Post 7 # Reflections

So we have come to the end of this wonderful course, and find ourselves reflecting on what has been an absorbing and joyous period of twelve weeks in the Professional Communication class. It has been engaging, hectic, demanding, but above all, a lot of fun.

For me personally, the most important skill this course provided was in drafting formal texts using the 7 C’s of communication. This skill is universally applicable and essential to all forms of communication.

The whole research project – report as well as the presentation – was an experience I enjoyed enormously. The only part I did not enjoy very much was the resume and cover letter lessons, and this only because I have always hated the task of superficially condensing and embellishing my personality into one (or two) page(s) of bland white rolled tree pulp. However, I am very thankful to Ms.Lim and my classmates whose suggestions have helped me immensely in improving the content and formatting of my resume and cover letter.

Although we were taught many skills during this course, I think it will take us a good deal of effort on our part to actually see them in effect. It will take practice and more practice, and I am unsure if we will get the opportunity to do that in this leisure-starved world.

On the whole, it has been a very pleasant experience, inspite of the relatively break-neck pace of the module. I think Ms. Lim’s positive and gentle approach had a big role to play in relaxing us amidst all the deadlines and submissions. Thank you Ms. Lim, and all my class mates for making this such an enjoyable experience.

Sandeep Jaganath : Bio-Data

My name is Sandeep Jaganath, and I am an engineering undergraduate student at the National University of Singapore. I expect to graduate in July 2009 with a major in Mechanical Engineering.

I am an Indian national, and did my schooling in India. Having been raised around a typical South Asian bias towards engineering over other faculties meant that I always favoured Engineering as my choice for university education. My deeper interest in physics and mechanics prompted me to apply for the Mechanical Engineering course at NUS, with eventual success.

I am an individual with varied interests. Aside from recreational sport, I am passionate about issues of animal rights, environment, health and nutrition. I have participated in projects such as movie screenings, exhibitions and other events both on and off campus to promote awareness on these subjects. I am also an avid reader and a member of several internet discussion forums on these issues. My pursuit of extra-curricular interests has helped me keep in touch with the problems, needs and evolving nature of the society and the world around me.

The broad-based curriculum at NUS has equipped me with knowledge in faculties such as the arts, economics and science as well. Having to take care of myself in a foreign country away from family has taught me to manage resources and responsibilities independently.

I am confident that the skills, values and knowledge I have acquired over the years will help me tackle challenges successfully and make the most of the opportunities to come.

Non-Verbal Communication (Open Topic)

I have always been fascinated by the psychology of communication. It is interesting to note that in a formal interview the subject’s body language contributes over 60% of his/her impression on the interviewer. Clearly, this facet of our appearance and persona is understood to be better reflective of our true self than the words we speak. This was also highlighted by Ms. Lim during her presentation on non verbal communication in class in the early stages of this module.

However, the prevalent culture seems to have a major role in people’s perceptions of gestures and their connotations. For instance, cheek kissing as a gesture of friendliness or comfort is very common in Southern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Latin America. The same gesture brings up associations with homosexuality in Asia, and is particularly inappropriate between members of opposite genders. This website on Afghan culture and social norms says “Between men eye contact is acceptable as long as it is not prolonged - it is best to only occasionally look someone in the eyes.” Deliberate avoidance of eye contact may be seen as a sign of weakness or discomfort in other places. I have personally experienced similar reactions from many Singaporeans upon maintaining eye contact during conversations. If you think you know why this may be so, do share in the comments section.

Similarly, many aspects of the Japanese work culture (refer here), for instance, the emphasis on ‘face’, or one’s image, and the persistent pressure to conform to accepted societal standards, seem totally at odds with the more ‘liberal’ Western principles. The traditional South Asian gesture of welcome by folded hands may be associated with subservience in the West.

The list is just endless. This brings me to my question. Can you think of any gestures that have one or more common and universally understood meaning(s)? Perhaps the hand-shake?

Evaluating Intercultural Behavior (Post #4)

The intercultural interactions I describe here involve me and my Singapore internee X during our internship last year. Both of us were quiet personalities, and took a while to warm up to each other.

