I would like to share with you an interpersonal conflict that I experienced during my first year in junior college when I did my project work (PW) as part of the A level program. As the project group was assigned to us by our tutor, we did not get to choose our group members. Initially, things were fine and my group mates could get along together quite well, until one of my group mates (let's call him B), started to skip our project meetings for no reason. As a group leader, I went up to him and encouraged him to come for our project meetings, but to no avail. After a discussion with the rest of our group mates, we decided to approach our tutor to seek help as he refused to listen to us.
B began to turn up for the subsequent meetings after being advised by the tutor but somehow, due to some misunderstanding, he sort of blamed us for "complaining" to the tutor about him and appeared to be against me, especially. During the meetings, he did not contribute much in our group work and would even distract us by joking and talking about personal stuff with another group mate. Whenever we had to rush to complete certain stages of the project, that kind of attitude of his really got us fed up and we were left with no choice but to approach the tutor for help again.
However, things did not turn out to be what I expected. After seeking for help a second time from our tutor, I found myself being bombarded with vulgarities by B on MSN! He probably hated me for going up to the tutor again. In a fit of anger, I replied, "You did not listen to us and contribute much in our project. I find it even harder to work with you now. With your attitude like this, perhaps, you shouldn't be in JC."
I cried throughout the night as I was very hurt by the words he used on me. Was that what I truly deserved? After that incident, I stopped talking to him and till now, I regret to say that the conflict is still unresolved. Perhaps, I did not handle the situation well at that point of time. If you were in my shoes, how would you react and manage the conflict?
Friday, August 29, 2008
Friday, August 22, 2008
Effective Communication Skills
Currently, one of the modules that I am taking in NUS is “Professional Communication - Principles & Practice”. The main aim of this module is to teach the students how to become an effective communicator in various social settings, especially in the workplace.
I recalled that my classmates and I were ‘forced’ by our teacher to attend compulsory workshops on effective communication when we were in secondary school as we were told that it would be helpful to us. Indeed, in the inter-connected world that we are living today, where we get to interact with (different) people everyday, being able to communicate effectively is very important to build up healthy relationships so that messages are put across tactfully and correctly to the intended receiver. As communication builds bridges between people, being able to communicate effectively will prevent communication breakdown and enable me to build up good relationships with my families, friends, lecturers, lab technicians and course mates, as well as obtain accurate information from them by practicing active listening. Besides, having equipped with effective communication skills, I will gain an edge over other candidates during job interviews. In one way or another, it will also help greatly in my job performance at the workplace, where office politics often exist. In short, effective communication skills plays a vital role in life, be it family, social or working life.
I have always been thinking of attending the workshops organized by the NUS Career Centre so that I can prepare myself for the working world upon graduation next year. Now, I am glad that I have the chance to take this interesting module for a better understanding of effective communication in the workplace. After all, I have spent a hefty amount of over 1200 bidding points to bid for this module!
I recalled that my classmates and I were ‘forced’ by our teacher to attend compulsory workshops on effective communication when we were in secondary school as we were told that it would be helpful to us. Indeed, in the inter-connected world that we are living today, where we get to interact with (different) people everyday, being able to communicate effectively is very important to build up healthy relationships so that messages are put across tactfully and correctly to the intended receiver. As communication builds bridges between people, being able to communicate effectively will prevent communication breakdown and enable me to build up good relationships with my families, friends, lecturers, lab technicians and course mates, as well as obtain accurate information from them by practicing active listening. Besides, having equipped with effective communication skills, I will gain an edge over other candidates during job interviews. In one way or another, it will also help greatly in my job performance at the workplace, where office politics often exist. In short, effective communication skills plays a vital role in life, be it family, social or working life.
I have always been thinking of attending the workshops organized by the NUS Career Centre so that I can prepare myself for the working world upon graduation next year. Now, I am glad that I have the chance to take this interesting module for a better understanding of effective communication in the workplace. After all, I have spent a hefty amount of over 1200 bidding points to bid for this module!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Introduction
Dear All,
Firstly, let me welcome you to sabrinahe.blogspot.com!
This blog is set up to complete my e-portfolio assignment for ES2007s PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION, one of the modules that I am taking this semester. If you have any feedback or comments on my blog, please do feel free to drop me an email at sabrina.hec@gmail.com.
Firstly, let me welcome you to sabrinahe.blogspot.com!
This blog is set up to complete my e-portfolio assignment for ES2007s PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION, one of the modules that I am taking this semester. If you have any feedback or comments on my blog, please do feel free to drop me an email at sabrina.hec@gmail.com.
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