5) Reflection on oral presentation

I enrolled in this course with the expectation of learning theory on how to use various skills in communication. So I was kindly surprised that I have to challenge myself and try everything practically. From the beginning it was very difficult for me, not only was it hard to express my ideas meaningfully in front of people, but also I was forced to use English. This complicated the usage of my skills a lot as I had to think about everything I wanted to say, and I was not even sure if I told it right.

Through such activities like the peer teaching or mock interview, activities which I had never experienced before, I was becoming progressively more and more confident in speaking and expressing my ideas. Therefore, during the final project presentation I felt considerably more confident than I usually feel during presentations. Of course, the thorough preparation was the main reason for my confidence. Not only did I know what I was talking about (because we as a group spent a lot of time preparing for it), but also I felt more confident in my usage of English.

I believe our group has done a great job with the final presentation. Because it was my first experience of working in a team intensively, it was very pleasant to learn about it in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. We were thinking of how to demonstrate our topic about Evaluating the effectiveness of non-smoking policy in NUS persuasively and it was even more difficult as we were defending mainly the interests of smokers - and none of us are smokers in reality. During preparation for the presentation each one of us practised his own part many times in front of the other team members, so our confidence increased both individually and as a team. Also we obtained valuable advices after the mock presentation from our classmates.

When the D day came, we met early with our group so we could make the final preparation. To be honest, I have never prepared so much for any presentation in my life, but I really appreciate this experience, because as I am not a person who feels natural while speaking in front of a big group of people. I found out that it was much easier for me to stand in front of the crowd and speak to people, if I just prepare myself beforehand! If I did the same for every presentation, maybe I could have saved myself from many past unpleasant experiences, full of nervousness. When the moment I had to start presenting came, I was very nervous as usual. However, all of a sudden my uncertainty disappeared because I realized that I have presented the same part so many times and I have no actual reason to worry. Even though I still know that there are many things left which I need to improve, as to involve more enthusiasm to the presentation, I feel much more confident now in communication skills and want to continue learning!

4) Evaluating Intercultural Behavior

I have always considered myself as a person very open to different cultures. I love travelling not only for sightseeing, which substantiates the history of the culture, but also for getting to know cultures through other people. I do not like the frowning faces of Czech people, constant complaining about things and also the lack of openness to anything that is new or different. I had the opportunity to visit many beautiful countries, which helped me imagine how moving to one of these countries would feel like. One of the reasons why I came to study in Singapore was to understand myself in the context of Asia.

It has been interesting, the mix of cultures, the food and a city so vibrant and pulsating with life that it feels like I am in a completely different world. Even though I would like to say the city has no faults and would be my ideal home, there are a few problems which did surface just after a few weeks of staying in Singapore. Singaporians are very nice people, as far as I can see. During my stay here, people have been unbelievebly helpful and I believe that whatever happens here, this big mixed-culture organ of city will sort it by itself. On the other hand, I still feel as a stranger here, whenever I go to the less touristic parts of the city, I feel observed and slightly uncomfortable. The constant reminder that I am a foreginer is generally just waiting outside in the form of stares from the general public. This is the phenomenon in question which I would like to evaluate.

Initially I perceived this as a rude gesture. Then after a bit of contemplation I came to the conclusion that it was simply because I was new and I would have done bit of staring too (admittedly not as blatantly) if there was a foreginer back home. However as time has passed and its been 2 months since I arrived the staring has not reduced. Now personally I dont know what to conclude from that, whether it is my inability to blend in or are the locals not too keen on foreigners? Or is it simply the curiosity of the locals?

3) Cover letter edited

16^th September 2012

Recruit Haus Pte Ltd

20A Tanjong Pagar Road

Singapore 088443

Dear Sir/Madam,

Your advertisement for a Tour Coordinator posted on jobsupermart.com caught my attention. Please review the attached resume which highlights my skills and accomplishments that will enable me to contribute to your team. I am interested in the offered position as my educational background and work experiences have been preparing me well for this job. 

