Coming Out of My Box

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
- Confucius


“I was and still a bad communicator. If I were to have it my way, I would work and live in a box.”

It seemed like only yesterday when I wrote these two sentences for the first line in my very first blogpost. Thinking back, I must say, for once, I am glad to not have something done my way. I did contemplate whether to drop this module or not as I felt that the workload is heavy and demanding. But my mum said,” You are going to need all these skills eventually, so why not learn them now?” And so I have hung on and “survived” to tell the story.

I guess taking this module was a first step which initiated many other things, like starting a blog (in the past, I did think of starting one but never actually get down to doing that), doing peer teaching, crafting job application letter, resume, personal statement, attending mock job interview (at least the next time my interviewers ask “what if we tell you that you perform poorly in today’s interview…?” I will not be caught completely off-guard) and of course, tackling the mother of all distress: the proposal and the oral presentation (we spent half of the semester on this, can you believe that?!).

To me, what makes this module very different from my other modules would be the part on peer review. Commenting is easy when all you have to say is “Great piece of writing! FULL STOP” but that was not the case. We had to give feedback, both positive and negative, that would help the writer improve his or her writing. I find this requirement quite hard to meet especially when the writer wrote better than me. I wish I could comment on more blogposts but due to time and ability constraints, I did not manage to do so. On a plus side, I learnt to be more critical, which was something that I tried not to be in the past for fear of hurting people’s feelings. I think that as long as we have a point, we can give the person our opinion (without sounding too righteous) and how the person reacts to the feedback is just beyond our control.

I have learnt so much in such a short span of time but even after completing this course, there are still so many areas that I need to improve on, especially my speaking. I know I still have a long way to go before I reach the level of a professional communicator; one who can speak fluently and confidently. Hence, my learning to become a better communicator does not end with completion of ES2007S or as they say, “Learning is a not a destination but a journey”.

To hammer in the one last nail for the whole time I was banging on about in my reflection, I can think of no better way except to amend my first line from my very first blogpost:

"I was a bad communicator. But I am not as bad as I used to be. I have come out of my box, enlarged it a bit, and now more people can come in!"


To all my classmates (in no particular order): Abby, Aldrich, Chee Siang, Evonne, Ivan, Ken Jie, Sarah, Sheryl, Wen Jun, Xiang Min, Yuan Ru (ok, it’s in alphabetical order), thanks for making me feel like I am back in school again…I have great time “communicating” with all of you and also taking the “elevator test” (though sometimes I feel we ought to take the stairs). And of course, a bigger thank you to Brad, for being a great facilitator and probably the only lecturer whom you can wave enthusiastically at from afar.

Reflection on Oral Presentation

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, how did..."

"My queen, I do not comment on oral presentation. Now, if you allow me to comment on your fairness, I must say..."

"I am getting a new mirror!!!"


I don’t want to blow my own trumpet, but I think I will start my self-evaluation on a positive note. I think (I hope) I managed to keep my voice from shaking, or at least reduce the shaking to a bare minimum. As the first presenter from my team, I was very nervous and I was actually “on vibration mode” during the Q&A session of team Venomous (uh oh, it’s our turn…). I must admit that for the whole presentation, nothing was more wonderful than saying “…Chee Siang will take over from here to elaborate on the proposed solutions”. Phew, it was like having so much weight lifted off me and breathing was 1000 times easier.

Voice projection- wise, I probably did a better job this time compared to my peer teaching. Anyway, to be honest, raising the volume of my voice to be more audible is not something that I can do effortlessly and so I probably did not sound natural during my presentation.

I think it helps a lot when you get some non-verbal response from your audience. At one point, I saw Brad nodding his head and it is amazing how this simple gesture can really inject confidence in the presenter. I really felt assured that I was not talking nonsense or digressing too far from what I was supposed to be delivering. And I was glad because as far as I could see, none of my audience was frowning and some of them were smiling and nodding their heads at some points. Thanks for the reassurance!

In terms of language use, I probably had some problems with my pronunciation as sometimes when I talked too fast, I tend to mispronounce and had to correct myself. I must admit I put my team to shame when there was one time I said “Visionaires”, which was supposed to sound elegant if pronounced correctly, I sounded like I just had a few teeth knocked out and it was downright embarrassing.

My biggest weakness, I would say, is my inability to maintain eye contact with my audience. I think this was quite obvious during my peer teaching as I kept looking at my slides or above the heads of the audience. This time, for the oral presentation, I did try to establish eye contact but maintaining it remains a challenge as whenever I tried to do that, I tend to lose track of what of I was saying.

If I were to rate my presentation today, I would give myself 6.5 on a scale of 10. With more practice (though I am not looking forward to any, at least for now), I believe I can refine my delivery skills to become a better speaker, and more importantly, a professional communicator who presents in a way that is comfortable to both the presenter and the audience (a bit overambitious though :p).


