So this is it then, this is the end.

As I write this on my birthday, one can only imagine the mixed feelings and thoughts going through my head. For starters, shouldn’t I be doing something else, rather than penning (or typing as the case may be) out yet another blog post? But this in itself reflects the fundamental essence of ES2007S: this module is important.

A Stanford Research Institute and Carnegie Melon Foundation study found that 75 percent of long term job success depends on soft skills and only 25 percent on technical knowledge (Posthuma, 2002). Additionally, an overwhelming majority (93 %) of HR managers surveyed said technical skills were easier to teach than soft skills.

According to a Job Outlook survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE) in 2008, the top characteristics employers look for in hiring are all soft skills: communication ability, a strong work ethic, written and oral communication, interpersonal skills, and teamwork (Klaus, 2008).

From the above, it’s pretty obvious that the demand for soft skills in the workplace is immense, and surpasses that of actual technical knowledge. But we already knew all that. That's why we're in this course. To put things into relative terms, the life skills taught in ES2007S are well worth the entire sum of my university tuition fees –maybe more.

But ES2007S has been more than just the-most-useful-module-offered-by-NUS; it has been a catalyst for inter-cultural exchanges, for open discussions on the most pertinent issues in society today, an avenue for peer-teaching and learning, plus the sharing of ideas and feedback, a conducive environment for the experiential learning of presentation, corporate writing, interview skills, and above all –a place where I have found real friends. At the end of the day, all I can say is that I have indeed gained immeasurable benefit from this course.

I would like to thank Brad for leading us along on this wonderful journey throughout the semester, conducting the classes with his unique brand of humour and unconventional teaching methods. I would also like to thank Alicia, Alvin, Billet, Elgin, Guo Chen, Nanhai, Shivam, Sylvester, Vinod, Wenlue, Wyhow, Xiaoshi, Xi Xi, Xing Quan and Yanling for being the most supportive, dynamic, cooperative and sincere classmates I’ve ever known here in NUS. In every single class discussion, project group, blog assignment and role-play activity, you guys have made this module truly unforgettable. It has been an honour to be your classmate. Thank you.




References:
1. Klaus Peggy (2008) The Hard Truth About Soft Skills – Workplace Lessons Smart People Wish They’d Learned Sooner. Collins.

2. Posthuma, R.A., F.P. Morgenson, and M.A. Campion (2002) Beyond Employment Interview Validity: A Comprehensive Narrative Review of Recent Research and Trends. Personnel Psychology.

Bite-sized learning points from the Oral Presentation

In light of the fact that my previous (partial) reflection on my oral presentation, written by one who was feeling down and binging on chips, generated so many responses (such that it became quite a marathon replying them all) I shall now present the main presentation tips I’ve taken away from this whole experience in bite-sized sections for easy, light reading (as opposed to writing an analysis of my OP experience in essay-length paragraphs).

Preparation

1. Have a clear outline of what you’re going to cover in your speech.
This is not to say memorize a scripted speech. Instead, know your points well (it gets easier with multiple rehearsals) so that you don’t risk blank-outs or accidentally missing out points.

2. Practice, Practice, Practice
Rehearsals are vital; have as many of them as possible.

3. Simulate the actual presentation settings as far as possible during rehearsals.
Our group practiced with the video camera, as we didn’t want the presence of a camera on the actual day to unnerve us. We also tried practicing in an area that was about as large as our presentation venue, to ensure our voice-projection would be effective on the actual day.

4. Ensure your presentation slides are standardized.
Sigh. I guess this one goes without saying, and we all know why by now: standardized slides look professional; slides which are ‘customized’ to each presenter’s ‘style’ don’t.


Delivery

1. Stance/Posture
Having a firm stance (planting my feet firmly in the ground) actually helped me slow down my speech and THINK better. Since my words weren’t scripted, I sort of needed to buy time to mentally process the next point. There have been mixed reviews regarding the reduced speed of my speech, so exercise due discretion in adopting this one yup.

2. Articulation
I actually felt that slowing down the pace of my speech helped me articulate my words better. If one’s presenting in a language which isn’t his/her mother tongue, it’d be advisable to seek clarification on the pronunciation of certain words, for the sake of ensuring clarity in making the presentation.