It is interesting to note the pattern of our interactions after we got to know each other well. I follow certain ethical principles that make me stand out rather glaringly (The principles themselves aren’t relevant here, but I wouldn’t mind discussing them in the comments) and X found them very interesting, and actually subscribed to them in theory, without ever saying so explicitly. We had many long animated discussions on related subjects, which dominated most of our interactions. For the purpose of clarity, let me state that those principles are often considered by the society to be ‘extreme’ and their believers lunatics.

I soon discovered that X was not comfortable with letting others in on his interest and opinions on such matters. I’d often discuss the subject with the other staff in a light manner, and each time X would go into a shell to project an impression of apathy and lack of interest – almost as if he thought he’d be branded an outcast for ideologically associating with people like me, who are likely to fall into the “weirdos” category, as seen by the general society.

I also felt that X and the other Singaporean internees were rather uptight and overly deferential, to the point of plain subservience, with their bosses. Indeed, this one time, they refused to leave the office through the front exit because a circle of superiors was discussing right at the exit (We’d have had to split the group to leave). They wouldn’t talk about it later, and I felt that they were simply afraid of coming across as impudent b requesting the bosses to part). It could be that their personalities had a big role to play in their behaviour, but I was pretty sure the culture they were raised in was responsible too.

Towards the end of our internship, X began to distance himself from me. Even during our friendlier days, I always felt like I was being scrutinized by him, as though I was somehow behaving in a manner he did not approve of. I found out later from another internee and a common friend that X thought I was very naïve, did not know political and diplomatic correctness, and did not behave appropriately with my seniors and others not very well known to me. I had always been honest and open and as far as I am aware, warm and friendly to everyone at the workplace. But I did notice that some of those qualities seemed out of place at the office, where Singaporeans dominated the numbers.

I learnt a great deal about Singaporean culture and manners during my internship. This particular set of interactions with X, and others with the rest of my colleagues also showed me that my general outlook, ways of communication and manners did not always match the accepted Singapore ways. It was a very interesting experience nevertheless.

Letter Critique (Blog Post #3)

Ok folks, for this assignment, I am going to analyze critically the letter I have pasted below. It was sent to me by the company 'SIHT'. The true name of the company has been changed (because I am not sure if it is appropriate for me to reveal the name here, although their email does not forbid me from revealing the content to others) to SIHT (SIHT, Ahem ..SIHT ...they rejected my application). SIHT’s letter was to inform me that my application for employment with them was rejected.

"Dear Sandeep,

Thank you for your recent application expressing interest in opportunities with SIHT.

We have carefully reviewed your application with interest. Unfortunately you have not been successful on this occasion. Should you wish to reapply you will need to wait for a period of twelve months before submitting another application.

We would like to thank you for the interest you have shown in SIHT and for the time taken completing the application form and submitting your CV. We wish you every success for the future.

At SIHT we are committed to the continuous improvement of our recruitment process and would be grateful if you would take a few moments of your time to fill in our "Candidate Experience Survey". The survey is managed by a third party supplier and is completely anonymous. Your individual responses will not be made available to SIHT.

Your feedback on this extremely valuable to us and we appreciate your time given.

Please click here to access the survey


Kind regards,


SIHT"

Ok, at first look, there doesn’t appear to be much to critique. The letter looks perfectly written and seems to get a tick against every one of the seven Cs.
Let’s start with Courtesy. The salutations and complimentary close are appropriately chosen and courteous. There also seems to be a conscious effort to focus on the reader by avoiding the word ‘We’ at the start of the sentence. Wherever the sentences begin with a ‘we’, it seems to be a good trade-off for overall conciseness, clarity and coherence. I also think that the nature of relationships and exchanges between applicants and the employers permits more lenient use of ‘We’s, unlike one between a salesperson and his/her customer, where the balance of power is not so well shared. Also noteworthy is the positive tone used and good wishes conveyed to the reader (That none of it may be sincerely meant, we shall pass).

Next, we consider the correctness of the draft. After closely worming my way through the letter and every single word in it, I discovered a grammatical error in paragraph five. The word ‘is’ has been left out in the line, “Your feedback on this (is) extremely valuable to us” (Oh, and before you suspect that I have deliberately deleted the word while reproducing the letter .. No, I haven’t. This is the original.) The general tone of the letter is perfect, however, formal without sounding forbidding, gracious without sounding easy. The simple sentence structures adopted also discounts extensive use of modifiers and connectors.

