your post, I have same feelings as you. I felt that through this module, we have learned a lot of knowledge and skills that able us to perform better in our future life as communication is an important element in our life. Without communication, we hardly know a person's feelings and thoughts and thus we lead to miscommunication.

    Yeah, I agree with you that we have great exposure to other countries' culture values throughout this module. It is important for us to know these culture values so that we can avoid to offense them. If not, there will be bad consequences.

    That's all about my comments. All the best in your coming examination and see you on Thursday!=)

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  2. Hi Jaenette!

    Read your post on your Oral Presentation as well. Our group will be posting comments soon. Sorry for the delay ya.. Just want to say you girls did well. You were great! No worries okay? =)

    Hey.. Don't need to be too bothered about the ''professional' vocabulary base'. I believe we will all pick up all those words as we grow up and work with many different individuals from various fields. Then, we will know what kind of politically correct words to use during which situation. For example, as we enter varsity and are required to write emails to the administrative office, we learn to write a proper one with phrases like "thank you for your understanding and kind consideration" and etc.

    Me too! I have learnt to avoid colloquial terms so as to be sensitive to others. I've learnt some things from you too! Its fun having you in class! =)

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  3. Dear Jaenette,

    Thank you for this (and the other recent) posts. I've always enjoyed reading your thoughts and interacting with you in class. Though you may feel like you need to improve your pro communication skills (and all of us probably do) much more, you strike me as a very mature young lady, confident and wise beyond her years. Those traits, along with your many skills, would seem to suggest that your future success will be more likely. Success on the job isn't the only thing communication is about though, as you know. What I sense from you, alongside your self proclaimed love of numbers, is a high EQ, and that will take you far indeed.

    I hope through Facebook we can stay in touch and you can update me on your progress toward your goals.

    Best wishes for your future, Jaenette!

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  4. hi Jaenette,

    Thank you for all your posts and you always make me think of something new for a while everytime i read your posts. I like the way you described things concisely but still engagingly and I have to agree with Brad that you do come across as a confident and mature girl! Haha i feel very comfortable when talking to you and it's always nice to run into you in science unexpectedly :D

    I agree with you that expanding one's vocabulary is important as gives a more professional image to others that we are interacting with. I think it maybe a good idea to have a thesarus too!

    Hey i can see that you learnt a lot from your project and am really happy for you! It's not easy to maintain the progress of work when your teammates have different opinions(Trust me I KNOW!) but i feel solving that tension in a way that will not affect the morales of all teammates is very important. I trust that you handled it appropriately and hey really glad to know you! All the best after graduation!

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  5. Hi Jaenette!

    I was really happy that I managed to bump into you in this class, it made me feel that the world is really very small. Sadly, we were hardly group together for any thing. However, from the comments you made in class and also the times in which you presented made me feel that you can be a great communicator.

    To improve your professional vocabulary base, you could start by reading through all those letters or emails you recieve from banks, schools or any organizations. However, you need to be selective on the letters and emails you think is appropriate to use, but it's a good place to start.

    Thank you Jaenette and your group for giving me support when I was rehearsing for the presentation. It was very nice of you and your group to spare some time for us to give us feedback. THANK YOU!

    You managed to present yourself very well during your presentations, which made me feel that you are a confident person.

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  6. Jenn!

    You know, you are one of those that left a deep impression on me in the class! I will definitely miss seeing you around, especially when you have been so encouraging and supportive when I talk about the perils and troubles of school work! Thank you for offering your help with the notes and all!

    One thing I realised about you was that you are really polite and you give others this very genuine vibe when you speak to others. It makes it much easier to talk to you because of this. Don't worry too much about your professional vocabulary. I would suggest reading more formal writings like the local Newspapers to expand your vocabulary in general.

    And personally, while you feel you've learnt from others from different nationalities in class, I have also learnt a great deal from reading your blog posts. As you can see, I'm regular here! (: Thank you for your insightful stories and experiences.

    let's keep in touch! (:

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  7. Hey!

    I like the title! Its indirect and appropriate. Moving onto to your post, I definitely agree with you about the teamwork. We definitely have learnt to work along with people from different backgrounds and at the same to individually develop ourselves. Additionally, this class has also taught us how to resolve conflicts whether it be hypothetical or real. Yep, this class is one of my favorites.

    Thank you for all the help starting from helping me with my resume to all the other support :) Do stay in touch! All the best for a fab future!

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  8. Hey Jaenatte,

    Indeed, I found it very impressive that three people from very diverse backgrounds came together to come up with a good research project under your leadership. Your unforgettable CV and cover letter also place you on the path to becoming the next successful superwoman. You're my most respected classmate. All the best in your future endeavours. I look forward to hearing your success.

    Cheers!

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  9. Hey Roy,

    Thank you for your comment. I wish you all the best in your coming years as well. (How come it sounds so sad? )

    Anyway, I do hope we can keep in touch through Facebook.

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  10. Hey Priya,

    Thank you for commenting on my post. I believe that we would always remember the good times we had in our ES2007S class!

    Keep in touch ya!

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  11. Ola Jane!

    Hey I really enjoy reading your blog post too because it is always very comprehensive and it felt sincere. Somehow I think it shows your outspoken personality.

    I felt that you are very polite too and I have always enjoyed talking to you in class! I think the class would be different without you!

    PS: Of course we'll keep in touch!

    Cheers!

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  12. Dear Jing Yang,

    Haha it seems to me that you have had bad experience working in a team before. But I guess we all learn from our experiences be it good or bad, right?

    Yeah, I've always unexpectedly bumped into you in Science! Sadly, this is my last semester in school, I guess I will miss all 'the bumping into each other' stuff when I leave this school..

    Anyway, thank you for your comment and your time to read my posts! Really appreciate it!

    Cheers!

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  13. Hi Jaenatte!

    Do you still remember I talked to you at the start of the semester through Jo? I was worried about joining your class as everyone has already went through the first lesson together and must have broken the ice. You assured me that the class was friendly and I think that really helped soothe my worries! A big thank you for that! :)

    I liked what you wrote about being a good leader and follower. I agree with you that it is important to alternate between these two roles as this is what an effective team member should do.

    I honestly think that you are someone who is very good in her communication skills.I see it from the way you talk and the way you present yourself! The opinions that you share with the class are always well thought through and its a joy listening to you!

    Good luck in your future endeavors and let's update each other on our life! :)

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  14. Hi Jaenette,

    I too like you, have learned alot throughout the course and from everyone, be it organisational skills or different countries' culture. I do agree with you that throughout the course working in groups did help in our development of being a good leader and also follower. Lastly, great to have you as a friend! Stay in contact.

    Cheers!

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  15. Dear Shu Juan,

    Yes! I remembered that! Haha glad that you could join us eventually!

    Wish you all the best too in your job-hunting! We'll keep in touch ok?

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  16. Hi Keldren,

    Being in this class reminds me of secondary school or junior college times where we often share the learning experiences together as a class.

    Thanks for your comment! We'll keep in touch! I added you on my facebook! =)

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