#6 Reflection on Learning

The past 13 weeks have been one of the most memorable moments in university life so far.

I have had the opportunity to meet new people, practice on essential communication skills, and learn how to be a professional communicator.

I started this journey a little apprehensively, a little worried that I would not be an effective communicator. It began at peer teaching, when I realized that many things that I was doing that was not professional. I was rocking a little back and forth, and did not use much gestures. At first, I thought it was fine, but I learnt in class that I could improve. I did not know that the little gestures that I made could be distracting to some. I also did not realize the power of non-verbal communication. From the lessons and from watching others, I certainly have learnt how to use gestures purposefully and appropriately now.

One of the areas that I felt that I have improved the most was in the preparation of my resume and cover letter. Honestly, I did not think much of the cover letter or resume. I thought that it was just something that people with good grades could use. I really did not feel that I could use the cover letter to my advantage. Later in the course, I realize that the cover letter would be the first thing that the interviewer would read and that it should be written well. I need to be able to stand out among the sea of applicants. I spent some time and effort, trying to write my cover letter as concisely and as clearly as I can, but I believe that there is still much to improve. I am glad that I can apply this knowledge even as I prepare to search for internships and for a job in the future.

I did not regret this decision that I made to take Professional Communication, despite being hesitant at first. I have certainly profited, and this may be the most important soft skill that I will learn in school.

I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Section 4, and Dr. Radhika for your feedback and understanding. I wish you all the best in the future, especially those that are graduating. May you truly be a professional communicator in your future workplace.

#5 Reflection on Presentation

Practice, practice, practice.

All I need to do is practice, I thought as I prepared for the presentation.

Honestly, I was a little worried about this presentation as I had much more content to present. I had prepared certain words and phrases that I wanted to use during the presentation, but was unable to do so as I was too anxious. I wanted to use notes, but I know I should not. When I have notes, I tend to read off the notes and be less expressive. I tried to cram everything into my head.

It wasn't easy. In fact, it was pretty difficult to translate my thoughts to words simply by looking at the slides. I wasn't about to give up. I practiced quite a number of times. And practice really helps.

The use of slides really helped to trigger what I wanted to say, especially since my portion was content heavy. Initially, I wanted to each bullet point to appear as I clicked, but I decided against it when I practiced and found out that I had nothing to trigger my thoughts.

To build up confidence for each presentation, I had to ensure that I really knew the content well. This would give me confidence not only for the presentation, but for Q&A as well. I believe that knowing the content well would generally translate to a better presentation.

Nonetheless, I feel that I can do better, especially in organizing my thoughts. My thoughts tend to be quite messy, and it can be quite bad when I verbalize them. To some, it could sound like stuttering.

With better organization, I definitely believe that I would be a better presenter in the future.

All I need is just to practice, practice, practice.