Final Reflection on Learning

My biggest take away from this module comes from the very first lesson we had. As we have learnt, a communication process consists of: sender --> encoding --> message --> channel--> decoding --> receiver. The essence is that communication is only effective to the extent to which your receiver understands your message. It is thus important to remember that while one may utilize beautiful phrases and big words to express themselves, at the end of the day, all these becomes pointless if the receiver is unable understand it.

I found it very useful that this module provided us with much needed opportunities to practice this concept in various different settings.

The mock interview was a really beneficial and practical experience. Being in a professional setting made me more aware of how I conducted myself in front of others, and what kind of messages (both verbal and non-verbal) I was sending to my interviewers.

Other activities we did such as the peer teaching as well as project presentation again highlighted the importance of effective communication. A good presentation allows the audience to fully grasp what the presenter already knows so well. Therefore, we are reminded time and time and again to always craft a presentation with the audience in mind. It was great that these experiences were interactive, allowing us to gather feedback from our audience (in the form of feedback survey and Q&A session) regarding our performance and how well our idea was conveyed to the audience.

I believe the skills acquired through this module will go a long way in helping in my future endeavours. Thank you Ms. Fazilah for being such a patient and helpful mentor, for sharing with us your personal experiences to aid in our learning, for giving us very useful feedback and guidance, as well as for making this module such a wonderful experience for all of us. (:

Reflection on Oral Presentation

Weaknesses

Personally, I felt that I could have been better prepared for the presentation. Thanks to our many rehearsals, I didn’t make any major errors or miss out any important points during our presentation. However, I was still slightly disappointed with my presentation as I made several small blunders. Firstly, I subconsciously referred to my audience as “you guys”, which is a no-no in a formal presentation. In addition, the delivery of my presentation wasn’t as smooth as I hoped it would be. There were instances of stutters and using of verbal fillers. Knowing that I get nervous during presentations, all these could have been avoided by rehearsing my script over and over again, ensuring that smooth delivery of my presentation.

Regarding our presentation content, as suggested by Ms Fazilah, perhaps we should have played more on the emotional (Pathos) aspect. For example, drawing links to our personal experiences when describing the shuttle bus situation may have been more persuasive to our target audience. However, in my personal opinion, while drawing emotional links may be effective at a moderate level, an overdose may have a counter-effective effect as it may appear unnatural or irritating to our audience.

Strengths

I felt that our presentation was delivered in a clear and concise fashion. Our presentation was broken down into very clear sections – problem, solution, and benefits – which flowed logically and hence was easy to comprehend. Our slides were not too overcrowded, consisting of only main points and appropriate diagrams, graphs, and pictures, which provided accurate illustration of our points. Also, our individual parts were coherent with one another.

Q&A was one of the biggest challenges for me because it involved quick thinking on my feet – something I was afraid I would not be able to do. However, I felt that our team handled the Q&A section reasonably well. We were all calm and composed, and answered each question concisely. I believe this was achievable because we constantly questioned the rationality of our proposal during group meetings, as well as ensured that we ironed out knitty-gritty details with we felt were “loopholes” of our presentation. Also, we always made sure that everyone had common consensus on our project.

This presentation has been a very enriching one for me. Again, I am reminded of the importance of crafting a presentation with the audience in mind. I believe that we effectively conveyed our ideas to our audience and that our presentation was generally professionally delivered.

To my dear team mates nel, will and leo (haha :P), thank you guys for being ever so patient, accommodating, helpful, and funny! And also, for making this module so enjoyable for me! (:

Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

One of the most recent incidents arising from intercultural differences happened during my exchange program in Canada. My housemate, who was also an exchange student from NUS, was doing a school project with a group consisting of Canadians and Europeans.

Throughout the semester, my friend tried to plan project meetings, only to be brushed off by his group mates, who claimed that they had “more important stuff on”. As the deadline of their project approached, my friend got increasingly frustrated as none of his group mates seemed to care about the project. When they finally agreed on a meeting date, my friend was the only one who turned up on time. In addition, the project meeting ended quickly because the others had to go for lunch and had other commitments.

I was pretty surprised after hearing his complaints, as I thought that us exchange students were usually the more laidback ones, because we only needed a passing grade for the modules we took. It was apparent that there was a clash in working styles. Aside from personality differences, I believe that cultural upbringing also came into play in this situation.

Hofstede’s measurement of Long-term Orientation (LTO) is the extent to which a country foster values such as thrift and perseverance. It was probable that his group mates came from cultures measuring lower in LTO. Hence, they are less result oriented and seek instant gratification, as seen from how they were unwilling to sacrifice their lunch and other commitments for the sake of their project. On the other hand, Singapore scores higher on LTO. We emphasize on long-term goals and hard work, shown from how my friend prioritized the project above everything else.

Reflecting on my friend’s experience, I realized the importance of understanding and hence communicating across different cultures. In this case, there is no easy way of resolving conflict as values and beliefs are deep-rooted and hard to change. Perhaps a way of tackling this issue would for my friend to allocate work to each of his group member, along with a given deadline. This way, his group mates get to work at their own pace, and the project still gets completed.

Hello guys, this is the job ad:

Senior / Counsellor

The Challenges

As a Senior / Counsellor in the National Addictions Management Service, you will review all clinical, medical, psychosocial and other relevant data in your assessment of clients. You will be required to formulate a provisional diagnosis, and enlist your patient’s cooperation in developing a treatment plan. You will also mobilize the relevant resources and services your patients require.

You will work within a multi-disciplinary setting led by the physician, and will be required to communicate and consult with nurses and allied health workers as well. For both inpatients and outpatients, you will be required to conduct individual and group programmes, as well as work with their families.

