Post #6 - Reflection on own teamwork and communicaton throughout CG1413 and CG1102

Throughout the semester, the tasks and projects given to me for both CG1413 and CG1102 were rather challenging but manageable. It is through these tough times that I realized the importance of teamwork and good communication. Without teamwork and communication, completion of the tasks at hand was near impossible. Thus, it is important that we master both teamwork and communication and continue to practice them not just in NUS, but in the working world as well.

For CG1413, my group decided to increase the awareness that diet change have an impact on global warming. For the success of this project, teamwork was very vital. There were many solutions that we wanted to implement and it was important to distribute the tasks at hand. Posters were to be designed, surveys to be printed and completed, interviews to be conducted and a facebook group to be created. Besides that, we decided to make displays so as to further increase the awareness level of the above topic. It was also essential that we get permission to put up our models at high traffic locations. Thus, after much discussion and evaluation, the tasks were distributed according to our group members’ strengths. I helped distribute the surveys and posters in the hall I stayed and I did all I can to help create the displays.

Communication was important too. It was essential to acquire the necessary tools to make the displays and we made sure that group members brought the required tools. We also communicated through email to decide our next meeting so that we can finish up on the displays we were creating. As I was conducting the interview, it was important for me to practice good communication with the interviewee. Communication was also essential for our oral presentation. We had to ensure that we do not repeat the points that other group members have already mentioned.

For CG1102, my group had to hand up weekly lab reports on the progress of our project. Every lab was different from the previous week and we sometimes had difficulty trying to complete the report on time. Teamwork wise, for every lab, it was essential that we distribute the work evenly and early on in the week so that everyone had time to complete their assigned tasks. Although our group managed to distribute the work evenly, we did not do that early on in the week but somewhere in the middle of the week. Thus, this resulted in some last minute work and our group burnt quite a significant amount of midnight oil. Our group communicated quite well too. We evaluated the possible solutions to the problem and decide on the final solution to the respective problem. We then split the work and went back to work on the solution. If there was any problem, we communicated through email and helped each other solve the problem.

Throughout this semester, I learnt many different skills that are priceless. Although this project has come to an end, it does not mean that I do not continue to practice good communication skills and teamwork. We must continue to practice theses skills as this will help us significantly when embarking on future projects.

Post #5 - Reflection on performance for Oral Presentation 2.

On the 26th of March, our project group, also known as the Friends of Green, gave a presentation to a panel of judges. My group members are Kai Ren, Geetika, Dyu and Duc. Our project topic was that there was a lack of awareness on the impact of diet on global warming. We discussed the possible solutions how we managed to implement them. We then concluded with a Q&A for the judges. I will now reflect on some of the good and bad points of this presentation.

I realized that I was quite nervous during the beginning of my presentation. Thus, I stumbled a lot and forget what I wanted to say. Not only that, I kept saying “yeah” out of habit throughout the course of my presentation. Besides that, I tend to keep looking at the screen during the presentation. Thus there are many areas where I need to improve on.

On the other hand, I did well as I managed to get the audience attention by varying my tone. Not only that, I managed to use humor, which is vital for maintaining the audience’s attention. I also find that I gave a clear and concise presentation and ensured that everyone in the audience understood what I was trying to say. Besides that, I gave comparisons and examples to further emphasize my point and get people to understand the situation better. Another aspect that I did well in is that I managed to use hand gestures to further illustrate my point.

Overall I find the team performed rather well for this presentation. We used attractive power point slides and pictures to maintain the attention of the audience. However, I find that there were bad points too. One was the interview video. It was too soft and the audience could not hear what the interviewee was saying. We could also give out a few sample survey forms to let the audience have a better understanding of what kind of result we are trying to get out of the survey.

Finally, although our group performed rather well during this presentation, we must not be complacent. There are always areas for improvement and I must strive to keep improving and give a better presentation in the future

Post #4- Reflection on Meeting 1

My project group is C05B, with group members Anni and Anuj. We wanted to meet at 12pm to 2pm, but Anuj has a lesson before that so we held our meeting on Thursday 3pm to 4pm at PGP conference room 3B. Our agenda for this meeting was to decide what are the classes needed to complete our assignment for the module CG1102.

The meeting went quite smoothly but there were a few times during the meeting where there was miscommunication and we need to explain ourselves again to state our point. One such time is when we were deciding how many classes to implement altogether. Anuj was explaining that we do not need that many classes but I did not understand his explanation. Therefore I asked him to explain to me again. It was then that I understood what he was saying and I agreed with his above statement.

