ES2007 Blog post #6: Reflection

I have learned many things about effective and professional communication after this course. What I love most in this module is that I learned everything in an interactive manner. We participated in many different activities, but not only one lecturing style like many other modules in NUS. From these activities and the debrief sessions, we gained lessons for ourselves. I believe the teaching style made the learning process very effective and interesting.

An example of this is the mock interview sessions. In the activity, we had chance to play the roles of both interviewees and interviewers. By standing from the position of an interviewer, we could think like interviewers and see what they may expect from interviewees. And also, we could learn from others on how they did in the interview. Each person has a very unique style and by sitting in many different mock interviews I could picked up some effective interview tips from my fellows for myself. If the class was conducted in lecturing style, we could learn from what teachers tell us only. Moreover, since I participated in the activity, what I actively picked up for myself will be much more enduring.

Another thing I love in this module is the way Brad made us work with different classmates in different activities. This helped me to have chance to interact with everyone in the class, which I could not have in other modules. There are more than just things I could learn from them. We have become really good friends. This class has always made me feel happy to come. I always came to class with an expectation of new experience. Also, I felt I was much more confident in this class thank to the support and encouragement from all of you. For example, during presentation, sometimes I feel nervous and start thinking to myself whether I’m saying anything stupid. However, in this class, I have never felt that way. I saw you all still listening to me and I was encouraged to continue the presentation. And in the final oral presentation, I have one of the best moments in my university life when for the first time I put myself in the presentation. I presented with my emotion and belief in it.

Although after taking this module, I could not become an effective communicator right away, it gave me a lot of useful lessons which will help me to continue learning to how to communicate effectively.

Thank you and all the best for your final exams J Hope to see you around J

ES2007S Blog post #5: Oral Presentation Reflection

Together with my teammates I had a good time doing the oral presentation. Our group and others in the class all have done very well. For me I think I made a huge improvement as compared to all my previous presentation in NUS.

Some of my strengths are
- I fully controlled the content of my part without memorizing the script. This surprised me since previously I always wrote full script and memorized it.
- I maintained eye contact and volume quite well, good gestures and standing position, much better as compared to the peer teaching session.
- The slides were clear and concise. This style of no bullet points is new to me but I found it's very effective when you present some topics that require emotional appeals. On the other hand, bullet point style is useful for presenting information in details.
- And the most thing which I think makes me satisfied with this presentation is my confidence. Previously in the peer teaching session and even other presentations in different modules I took, I did feel nervous a lot and when I did I forgot everything I prepared. This in turn badly affected my eye contacts, volume (which was eventually softer), and etc. I guess because I put a lot of thoughts on my part which is to argue for smokers' right, I was really confident and enthusiastic to present it.

My weaknesses:
-  During the presentation, I'm always looking at others' reactions and think myself whether they understand me. This eventally distracts me from controlling my voice (as I am nervous my voice will get softer). In this presentation it happened a few times.
- I did not interact with the audiences.At some points I intended to make some interaction bet most of the time I was afraid their response would be out of my control, which might make it difficult to continue my part.

Nevertheless, with all the new things I have learned through the oral presentation assignment, I really believe that it will help me to develop good presentation skills.

ES2007S Blog post #4: Intercultural conflict

I directly involved in an intercultural conflict when I was in high school. It happened in my English class in an English education center in Hanoi. My teacher is American. Students in the class are mostly high school students, undergrads and postgraduates. The conflict happened during the discussion session in class. When the teacher asked the class for their opinions, none of the students said anything. The teacher kept asking but no one dared to speak. He stopped asking and his face was so red. The awkward silence lasted for few minutes till the teacher said “Excuse me” and went out of the room. We were all shocked and decided to have the oldest student in the class to go talking to the teacher. Still, the class at that day was canceled. In the following lesson, the teacher shared to us that he had talked to his Vietnamese friends and understood why we did not speak during the discussion. However, he encouraged to be more active and participated in the discussion, at least just in our class. Afterwards, the situation got better. Although we all were still quite shy, we eventually spoke more in the class.

The reason for the conflict is the difference between Vietnam and US education. In Vietnam, education is teacher-centered. Teachers are gurus who transfer personal wisdom and initiate all communication in the class. Students are expected to respect teachers by listening and doing what they are told to do. Also, discussion between teachers and students is not encouraged in class. On the other hand, US education is student-centered according to what the teacher shared with us. Teachers and students are equal. Students can initiate some communication in the class. And teachers are experts who transfer impersonal truths and their main role is to help students to learn.

What I learned from the conflict is adaptation. In intercultural communication, it is not about which is better or what is right or wrong, but it is how one person can adapt to the situation that counts. 

ES2007S Blog post #3: Application letter

Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Jung Nguyen, a second-year undergraduate student from the National University of Singapore (NUS), majoring in Communication and New Media.

I am interested in applying for the intern position at Pepperconn. Based on my educational and co-curriculum activity experience, and perhaps more importantly because of my interest and enthusiasm, I believe I am well suited to the position offered by your company.

I have a keen interest in the field of marketing communication and particularly social media. I am currently pursuing this interest through my study and participation in enrichment activities.

