ES2007S Group 3 Rocks!!!

Image from: http://s148.photobucket.com/albums/s4/karsmi123/yr/yr001.jpg

Can anyone believe that 12 weeks of a semester have just whizzed pass all of us once again? It is hard to believe, but the reality is, it just did! Time really flies. But, one important question remain unanswered-Have I gain anything after 12 weeks of this intensive communication module?

Looking back at my first blog posting, I have identified my two main flaws in my communication skills: oral and written communication. Up till this moment, I have yet to face my greatest fear of presenting in front of an audience. Having said that, this does not mean that I have gained nothing at all in terms of improving my oral communication skills. Instead, I have polished my oral communication skills through interactions with my project mates, participating in mock job interviews and weekly class discussions. After witnessing three awesome performances by Travis's, Alvin's and Thomas's groups, the pressure is on Jia Hao, Sharon and myself to give our best shot in our oral presentation this coming Monday.

What about the progress of my written communication skills? The major assessments of this module such as the survey report, resume, job application letter and blogging have given me ample opportunity to improve on my written communication skills. I have learned the do's and don'ts of writing a good survey report, and I have put all the skills I have learned in this course into my term project for a sociology module this semester. Besides, I have learnt the important aspects of constructing an impressive resume and job application letter and this will certainly aid me in my future job application.

Besides improving on my oral and written communication skills, I have gained an in-depth appreciation of the importance of non-verbal communication and the netiquette in composing emails. On the whole, this course have made me a better communicator. I believe that this module has ignited my interest to challenge and break myself free from the fears of public speaking. I will continue to improve myself through other channels of communication such as the NUS Toastmaster Club.

Before signing off for the last time, I would like to extend my gratitude to Sharon and Jia Hao for giving their best, and bringing out the best in me during the process of brainstorming, planning, organizing and writing the survey report. I believe that we will do well in the upcoming oral presentation. Thanks also to Yilin, Bao Qing, Seaming and Sharon for giving constructive feedback on my blogs and not forgetting the remaining members of Group 3!

Last but not least, I would like to extend many thanks to our beloved sinseh, Mr. Blackstone for offering his valuable advices and feedbacks on my work and personal problems. You rock, Brad!!!

All the best to each and everyone of you. It has been a pleasure knowing all of you.

DanTheMan...signing off...

Who else but ME?

Pictures: Me, myself and I [Long time ago though =) ]

I am Danny Wong San Liang, a 23 year-old Malaysian male student who is currently pursuing an Honours degree in Chemistry at the National University of Singapore. Having a background in Chemistry enables me to develop good analytical and critical thinking skills that can be integrated into many aspects of life including in my future workplace. I am a disciplined, principled, determined and organized individual who constantly seeks self-improvement. I firmly believe in lifelong learning as this constant upgrading of personal knowledge, job skills and transferable skills allows me to compete effectively in the fast-changing world. Besides that, I believe that good communication and leadership skills are vital to a person's overall growth and I actively participate in the Toastmaster Club to improve these skills. Being an avid traveller, I am also interested in exploring new countries and making new friends. My ambition? To become a successful entrepreneur that focus not only on profits but also on environment sustainability issues. I am certain that with my personal traits, communication and leadership qualities, I will be able to realise my ambition of becoming a successful entrepreneur and thus, achieving financial independence in the near future.

It's time for REFLECTION

*This picture was taken during one of my vacation trips on my Student Exchange Program (SEP) in New Zealand.

It has almost been a month; a month of hard work and perseverance which has been put into making a successful survey report. It started out when our "shifu", Mr. Brad Blackstone, made random selections among the students in Group 3 to form their respective groups for the survey project.

Honestly speaking, I had no preference on who to work with because I enrolled into this class by myself with the goal of becoming a better communicator. Furthermore, I wanted to make new friends and to learn to work with others more efficiently. Hence, it was finally decided that Jia Hao, Sharon and I would be working together on this project. I had known Sharon a week earlier than Jia Hao since Sharon was my blogging buddy.

The three of us hit it off pretty well from the start. We began to know each other better through class discussions and meetings outside of class. Even though, Sharon, Jia Hao and I are studying different majors, we managed to find common time to meet up and discuss details of the project. The journey we went through—from deciding on a topic, researching on the topic, designing and finalizing the questionnaires, compiling and interpreting the survey findings, and finally coming up with the complete survey report—was not easy.

