ES2007S Post #7: Final Reflection

The three most useful skills I have learnt in this course are resumé writing, interview and presentation skills. These will definitely boost my confidence when it comes to job or internship interviews.

I think the most important thing to consider in order to communicate effectively is to understand my audience/listener and to adapt my delivery to them. For example, during presentations, we should put concepts in a way that the audience can understand; tailoring our application letters to the post we are applying for can give us an edge; when interacting with people of different cultures, we have to be sensitive to their cultures lest we offend them.

Every person probably knows generally how to write. However, it is the details, the 7Cs of writing, that will make a piece of writing stand out. I have learnt much in this aspect. Business letters, meeting minutes, survey reports, job application letters are different forms of writing and serve different purposes. I feel more ready to be out working after learning these writing skills.

The EQ section of this course, though brief, provided a starting point for me to explore ways to build better interpersonal relationships. It taught me to think more deeply about how people would react and hence how to interpret their responses and make suitable responses myself.

As stated on my first post, effective communication is very important. This course reinforced this idea. In the fast-paced work environment, effective communication saves time, prevents misunderstandings and helps foster good relationship.

ES2007S Post #5: Teachers as Friends?

I often face an uphill task when interacting casually with superiors (teachers, lecturers, tutors and teaching assistants). I believe that we should always respect and maintain a teacher-student relationship with them. However, it appears that the boundaries of such a relationship are getting blurred.

I noticed that my peers tend to treat teachers as friends. During my secondary school time, I have friends who treat teachers as close friends. They went out for meals together outside school, visited the teachers’ homes during festive seasons and discussed personal matters with the teachers. I find it hard to be like my other friends. First, I am not that sociable and second, they are my teachers.

Also, in university, there are students who playfully tease their teaching assistants. I feel that they are being disrespectful towards their teaching assistants. I feel awkward whenever I see my friends interacting so well with their teachers while I am keeping my distance.

I agree that there is nothing wrong with being friendly with teachers. If the teachers are fine with interacting more intimately with students outside classrooms, that is fine as well, as long as students and teachers know what they are doing. However, how does one maintain a student-teacher relationship in this case? Or am I too rigid in my thinking?

ES2007S Post #4: Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

Picture from http://www.imeem.com/groups/FI7ZDL0-/blogs/2008/01/29/fat_W7Lu/whats-showing-now.

"New Heart" is a drama of Korean MBC broadcast network

In a Korean medical drama, there were patients (VIPs – Very Important Persons) who, because of their social status, demand preferential treatments, despite being informed that other patients also needed the resources. The doctors, who believed in equality in treatment, denied their requests. Unfortunately, these patients, who were middle-aged men, would physically abuse and threaten them.

I think elder Asians tend to regard giving special treatments to VIPs as normal and this stemmed from the hierarchical structure of Asian society -- people of lower social status are expected to treat people with higher status with respect and be subservient to them. However, as society progresses, meritocracy and equality are rebuffing such antiquated views towards treatment of VIPs.

This intercultural conflict provides a lesson in handling conflict. The doctors in the drama calmly explained to the VIPs why their requests could not be granted. However, the doctors failed to identify with the emotional need of the VIPs to feel respected, causing the confrontation. I think this showed that although people may understand the reason for a rejection, they may not feel good about it (due to loss of face, for example). This “not feeling good” constitutes the emotional barrier to listening as mentioned in the textbook. Thus, we should pay attention to the tone of delivery (not sound arrogant even if we have a valid reason) and empathize with them, so as to cushion any emotional blow inflicted. This is true regardless of the age of the person we are interacting with.

ES2007S Post #3: Business Correspondence Critique

This letter, by the Ministry of Health, is to inform readers that they will be placed under the Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) upon reaching 21 years old.

One of the strong points of this letter is that it employs the AIDA formula (textbook pg 83-84) rather well. The letter opens with a congratulatory paragraph, which captures and sustains the attention of the reader. HOTA is then introduced to the readers and readers are told of the help they can offer to patients, before details of opting-in or out are given to them. This sequence of paragraphing will create a positive impression of HOTA on the readers. All necessary details (Completeness) are also clearly provided should readers want to opt-in or out in paragraphs 5 and 6, with the consequences coherently presented in the respective paragraphs (Clarity). The letter ended by thanking the reader, showing courtesy to the reader (Courtesy).

However, there are several areas which can be improved. Firstly, the phrases, “the purpose of” and “those who are” in paragraph 3, can be omitted as they are redundant. Next, certain paragraphing needs amendments. The age-bracket is mentioned in paragraphs 2 and 3. This appears repetitive. I suggest stating that the readers are in HOTA in paragraph 2 and mention about the age-bracket only in paragraph 3 where HOTA is explained. In addition, that the readers will be given higher priority when receiving transplants should they remain on HOTA should be stated in paragraph 3 to appeal readers to stay on. Besides these, the sentence highlighted in paragraph 5 lacks tact. Instead, the letter can simply reiterate the priority given to those on HOTA. The phrase “have your organs removed after death” in paragraph 6 conveys the chilling prospect of doctors cutting open bodies to extract the organs. I suggest changing the phrase to “donate your organs after death”.

ES2007S Post #2: Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

Trent is a 19-year-old student. Towards the end of his graduating year, he and his close friends planned to go clubbing since some of them thought it would be a good way to celebrate their graduation. Trent, who had not gone clubbing before, was excited about this “in” activity.

However, Trent’s mother, Wanda, was uncomfortable with clubbing. All Wanda knew about clubbing were the negative portrayals in dramas. Whenever Trent mentioned about clubbing, Wanda would indicate her disapproval by telling him how dangerous a club is. Wanda had never met Trent’s friends and was afraid he would be in bad company. Trent was adamant on going despite knowing that Wanda was uncomfortable with his decision

Main problem: Eventually, Wanda relented and allowed Trent to go, telling him to not be home too late. Trent agreed. Wanda felt that since Trent was already 19, it was time she went easier on him but did not articulate this to Trent. That night, Trent suddenly sent an SMS home, saying he will be staying out overnight --- something which he has done only once at a school camp. Wanda was very angry. She thought: What if something happen to him? I told him to be home early!

When Trent came home the next day, the mother and son quarrelled over why he stayed out.

What could Trent and Wanda do so that Wanda will feel less uneasy about his going clubbing and his staying out overnight, something which was not planned beforehand?

ES2007S Post #1: Effective Communication Skills

Developing effective communication skills are vital tp me for three reasons:
1. To secure jobs and internships.
2. To build strong relationships with friends, families, colleagues and superiors.
3. To discover more about myself.

To secure a job or internship, a clearly written curriculum vitae, along with appropriate and confident response at interviews are vital. To achieve these, I need to have effective communication skills. Whether at interviews or other situations, when we have a good impression of a person, we are likely to infer that the person has more positive attributes or even disregard negative information about that person.* To leave a good first impression through writing and face-to-face interactions, we need effective communication skills.

Friends, families and colleagues are the people most important to us. Effective communication skills enable me to better analyse their thoughts and actions, learn more about them and thus be able to act appropriately to strengthen our relationships. In doing so, I can foster closer relationships with them and encourage them to open up with me.

Using effective communication skills, I can know more about myself by how people interact with me. I can then take steps to improve myself. For example, when my project mates choose not to consult me on an important decision, it may mean that they think I am not capable of making a correct decision or it is simply due to a lack of time. Using effective communication skills will enable me to verify which scenario it actually is.

*Joseph A. DeVito. The Interpersonal Communication Book Eleventh edition. Pg 87. Pearson Education, Inc. 2007.