P/s: To Abby and Chee Siang, both of you did a great job for the oral presentation. Thanks a zillion for the effort and dedication you showed throughout the project. I enjoy working with both of you and I still find it hard to believe that we had just completed this exhausting task which looked like a monster on the Friday before recess week.

Many Happy Returns, Brad!

A Primary School Girl's Intercultural Experience (Edited)

I attended Sekolah Kebangsaan St Anne’s Convent for primary education. Although it is a convent, it is predominantly Malay (some national schools have more Chinese and Indian kids especially reputable ones like La Salle and Anglo Chinese School Klang) where in my class of 30 there were only three Chinese and a few Indians. That did not seem to bother me or any of my non-Malay friends as we got along well with the Malay kids. Malay was spoken almost all the time and English occasionally. Languages other than these two were strictly forbidden – you would be fined (20 cents each time) if you were caught speaking in mandarin, hokkien or tamil. A slip of the tongue occurred once in a while, which would immediately be hushed as though a disgusting swear word had been uttered.

A day in a typical Malay school starts with the morning prayer. The Malays will pray while the non-Malays will stand in silence with their heads bowed. When a Malay teacher enters a class, she will be greeted with Selamat Pagi Cikgu (Good Morning Teacher) by the whole class followed by Assalamualaikum Cikgu from the Malay students only. Not knowing initially that non-Malays are not required to do the latter, I followed suit, only to induce hoots of laughter from my Malay friends. A pretty humiliating experience that I am sure did not happen to me alone.

For the Malays, if you have to walk in front of an elderly person, you should bend your body as a sign of respect. I did that once at home when walking in front of my late grandfather and got reprimanded for being hunchbacked and not walking properly. And when you walk past a teacher, you are expected to greet the teacher. What I used to do was bending my body and greeting my teacher at the same time. Now when I think about it, it was not a good practice as I did not establish eye contact with my teacher and I was actually greeting the floor by bending my body!

As a kid, you would most probably be eager to learn new stuffs. I did, much to the displeasure of my parents. I tried singing syair (poem recited in the form of a song) at home. My parents, not understanding Malay well, thought I had been converted to some sort of religious fanatic. There was one thing which I feel upset my parents the most. In Year 3, we were assigned to make slippers from cardboard during one of my arts lessons. We measured the size of our feet so that we could wear the shoes when they were done. Coloured papers and beads were used for decoration. At home, I proudly wore my masterpiece. My mother was not impressed and felt that my Malay teacher was insensitive to the Chinese culture. I freaked out after learning that paper-made shoes are among the items burnt for the dead besides silver paper. Since my shoes had been graded, I immediately threw them away.

Despite all the intercultural differences, I know my parents never regret their decision in
sending me to a Malay school. It was nevertheless, not an easy decision, not when you have a Chinese school with excellent reputation and facilities (courtesy of many Chinese philanthropists) just across the street while the Malay school has no reputation, lousy facilities, and the best part is, they had to drive me to school. This is what my parents used to tell me :"Speak Malay with the Malay kids, speak English with the Indian kids, and Mandarin? Speak at home-lah".

My Personal Statement

“How does it taste?” I eagerly awaited my father’s reply as he munched on my freshly baked cornflakes cookie. “Hmmm…not bad,” was the response. I was devastated as that was my fourth attempt at baking the cookies. I knew it was back to step one: identifying my mistakes and trying until the cookies are sampled without prompting. Well, that’s me: if I really put all my heart and energy into doing something, I will persevere until I hear the phrase “excellent job!”

I feel that baking resembles the hands-on aspect of chemistry in the sense that both demand perseverance. The ingredients and the instructions are there but there is no guarantee of getting the result. For instance, I learnt that for some cakes you need melted butter and for others, cold butter where the temperature and structural difference result in different texture of the products. This applies to synthesis of chemical compounds where formation of some salts or crystals is temperature-dependent. Besides, something may just go wrong and it is up to me to find out for myself what causes failures such as low yield, improper appearance of structures or deviations of experimental values from theoretical ones. Persistency is required as the process of identifying my mistakes can be time and energy-consuming.

There is no way one can whip up a chocolate torte by just watching Nigella Bites. The same goes for a chemical analyst; perseverance is a necessity and I am certain that with this strength of mine, I will be able to take the challenges posed by this position in my stride.

Internship Application Letter (Edited)

Post : Chemical Analyst
Company : Schering Plough LTD

Job description:

• Perform chemical test on the in process control sample, intermediates, cleaning and final drug substances
  
• Maintain complete and accurate recording of all tests performed in assigned record books and worksheet
  
• Perform regular calibration and maintenance of laboratory instruments as assigned
  
• Assist in maintaining good housekeeping of the laboratories

Requirements:

• Meticulous
• Self-motivated
• Able to work under pressure
• Good time management skills
• Team player

Heng Wan Wei
Ridge View Residences
25 Lower Kent Ridge Road
Singapore 119081

2nd September 2009

Dr. Lynn Tan Yi Ling
Human Resources Director
Schering Plough LTD
50 Tuas West Drive
Singapore 638408

Dear Dr. Tan,

Internship – Chemical Analyst

From your company’s website, I learned that you are looking for a chemical analyst intern. It has always been my passion to join the pharmaceutical industry and I believe I am a perfect candidate for this position. An opportunity to serve as an intern at your organization would also enable me to contribute to your company with the credentials I possess.

