Hello, Goodbye (The value of...)

Full disclosure: This is one of the most taxing modules I have ever taken in NUS, in terms of the workload. However, it is not without reasons. Every exercise that we did in class or otherwise seems to be carefully crafted to teach me something. I can see that much effort was put into planning this module and the syllabus, which I am very grateful for.

If you are familiar with ES2007S, you would already know that ES2007S teaches many skills – blogging, cover letter/resume writing, oral presentation, report writing, etc.

However, if I really sit down to think about it, my key takeaways from this module are not the graded assignments but the different values I learnt throughout the module.

The value of feedback
I learnt the value of feedback. I am not sure if it is an engineering thing, but the only feedback I got in my four years in NUS is usually by the way of grades. So, it is a brand new experience getting so much feedback for everything I do in the course – cover letter, proposal, oral presentation, and peer teaching. This is something I am not used to but I have learnt to appreciate the value of receiving feedback and also giving it to others. This will be an important skill, no matter where I am in life.

The value of acting listening
I learnt what is active listening. I was already aware of the term, but what really helped me was the exercise conducted in class – to listen, without (1) thinking about other things, (2) thinking about what the speaker is going to say next, or (3) thinking about how I am going to refute the speaker. I used to pride myself on being a good listener but I did not realise that I was doing all those 3 things, until I had to make a conscious effort not to. So much for being a good listener... This is still something that I have to consciously remind myself to do, but I hope to keep at it. Besides, being able to understand where the other party is coming from by active listening is always advantageous. :-)

The value of telling stories
I have always wondered how influential leaders/speakers manage to inspire the people they are speaking to and how they connect to them emotionally. It was not until I read an article in the skill building exercise that I fully understand the effectiveness of telling stories and the kind of impact it can have on people. I also learnt that there are many types of stories I can tell, depending on the situation. It was quite an eye-opener for me. I admit, I have yet to master the skill of telling stories (at least verbally), but this is a skill that I really hope to develop in the future.

Finally, the value of the “you” attitude
The "you" attitude can/should be applied to everything that we do. The big question now is, how can I adopt this for my FYP (final year project)? ;-)

In conclusion, I learnt many things from ES2007S, but if I had to pick only four to take home with me, the four mentioned above will definitely make the list. (Those and the lovely people in class I hope to keep in contact with.)

Reflections (not Christina Aguilera style)

I changed my template because I had trouble loading the pink one. :)

Yesterday (8th November 2010) was a day of presentations for me. I had three presentations in total, with two of them back to back.

So, in total, I had:

1. 9.00 - 11.00 am: Project Management presentation
2. 12:00 - 1.00 pm: ES2007S presentation
3. 6.00 - 7.00 pm: Human Factors Engineering presentation

The proposal for a 24 hour study area in NUS is the second presentation of the day for me. Overall, I hope that the class was able to understand and relate to what I presented but there are definite areas of improvements to be made in terms of my overall presentation skills.

Preparation:
I felt that I did it well. I knew my material inside and out. I designed my slides to aid me in recalling the necessary contents of my presentation. However, I felt that what I lacked was not the content preparation but the mental preparation, which leads me to my next point...

Delivery:
I felt that I did the best I could at that moment in time. However, there were a few things that I am unsatisfied with, that are definite areas to improve on. Firstly, (and it might sound silly) I was a bit thrown off by the view of the class. In the Project Management presentation prior to this, I presented in a bigger tutorial room. The lights in that room was also dimmer and just the general feel of it was different. So, when I was suddenly standing in front of a completely different looking classroom, with a completely different vibe, I have to admit it made me a bit flustered. Because of that, I may have rushed through my material a bit. My apologies for that.

This actually reminded me of what Brad told us earlier (if I recalled correctly): that it is much harder to "perform" in front of a smaller, more intimate group than a bigger group of people. Therefore, this is definitely something that I need to prepare myself mentally in the future. The lack of adequate sleep also factored into the performance of my presentation. If I had enough rest, I would have been able to think on my feet better and make the presentation more natural and fluid. Four hours of sleep before a day of presentations is NOT the way to go.

In terms of eye contact, I think I did maintain eye contact with a few people. And hopefully it is enough to create an impression. As for non-verbals, I would have to depend on all of you to give me feedback or watch the recording.

Visual aids/slides:
I tried my best to make them easy to read and easy to understand. I figured that simple and informative was the key to go, as that is what I look for personally in PowerPoint slides. As a whole, I felt that my group's PowerPoint slides are aesthetically pleasing and served its purpose well.

My takeaway from this experience is to not let myself be flustered by my surroundings. It is much easier said than done, but hopefully I would be able to do it with enough mental preparation and practice.

My group (7 Eleven) is sincere in our proposal in establishing a 24 hour study area in school, and hopefully we have all of you convinced with our presentation. :)

EDITED to add this picture of us working hard.

Special shout-outs to my teammates:

Yong Chean - for your focus and spirit of excellence
Weiping - for always making me laugh with your easy-going nature
Stanley - for putting up with me in every assignment & being so good-natured

The Art of Giving

When I first came to Singapore (from Myanmar) many years ago, I had to acclimate to several culture differences. However, one in particular stood out in my mind and to this day, I have a hard time wrapping my mind around it.

Last Chinese New Year, I went over to a friend’s house to visit. I decided to bring along a box of pastries for his family. They warmly welcomed me into their home, but when I handed over the box of pastries to his mother, I was taken aback by her response. Instead of just accepting it and thanking me, the mother started to chide me for spending money on it and then went on to exclaim how I should not have gotten it for them at all. As I was not expecting such a response, I was stumped and a little offended.

