The End of the Beginning

The end of the semester is here, and it is time for most of us to 'mug hard' for the finals. If I had to sum up all my comments of ES2007S in one word, it would be 'Necessity'. Good communication is really fundamental to living life. Whether we are with an individual, or before an entire crowd, in school or at home, writing an email or speaking face-to-face, we need to bring ideas across and receive others' ideas. This course has taught me so much in that aspect.

In particular, I learnt that 'audience matters'. Teaching children using wordy handouts printed in black ink was not going to get their attention, big books with large letters and colorful pictures were. In the past, I used to like using sophisticated words and explaining ideas in great detail, never really noticing my audiences getting bored of listening. It was actually a waste of time and effort, and I could come across as a boring person. It was only through ES2007S lessons that I learnt the value of being sensitive to one's audience. For example, I learnt that writing about issues relevant to my peers in the blog posts had a greater potential to light up their interest, through Brad's continual emphasis on the effectiveness of doing so. I also became more aware of people's attention spans, that they would get bored after awhile and whatever was being communicated to them would probably not get through. This was something I knew in the past but never really cared so much about. I applied what I had learnt during my peer teaching with EB, elevator test, interview, oral presentation, and even when I responded in class! To be consciously aware of the audience is to observe their body language as you are speaking. Are they smiling at you? Are they nodding quickly or steadily? Are they looking at their watches? All these bring across certain messages. During my interactions with my audiences, I would register their reactions and respond accordingly. The best thing is, this art can be applied not only in class, but everywhere else, and I have already found it useful in my daily life!

Therefore, the end of this semester is the beginning of better experiences in communication to come, in school, at work, and everywhere else.

Oral Presentation Reflections

Hello everyone, here’s my evaluation of my own oral presentation. I’ll start by assessing my preparation, then move on to my delivery.

This was arguably the presentation which I prepared the longest for in my entire life. The slides alone took me more than 12 hours of work purely on Microsoft Powerpoint. This was due to multiple significant alterations in the solutions. However unfortunate this may sound, I was glad to continuously refine my understanding of the project throughout the toiling. In doing so, I had effectively internalised what I was going to present. The creativity I employed into creating the slides also increased rather drastically, because of the exposure to effective forms of visual aids and different means of captivating an audience which I learnt through ES2007S. From the start, I consciously avoided having a large number of words on each slide and constantly sought visual means to illustrate our solutions.  

As for delivery, I find that I managed to speak clearly and fluently, and time my slide transition very appropriately, in-sync with my speech. The slides therefore complimented what I spoke on well. The success of my delivery this time was largely due to the tedious preparation. If I did not cut down on the number of slides, I would have rushed through the presentation and as a result, not convey the solutions across clearly. Nevertheless, there is a limit to how much one’s preparation can aid a successful execution. Just as the Mongols eventually walked through the gates of the Great Wall despite decades of construction and the thousands of builders’ lives lost, all of one’s preparation can come to nought if he falls at a hurdle during the presentation. For me, one of these hurdles would be disinterest from anyone among the audience. This could potentially unnerve me, and indeed there were a couple of these moments during my presentation. Lastly, as for what I could have improved on, they are the clarity of the maps of the engineering faculty in the slides, and my distribution of eye-contact to the members of the audience; I tended to give it only to the half nearer to me.

Presentation Videos

Ok, here they are =)

Part 1, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcbNEX4Xe9U
Part 2, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_3sYJWgTSI&feature=channel
Part 3, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93INsD6IsrI

Intercultural Communication: The Telugu

Just yesterday, I experienced a most delightful night of essentially, intercultural communication. Let me give you an overview. In my church, there is a community of Telugu believers, and many among them are construction workers. My friends from church organised this special event to show our brotherly and sisterly love for them, and I was there to help out. They were the VIPs for the night; we Singaporeans barbequed food, served them and mingled with them. 

That's us singing an action song! I'm in black on the left. My new Telugu friend, Aqulla, in orange, is behind the white table.

I observed that several Telugu stood in close proximity and had no qualms about physical contact when chatting with us. This was definitely not our usual mode of interaction. Once, when we took a photo together, Aqulla, my new Telugu friend, asked me to shift closer to him, which I did gladly, and we put our arms around each other’s shoulders.  I deliberately reciprocated his warm gestures so as to show him that I value him just as any other friend. Aqulla and I exchanged numbers at the end of the night, and even shared with me some of the struggles he faces at work. I was really touched by the warm-hearted Telugu, and also surprised by how rapidly our relationships developed. It was not just between Aqulla and I; my other Singaporean friends also had similarly wonderful though unfamiliar experiences last night. 

“No one in Singapore treats us so kindly. Some are even afraid of us.” I quote this line from a Telugu representative during our closing speech. It gave me mixed feelings. Though glad that they were blessed that night, it pained my heart to know that this was an exceedingly rare occasion for them, and that the next day, they would return to a harsh world. Therefore, we should spread the word - to apply our understanding of cultural differences and have an open, non-judgmental attitude towards the various ‘strange’ cultures.

Supplementary Document for Blog Post 3

Hi, I have uploaded this for the benefit of those who want to refer to it when reviewing my application letter.

Application Letter and Resume Draft 2

The winter is cold, but hang in there brother!

Ah how times have changed. In the first decade of my dear younger brother, Jevin's life, he had to put up with my hurtful ways. 7 years younger than me, he would be helpless in conflicts with me, for I made him submit either with physical superiority or cunning blackmailing when arguments got tiring. In a surprising reversal of roles, he has now become the boss between the both of us, at a tender age of 15. How did the tables turn so drastically? Well, to put it briefly, I turned over a new leaf and Jevin entered the years so commonly marked by teenage rebellion.

It was another one of those times when Jevin would give a cold shoulder to my humble, peaceable approach. I had arrived home in the midst of Jevin’s tuition, and went to say hi to the tutor - my friend – and Jevin. After which I promptly left them to resume lesson.

To my shock, after the tuition, Jevin accused me of staying too long behind both him and the tutor, such that the lesson was adversely affected the duration I was there. “Huh?” I was dumbfounded for a while. “I just greeted you and my friend out of courtesy, and also because I was excited to see you both”, and while I replied him I half-wondered if he could have been stressed out from the peer and teacher pressure in the highly competitive Catholic High Secondary where he studies. Couldn’t he have just spared a few seconds?

“You want to say your own things you just say. I don’t care already”, he quickly dismissed my defense. To me, that was haphazardly unreasonable, like looking for trouble. I resolved to reach a peaceful resolution, without ignoring the episode. I wanted to understand his perspective. Sadly, for the next two nights, whenever I approached him, he nonchalantly ignored me, leaving me rather dejected. What do you do when your brother casts you into the winter cold?