I am a third year student, graduating in June 2014 from the University Palacký of Olomouc with Bachelors degree in Chinese Language and Applied Economics. Currently I am on a one year exchange programme in National University of Singapore where my majors are Chinese and Hindi language. As I still want to improve my language skills in required Mandarin language, I obtained a scholarship for Summer School in Beijing, China this July.

During my part-time job, I have worked as a tourist guide in two different cultural landmarks for three years. I have  experience in guiding groups of 20-40 people, where I had to prove my presentation skills and cultural and historical background in my native language of Czech. The job also involved hosting  assignments during company or wedding events. I was also involved in the planning and organization of the above mentioned events.

I believe that through my experiences I have gained during my study and part-time jobs, I have obtained skills which I can use efficiently as a tour coordinator. Together with the willingness to work hard and constant improving of guiding and interpersonal skills, I am confident that I will be an adequate candidate for the position of Tour Coordinator at your company.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Do feel free to contact me on my mobile: 98952793 or email me at a0103930@nus.edu.sg should you have any questions or queries. 

Yours sincerely,

Kateřina Číhalová

2) Interpersonal conflict

I will write about a situation which happened year ago at my home university in department of Asian studies.

Our teacher of Chinese Conversation from China had to go back to her country so for an upcoming semester a new teacher came. She was a young student of English from Taiwan. Everytime when somebody new is coming I am curious how the person will be like and so me and my classmates were happy as our new teacher seemed to be very kind and smiling all the time. As it turned out later, the only problem was that everyone could recognize she was originally a student of English. She was supposed to teach us Chinese and use this language in lessons as much as possible, however she used English most of the time and instead of teaching us something new, she wanted us to play games. But nobody was complaining, there were so much work for another subjects and it seemed that the final exam of Conversation will be easy, the lazyness was winning.

Then, the exam period came. In every subject we had a proper exam, only in Conversation our Taiwanese teacher took us to the tearoom and ask us to write an essay. After writing we should obtain the result. However, when I came to her with my index, she told me to stand on the end of the queue and wait for the decision. Many of my classmates was told the same. In the end she told us that she has to think about it and consider who will obtain the note and who does not deserve it. During following week many of students were coming to her cabinet to ask her to obtain the note. We found out that our teacher gave the notes mostly only to boys, not to girls. Her excuse of it was that we used Chinese in lectures very rarely and we should speak more. Nevertheless, not to obtain the note of this subject meant to repeat one year or quit school.

After this situation many students were complaining to Head of Department about our Conversation teacher. Some of us managed to obtain the note but some had to take very difficult test and did not succeed.

Why do you think teacher was acting whole the semester very kindly and finally she did this thing? How would you react in this situation?

1) EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Effective communication is important and interesting for me because as an old instrument of expression people’s minds, feelings and opinions it takes place in our everyday life almost undetected. It has been developing for a long time and it differs from one person to another one, from one culture to another one and together brings a lot of aspects which people can use to share ideas.

I am interested in communication from two different perspectives. One of them is related to me personally. It includes my needs of communication skills. I would like to improve my presentation skills and also the way how to communicate with other people. As I used to be very shy during presenting anything or speaking in front of bigger group of people, I was trying to learn more about nonverbal communication and presentations. Also a part time job as a guide helped me a lot because the best way of practising communication skills is not only to think and read about them but also to put them into the reality. These matters are quite difficult for me in my native language and in English it is even harder so improving these skills in this language is a new challenge for me.

The second perspective is not related to improving communication skills but to trying to understand them through other people’s behaviour. For example I really like to watch people talking, especially when I cannot hear them, it is surprising how easy it can be to guess what they are talking about only by observing the nonverbal communication.

In conclusion I have to say that the skills I would like to learn are not useful only in my future job but mainly in life and relationships and that is why I am taking this course.