[07] Final Reflection

It may sound cliche but I really learnt a lot more about communication than I thought I would. All the activities and assignments have reminded us of the importance of effective communication.

"I forget what I was taught. I only remember what I have learnt."

This is a quote by Patrick White and with that, let's see what I can remember without any reference.

Science of Effective Communication
Non verbal communication can come in many forms and is definitely something that we should take note of. Active listening brings out the point that it takes both the senders and receivers to contribute to effective communication.

Science of Oral Communication
While I am no stranger to using powerpoint to facilitate presentations, pointers from garr renolds showed me how we could use powerpoint to enhance our presentations. It is definitely

Science of Written communication
Needless to say, the key to the science of written communication is the 7Cs of effective writing. Concreteness, concise, correctness, completeness and coheresion. Unfortunately, that all I can remember. Well, this can imply that these are the elements that comes to my mind are the ones that I have to improve on.

Science of Job search communication

Initially, I thought that I would not get much out from this section. This is because I have a job and might not need to seek for one in the near future. However, I realised that while we are constructing our CVs and cover letters, we have to review our achievements, skills and qualifications. This can definitely serve as a guide to self-improvement.

Conclusion
I am really glad that I took this module. The way to mastering the art and science of communication is a long one but the module have helped to paved it. I really hope to be able to apply what I have learnt and to learn from what I have applied.

All the best for the coming examinations! =)

[06] Biodata

Tan Ching is a third year undergraduate majoring in Chemistry at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

He is an active volunteer with the NUS Students' Community Service Club. While experiencing the joy of sharing and giving, Tan Ching has learnt to be more patient and sensitive to the needs of others. He had the opportunity to organize many projects and events for the less fortunate and hopes to be able to apply what he has learnt and to learn from what he has applied.

Besides community service, Tan Ching hopes to contribute back to the society by teaching. By sharing his experiences and being a role model, he would like to encourage his students to contribute more to our society. He aspires to be a teacher who can inspire and challenge his students to dream, image and create.

Tan Ching is also interested in graphic designing and video editing which allow him to express his creativity.

[05] Baby Cries

An infant's cry annouces the beginning of a new life. While babies do not have spoken words, infant crying becomes one of the most important form of communication. It appears that, on exploring the uniqueness of infants' cries, different cries can be described to signal infants' different needs.

Some examples of unique cries are the basic cry, the anger cry and pain cry. Basic cry a rythmic pattern formed by a cry, then brief silence, then a short inspiratory whistle that is higher in pitch and a quick rest before the next cry. Anger cry is a variation of the basic cry with more air forced through vocal chords. Pain cry is characterized by both a sudden loud cry with moaning and a long initial cry followed by a breathing period.

While excessive crying can cause much frustration and stress within the family, crying allows infants to build close relationships to those who respond to their needs. Crying is one of the veyr first forms of communication.

Food for thought
According to a study of over 300 adults, on average, men cry once every month, and women cry at least five times per month. We've seen how crying is a form of communication before we learnt to talk and express ourselves. Now that we are adults, how is crying still a form of communciation?

[04] Evaluating Intercultural Behaviors

Food is culture. The food we eat not only represents our traditions, history, geography but also our cultural adaptability. And through food, we can explore one's culture. In light of that, my friends and I arranged for a food festival when on an overseas community involvement project to Cambodia last December. We prepared some of our local delicacies such as chicken curry and bak kut teh for lunch while the villagers prepared dinner for the cultural exchange.


The villagers prepared a well balanced spread and were excited to see our response after tasting their dishes. There was this dish that stood out amongst the rest. It was some stir fried vegetables which was so bitter that it numbed our tongues. We thought we should be polite and should not show that we are picky and choosy especially when the villagers were standing around us, watching us as we eat. We divided the vegetables into six portions for each of us at the table and at the count of three, we finished our portions.

Then, a nice lady replenished the vegetables immediately. We wanted to stop her but did not know how we should go about doing it for fear that the villagers might think that we did not like the vegetables.

From the interesting episode, we gathered that in Cambodia, the hosts will try not to leave plates empty. It was different from what we had expected. It did not occur to us that they would replenish the food. My guess was that the nice host misinterpreted our smiles when we finished the vegetables. Nevertheless, it was an interesting experience which not only introduced us to their food, but also the way the Cambodians eat their food.

[03] Business Letter Critique

I received this letter about a week ago from the National Library Board (NLB), informing me on the changes to the library policy.