3. Voice Projection
Fairly self-explanatory, right? Ensure that your speaking volume is loud enough to be heard by all present. Of course one shouldn’t be talking too loudly, as that might seem rude, but we all know how to exercise moderation here (:

4. Hand Gestures
The use of appropriate hand gestures can actually help emphasize your points. In my OP, some of my hand gestures actually helped me remember my points (sort of a psycho-motor association thing?)

5. Eye-contact
As Brad has reiterated time and time again, good eye-contact is vitally important. The technique of ‘sweeping’ one’s gaze across the room, giving each and every member of the audience a few moments of attention, is something I very much need to learn.

6. Be aware of your body language

7. Don’t be overly reliant on audio-visual aids
A presenter who does not rely much on his/her slides, etc. really does exude so much more confidence than one who constantly casts furtive looks towards the audio-visuals.

8. Tell stories and use quotes
Stories and quotes, when used well, really do work wonders in grabbing/sustaining audience attention and helps them better connect with you. Again, be aware of your audiences' expectations and apply this tip with due discretion.


Slides

1. Take a minimalist approach
This is actually what Brad explicitly taught in class. Reducing the number of words/amount of information on your slides diverts the audience’s attention away from your visual aids, and focuses it all on you, the speaker.



**Please do not feel obliged to comment on this blog post, it has been written primarily to consolidate my thoughts on the Do’s and Don’ts of giving an oral presentation; just a little something I’d like to share with you guys. (:

huddled in front of my laptop with a bag of chips

It's a Wednesday night, and Monday's presentation is still replaying itself in my head.

Sigh. I feel I under-performed and let my group down. Hence the big bag of potato chips. Comfort food, you know.

I mean, I guess in preparing for the presentation, I probably focussed too much on things like cutting down information into bite-sized pieces, both for my own, as well as for my group members' sections. Plus, I did not want to repeat mistakes of limited eye-contact and having a stiff, unnatural tone. This I felt had to be overcome through multiple practices/rehearsals, to gain confidence and polish up the whole thing. As a group, we worked really hard to prepare for the presentation. I actually feel very apologetic for pushing you guys so hard, for being 'fierce' with regard to quality and for nitpicking on everything from content to structure and delivery...only to let you guys down during the actual presentation by being too brief (and possibly too 'fierce') with the Benefits+Conclusion section.

I must have missed the forest for the trees. Feedback that my section had ended abruptly, that I had come across as being overly aggressive, that the audience had expected so much more...but had been disappointed, keeps replaying over in my head. Plus, I am really kicking myself for not ensuring our presentation slides were STANDARDIZED. Argh.

On the other hand, I am really glad certain things went well. And I've learnt a lot about what works in giving presentations, and what doesn't. Additionally, I've witnessed great positive changes in my teammates' presentation skills/styles. And I'm really grateful to be in a group of wonderful people who are supportive and hardworking. I have learnt a lot from you, Nanhai, Elgin and Shivam. And I really want to thank each and every one of you for your various contributions to our group. Plus, your excellent attitudes and diligence.

I will write up a full, detailed analysis of the whole presentation soon. Once I get my thoughts better sorted out, and my heart's less heavy. Plus, I've run out of chips.

Kathy and Tina

Two friends, Kathy and Tina, are high-school students in a co-ed school. Kathy is shy and slightly socially awkward, she is rather plain in appearance and isn’t very popular in school. Tina, on the other hand, is a dancer and is popular in the school community. Being pretty, she has no problems getting people’s attention and making friends.

Their friendship is somewhat unequal, with Kathy always compromising for Tina. Tina is constantly (and unapologetically) late for appointments and frequently makes last-minute changes to their plans; on a few occasions even ditching her friend in favour of some other activity (like say, a house party she got invited to on the spur of the moment).

Kathy looks up to her popular friend, with an admiration that is nearly fanatical. She takes great pride in the fact that they are friends. Though she does not like the feeling of being ‘taken for granted’ and the fact that Tina does not seem to value her time very much, or even value her as a person, she does not want to do anything to upset Tina or jeopardise their friendship.

