12 weeks later, I am glad to say that this module Professional Communication has, without a doubt, offered me the skills which I wanted to pick up as well as skills that I have never thought that I can pick up through this course, such as being an active listener and making critical and constructive comments.

Some of the mock scenarios that we carried out, such as the interviews, have made me discover more about my strengths and weaknesses. I realised I was able to confidently answer the more challenging questions that my fellow student interviewers asked, on the contrary, I was stumped at simple questions such as telling more about myself. It is indeed time for some self-discovery.

The weeks spent on brainstorming ideas for the survey research project, fine-tuning the ideas, and finally to write out a formal report has taught me invaluable skills in report-writing. Thus here, I would like to thank Mrs Happy Goh for teaching us on how to write a good report and also advising my group on refining and improving our report. The 7Cs in writing and techniques to craft a good report, as well as resume, will definitely stay with me for a long time.

Working on the survey research project has exposed me to the different ways that each unique individual works. The sacred combination of effective communication, mutual understanding and good cooperation will undeniably result in good team work. It was a heartening experience interacting with my classmates as they share their personal experiences and opinions, either through the blogposts or classroom interactions. As such, I have especially gained a lot of invaluable insights.

Aside from the charismatic few who are born communicators, the rest of us will have to constantly improve our communication skills. As this module ends here, all of us will be proceeding to a new stage of being a good communicator.

Lastly, I would like to thank Mrs Happy Goh again for her guidance and for taking the trouble to go through our drafts one by one, as well as thanking my group mates, Nic and Joshua. It was an enriching experience working with them, despite the obstacles we faced. Nonetheless, it was these obstacles that made this project a memorable one.

I volunteered at homes and hospitals during university and the exposure to people from all walks of life has taught her to be empathetic towards the needy.

During my secondary and college days, I was an active sportsperson and competed in sports such as dragon boating and canoeing as I loved the adrenalin rush during racing. I also enjoyed the process of training hard for months just to prepare for a minutes-long race. Being able to see improved results brings me greater satisfaction instead. My involvement in sports has honed me into an effective team player who is able to cooperate with others as well as someone who is independent enough to work towards her personal goals.

While working as customer service assistant at a bank, I acquired the skills of dealing customers and enjoyed the challenge of dealing with difficult customers. Working at the bank has taught me the importance of disseminating accurate information and that effective communication is crucial to prevent hiccups at work.

Right now, I hope to have opportunities to be exposed to different things so as to broaden my horizons and to prepare for my future career.

From information available on the internet, there are unbelievably many rules to follow for good dining etiquette. This ranges from ways to deal with the napkin to the handling of the different types of food. Hence, I shall pick out 2 items to discuss about here.

There are 2 methods when using the fork and knife. For Continental style, hold the knife in the right hand and fork in the left hand. After which, eat food with fork still in the left hand.

Similarly for the American style, cut food with the fork in left hand and knife in right hand. Cut only one piece at a time. The difference between the 2 styles is, after cutting the food, the American style requires one to switch the fork to the right hand. Bring the food up to your mouth with the tines on the fork facing upward. Don’t stab your food or hold the silverware with your fists. And be careful not to gesture or point with your silverware, whether or not it has food on it. Once used, your utensils, including the handles, should not touch the table again. Always rest forks, knives, and spoons on the side of your plate or in the bowl.

With regards to handling the napkin, it should be left on the lap till the end of the meal. If one is excusing from the table, he or she should fold the napkin loosely and place it on the side of the plate. The napkin should not be clump up on the table or left on the chair. In addition, it should not be used to clean the cutlery or wipe the face, and using it to wipe the nose is the last thing one should do. At the end of the meal, the napkin should be semi-folded at the left side of the setting and should not be crumpled or folded.

There are already so much miniature details on handling just a piece of cloth that we used to think it is just for wiping the mouth. Thus, we can see that having a good and thorough knowledge on dining etiquette is no easy task. However, I believe this knowledge can be slowly attained through experiences.

This incident took place near a market which the guide brought the tour group to for some shopping.

While resting outside the market, a middle-aged Vietnamese woman went up to a fellow tour-mate, S, and started touting her items to her. S declined politely at first; however, the woman still refused to leave. Irritated, S raised her voice slightly at the woman, telling her in Mandarin and in a determined tone that she has no intention of buying anything from her. The woman got her message and left after that.