Click on image to view letter

Courtesy

In the letter, the You-attitude was adopted and readers were provided with benefit materials. Courtesy is important in this context as the NLB seeks the cooperation of library members to provide and promote responsible use of public library resources.

The letter was sent about 2 months before the new policy would be in place from 1 April 2009. This allows members to clarify any doubts and also to make arrangements to settle their fines and fees.


Correctness

While there were no errors which distracted the reader from focusing on the message, the claim that "if you return items on time, or do not accumulate fines and fees, then you will be unaffected by this change" might not be entirely true as the new policy of the renewing items for free would affect members who return items on time.


Conciseness and Clarity

In the letter, important information was clearly highlighted with appropriate bolding and underlining of the some part of the text. This helped readers to identify the main points by adding weight and clarity.

Click on image to view letter

An additional point to note was that a comic strip was included at the back of the letter. It presented the library policy changes in a concised and humorous manner.

Coherence and Cohesion
The writer informs the reader of the rationales behind the changes to current policies throughout the letter. The rationales were mentioned as an introduction at the beginning of the letter and was mentioned again after the changes to the policies were shared. However, the line "If you have already paid, please ignore this letter." suggests that NLB is more concerned with members paying their fines on top of all the rationales.

Concreteness
Specific and relevant information, such as the date in which the new policy will be in effect and the exact amount of fines and fees in the receipent's account, was provided. Also, the elaboration on the renewal of different type of library resources helped readers to better understand the new renewal charge system.

Completeness
In general, the letter is complete to a large extent. Members were informed of the changes to the library policies and on a personal note, it urged me to clear my fines. Perhaps members could be reminded of the various means of paying their fines and of how convenient they are in addition to the current content.

[02] Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

Last lunar new year, my family planned to watch a movie together. We got ourselves some popcorn and nachos and were looking forward to the movie. But just as I was about to enter the gantry, I was stopped by the movie theater attendant.

"Excuse me, can I check your I.D.?"

I was shocked for I was the only one asked to do so and my younger siblings had went in. Unfortunately, I left home in a hurry and was not carrying any I.D. for the NC-16 movie. My parents tried to explain and asked if it was alright to let me pass for once. However, the attendant insisted that she will not allow me in. She suggested that the rest of my family could watch the movie without me

My father was furious and told the attendant, in a pique, that all of us will not watch the movie then. The attendant responded immediately, offering to help us refund our tickets in a sharp tone. It fueled my father's anger and he started calling her an idiot repeatedly and that told her that she had spoiled our mood on the first day of the lunar new year. The attendant remained very calm but told my father to mind his language in a sharp tone.

We did not manage to watch the movie and decided to head back home instead. Before we left the box office, my father asked for her name but he did not do anything with it eventually.

If you were the attendant, how you have reacted to the furious customer? And on the other hand, what would you do when one of your family or friends was denied entry?

[01] Effective Communication Skills

Hi world,

I have been neglecting this form of communication for quite some time but thanks to this module, I’m a blogger again.

The Challenge

Communication is an essential life skill that we cannot do without and developing effective communication skills allows us to be able to convey our messages well and also trains us to be better receivers.

A teacher-to-be, it is important that I equip myself with effective communication skills. Like many other professions, communicating well with superiors, subordinates and colleagues helps in maintaining good relationships and a nice working environment. But what’s challenging, perhaps, would be to reach out to the students and their parents. It is where variety meets quantity. Here, the results of effective communications are reflected in the students’ grades and the partnership with parent.

Taking up the Challenge

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”

This quote by George Bernard Shaw suggests that the simple intent to reach out is actually a pretty complex process. I guess it is complex because communication comes in many forms, verbal, nonverbal, electronic, organic, through different mediums and the effectiveness of communication relies on both the sender and receiver. The uniqueness of the senders and receivers and the extent of their input and output add another dimension to the picture.

While we are studying the science of effective communication to appreciate and master the art of it, much of the thinking and developmental processes will definite be useful and can be applied to other aspects in life as well. It would be great if we would be able to apply what we have learnt and learn from what we have applied.

Food for thought

While I was drafting this blog post, a friend of mine commented that communication involves all our five senses: Touch, Sight, Smell, Hearing and Taste. While the sense of sight, touch and hearing is quite easily understood and wearing perfume can be an example of how smell comes into play in communication, how the sense of taste comes into the picture seems a little tricky. Has anyone got any ideas?