Critical reflection on SIE 2016 Effective Communications

Through the Effective Communications module I have undertaken in the past 13 weeks, I have to comment that it has been both fruitful and taxing.  As mentioned previously, my initial aim for this module was to improve my presentation skills and professional image.  Instead, I had discovered that my underlying weakness was actually writing (clarity/sentence structure). This has definitely come as a shocker to me where I was never explicitly evaluated.

Fortunately, the course has provided ample opportunity to practice my writing skills and this ranges from formal writing to technical essay. These assignments have certainly built my writing confidence and will be beneficial in time to come. In addition, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Professor Brad’s unstinting support. Upon each assignment, he would patiently address each individual‘s strengths/weaknesses and explained how progression could be made. This was indeed one of the key takeaways as I am a firm believer that “By seeking blundering, we learn”.

Having comprehensive writing also correlates to verbal communication. In the module of learning, the class was often tasked to do mock and ‘tabletop’ presentations.  After each session, I am always intrigued by the constructive feedbacks that were given by my peers and professor.  During my final presentation I was being critiqued on “hand in the pocket too often” and “repetitive transition words”.  Only through these evaluations, it enforces me to be more self-aware in the future and to deter such mentioned involuntary weaknesses.

The SIE2016 presentation showcase has given me an eye-opening experience, where it was a spectacular show being put up. However, there was this particular presenter in team PEWS that I felt was in the limelight. The gentleman was clear and concise, most importantly engaging. He uses a lot of impactful visuals along with smooth transitions, which clearly illustrated his point. One of the most important factors which I had observed is that he was using basic terminology to explain the entire technical project. He was able to display his compassion, where even a profession from another field could understand. In a nutshell, this presentation showcase was certainly an insightful event.

Sadly, effective communication has always been overlooked especially in the information age. Hoping in the near future, it will be one of a progressive module that is made mandatory in every single semester. It will be great knowing the future of our generation is honed with successful communicators.