A few minutes later, S saw the woman making an attempt to tout her items to a Caucasian guy. Initially, the Caucasian shook his head, indicating that he was not interested. The woman, being ever so determined, started following him around and pushing her items to him. The Caucasian declined politely again in simple English. But the stubborn woman still refused to leave him alone. Unable to hold back his irritation anymore, the Caucasian shouted at the woman in his heavy American accent, telling her to leave him alone, and started hurling vulgarities at the shocked woman. Despite the woman not understanding English, she could easily guess that she was being insulted and started shouting back at the Caucasian in Vietnamese. The Caucasian tourist threw her the classic vulgar hand sign and left hurriedly after that.

These two people were from two culturally different environments. One was taught to express his opinions freely in his home country while the other knew that more money would mean a better life.

If only there was a more effective way for them to communicate, albeit the cultural difference, this dramatic shouting war might not have occurred at all.

29 January 2009

Mr. Chan Jack Kie
Blk 110A Rivervale Crest
#03-121 Singapore 001110

 Dear Mr. Chan,

Thank you for taking the time to speak to me yesterday concerning our employment opening. I have reviewed your work history, educational background, and goals.

I appreciate your honesty and open-mindedness during our conversation but feel that your credentials are not an appropriate match for the current open position. Many applications have been reviewed and another applicant has been selected for this position.

If you would like to apply for another open position within the company, you may feel free to do so at any time. Your application will be placed on file for 90 days.

Please accept my best wishes for the future.

Yours sincerely,
Lee Lily (Ms)
Manager (Human Resource)

Critique

Firstly, the format of the letter was appropriate. The required fields such as the recipient’s address and name, salutation, complimentary close and the sender’s name were stated accurately. However, there was no subject heading for this letter for turning down a job candidate.

Although this letter serves to inform the recipient of the negative news that he was not being offered the job, the recipient was not put down tartly and courtesy was maintained throughout the letter. Take for instance, the writer stated her thanks and appreciation for the writer in the first and second paragraphs.

The language of this letter was formal and grammatically correct, reflecting well on the writer’s credibility as a professional.

This letter has obeyed that rule of completeness too. It informed the reader that the recipient was allowed for another job application as well as stated the time frame that his application will be placed on file.

On the other hand, this letter was not concise to a certain extent. Instead of beating about the bush, saying that many applications were reviewed and the recipient’s credentials was not appropriate for the job, the writer should have just write in a straight-forward manner that she regret to inform the recipient that he has not been successful in his job application.

All in all, this letter still conveyed its message clearly and the sentences were logically linked such that the reader can easily understand the content.

Due to the recession, John has run into some debts and faces financial difficulties. He bought some goods from your company quite some time ago and has yet to make the payment. Being John’s friend, you have already extended the payment date for him. However, your boss has started pressurizing you in collecting the money from John otherwise he will bring the case to court.

John asked you out one day on a personal basis and talked about the difficulties his company is facing now. He understood that he is unable to delay payment any longer and desperately hoped that you can help him by documenting some fake accounts. He promised that he will pay up as soon as possible after he has tide over the hard times.

You are facing a dilemma now because John has been a great help to you when your family faced some problems years ago. You felt indebted to him but the favour he has asked for is against the law.

Now that it is law or friendship, what should you do to resolve the dilemma? Can the friendship be kept while ensuring no law is being broken at the same time?

Developing effective communication skills is important to me as I will be stepping into the workforce in a few years’ time, and through past working experiences, I realized communicating effectively is really an essential aspect in the working place. There will always be interactions between colleagues and between one and one’s customers. Getting the right information across is a must, because any form of miscommunication between two parties will get either party into trouble as someone just have to answer for it, whether you are guilty of it or not. Hence, I would say it is a much-needed practical skill.

Aside from the workplace, effective communication in the home is also essential. Take for instance; as one is growing up, he will start to have his own ideas, such as what university to go to, which job to take up, whether to buy a car and the list goes on. This is when you need to explain to your parents the reasons behind your decisions without making yourself look like a stubborn and ignorant five-year-old kid.

On a personal note, I think I am a better listener rather than a speaker. I always feel that I could learn more by listening to the opinions of many different people. Speaking well, however, has not always been my forte as I feel that it is rather difficult to gauge whether my listeners’ attention is still on me, or whether it is time I stop my speech. I hope to learn to present myself better as well as to be a better speaker in the future.   

Communication is a discipline that spans from interpersonal to intercultural to international. It is a skill that we need to constantly improve on, especially in today’s global village.