Final Reflections

Hi all! It’s a pity to say that we have come to the end of our lovable module CG1413. Hope everyone enjoyed themselves and I wish everyone all the best for the upcoming exams.
This module, CG1413, helped me to learn a lot of things. Firstly, I learnt how to work together in teams and realized the importance of teamwork and effective communication. Before this course, I used to be a person who was very nervous to speak in front of others and used to run away from oral presentations. I was also too shy to volunteer and ask any questions during class.
As we all know, in today’s world, teamwork and effective communication play a major role in all our lives. We are required to work in teams wherever we go. So, it is important that we learn how to get along well with different kinds of people and how we actually communicate with them.
For this module, I tried to do my best by voicing out my opinions during group meetings and also tried to be more active in class by involving myself in the class participations. The two presentations that we had were very useful as I was able to identify my mistakes and rectify them, for the next presentation. The oral defense was also useful because it tested our ability to defend ourselves and it was also more like a test for our confidence levels. The effective communication was shown in the form of blogs, which were updated time to time. The blog helped us to share our opinions and views. By commenting and reflecting on each other’s posts, it helped us to better understand the feelings and opinions of each other. Another main important thing that I learnt from this module is how to improve my writing skills and how the 7C’s of writing apply while preparing letters for interviews when we are applying for jobs and also for proposals. I also feel that the feedback and suggestions given by Ms Happy, were good as it helped me realize where I was wrong and the areas that I needed to improve on. So, after the end of this module, all these important factors are things that have to be remembered as they do help us a lot in the nearing future.
Another module in which teamwork was necessary was CG1102. It was closely related to CG1413, as our first oral presentation was based on the CG1102 project. The module CG1108 also required us to work in teams for the end of year project. The main idea behind was that we would be able to learn from each other, which was indeed very true as we worked together as a team during the lab sessions and tutorials, sharing with each other things that we knew.
These modules really helped me learn many new things and helped me to become a better, active and a more confident person. It was indeed a good experience for me to work in a team and I did realize the advantages and disadvantages of working in teams. This module was a very memorable one and I had a great time with all my classmates and of course, Ms Happy for making this module so interesting and motivating. I really enjoyed doing it and look forward to doing similar modules in the semesters to come. :)

Reflections on Oral Presentation 2

We had our second oral presentation on Monday, 22nd March. My group consisted of Roger, Gillian and myself. We had rehearsed several times before the actual presentation but however, we were still very nervous about the presentation. We were well dressed for the occasion and the tone used was appropriate. The transition between us was also very smooth. We tried our best to engage the audience and persuade them to consider our proposed solution. Lastly, during the Q&A session, the way we addressed the audience was polite, and the answers were quite complete. On the whole, the team presentation was good and cohesive.

Firstly, for me, OP2 was a much better experience compared to OP1. I felt a bit more confident for this presentation compared to the first one. Although I was not that familiar with the topic, I still felt more comfortable while speaking to the audience. Unlike the previous time, I tried my best to maintain eye contact with the audience. I also made sure that I did not speak too fast and kept to a standard pace. I was clear and confident in my delivery, which is important for one to become a good speaker. I also tried to speak in simple terms which could be comprehended easily but maybe I should have tried to use better vocabulary to make the presentation sound more professional. I had included some interesting pictures in my slides to constantly arouse the audience’s attention. I feel that I have made quite an improvement though there is room for more. One thing that I have to take note of is that I should have tried to answer the questions or at least tried to add on to what the other group members said during the Q&A session which I failed to do so during this presentation. So overall, I guess more effort would be needed to improve further on my ability to interact well with the audience and also on my presentation skills.

