Final Reflection

‘The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.’ – Joseph Priestley

This module has taught me the importance of the above; the need to be concise and precise, using only the most impactful and relevant words to get the message across as more words just obscure the main point.

Firstly, I have developed with repeated practice, my written skills by employing the 7Cs of good writing in all forms of written communication. This also involved learning to translate my skills and acquired knowledge for effective job application letters and resumes, to market myself well.

Secondly, I have improved on my verbal skills to ensure successful and clear exchange of ideas through active listening and effective speaking. This is in addition to the honing of my oral presentation skills. The opportunity to explore and experiment with a different type of presentation, the persuasive kind, in addition to an explanatory one, has provided more exposure and a chance to polish my skills in a different setting.

Thirdly, the intentional placement in different working groups for different projects to simulate the professional setting further harnessed my ability to work well with different teams and people of different backgrounds. The small class also allowed for high interaction between both classmates and the tutor which I enjoyed most and felt was the biggest plus point.

Finally, Ms Goh’s valuable, timely and thorough feedback was vital in the improvement process throughout the module. I thoroughly enjoyed this module which has taught me essential life skills and I appreciate all the help and friendly criticism given by both Ms Goh and my classmates. All the best everyone!

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Reflection on Oral Presentation

I feel that our group’s oral presentation was effective and persuasive as we covered the relevant content and analyzed it appropriately. We also ensured the slides prepared were simple and audience friendly with the use of relevant graphics and charts.

I had the challenging role of being the opener. I tried to fulfill it to the best of my ability, firstly, by employing the use of good attention-grabbers, like statistics, and attempted to tailor these examples in the context of the audience, to make it of relevance to them. However, I feel that I could have done this better with more practice.

Secondly, I used an appropriate tone, emphasized important points to reiterate our focus and ensured my presentation had a clear structure and content. Furthermore, I used appropriate, accurate language, and ensured eye contact throughout. I feel that I was confident in my delivery although I fumbled at a few points due to nervousness and lack of time. These, in addition to my focus on giving a good opening, also resulted in me speeding up at certain parts.

Lastly, I aimed to have a thorough understanding of the content to avoid a script and memorization which only increase my chances of making errors due to the urge to regurgitate everything and missing a point only adds to my anxiety which affects the rest of my presentation. I covered all the required points and more as I was at ease, such that I understood what I was saying and could get my point across to the audience better.

It is indeed challenging to be the opening speaker, more so a persuasive one, as it is vital to grasp the audience’s attention from the beginning to lead on to the rest of the presentation. I would want another go at it to improve myself in the required aspects.

"There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave." - Dale Carnegie