As stated in my resume, I am currently in my second year at the National University of Singapore, persuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. I believe I am equipped with the necessary skills to perform the tasks required of a chemical analyst through the rigorous practical sessions I have undergone. Inorganic and organic laboratory sessions have provided me with much experience in carrying out chemical tests while those of physical and spectroscopy have equipped me with skills in handling and calibrating lab instruments. In addition, I am also adept at using Microsoft Excel for systematic recording and analysis of test results especially those of spectroscopy.

The various extra-curricular activities I participated in university and back in my secondary school have helped me refine my soft skills. It was stated in the advertisement that one needs to be meticulous , and I believe I am one such person. Having been a member of the photography committee for my hall of residence last year, I needed to be really particular in selecting photographs for Temasek Hall’s 20 O’Clock, website and Photo Exhibition Week. Also, being the president for the Science and Mathematics Society when I was in my secondary school required me to work under pressure as the society has maintained a good reputation over the years and my teacher advisor had high expectations of me.

I am also a person with good time management skills which is required for this position as I was able to engage myself in a lot of activities such as acapella, Temasek Hall productions, and badminton. When I was in Form 6, I was part of the team representing my school in the National Water Conservation Project organized by Cargill Malaysia in collaboration with the Malaysian Nature Society. We won the competition and I think we can attribute part of our success to our spirit of teamwork. Besides that, the numerous working experiences I have gained through vacation jobs make me a more practical person and hone my interpersonal skills. The frequent dealings with customers and interaction with colleagues equipped me with good communication skills.

I am very interested in the hands-on aspects of this internship. From what I read, I believe that such a position at your company and the interaction with the people there would be a truly valuable experience. It would definitely be a platform to develop and strengthen my fundamental skills in research so that I could contribute to this ever-expanding field.

Although the accompanying resume illustrates my background well, I would appreciate the opportunity to be interviewed to better demonstrate my abilities. I can be contacted at my email address or mobile phone number as stated on my resume. Thank you for your review and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Ms Heng Wan Wei
Enclosure: online resume

Interpersonal Conflict

I mentioned in my last post how I would love working in a box so that I do not have to deal with people. I accept the fact that conflict is a part and parcel of working life but I still find it hard to believe that a small workplace like a gift shop can turn into a war zone where only the dirtiest, not the fittest survive.

At the shop where I worked, there was this rule in which a sales assistant can only serve one customer at a time. Now, I had a colleague who was a real tyrant when it comes to fighting for customers. She would spend the first half of the month doing nothing. And when she realized that she was very far from hitting her personal target for that month’s commission, she would serve three customers at a time while the rest of us just stood at the counter doing nothing. And you wonder how a person splits herself to attend to three people at the same time. This lady taught me that you serve by giving the customer a basket when you see him holding our product(s). No communication with customers whatsoever.

I was not happy with what she did as I had worked hard for the entire month only to be outdone by this colleague who practically whizzed through with her three-customers-per time winning formula. Imagine how I felt when I found out that she stooped so low as to “steal” some of my customers by keying in very big purchases under her name as she was also one of the cashiers (only senior staff can be cashiers). I did not complain to the supervisor as I felt that it would only fall on deaf ears as the supervisor himself was on excellent terms with that particular colleague.

So, my dear readers, if you were in my shoes, what would you have done? If I were to run to the boss himself, I would probably come off worse.

The Importance of Effective Communication Skills to me

I was and still am a bad communicator. If I were to have it my way, I would live and work in a box. And I found myself in the school counsellor’s room one day, asking “Is there any job that does not require me to deal with people?” Her response was,” I am sure there is, but you probably will not have a successful career. Why else do you think a lot of emphasis is placed on EQ nowadays?”

Having had a few holiday jobs, I would say that a lot of my distress came not from the jobs themselves, but from the people I had to deal with. Take my first job, for example, where I worked as a clerk in a forwarding company. It was only my first day and I answered a call. I was supposed to transfer the call to the person-in-charge but she had just gone to the toilet. The man, having learnt that, introduced himself and launched into an endless speech of his purpose of calling, in the hope that I would convey the message to her when she returned. Too bad he was wrong. The whole time he was talking, I could only make out words like consignment and container as I was too busy looking around hopelessly for any helpful soul who would take over and attend to that man. I guess he sense the dead silence at my end for he asked “are you listening?” You can imagine the wrath I had to endure when I told him I had forgotten his name and company.

I guess what I should have done was to interrupt him politely when I missed out on some details and not to panic easily. And you would have thought I had learnt my lesson…apparently not after what happened on Friday. Thank God there was no yelling man this time :)