Taking on the role of a parent/teacher/sibling/schoolmate/anyone else, how would you advise Kathy to improve the situation through effective communication?

EDITED (punctuation)

Why Effective Communication Skills are Important to Me

Communication is broadly defined as the transfer of information and ideas between two or more individuals. If you take a moment to think about it, there really isn’t a day that goes by without us utilising at least one communication channel to interact with others; be it in sending messages, receiving them, or both. From jostling with fellow commuters on MRT trains, “excuse me, excuse me!” “OW! You’ve stepped on my foot!” to ordering morning coffee at a hawker centre, “one kopi-xiu-dai, da-pao” greeting friends at school, “hey Jim!” (followed by a slap on the back) greeting one’s professor, “morning, Sir!” (without the slap on the back, for obvious reasons) commenting on someone’s  facebook status update, and even decoding this blog post right here. (Thank you so much for stopping by). From the above, it is pretty evident that knowing our audience plays a big role in determining our tone, language used, and even non-verbal cues in communicating.

Being able to communicate effectively is vital. It would be a disaster if all the skilled and talented people in the world were unable to communicate and convey their ideas to others; we would not get anywhere as a global society! Or if messages always got jumbled in transmission and no-one could ever understand what another person meant, we would get into arguments over misunderstandings at every turn! On the flip side, organised-crime wouldn’t be as ‘organised’ and no single government could wage war against another country, simply because they wouldn’t be able to manage their own troops, much less launch an attack. But I digress...

The first two introductory sessions of this course have put specific names on aspects of communication that I’ve taken for granted as being simply intuitive, much like finally matching names to faces that I’ve been seeing around all this while; things like sender-receiver interaction, message encoding and decoding, verbal and non-verbal communication, active listening, and clarifying messages through feedback.

Over the past week, I was volunteering with the YOG medical team during the swimming events held at the Singapore Sports School. Quite naturally, communication played a big part in ensuring coordination and the smooth running of evacuation drills, logistics checks, and the like. Every member of our medical team was issued a walkie-talkie that was connected to a common channel; which meant that everyone could hear you whenever you depressed a “push-to-talk” button on your handset (we were cautioned against accidentally pressing it while in the lavatory...or some other awkward place). This opened up a whole new means of communication –and of error. We all soon found out that using a walkie-talkie isn’t as fool-proof as one might think, it isn't exactly a simplified handphone; one has to follow a specific etiquette to be heard and understood. First off, upon depressing the “push-to-talk” button, you ought to identify yourself and then indicate whom you wish to address (remember, everyone can hear all that is being said and if you don’t specifically address a particular person, no-one will know to whom your message is intended). Only after getting a response from the intended recipient, should one proceed to send the actual message. This would ensure that the recipient is indeed attentive and ready to receive the message at that moment (note: active listening!). After the main message, one has then got to say “over” before releasing the button, to indicate that he or she is done talking...and the message is well, over. Without the visual cues of body language and facial expressions, we had to rely on these verbal cues to know when the speaker had finished. In return, the receiver would have to acknowledge receipt of the message with a “roger that” (note: what an example of feedback!). Failing which, he or she would be prompted by the sender with a “so-and-so, do you copy me?” All the tough soldier-talk picked up from one too many military movies sure came in handy.

Communicating effectively is important to me because it would be torturous to be misunderstood, or simply go unheard, all the time. Communicating lets others inside your psyche, inside your world, so that they can understand you better and get to know you as a person. Quite naturally, it works both ways, allowing you to get to know others as well; fostering mutual respect through understanding. Like it or not, we are being silently judged from the moment we open our mouths to speak. To a large extent our ability (or inability) to communicate effectively reflects on us as individuals; indicating to others certain traits such as how confident, competent or responsible we are.

For communication to be effective, we ought to bear in mind our audience (plus any cultural and/or social barriers that might exist), the requirements of a particular communication setting (which would guide our language and tone), and our non-verbal signals and cues.

I personally feel that communicating effectively is pretty tricky business. There are so many avenues for faux pas, particularly with the various communication channels -most of which do not involve face-to-face contact. Being good at communicating with others, be it in a social or corporate setting, is a truly invaluable skill. One which I am presently in the process of learning.

Alright, that's about it for now. Over.