Blog Post #4: Final Reflection on Learning

This module (ES2007S) is one of the most useful module I have taken in NUS thus far. These 12 weeks, despite being hectic and having to meet deadlines every now and then, the knowledge I acquired was indeed rewarding and memorable. I must admit that being a Science student in NUS, presentation and communication skills are rarely shared to us during the curriculum and we are often unaware of the skills that are required in professional communication. After attending these 12 weeks of lessons by Dr Radhika, I have learned so much in presenting myself in a concise and professional manner.

One of the greatest takeaways from this module is having the opportunity for a mock job interview. For most of the interviews I have been to thus far, I did not manage to secure the positions without knowing the reason behind it. Thus, from the feedback and comments I received from my peers during the mock job interview, I have realised my weaknesses in my interview skills which are probably the reasons for my poor performance during interviews in the past. Hence, this mock job interview is very important for me to improve and prepare myself better for future job interviews.

Another valuable takeaway is the importance of non-verbal communication. There are so many functions of non-verbal communication which I am unaware of previously. In many situations, non-verbal actions may contradict verbal words and through that, we can then realise the hidden message behind it. Non-verbal actions that complement verbal words are seen almost everywhere, even during presentations. I have learned how eye contact can actually make what you present much more convincing. I am glad that I learned so much about non-verbal gestures in this module.

In addition, this module has taught me the skills needed to write a persuasive proposal, perform a good presentation, write a good application letter and resume with the use of the 7 Cs that we have learned during the guidance of Dr Radhika. These are skills that not only will help me in my course in NUS but also will definitely come in handy in the my future career where I get to work with people. Fostering a good intercultural communication such as researching on the different types of cultures and religions around different parts of the world, will definitely place you in a better light when communicating with people of a different culture.

With that, I want to thank Dr Radhika for providing us with the knowledge about these professional communication skills throughout these 12 weeks, for guiding us through our proposal as well. I want to thank my classmates for making these 12 weeks such an enjoyable one and the interaction fostered within such a small class size is indeed fruitful, especially my peer teaching team mates (Ashikin and Nazyra) and my group proposal team mates (Kaylyn and Indah). It has been great working with all of you!