Reflections on Blog Post 4

Hi everyone, once again thanks for leaving comments and providing constructive feedback for my blog post. I will take note of all your suggestions and try to make my blog post even better the next time. Like all of you mentioned, I should have tried to make my post more personal and could have reflected more on my role as a member in the team.
So, let me now reflect more on my role. After viewing the video clip, I realised that I was paying attention to all the ideas of my other group members. I tried my best to encourage them to put forward their ideas more confidently by asking them questions like why you think this will work and questions like were there any possible drawbacks of the design that they suggested. I felt that this indeed made sure that everyone contributed their own suggestions and there was an active participation during the meeting. But, I felt that I could have been more active during the meeting. Due to the fear of myself being videotaped, I was a little nervous to put forward the ideas that I thought of before the meeting. I shall try to overcome this fear and improve during the second meeting by building up more confidence in myself.
Also, I personally felt that I should have included a video clip of the meeting so that all of you could take a look at it and it would be easier for you to relate to my performance during the meeting. So, keeping all these points in mind, I will try my best to improve myself during the second meeting.

Reflections on Blog Post 3:

Hi everyone! Thanks for all your comments. After taking a look at all the comments that were posted, I have to agree that a face to face meeting is still a must.
As Jonathan suggested, maybe a neutral friend of both Rinita and Nikita could help solve the problem of misunderstanding between them. This solution sounds to be more feasible and there is a more likely chance that the problem would actually be solved.
Also like what Zhi Hong and Iswarya mentioned, as both of them were very good and close friends, the misunderstanding would not last very long as they would be able to understand each other well. So it would take a bit more time for the incident to sink in both of them and for them to cool down and become friends again.

Reflections on Post 1 and 2

Reflections on Blog Post 1:
Hi everyone! Thank you all for leaving your comments! I am glad that you all liked my post and I hope that after reading it, all of you had a clear view on what communication and teamwork really mean to us. Like what Iswarya suggested, maybe I should have mentioned something about the differences between a team and a group, and elaborated more with suitable examples, which I had missed out in my post. Overall, I personally felt that maybe adding some pictures to the post would have made it even more interesting and better for readers to understand the topic well.

Reflections on Blog Post 2:
Once again, I would like to thank all of you for reading my blog post thoroughly and giving me suggestions on how to make it even better. I am very happy that you found my post interesting and enjoyable to read. I will try my best to make all my other posts equally entertaining. Like what all of you mentioned, I did realize that the conclusion was missing in my post. I will take this into consideration and make sure that I do not repeat the same mistake again. Another thing that I missed was the analysis to the personal experiences that I shared. Perhaps I could have related those experiences that I shared to the culture and fundamentals of effective communication, like what Zhi Hong mentioned.

Reflection On Meeting 1 (CG1102 Project)

For our CG1102 project, we had to videotape ourselves. We had our first meeting on Thursday 11thFeb, at the central library, discussion room 6. As it was our first time doing this, we were a bit unsure and nervous about how it would go. Our group consisted of Alden, Geck Keat and me. We decided that we would just be natural during the taping.
I felt that the main purpose of us having to videotape ourselves was to look back at it and see where we could actually improve on and what were the points that we had missed out on. During the meeting, we strictly tried to follow our agenda although we went a bit off too.

Teamwork was a very important factor during such meetings. Being a team, all of us had to work together and share our ideas with each other and decide on the best among all the designs that we came up with. Alden was our leader and I felt that he did a good job by making sure that all of us contributed towards the project and put out our ideas without being afraid. He also made sure that all of us engaged in the discussion by asking questions like what do you think of this design, why not this, etc. We were stuck at some parts of the questions and so decided to ask our lab tutor for help.

We were able to manage our time well and actually completed everything that we had on our agenda. I felt that the meeting was really productive and we could come up with a rough idea of how we were going to design our project.

