Final Reflections!!!

Writing this final reflection, I am once again reminded of how time really flies!

This course is truly one of its kinds, in terms of the nature and of course, quantity of the workload. I learnt many new things that I was once totally clueless about.

First to mention would be my very first blogging experience. I am now proud to say I can do a simple blog post! Also worth remembering is my first time conducting an interview, together with my group mates. There are many more firsts that I cannot mention them all here though they all bear testimony to how much there is to be learnt from this course.

The emphasis on people and people skills left an impression upon me strongly. In my normal tutorials and lectures, I rarely interact as much or took as much notice of my classmates as I did in this module. Somehow the small class size and the constant rotation of members for different projects allowed for more mingling among one another. This made people more than just a passing face in this busy bustling campus.

As I recall each of the 11 classmates and Ms Goh in class, everyone came alive in my mind having very diverse colours. And each is committed to memory with something pleasant and remarkable tagged on him/her.

Then again this course is not a magic course. We are not communication masters just because we attended ES2007S for a semester. However it equips us with the necessary tools, so that we can continually polish our communication skills and reap the joy and benefits of communicating effectively with our loved ones, friends and colleagues.

Reflection on Oral Presentation

The delivery of this oral presentation (OP) on my part was not as smooth as that during the presentation for peer teaching. This time round, I lacked that inner confidence that says "Yes, I can do it!"

The primary issue that I had to face was the constant insecurity that perhaps I had overlooked more relevant points that could be presented. In addition, I felt that more thought could be put into preparing the tone and delivery such that it aimed to persuade our target audience which consisted of authoritative figures.

The experience also exposed the fact that with lack of confidence, what are my strengths can fail to be so. For instance, I feel that I am capable of a clear voice and accurate pronunciation, but both of which were compromised in this OP due to added nervousness.

However, I am glad that I was still able to maintain a decent level of calmness and confidence throughout the presentation. This is something unthinkable for me in the recent past, as I used to display very outwardly all the signs of nervousness (e.g.: shaky limbs and unsteady voice).

Our collaborative efforts before the presentation are also something I feel good about. During the peer-teaching, peers’ feedbacks were that OP slides need to be more cohesive as a team and I felt this was better achieved in this OP.

Overall, though I'm not satisfied with my personal performance, I truly appreciated the opportunity to try out a different kind of oral presentation.

Understanding Intercultural Behavior

It is often very easy to judge people based on our own set of beliefs and values. We have heard of the need to place ourselves in other people’s shoes and this is so especially true when one is dealing with people from other cultures.

During my exchange to Denmark, I had a module that is solely based on group work and my Singaporean friend and I was paired up with two other Danes. Perhaps due to my long accustomed mode of group work in Singapore, I was expecting to go straight down to business once we are given our projects to do. However, during the first few meetings, while my friend and I are already considering the project, the two Danes are joking around and taking things slowly. At first I was quite frustrated, as I thought that the few hours that we met are quite a waste of time as nothing substantial was done. However, after the first few meetings, I realize this is their mode of working. They actually do take their work seriously, they just express themselves differently. Through half joking and half seriousness ( they have the ability to crack jokes in the middle of a dead serious discussion), they can turn in work that is of a high standard and allowed my friend and me to appreciate their different but brilliant way of thinking.

This is a valuable experience as it shows that things in life can be treated in a more light-hearted manner while ensuring quality deliverance. Perhaps this different outlook can be a way of dealing with the piling stress that we sometimes feel in Singapore.

Blog Post 3: Application Letter

Unsolicited Application Letter for Internship


Lam Si Xiao

Blk 123A Tampines Drive 14
#05-67 Singapore 123456
92343231
lam_sixiao@yahoo.com.sg

7^th February 2009

Ms Lily Tan Chu Mei
Deputy Director of Human Resource Department
i Raffles Link, #03-01 South Lobby
Singapore 039393

Dear Ms Tan,

I am a third-year undergraduate majoring in Mathematics at National University of Singapore (NUS).

