They say time flies after you hit 21, I think the same could be said with regards to this module. The past 12 weeks have gone by in a flash, and we have now come to the end of the semester. Although it was only a short 12 weeks (how I wish this would have been longer), the wealth of knowledge and experiences I have obtained is surprisingly immense.
The main reason why I had initially decided to take this module was the fact that it fitted nicely in my timetable, allowing me to function on a 3 day study week (For those of you who do not realise, know I get my Wednesdays and Thursday off something quite rare for a Science Major). However, I soon came to realise that this module actually had a plethora of knowledge to impart. I have yet to come across a module which imparts the skills taught in this module! These skills range from writing skills to presentation skills and even skills on non-verbal communication.
Besides the skills taught in this module, another great take away was the amount of feedback I received. Yet again I have never come across a module which had this much feedback. I got feedback on every single assignment I submitted. Feedback on every presentation I had. This module had a whole new definition of learning. For once in my university education, I could truly say I have learnt from the mistakes I made based on the feedback I received.
Finally, there were the hands on “practical” sessions we had. Yes, I am referring to the mock job interviews and oral presentation. I found that those were extremely helpful, as it allowed us to truly practise what we have learnt. On a side note, I would like to apologise to anybody whom I may have offended during the mock interviews or oral presentations. I was not trying to be mean or difficult.
I guess this is farewell for now. Thank you for the past 12 weeks, this has truly been the best module I have ever read in NUS.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Thinking upon Thinking
Finally, the oral presentation is over. What a great relief, although it does signal the last week of the semester and the start of reading week. Before I begin writing my reflections, I would first wish to thank my team members Emily and Kian Leong. It has been a fruitful journey with you guys the past few weeks! I have learnt a great deal about how to prepare better oral presentations thanks to the information you guys have shared with me.
Conception of Ideas
The initially conception of the whole presentation style got off to a slow start, however we soon gained momentum and the ideas kept flowing in. The idea to use ourselves as examples on how science undergraduates were not having enough practice on communications skills was rather unique. (Yes, the case study I mentioned during my part of the presentation was actually a real life case base on the members of my team.) On hindsight, I felt that it was a rather risky move which could have easily backfired. Glad to say, the gamble did pay off at the end of the day.
Presentation Style
I initially had fears about the pace at which I spoke. Having been a debater in the past, I have developed a rather bad habit of trying to “spew” out as much information as I could in 5 minutes. During my peer teaching session, I had received feedback that the rate at which I spoke was too fast. With that in mind, I had actively tried to keep my bad habit in check by forcing myself to slow down during the oral presentation. I can only hope that the pace at which I went was slow enough.
A second bad habit of mine which I had actively tried to keep in check was the fidgeting of my hands. During my peer teaching session, I received comments on the amount of fidgeting I did; the “playing” with my shirt, as well as the bouncing of my body. Taking this into account, I had actively forced myself to remind still during the oral presentation. On top of that, I kept my left hand in front of my body in an effort to stop myself from fidgeting with my shirt.
I had decided on the use of a “script” instead of cue cards for the oral presentation. The “script” provided me with the appropriate cues on the transition of my slides, as well as various key points regarding my presentation. This was something I had never done before, and only recently came to know about while reading up on how to be a good presenter. I am not too sure if I should continue this practise, as I felt it was rather distracting having a sheet of paper in front of me as it broke my eye contact with the audience.
Overall I had really enjoyed the oral presentation especially the Q&A section. I felt that it was the only time when I was able to judge if I had presented the information clearly to the audience base on the questions they asked.
Please feel free to comment on any of my mistakes which I made during the oral presentation as by learning from them, I would be able to become a better presenter!
Conception of Ideas
The initially conception of the whole presentation style got off to a slow start, however we soon gained momentum and the ideas kept flowing in. The idea to use ourselves as examples on how science undergraduates were not having enough practice on communications skills was rather unique. (Yes, the case study I mentioned during my part of the presentation was actually a real life case base on the members of my team.) On hindsight, I felt that it was a rather risky move which could have easily backfired. Glad to say, the gamble did pay off at the end of the day.
Presentation Style
I initially had fears about the pace at which I spoke. Having been a debater in the past, I have developed a rather bad habit of trying to “spew” out as much information as I could in 5 minutes. During my peer teaching session, I had received feedback that the rate at which I spoke was too fast. With that in mind, I had actively tried to keep my bad habit in check by forcing myself to slow down during the oral presentation. I can only hope that the pace at which I went was slow enough.
A second bad habit of mine which I had actively tried to keep in check was the fidgeting of my hands. During my peer teaching session, I received comments on the amount of fidgeting I did; the “playing” with my shirt, as well as the bouncing of my body. Taking this into account, I had actively forced myself to remind still during the oral presentation. On top of that, I kept my left hand in front of my body in an effort to stop myself from fidgeting with my shirt.
I had decided on the use of a “script” instead of cue cards for the oral presentation. The “script” provided me with the appropriate cues on the transition of my slides, as well as various key points regarding my presentation. This was something I had never done before, and only recently came to know about while reading up on how to be a good presenter. I am not too sure if I should continue this practise, as I felt it was rather distracting having a sheet of paper in front of me as it broke my eye contact with the audience.
Overall I had really enjoyed the oral presentation especially the Q&A section. I felt that it was the only time when I was able to judge if I had presented the information clearly to the audience base on the questions they asked.
Please feel free to comment on any of my mistakes which I made during the oral presentation as by learning from them, I would be able to become a better presenter!
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