Although I think the meeting went rather smoothly, I think there was much room for improvement. We should have reserved a room in advance so as to avoid wasting time looking for rooms. Luckily, the room that we decided on was empty at that time. Besides that, reserving a room lets you know how well is it equipped for your purpose. When we went to the room, there was nothing high enough for us to put the camera such that it could film the three of us. Thus, we had to improvise and put a chair on the table. Another factor is proper equipment. Halfway through the meeting, my camera ran out of memory. That made us waste about five minutes of time as I had to transfer the video into my computer first and clear the memory to continue taking the video.

Finally, I must say that I have wonderful teammates as without them the meeting would not have gone so smoothly.

Post #3: Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

In the last two post, we discussed the importance of not just communication, but interpersonal and intercultural communication. What better way to learn this important skill then through an example? Thus, in this week’s post, we will look at an example which shows the lack of interpersonal communication. This will further prove the point that interpersonal communication is vital in our every day lives. Besides that, we will reflect what went wrong and come up with possible solutions.

This is an example which happened during my army life. I believe that everyone who went through NS (National Service) would have faced this problem before. In the army, instructors will randomly check the trainee’s room to ensure that it is tidy and clean. However, who cleans their room every day? I shared the same room with two other guys named A and B. On a particular day, the instructor suddenly said he wanted to inspect our room. As you all would have guessed, the room was in a total mess. We were given 15 minutes (which was barely enough) to get prepared.

It so happens that during that day B has duty and will not be around to help tidy the room for inspection. But his belongings are in the room and they have to be tidied too. We began tidying the room by sorting and cleaning our own personal belongings. After we are done with our area, we moved on to B’s belongings. Somehow we managed to tidy his area reasonably. However, we did not clean his cupboard as we assumed the other person had already done so. So when the instructor came to check, we were obviously punished L.

After being punished, A and I argued that the opposite party was at fault for not cleaning the cupboard and nobody wanted to apologize and take the blame. So who is the culprit here? Is it A, B, me, the instructor or every one? Is there a way to solve this problem?

Post #2: Observation of team behaviour: Intercultural and interpersonal communication

In the previous post, we talked about the importance of communication. However, it is unwise to communicate without taking into consideration the culture of the other party. To bring communication to a higher level, one must also observe interpersonal communication skills. With the advancement of technology, we will frequently find ourselves in situations where we have to communicate to a party of another country. Thus, this is an essential skill that all of us must learn.
Interpersonal communication is usually defined as participants who are dependent upon one another and have a shared history. Interpersonal communication is communication with people on a deeper level with skills such as listening and body language. This is only possible if the people you are communicating with understand you. If u show a stranger a thumbs up, he may not know what kind of message you are trying to send. However, if you show this signal to a friend who understands you well, he will get your intended message. In other words, we must be comfortable with communicating to carry out effective interpersonal communication skills.

What does this sign mean?

Intercultural communication is the ability to communicate with people from other cultural background without having any misunderstandings between both parties. If we do not understand the culture of the opposite party, there will be miscommunication between both parties. One such example was when I was in Australia. I went to watch a movie there. When I went to the theatre for the movie, I was surprised that there was no ticketing usher. It was only later that I understood that people in Australia trust each other enough to watch only the movie they paid for. Another excellent example of cultural misunderstanding is from the movie Avatar. In the scene (if you can remember) where the main character tried to shake hands with the chief, the bodyguards of the chief reacted with hostility. The bodyguards misunderstood the action as an intention to harm their chief. Thus, we can see that cultural communication is something that cannot be taken for granted.

Post #1: Communication and teamwork: What are they to me?

Communication is a process of passing information from a messenger to a receiver through a channel. However, this process is far more complex than that. Many things could go wrong during the process of passing the message to the receiver. Thus, it is important to take note of the principles of communication to prevent misunderstanding. If I am the messenger, being clear is one of the most important principles as it allows people to understand the message I am trying to convey. Besides that, I have to give information slowly as the receiver has to take time to digest what I am trying to say. Another important factor is body language. If the receiver is showing negative body language, I will repeat again and slow down. Being the receiver, it is important to listen carefully and show the correct body language at the right time. This will allow the messenger to convey his message with greater ease. Communication is vital to me as it is necessary to communicate to understand people. Without understanding, there can be no progress as nobody can comprehend what I am trying to say.

Teamwork is cooperative work done by a group of people. Teamwork can be done by any group, but effective teamwork is something that can only be done by a team. A team is a group of people who trust each other and recognizes each other strengths and weaknesses. This allows the group to cover for their teammates’ weakness and portray the group’s strengths. Teamwork is important to me because there is a limit to the number of task you can complete alone. With the help of other people, many different and more challenging tasks can be completed within a shorter period of time.

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