In the culture that I grew up in, when someone gives me a gift, I am to accept it willingly and most happily. This is to show appreciation for the thought and effort that went into preparing the gift. The giver would also be happy to know how much the receiver appreciates the gift. It is deemed rude to refuse a gift. Therefore, her reaction was a little jarring for me.

Nevertheless, I knew that there must be a reason behind her protests before she accepted the gift. So, I consulted my friend on this matter. He explained to me that it is the culture of the older generation to not accept the gift right away. According to him, the more expensive the gift is, the more refusals/protests you may encounter before the intended person finally accepts the gift. There is actually a “procedure” before one accepts a gift from non family members. It is their way of showing courtesy. This incident really hit home to me that to communicate effectively with people from different cultures, I have to truly try to understand their perception of courtesy, values and the intentions behind their verbal/non-verbal communication. Only then, we can build successful relationships with people from different cultures.

I have a question for those who are familiar with Singapore's culture: is this kind of response the norm and is it only practised by the older generation? I would love to have greater insight into the culture of giving and accepting gifts.

EDITED

Your future business analyst, at your service!

May Tun,
Blk 123 Kiwi Drive,
Singapore 123456,
H/P: 12345678,
Email: contactme@gmail.com.

Date: 1 September, 2010.

Ms. Jane Smith,
Human Resource Manager,
A-LAB Technologies,
Jurong East, Singapore.

Dear Ms. Smith,
Application for Business Analyst Position

I am writing with reference to your advertisement in the National University of Singapore (NUS) eJob Centre for want of a business analyst. I consider that my credentials and interests match your requirements and hope to begin a career in your organization upon graduation in May 2011.

As indicated in the enclosed resume, my keen interest in the engineering field has led me to pursue my Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from NUS. During the course of my study, I have developed strong analytical and communication skills through involvement in many different projects. One recent example would be my industrial project with TECH Semiconductor, in which my team and I had to solve an optimization problem involving the Preventive Maintenance scheduling. The experience has allowed me to develop my technical skills; as well as obtain other invaluable skills such as the ability to motivate a team and liaise with professionals.

Besides excelling in a team, I have also acquired good programming knowledge, namely Visual Basic in Excel, C/C++ programming and Auto Mod Simulation, which would deem essential in the position of a business analyst. Furthermore, I would be able to offer my extensive knowledge of inventory management, statistics and simulation required in this position. My past working experiences in the government and service industries have also taught me how to deal effectively and pleasantly with people from all walks of life. As an assistant tax officer in Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, I had the opportunity to learn to make fast and sound decisions and interact with the taxpayers, as well as the managerial staff.

I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to discuss how my education and experience will be helpful to your organization. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours sincerely,

May Tun
Enclosed: Resume

EDITED

Stuck In The Middle

Katie and David were the best of friends. They shared many common interests and spent a lot of time with each other. Although Katie regarded their relationship as purely platonic, David developed romantic feelings for Katie after some time. This made Katie uncomfortable at first, but as David promised that this would not affect their friendship in any way, Katie agreed to put her concerns aside.

Things between Katie and David were great, until Katie also began spending time with another friend, Peter. David then became jealous of Peter and often badmouthed Peter in Katie’s presence. As David’s animosity towards Peter was one-sided and irrational, Katie became increasingly uncomfortable with his behaviour. Katie could also sense that David was pressuring her to end her friendship with Peter. Katie knew that she should confront David about his behaviour, but as she did not know how to approach the matter, she chose to suffer in silence.

Soon, Katie could no longer stand being pushed and pulled in the middle and reckoned that the only way to escape her predicament was to end her friendship with one of them. She then decided to cut ties with David as she could not stomach his negativity any longer. Without warning, Katie began to avoid David altogether. She rationalized that going “cold turkey” was the only way to end David’s attachment to her. Unfortunately, her rash decision and action brought about newfound hostility towards her from David. Till this day, Katie deeply regrets how things ended with David. Alas, she feels that too much time had already passed to mend things and have a proper closure with him.

As shown from this story, it is often difficult to make the best decisions in the heat of a crisis. Thus, it is my belief that fresh perspectives from outsiders are extremely helpful in dealing with our inter-personal conflicts. What would you have done, if you were Katie, to minimize hurt for all parties?

Why is Effective Communication important to me?

I guess I have always taken effective communication for granted. To tell you the truth, it was quite a foreign concept to me till I started my university education. See, I have always thought that effective communication is instinctive. Some people will excel at it and some people would just struggle with it, naturally. And I still believe that, that is true to a certain extent. For instance, I have always admired my eldest sister, who could hold a conversation with just about anyone she meets, regardless of age group or gender or culture. However, I have also realised recently that effective communication skills can actually be nurtured and that I can be intentional about it to improve myself in this regard.

Sometimes I would wonder why certain conversations with certain people would end with awkward silences. Most times, I attributed it to the fact that we just do not “click” and then I would just try to avoid conversation with said person the next time. It really did not occur to me that, hey, perhaps I should be trying to be a more effective communicator. Perhaps I am asking closed-ended questions that are killing the conversation. Or perhaps I am just not providing enough verbal and non-verbal feedback to the other party to encourage them to share more with me.

I still have a long way to go in learning how to communicate effectively, especially in formal settings but better late than never, right?