As far as Conciseness, Clarity, Coherence and Cohesion go, this letter scores full marks in my book. It is smooth, with no trite or unnecessary phrases, and is structured very efficiently.

Considering the Concreteness ‘C’, I did find one little bit of information confusing. This company accepts applications for not full-time jobs alone, but internships and project training programs as well. This letter does not tell me whether I must wait 12 months for submitting an application for internship, or other opportunities, as well. And if were to be difficult, I’d point out the use of the word ‘recent’ in the first line. They do know when I sent my application in. But since this is a definitely a computer-generated mail, I let it pass.
Completeness: Fair enough.

So that’s my neat little critique of the business letter.

One last comment: It is funny when I think back to it now, but certainly wasn’t funny then. I opened the mail in great anticipation of landing at a job at SIHT. SIHT not just told me I was rejected, but went on to wish me every “success” for the future. Perhaps they meant it well, but at that moment, the words seemed coated with a thick layer of temerity. And then they had the nerve to ask me to fill up their survey form!

Interpersonal Conlicts : Blog post # 2

In this post, I will describe a real situation of inter personal conflict I faced three semesters ago with a project-mate of mine.

Here is the story. It was a group of 6, and on this one occasion in the early stages of the project, we decided to meet at 10 AM on a Saturday! Now, ever since I began university studies, I have had a problem with punctuality. Somehow, I don’t know how it began, but it did, and soon had me in its grasp. So, I went for this meeting 45 minutes late (If you are wondering what kept me … I had overslept… zzzz). My memory informed me that I had been 30 minutes late for the previous meeting as well, and I had used the word “Sorry” on that occasion. I was eeling very guilty and disgusted with myself for being late this time. Thinking that using the word “sorry” again without any shame would constitute an inexcusable abuse of the profound meaning and intentions behind a sincere usage of the word, I instead raised my hands in apology and said, “Look, I know there is no point saying Sorry”, which was meant to indicate that my atrocious behavior could not be rescued by just uttering the word “Sorry” a second time. One of my group mates, whom I shall name X here, seemed to have misunderstood that and immediately told me with words to the effect, “But You are 45 minutes late for God’s sake!” in a rather accusing tone. I immediately sensed that my words were not taken in the way they were meant. But I managed to appease him temporarily and the meeting finished without any vitriolic displays.

I got a better understanding of his sentiments at the next meeting. A light conversation that we were having somehow veered towards my late-coming misdemeanor at the previous meeting. X’s voice rose at that and he said, “It is basic courtesy to say Sorry when you are late for an appointment.” Aha ! So now I had got it. X thought I had been discourteous and perhaps egotistic by not apologizing, when I had actually submitted myself to his capacity to forgive!

My big concern was whether this misunderstanding would come between us and impede group unity and performance. I decided to just be myself and allow our interactions as per my integrity, without going out of my way to try and repair anything between us. I have always believed that two people just being themselves is the ideal formula for a relationship, and I followed it myself, and thankfully, we gelled together through the rest of the project and had a good, effective working relationship. I now have a great deal of respect and admiration for X’s commitment and focus on his work.

Effective Communication Skills (Post #1)

This topic is one of those that always trips me up. The answer seems to be just SO VERY obvious, but when I try to jot down the points on (e)paper, I find my mind blank.

Anyway, with a little disciplining and some help from our common buddy Google, I noted a few solid points:

The most obvious answer is that effective communication helps express oneself clearly. Everyone from a wet and/or dirty-bottomed baby calling for attention to a company CEO barking orders needs to be able to express themselves with clarity in order to get things done as desired. The need for effective communication becomes more acute in a workplace because of the constant need and opportunities encountered to make new contacts and to strengthen existing bonds. Another important – and quite intangible – connection between good communication skills and a sense of personal well-being is in self-confidence. Knowing that one can express and defend ideas, and interact well with colleagues is perhaps as important as having ideas and colleagues in the first place.

Finally, effective communication skills help prevent misunderstandings. The popular George Bush-Condoleezza Rice conversation might be overly simplistic, at times inane, and more to do with semantics, but it shows how hilariously confusing things can get when two people simply find themselves unable to follow each other's words! That’s enough reasons for us to strive for effective communication skills. But if you’ve got more, put them on in the comments!