#6 Final reflections

Wow,let me just say how quick time flies! It's the end of the semester once again and this has by far been the most fulfilling semester I have in NUS.

When I first read reviews about the module, I was skeptical at first about the workload. Everyone had commented how heavy the workload was but each review ended with how enriching the module had been for them. My senior had also recommended this module to me, thus I decided to just take the plunge and see for myself. And yes,they were not wrong! The workload was overwhelming BUT it was the memories and skills learnt that made it all worthwhile.

There were many firsts for me in this module. First time conducting a peer teaching session, first time writing a cover letter, first time interviewing people (for the mock interviews and proposal), first time using blogger and facebook as a teaching platform, first time giving such a 'different' oral presentation (where the content was not as important as the body language). It amazes me how much we have done within a short amount of time :)

I have definitely gained much from this module. From learning about the 7Cs and applying them to the blog posts, proposal and even during the oral presentation, I have gone from being a person who is very lengthy in words to being more concise in my writing and even in my presentations. I enjoyed the experience of conducting an interview with an external party for the proposal because it allowed me to understand as to how an interview functions.

Of course, physical skills were not the only ones gained. I learnt alot more about EQ from this module in respect that our lives will never be as perfect as we want it to be. We have to learn to deal with situations where we least expect to and this is where good EQ will come in place. I have to really thank my teammates for being there for me all the time, in particular Adeline. This module has allowed me to grow much stronger in character as well as in learning to deal with undesirable situations. Thus, I sincerely thank Brad and my Group 4 classmates for being such a fun loving bunch and making this module one of the best I have ever taken :)

#5 Oral Presentation

First and foremost,I have to apologise for this really late entry given that I have just finished a really grueling week of 6 CAs! But please do comment on the entry ok :)

I think preparing for this OP has really made me learn alot of useful skills. My usual method of presentation is really just to go through the slides, formulate the sentences in my mind, rehearse a couple of times using flashcards and do the final presentation. I've always stuck to this method and while it has worked in the past, I felt it could not have worked for this OP because we were not given the choice of holding flashcards and this really worried me because I really depend alot on flashcards.

Hence, before the mock OP in class I came up with a script to 'guide' my flow of thought but alas, the environmental noise proved to be distractive and I was really distracted and unable to deliver the information as well as I would have wanted to. I would say the mock OP was a good opportunity for me to understand what needed to be corrected to ensure a good delivery during the actual OP.

During the actual OP, I was really nervous. Given the amount of CAs I had that week, I was really stressed out but I'm thankful for the help and understanding that my teammates have given to me. (Thank you Y.A.P.I! :D) Practice really makes perfect because with practice comes confidence as well and this is one aspect that I learnt alot from during the preparation of this OP. This was what really helped me during the actual presentation where everything just came to me smoothly plus I really wanted our OP to be delivered well given the amount of time and effort our team had put in. Of course, I was also repeating to myself in my mind 'Smile more,girl!' as Brad would have said.

All in all,I really enjoyed this OP and everything that I have learnt through this experience and thank you once again Y.A.P.I! :D