Reflection for SIE2016 Effective Communication

Over the course of this module, I have learnt many valuable and useful skills that I know will help me in the future, be it applying for a job or in my profession. Thinking back to the first few weeks of class, I recall the goals that I have initially set for myself to address my weaknesses in the English language which are grammar, punctuation and sentence structures. When doing the various assignments, I initially struggled as I checked my assignments for any grammar mistakes and errors in sentence structures, I would usually spend hours staring at my work, wondering if I have used the language properly. I personally find the part where we comment on each other’s blog extremely useful and foundation for helping me to get to where I am today. By commenting and receiving comments, I can better sharpen my use of grammar, punctuation and sentence structures. Now I am more confident in my use of language and I make it a point to analyze sentences that I read and think of how they could have been written better. At the end of the day, this is a module I truly enjoy a lot as I get to see myself grow in my use of language with results to speak for it. I feel a sense of accomplishment and am satisfied with what I went through.

One major lesson that I will take away from doing the proposal project as a team is to accept and compliment the various strengths and weaknesses in the group. I came to realize, accept and be grateful for the diversity in my group, each member contributes in his/her own way through the project. Through group interactions, I learned that I am a very reserved person and I tend to keep a lot of things to myself. For example, there was once that a sentence structure was wrong while we were reviewing the report and I did not sound out to my group, instead, I just edited what was wrong on my own. As I pondered over this incident, I realized how not informing my group mates of the changes would leave them in the dark about certain aspects of the project. This is a lack of accountability and being a team player on my part and can hinder team dynamics in communication. Upon this realization, I want to open up and grow in the area of being a team player by being accountable.

In all honesty, I dreaded the idea of presenting for the showcase. The reason was that I hated talking in front of a crowd, I get very nervous. Though the nervousness still has not gone away, I have learned to come to enjoy telling people about what I have found, the simple and pure joy of sharing with others, through the various presentations. I believe that one of my strengths in presentations is the confidence that I have in presenting my idea to others. This confidence is founded on effort put into research and faith in the relevance of what I am presenting. One weakness I noticed in my presentations is that I can sometimes speak too monotonously. As I evaluated, I noticed that I do this subconsciously when I am too engrossed into things. As such, I make a conscious effort to speak slightly slower and allow the joy of sharing knowledge overflow through the tones I use.