I chose to study Mathematics as I have strong analytical skills and logical thinking which serves this area of study well. However, I am very interested in the banking field. I would like to ask whether your institution could accommodate me as an Intern for 10 weeks in the month of May-August 2010. I do hope to be given a chance to intern at the Investment Banking division though I am very willing to try other departments too as a good way to gain more exposure and build a strong foundation.

I have constantly made use of my electives modules to learn more about the finance sector. They include: Principles of Economics, Macroeconomic Analysis and Money-and-Banking. Currently, I am taking Principles of Accounting. I have also taken modules such as Communication to the Academy and Professional Communications to further hone my presentation and writing skills.

Outside of academics, I grasp opportunities to learn about the finance sector too. Last year, I went with a group of 20 students for a Finance Trip to Hong Kong, where we visited financial institutions and did an exchange with finance tertiary students there. I gained more understanding of how the industry is like and had a chance to talk to some of the executives to learn about their day of work.

It was during this visit that I came across Credit Suisse. The executive we had a talk to was a Physics Major himself and he encouraged non-business students to also apply for banking as people from different disciplines contribute to diversity, which is important for innovation and vibrancy. The bank also has a pleasant and professional working environment which drew me and led me to apply for an internship here.

In addition, as I was more familiar with Hong Kong , I was tasked with organizing the group and bringing them around. There I learned organization and planning and also assumed a leadership role and learn to deal with problems as they arised during the trip.

I went for a semester of exchange at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark last semester. This opportunity to immerse in a very different culture had allowed me to acquire a more global perspective than before.

Having joined band and symphony orchestra and being involved in Campus Crusade where I was involved in planning and organizing events, I have confidence that being in such environments where one is required to interact with many different people have taught and mold me to be a good team player.

I hope to be given the opportunity to learn under your organization. I believe my logical thinking and analytical skills from my Mathematics studies and my personal experiences will be able to make a contribution to the team that I am assigned to.

Thank you for your kind attention and I truly look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Si Xiao Lam

How to resolve this interpersonal conflict?

This conflict involves my close friend Joanne and I and had happened recently.

During a holiday, Joanne and I were both touring in different countries A and B but we decided to tour country C together and needed to settle on a date.

Being concerned over the prices, Joanne had went ahead to book her own ticket on a set date that was the cheapest for herself. I had no choice but to buy my ticket on the same date too. However I discovered that while flying on that set date is cheapest for Joanne, it is the most expensive for me to fly from country A to C. I was angry and sent an email to express my displeasure. Joanne did give a call to say she was sorry and sounded nice and apologetic. However, I was still appalled by her insensitivity and selfishness and felt that she was only saying sorry nicely because she had already gotten what she wanted.

After that we returned to Singapore and Joanne gave a call sounding as cheerful and happy as ever. However I really found it hard to have a normal genuine conversation with Joanne as the incident is still etched in my mind. However Joanne is probably not aware of this.

The problem is that if I decide to continue with this friendship, how can I resolve this displeasure that I have against her so that we can be genuine friends again? Could I have perhaps failed to consider some things from Joanne's perspective? Or could I have resolved the issue right then and there when the event happened instead of letting it drag on to this day?

Effective Communication Skills are important

Can one ever imagine a life without communicating to anyone, without needing to bring ideas across to people in various social settings, without having to go through a single job application or job interview? Being a shy and introverted child, I used to hope that this could be true! However, I soon realise that interactions between people are simply unavoidable in everyday life.

Every now and then, I am confronted with CCA meetings, group projects and occasionally some networking sessions where I have to make conversations despite feeling rather self-conscious and uncomfortable. Often at the end of the day, I would lament on how I could have just made the meeting a little less awkward and a little smoother. In my opinion, learning effective communication is a journey that has no ending. You can always try to better yourself and still that’s always so much more to learn. Yet I firmly believed the effort is worthwhile as there are times in my life, where a little better communication on my part could have avoided so much awkwardness and embarrassment or even trouble that I later have to fix.

Effective communication enhances the productivity of discussions, leaves one feeling satisfied with oneself and often makes other people feel good about themselves too. Hence I place high value on effective communication and hope to acquire as much of these skills as possible.