During the whole course in CG1413, I learnt quite a number of useful communication skills that can be applied to many areas in my life. Below is a list of skills that I feel that it would useful not only in our working lives but in our daily lives as well.
Communication skills
• Models of communications
• Methods to reduce miscommunications• 7 Cs of writing
• Format of emails, proposals and letters
• Email etiquettes
• Effective listening skills
• Non-verbal communication
• Inter-cultural communication
• Presentation skills
• Conflict resolutions
• Conducting effective meetings
• Primary and secondary research
• Principles of problem solving• Making critical arguments
All these skills are important, especially effective listening and conflict resolution skills.
The main purpose of communication is to convey your idea across so as to create a common understanding of the subject. In order to achieve this, effective listening is required, so that the listener can get the full message that is being brought across.
When working in a team, especially in one where we are working with strangers from different cultures, conflicts can occur quite easily, when there is a clash in opinions. Therefore, conflict resolution skills are important, as it will help to prevent conflicts and also help to bring your opinions across to the other teammates.
Reflection on modules
Most of the skills we learnt were applied in CG1102 and CG1413, where many of our assignments require us to communicate, either to our teammates or to a group of people. Therefore, we were able to reinforce the skills taught to us by applying them in our modules. After each assignment, we would also have reflections. The reflections showed us that the skills taught were indeed useful, as we would compare our previous meetings or experiences where we do not apply the skills taught.
CG1102
In this project, I am assigned to a team with two other foreigners. It is my first experience working in a group with such a diverse team. It is quite a challenge working in this team, not because of the different cultures, but due to the different schedules of each teammate. We do not face much difficulty in communicating our ideas, as we have a common language that everyone understands.
For this project, I felt that the main aim is to improve our presentation skills after gaining feedback from our first oral presentation. There is also a focus on taking minutes, using agendas and also on our research skills. These are essential skills that we would be using as we progress in our university life and even more so when we enter the working force.
In conclusion, this module as been very enriching as it taught us skills that we think that we know when we do not really understand it. Our understanding of the skills taught should not stop here as well, as we should continue to practice and improve on them.
Leonard (C06)