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

It was during your junior college days when this incident took place. An inter college dance competition was about to take place. A few of your classmates were taking part in it. Amongst them were Rinita and Nikita. Both of them very close friends. They rarely quarreled between themselves and were always friendly to everyone around them.
One day all the participants including Rinita and Nikita were rehearsing for the auditions that were going to be held later that day hoping that they would be selected for the final competition. Then the teachers in charge of the program came to see their performances. They had to select the best three among all the students from that college. Everyone did their best and in the end Rinita, and two other girls were selected. Rinita was very happy that she got selected but at the same time felt sorry for Nikita. Nikita too was very depressed and she sat at the corner wanting to be all by herself. At the end of the auditions, all the students were climbing down the stairs.



Then a very unexpected thing happens. Some students were racing down the stairs and they accidentally pushed Nikita and she, unknowingly, went and pushed Rinita. Rinita fell down the stairs and fractured her hand. She thought that Nikita purposely pushed her down the stairs, as she felt jealous that Rinita was selected. But she did not know what actually happened. As a result of her fracture, Rinita could not participate in the competition anymore. Nikita tried explaining to her many times that she did not do it on purpose and that someone actually pushed her from behind but Rinita just would not listen to her. She really wanted to participate in the competition and felt that Nikita was responsible for whatever happened. Since that incident, Rinita was not talking with Nikita.

What should be done to solve this situation?

Observation of Team Behaviour: Intercultural and Interpersonal communication

The world today is characterized by an ever-growing number of contacts resulting in communication between people with different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. We have many different relationships with people. For example, interacting with a sales clerk in a store is different from the relationship we have with our friends and family members.
I once remembered an incident where my friend, who is Singaporean, came with me to India during the holidays for a visit. There I introduced her to my grandmother. So the first thing she did was to give out her hand to shake hands with her. But my grandmother didn’t shake hands with her. Instead she folded their hands in the cultural way and said namaste. Seeing this my friend was shocked as shaking hands here in Singapore is very common but I explained to her that people in India do not shake their hands but fold them and instead. So from then onwards, whenever she met people there, she knew that shaking hands was wrong and so started folding hands instead.
In a nutshell the main purpose of following such theories is to earn respect from other people’s culture.
Interpersonal communication is the process of sending and receiving information between people and interaction between members of different groups, who differ from each other in respect of the knowledge shared by them and in respect of their linguistic forms of symbolic behaviour. Once my friend and I went for a movie and she was coming by MRT to the theater. I was waiting for her at the station. I messaged her saying that I was at the ticketing counter and asked her to meet me there. She thought that I meant the ticketing counter at the theater and went there instead. Then, I realized and thought that I should have mentioned ticketing counter at the MRT instead. This indicates how interpersonal communication plays a role in our life.

Communication and Teamwork: why are they important to me?

Communication is the exchange of thoughts and ideas through gestures, signs, signals, speech or writing. Basically, communication is sharing information, whether in writing or orally. Effective communication is a two way process- sending the right message and also it being correctly received and understood by the audience. The ability to communicate effectively is an art that can be used in many areas of your life, from employment and education to parenting and relationships. Today’s increasingly global economy places a premium on teamwork in the workplace.
In today’s world, communication plays a key role in everybody’s lives. A person with lots of knowledge should be able to put out his ideas through good communication skills but if he fails to do so he would be considered equal to a person with no knowledge. So, getting great ideas is not important, what really matters is the ability to portray those ideas in a way that others can understand. Nowadays when we go for interviews, what they look for is people with good communication skills and only after that will they look at that person’s qualifications.
Teamwork is the process of working collaboratively with a group of people, in order to achieve a goal. It is a crucial part of a business, as it is often necessary for colleagues to work well together, trying their best in any circumstance. Teamwork means that people will try to cooperate, using their individual skills and providing constructive feedback, despite any personal conflict between individuals.
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Students are also encouraged to work collaboratively on academic projects and in competitions such as the Lego League robotics competition. These projects aid students in developing the essential skills that they will need when they enter the working world. A team project is when members of the teamwork work interdependently towards the same goal. It is not hard to explain why team projects always surpass group projects or individual work. When working in teams, there will be more people and so there will be more new ideas and obviously the result would be much better compared to the same task done individually.