I actively participated in organizing “Dance Fest 2011” – an annual dance bash of Vietnamese Community in NUS. The event was held in Zirca Mega Club with the participation of a famous singer from Vietnam and over 200 visitors. As a publicity executive, I worked with my team to conceptualize and develop both printed and electronic publicity materials such as newsletters. I also did the maintenance of the event’s official website and Facebook page. Our event ended successfully and was covered by online newspapers. This activity helped me apply what I had learned during my course of study and also gain practical knowledge of media writing skills as well as social media marketing.

In addition, I worked as student assistant at Recruitment and Career Talks organized by NUS Career Center for ten months.  My role involves communicating directly with senior managers from companies as well as students to obtain their feedback and provide assistance promptly and efficiently. As a result, I developed good communication and interpersonal skills.

I believe with my skills that I have acquired, I am able to contribute as a part of Pepperconn’s team.

I welcome the opportunity to discuss with you further about the internship. I can be reached at +65 8108 5346 or dung.nguyen@nus.edu.sg

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Yours sincerely,

Jung Nguyen Phuong Dung (Ms.)

National University of Singapore - Faculty of Arts and Social Science

Communication and New Media

HP: (+65) 8108 5346

Email: dung.nguyen@nus.edu.sg

ES2007S Blog post #2: Resolving interpersonal conflict

Here I will share with you the conflict among four females who shared a small two-bedroom flat during summer vacation. All of them worked as fulltime interns in three months of the vacation. Therefore, they met each other only at night and went out together at weekends. They have known each other before living together, but not all of them are close friends.

Let’s call them A, B, C and D. Their relationships are quite complicated. B and C are close friends. Due to many similarities they share, those two tend to have same opinions about a lot of issues. Moreover, they know each other quite well, particularly about the other’s habits and daily routines since they had lived together before. Both of them are friends with D.

D had been friend with A. It was her who introduced A to the other two. B, C and D are the same age while A is one year younger than the rest.

Before living together, they have never had conflicts or misunderstandings. However, the conflict started when B did comment on A’s behaviors which unpleasantly affect the rest. For example, A often left her utensils dirty and sometimes others’ also, after using.

B is a caring and sweet girl. As she thought they were like sisters, she talked to A face-to-face about how A’s behaviors did influence on others. However, it made A feel embarrassing and annoying, which she expressed on her face. She told B directly that B did not need to tell her what to do. Those two started quarreling as B considered A’s action and attitude were unacceptable. In fact, both C and D agreed with B. However, since D was the one who had known A before the other two, she was afraid of expressing her disagreement. The quarrel then led to a cold war.

Now the question is what should each person involved do in order to resolve the conflict and improve their relationships as they still have to stay together? 

[Edited] ES2007S Blog post #1: Reasons why effective communication skills are important for me

Effective communication skills are very important for me because of two reasons. One is that these skills are essential for my future career in the field of communication. The other reason is just simple: effective communication helps me to enjoy my life.

My aim in the next five years is to become a PR practitioner. For a person working in the PR industry, the ability to communicate effectively is a must.

Quite a few people may think PR practitioners are good at telling lies to the public in order to cater to their clients' interest. However, it is not the practice of PR professionals. The role of PR is to do strategic communication management in order to establish and maintain the mutual beneficial relationship between organization and its public. Moreover, the practitioners are required to interact with people from all walks of life. Therefore, there is no doubt that effective communication skills are the key for me to achieve my aim.

Not only is effective communication needed for my future career but it is also necessary for me to enjoy the life. As human beings, we communicate every day, just as we eat and sleep. Communication happens in many things we do such as talking, singing or even writing a blog post as I am doing now. However, successful communication is not always guaranteed since the skills are not something we were born with. An example is when a person want to share his/her happiness with someone else but that person do not get it, or even think that the first person is showing off. In that case, the shared happiness that was supposed to be doubled now leads to misunderstanding and inconvenience.

To conclude, I believe my life would be so much easier if I am able to communicate effectively. No one was born to be good at communicating and I am by no means an exception to that. As such, improving communication skills is my top priority in order to have a successful career as well as an enjoyable life.

ES2007S Blog post #1: Reasons why effective communication skills are important for me

Effective communication skills are very important for me because of two reasons. One is that these skills are essential for my future career in the field of communication. The other reason is just simple: effective communication helps me to enjoy my life.

My aim in the next five years is to become a PR practitioner. For a person working in the PR industry, the ability to communicate effectively is a must.

Quite a few people may think PR practitioners are good at telling lies to the public for the interest of their clients. However, it is not the practice of PR professionals. The role of PR is to do strategic communication management in order to maintain the mutual beneficial relationship between organization and its public. Moreover, the practitioners are required to interact with people from all walks of life. Therefore, it is no doubt that effective communication skills are the key for me to achieve my aim.

Not only does effective communication is needed for my future career but it is also necessary for me to enjoy the life. As human beings, we communicate every day, just as we eat and sleep. We do talking, singing, phone calling, glancing or even writing a blog post as I am doing now. However, successful communication is not always guaranteed since the skills are not something we were born with. An example is when you want to share your happiness with someone but they do not get it, or even think that you are showing off. In that case, the shared happiness that was supposed to be doubled now leads to misunderstanding and inconvenience.

To conclude, I believe my life would be so much easier if I am able to communicate effectively. As no one was born to be good at communicating and I am not an exception, improving communication skills is my top priority in order to have a successful career as well as an enjoyable life.