Blog post 6: Final Reflections

These few weeks have proved to be a trying yet exciting period. I have gained several important skills such as e-mail writing, meeting and teamwork skills, while refining my existing communication skills, that include oral presentation and listening skills. As such, I feel more confident and prepared in tackling the ominous working world. All the lessons that I take away with me from this module will be of much value in every aspect of my life. I have also realised that it is not easy to learn communication skills, despite how easy it sounds. I encountered several difficulties in this module, such as learning how to write concisely and clearly. I had always found writing papers relatively easy, however, the blog posts which limited the word count proved to be a laborious task. This module has taught me to articulate ideas clearly, be it on paper or verbally. I have enjoyed the challenging tasks put to me by this module, as I felt that I really gained much from it. Altogether, I know that my communication skills are much better now, than before I read the module.

This will be my final blog post, so I bid all you readers farewell. Thank you for taking the time to comment and read my posts diligently. Take care.

Blog post 5: Oral Presentation Reflection

Overall, I enjoyed delivering the presentation my group members and I came up with. We had lots of fun preparing the slides and practicing together and I felt that we as a group truly bonded.
However, I felt that my delivery during the day could have been greatly improved. Despite having practiced a few times, I stumbled a few times to find the correct words. My plan had been not to draft a speech and merely repeat it. Instead I chose to familiarize myself with the concepts and main points that I wanted to deliver during the presentation and present it immediately to appear more natural.
Simultaneously, on hindsight, the presentation slides should have been more professional looking. While attempting to create a relaxed environment for the audience, I should have employed the use of more graphs and figures instead of the comic strips. While the slides shared a common template, the animation slightly varied and that made the presentation inconsistent and distracting. Even though the intention had been to ensure that my group members were comfortable with their own animation and timing, it had its disadvantages.
Nonetheless, I was very proud of the presentation my group members and I delivered. We managed to keep within the 30 minute time limit somewhat and the main points were delivered. I felt that we had managed to produce a persuasive proposal.