It took our collective hard work, good job allocation and efficient time management to produce our near complete report draft for peer reviewing on Monday 6th October 2008. Presently, we have completed the survey report after editing 11 drafts. The remaining step now is the final scrutiny before the submission deadline on Monday 13th October 2008.

During this time, we had progressed from total strangers to good friends. I am glad that we are able to bond with each other without any interpersonal conflict. Furthermore, I have gained new exposure to the process of conducting a survey and writing a survey report. As a Chemistry student, previously I had only been exposed to writing laboratory reports.

All in all, it was an enriching journey. I have learnt new skills related to conducting research and improving my communication skills. Most importantly, I have gained new friends from this project and from Group 3. Cheers.

Do NOT Call them "Mamak"

Image from: http://www.360dhr.com/Mamak%20Conspiracy.jpg

Roti prata, roti canai, sup tulang (bone soup), mee goreng 'mamak', maggi goreng (fried maggi noodles), teh tarik and your favourite Barclay Premier League matches shown on projector televisions. Sounds familiar? Of course it sounds familiar. Most Singaporeans and Malaysians would probably have tried out all these cheap and delicious food while watching their favourite football clubs in action at their favourite Indian/Muslim food stall or restaurant.

These Indian/Muslim food stalls have been one of my favourite places to hang out with friends. Reasons? The food is great and the price is affordable. These outlets are normally owned by the Indians/Muslims themselves and most of the workers are of the same religious background.

I remembered an unforgettable experience that I witnessed years ago at one of these Indian/Muslim restaurants back in Johor Bahru where I came from. A conflict started when a group of Chinese teenagers, who were seated several tables away from me and my friends, called one of the waiters to take orders.

All this seemed fine, but the Chinese teenager addressed the waiter as "Mamak". "Mamak" basically refers to Indian/Muslim, but in a very crude manner. In fact, all the waiters in the restaurant, including the owner himself, heard the teenager addressing the particular waiter as "Mamak". This spelt big trouble as it did not go well with the Indian/Muslim people at all. The waiters and the owner were fuming and proceeded to the table where the Chinese teenagers were seated and started a row with them. This matter escalated to a whole new level when both parties started hauling racial remarks at one another. I sensed that something worse could happen and immediately called the police. And guess what happened next? Chairs were flying in the air and cutlery were targeted at the opposing sides.

My friends and I quickly dashed out of the restaurant to avoid from getting hurt. Soon enough, the police came and took the Chinese teenagers and the Indian/Muslim waiters to the police station. Some of the Chinese teenagers and Indian/Muslim waiters suffered superficial wounds. The whole restaurant was in a total mess as the tables, chairs and cutlery were broken or misplaced. I imagine that worse things could have unfolded if the police had arrived later.

Luckily, all customers were unhurt and most of us actually had a "free treat" since we did not manage to pay our bills. However, this is one of the "free treats" that I would rather not have.

The moral of the story is: Never insult other religions or groups of people from different races as this will only bring hatred and dissatisfaction. Living in a multi-racial and multi-religion country such as Malaysia, the Chinese teenagers should have known better about the importance of preserving racial harmony. They should also have known that calling Indian/Muslims as "Mamak" is an insult to them. The teenagers could have called the waiters in the conventional methods such as showing hand signals or even "whistling" at them (although it is not so polite to do so) but they chose to take the "forbidden route" instead. Respect is the key to racial harmony and I believe Malaysians do not want to experience a repeat of what happened on the fateful day of 13th May 1969.

Less Paper Please!

Image adopted from: http://www.mnispi.org/cartoon/2003/source/Paperless_Training.gif

The invention of paper have changed the way humans communicate with each other. We are able to communicate more effectively by exchanging ideas and opinions through writing. In addition, different languages can be taught more efficiently with the combination of verbal and written materials.

In recent decades, efforts in creating an environmental-friendly and 'greener' world have been emphasised. Such efforts include recycling waste products, reducing carbon emission, improving energy efficiency and reducing paper usage.

The effort of reducing paper usage has intensified in recent years. For example, most academic and non-academic journals can be found online in soft copy instead of the usual printed copy that we can find in the library. Books, magazines and newspapers are other examples of items that can be found online although to a lesser extend compared to the former. Some universities in the world even took the initiative to permit their students to submit assignments and projects in soft copy via online submission website such as Turnitin.

