Doing a research project on a Powernap House wasn't easy.
It constantly made me wish, during those sleepy morning lectures, that they really exist.
Pleasant!
The research project was a pleasant experience. For one, my project mates and I were all very cooperative team players, each completing our assigned parts on time. There were no complains, no underground feuds, and this made our progress really smooth.
During project discussions, I saw how each of us tried to bring our own ideas across, and how we had to convince one another. There were times we could not fully agree, and there was a need to change an approach in explaining our points so that the picture becomes clearer. Such situations trained my communication skills, constantly allowing me to phrase and rephrase my sentences, and use the more suitable words that can help bring my thoughts across.
Definitely, after all the project meetings, email correspondences, sms, constant interaction and nights spent on report-writing, we became more than just project mates.
We became friends!
If there were no projects, I guess we would not have managed to build a closer relationship. There were also times we acknowledged each others' efforts through words of appreciation such as "Good job, it was really well done". These words, though simple, really made a difference in that it gave the encouragement and motivation we really needed.
For the upcoming Oral Presentation, I believe confidence and sufficient preparation are very important. An Oral Presentation is equivalent to communicating effectively with the audience. When we are standing in front, the nonverbal cues that we display are very important. Eye contact with everyone in the audience is especially important to allow them to feel engaged, and we should not speak specifically only to the lecturers.
Finally, thanks to the ES2007S report, I'm now confidently capable of page-numbering a multi-sectioned document.
4 comments:
I understand the situation when group members do not agree to your point or idea and you need to try to restructure your sentences to let them understand. Sometimes it is not that they do not like your idea hence disagree with you. And it is that they do not get what you really mean. An abstruse sentence may give different meaning to different people. And it is only with effective communication skill that you can overcome this problem. If one can communicate clearly, the receiver will get the point which the speaker wants to convey.
I also feel that acknowledging each others’ efforts is necessary. It not only let one feels appreciated, it also encourages one to do as good or better next time. For example, one may have put in a lot of effort and time in completing his/her part in the project. If his/her group mates do not even say a ‘Thank You’, s/he will not feel being appreciated, hence will not contribute as much for the project anymore. But if his/her group mates thanks and praise her for her work, s/he will feel worthwhile and will not mind contributing more. It is amazing how these words, like ‘Thank You’, ‘Good Job’ and ‘Well Done’, can bring enormous impact. However there are some people who are stingy on praising others. I believe this is another form of communication that we need to learn – praising others.
Dear Stephany,
Your involvement in your research project seemed to be a very satisfying one. I can imagine the kind of effort you have to put in to ensure that everything is handed in on time and to maintain a harmonious working relationship with your group members throughout the research term.
I am sure that you have learned a lot from this experience and there is also no doubt that acquiring the skill of "page-numbering for multi-section reports" will propel you to administrative super-stardom when you work in the educational industry in the near future. (Just a joke)
Dear Stephany,
I would like to highlight on the point that Jean brought up on acknowledging the effort of the others. Generally, I feel that people of today tend to expect too much from others, causing them to take their teammates for granted. In my opinion, even the simple fact that team members make the effort to fulfill their scope of work, is worth acknowledging. A simple “Thank you” can do wonder, and just as jean as mentioned, it can further motivate the team member to put in even more effort. Therefore, we should learn to be thankful and appreciative of responsible teammates as this would greatly enhance the interpersonal relationship within the team.
Hi Stephany,
I think you were right to say that the research project was in fact a very good channel to build up our rapport with each other. Working with the project let us practice various essential skills like good time management and organizational skills, and of course interpersonal communication skills. Like what Ruisheng and I encountered, the difficulty of organizing our thoughts and using the right words for the right situation is a perennial problem. From project, I have learnt that I do face several problems and definitely have inadequacies in communication skills, but I have also been shown the positive lessons to be drawn too. Obstacles can be overcome if the foundation of the team is augmented by good interpersonal bonds with the team mates; many times I have faced problems in completing various assigned task, but by approaching you guys and having all of your aid have definitely reduced my difficulties tremendously!
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