Your duties include reviewing counselling practices and setting high standards of quality care through individual or peer supervision. An essential component of your work entails assisting the department in evaluating and improving patient services which necessarily include the capturing of clinical outcome measures and any other data required by the department.

Training in addictions for both internal and external professional staff is an important part of your work, as is the delivery of educational talks to the public.

The Requirements

• Minimum a Bachelor degree in Psychology, Counselling, Social Work, Nursing or related discipline with relevant work experience. A Master degree would be preferred
• Basic knowledge of PC applications (Microsoft Word & Excel)
• Experience in gambling addiction counselling will be an advantage
• Excellent interpersonal and written communication skills

Application Letter Critique

Chua Hui Xuan Valerie

456 Corporation Road

#03-06, S(649813)

9109 6279

val005@hotmail.com

7^th February 2012

Jasmine Tay

Human Resource Manager

The Human Resource Department

Institute of Mental Health / Woodbridge Hospital

Buangkok Green Medical Park

10 Buangkok View, Singapore 539747

Dear Ms. Tay:

I graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Arts and Social Science Degree. Having been a psychology student and a current volunteer at IMH, my passion lies in working with patients to better their lives. I saw the job opening for Senior/Counsellor for IMH on their online website and am extremely keen in it. Thus I decided to apply for this position.

As a volunteer at IMH, I find that working with patients gives me a sense of fulfillment. I have worked together with psychologists as well as social workers during weekly in-ward visits. Weekly visitations involve interacting with in-patients; taking them for walks, as well as providing a listening ear. In addition, I was part of a team which organized recreational activities for patients, to help lighten up their spirits. I believe that this experience has made me confident and comfortable in communicating with patients, as well as helped me develop adequate interpersonal skills, which would be necessary as a counsellor.

I have also collaborated with charitable organizations such as AMK Family service centre in organizing events for the less fortunate. Working with these organizations further spurred my interest in working with people. In working with these organizations, it is vital to be able to communicate effectively with your team members as well as the respective organizations. I believe that I have proven to be a responsible leader, as well as a team player who is able to work well with others. Being a counselor requires one to not only work with patients, but also with other allied health workers. Hence I believe that these skills will benefit me as a counsellor at IMH.

Thank you for taking my application into consideration. I look forward to meeting you personally and reviewing my qualifications. If you have any questions, please call me at 9109 6279 or email me at val005@hotmail.com

Sincerely

Valerie Chua

*I don't know why the top part is so weirdly spaced I can't seem to figure out how to solve that! So please just excuse that part! It isn't like that when it's opened with MS word.(:

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

This incident happened a couple of years ago when two of my friends (A and B) and I were collaborating with a non-profit organization to plan a family day event.

B thought that the family day event should be an elaborate one, with activities and games for families to engage in, as well as performers to provide entertainment. Her plan was costly and hard to achieve given the limited amount of time we had. However, B wanted families to be assured a fun-filled and eventful day which they can look forward to.

A on the other hand, wanted it to be a simple affair. She argued that B’s idea was over-the-top and costly; she felt it was inappropriate for a family day. She suggested that we instead, simply cater food and families can bond with one another over a meal.

I believe that interpersonal conflict arose not because they had different ideas and personalities, but due to the lack of empathy and understanding for one another. Both A and B were insistent on their own ideas and refused to accept the others’ suggestions. I found myself being caught in the middle as each of their idea had its own merits and both stemmed from good intentions. Thus I proposed that we have a combination of both of their suggestions. Despite my efforts in trying to get them to understand the other’s viewpoint, a compromise could not be reached.

It was getting difficult to work together as the tension between A and B increased. As the deadline drew closer and still have no concrete plan, we used A’s idea due to the lack of time.

How would one get two headstrong people to empathize and compromise with one another (especially when both have valid reasons for their actions)?

Why are Effective Communication Skills Important to me?

We live in a world where we are reliant on one another, and day-to-day interactions with others are unavoidable. Whether at one’s workplace, school, or just with friends and family, communication plays an important role in one’s everyday life.

Communication happens everyday everywhere. Consider a typical school day – from checking emails/IVLE, to sharing of ideas for projects, to attending lectures, simultaneously texting friends, to discussing where to have lunch, to ordering food etc – every situation involves communication with others. Effective communication skills are thus essential, as it helps me convey my thoughts and feelings in a clear and concise manner. It helps me to get what I want. Communication isn’t just about me being able to express myself, but also others receiving the correct message.

As communication is a two-way process, it is important to note that we play both the sender and the receiver role. Misinterpretation of messages can often lead to dire consequences such as conflict between individuals. In the working world, not understanding what your clients want may result in the loss of a business deal. Effective communication reduces confusion and misunderstandings. Furthermore, I wish to work in the psychology/counseling field in the future. It is thus especially important for me to be able to understand my clients and the problems they might present. I therefore hope to not only be an effective sender, but receiver too.

We live in a technologically advanced world where there is a vast array of communication methods, e.g. facebook, text messages, emails etc. Albeit the increased convenience they bring about, they also create more ambiguity and room for misinterpretation – hence the need for even more effective communication skills.

Humans are innately social animals. Our live depends on others. We build organizations, cooperate with one another to achieve goals, interact with one another to from social networks. I see myself depending a lot on others everyday. Effective communication is hence vital in helping me build meaningful relationships with others and maintain social ties.

To sum up, I believe that possessing effective communication skills helps me to:

1) Be understood

2) Understand others

3) Build and maintain social ties

Hello Everyone!

Hello everyone,

Looking forward to a great sem with all of you guys!

Feel free to add me on fb, val005@hotmail.com.

Cheers,

Valerie (: