I hate to sound clichéd but I can't think of a better phrase (right now) to use than "Time flies". As I'm typing this post right now, I recall the first blog post we were asked to write. I said that I wanted to be able to grasp crucial concepts about communicating effectively and bringing my ideas across well in different circumstances. And now, 13 weeks and 6 blogs posts later, I believe that I have gained more than what I had expected to.
Over this entire course of resume and report writing, taking minutes and drafting agendas, I dare say that I was truly exposed to every aspect of communication. The very fact that each ES lesson requires us to work with different groups of people, has enabled me to reach out and build relationships with every single one of my classmates. More importantly, I was able to expose myself to different kinds of people and make good use of various communication skills. Like Brad always says, "Know Your Audience" and knowing that each individual in my class is different, working with a different group each time stretches my communication vocabulary.
In my opinion, every assignment in this module has an associated communication skill that we can take home with. Tough as it may be, the process of writing the report has really equipped me with valuable team and oral communication skills. I also love the hype and enthusiasm that each lesson brings because of the seminar-style teaching. It allows greater teacher-student interaction which is diminishing in most other Science Faculty modules. This itself has inculcated in me, better communication among my peers and professors. What I find most interesting about this module is blogging because of the chance to read my classmates' blogs and gather their insightful opinions about various issues.
My understanding of the value of effective communication hasn't changed because I still believe that communication is crucial in every facet of life. However, what has changed were the skills that I have adopted throughout this course. Communicating professionally doesn't just include being able to write good resumes and emails, it also encompasses non-verbal and oral skills. Believe it or not, I have never done an oral presentation without constantly looking at my script. But after today's, it feels good to know that I was able to ramble on without needing much help from a script. YEAY!
For you readers, pardon this long post but I need to do this. Without Brad, our ever-so-approachable mentor and friend, I would not be walking away today with a sense of accomplishment. To my project group mates Lyon and Junrong, thanks for everything! To the rest of my friends: Weiren, Weikwan, HuiXuan, Oxy, WeiKin, Joyce, Angeline, Sammy, JunYen, XiuWen, Yuming, Peirong, Xin Yi, Eileen and Dongge (where have you been?), thanks for making this module the most enjoyable one! and PeiRong is right -- we have to take a class photo!