Research Question
What will the reaction of NUS students be on the feasibility to make tests, quizzes and examinations in NUS, paperless?


Hypothesis
NUS students are supportive of the movement to make tests, quizzes and examinations paperless in the near future.


Problem Statement
The objective of this study is to determine the level of acceptance of NUS students on the issue of making tests, quizzes and examinations paperless.


Purpose Statement
The objective of the survey report is to highlight the possibility of implementing a paperless system to conduct future tests, quizzes and examinations in NUS to the NUS administration especially the examination committee.

Reasons for Attidunal Survey

An attidunal survey is required to gather and collate the views of NUS students regarding the implementation of the "paperless" system for future tests, quizzes and examinations in NUS. This survey can also highlight the worries faced by the students if this "paperless" system is implemented.

It's ALL your Girlfriend's Fault!!!

Conflict between people is a fact of life and can occur in all level of interactions- between relationship partners, within family and among friends. It is important to manage interpersonal conflict in order to maintain a long lasting and rewarding relationship. However, managing interpersonal conflict is no easy task. Conflict can be productive if it is handled and resolved using effective communication techniques.

This week blog post features an example of interpersonal conflict between both my parents and me. Being the only child in the family, I have experienced different types of interpersonal conflict with my parents.

An example will be their high expectation of me to excel in my studies. Since my secondary school years and up to junior college, I have been excelling both in my academics and extra-curricular activities. Everyone, including my parents, teachers and relatives, thought highly of me and felt that I will become a very successful man in my later years.

However, this reality of becoming a successful man in the future seems to have become a faraway dream ever since I was in NUS. My academic results have been not been up to par to my own expectations if compared to my previous academic results and my passion for extra-curricular activities has slowly dissipated into thin air. The permanent negative slope on my computed CAP score over the three years in NUS really makes me frustrated and depressed at times.

The conflict arose when my parents attributed my deteriorating CAP score to the fact that I have a girlfriend. They think that having a girlfriend during schooling years (this include university) will do more harm than good to my studies. Having a girlfriend (to my parents) can be distracting to my pursuit of knowledge in the university. I have tried to explain to them the various reasons for my deteriorating academic results but they will always assert that it is the “girlfriend” factor that does the damage.

Are there any other better ways to convince my parent that there are other factors that can affect my academic results other than the “girlfriend” factor? How can I convince my parents that having a girlfriend has its own advantages as well?

#1

Image adopted from http://www.sexualhealthcentresaskatoon.ca/par/comm.htm

Have you ever been impressed by someone who can deliver an inspiring speech or presentation? Have you ever wondered what makes them such successful communicators? Do you wish that you could be like them as well? I guess these three questions might have resurfaced in my mind several times; especially when I get to witness an inspiring presentation, be it a seminar, talk or presentations.

So what actually determines the success of a presentation, particularly in an oral presentation? According to a research done by Dr. Robert Merabian from the University of California, he listed three important channels of communication information: Word, tone and body. Word can be defined as the type of language used to convey the message; tone is the sound in speaking and body is the way we look and move when delivering a presentation. He concluded from his research that body has the highest total impact of a spoken language (56%) followed by tone (34%) and word (10%).

Certainly, oral communication skills cannot be mastered in a day or two. They can be improved and polished with every presentation that we make. For myself, I would consider oral communication skills to be my major concern among the other communication skills. In my opinion, having good oral communication skills enables a presenter to convey his/her messages across to the audience in a precise and understandable manner. Furthermore, a major plus point would be to make the presentation “catchy”, meaning that it will be able to attract the attention of the audience from the start of the presentation till the end of it. To be able to achieve this, the presenter must equip him/herself with other communication skills such as non-verbal communication skills and interpersonal communication skills. Certainly, personality and charisma of an individual is important to determine the success of an oral presentation.

Written communication skill is another part of the communication skills that I hope to improve on. As you are reading my blog, you would might think that my postings are not as exciting and intriguing as the others. Often, I will be “stuck” in a situation where I could not continue my writing anymore because I was just unable to articulate and find the right words to put it into my writing. (You will never guess how many times I have struggled with writing this first posting) However, please be assured that I am working hard on making my future blog posts more interesting and exciting to read.

That is all for this first blog post. Thanks for reading.