Reflection on Principles of Communication/Teamwork on programming and problem-solving projects

In the blink of an eye, I am now approaching the end of my second semester in NUS, concluding my first year as a NUS student. Looking back and picturing myself at the start of this semester, i realized that in these 3 short months, i have learnt many lessons that would prove to be invaluable in the near future.

When I was first introduced to CG1413, I did not know what to expect and frankly, I was rather skeptical about how the syllabus was going to be like. There were no tedious mathematical calculations, no complicated formulae to memorize and definitely no confusing programming work. Unlike the other modules where hard skills are constantly drilled into students, CG1413 focuses on imparting soft skills to students that are just as equally important. After attending 3 months of CG1413, I can now better understand the importance of communication and teamwork, and how to go about doing a good job at it.

In this semester alone, I was allocated to a total of 3 pre-assigned groups, which meant that I was required to work together as a team with 12 other new acquaintances. Hence I felt that attending a module that teaches effective team communication this semester is very apt.

In my previous experiences, I never thought that I had any issues working in a team and communicating with other people. Only after attending this module, did I realize that communicating effectively and maximizing a team’s potential is not as simple as it seems.

In my CG1102 project group, I was grouped with Duy, a Vietnamese and Shiyan, and Chinese. Coming from different cultural backgrounds, we were all unsure of where to begin, not knowing if what we said would offend the others. However, following the advice of the first few lessons in CG1413, we took the initiative to ask, and know more about each other. This simple act allowed us to warm up to each other much more quickly, as compared to simply being passive. I feel that a strength of mine would be that I am willing to take the initiative to go up to people and know them better. This is especially important when the other group mates are more reserved. On the other side, one thing that I failed to do well enough is to listen. Being the leader of the group, I was rather authoritative when expressing ideas at times, and perhaps failed to place other group mate’s opinions into consideration. Knowing this weakness of mine, I would definitely try to improve on it and not commit the same mistake in future.

As for my CG1413 problem-solving project group, I was actually rather disappointed with the fact that some group members were not putting in as much effort as the others. Situations like group members engaging in other activities during presentations, and seemingly uninterested with the Q&A sessions made me feel like the effort the rest put in was not worth it. However, looking back now, it was just a matter of different working styles, and knowing how to accept some one else’s working style that is different from your own is a critical factor for success in any team.

Working in teams, I feel that my best strength is also my greatest weakness when not utilized appropriately. Being very vocal, I am often the one suggesting ideas, or how to go about dealing with certain problems. However, there are times when I tend to come across as overbearing. Hence in future, I must be sure to keep myself in check, and constantly remind myself not to cross the line.

To end off, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Miss Brenda and all my group mates from the various groups. Thank you all for your guidance and patience.

Reflection on Oral Presentation 2

On 25th April 2010, my group and I presented our problem-solving project. Though Miss Brenda complimented our group, I felt that there were several aspects that could be improved on, both individually and as a group.

Individual Reflection

I felt that my performance was below my own expectations, with the first crucial mistake being complacency. My group’s turn to present was pushed back from Monday to Thursday, and being overly-confident, i did not go through the slides again on Wednesday to refresh my memory. Though i could remember most of the content, there were times when i stumbled over my words because i had to reaffirm the content on the slides. This may seem minor and unimportant, but faults like these can be easily rectified. Henceforth, no matter how prepared i might be, i would definitely take the extra effort and run through the slides again. Better safe than sorry.

After the Q&A session, i reflected on how i performed on answering the questions with regards to our project. Initially, i was rather pleased with myself, being able to address most of the questions posed. However upon deeper thought, i realized that i was speaking for majority of the time during the Q&A, denying my teammates the chance to express their thoughts. Thus, this made me recognize the fact that there is no ‘I’ in the team, and the team can only truly shine when everyone shines together.

On the bright side, i felt that there were several plus points of my presentation, with the most noteworthy, being my ability to focus the audience’s attention. By appearing confident and being vocal, i felt that i was able to channel ‘energy’ into my presentation, and hence capturing my audience’s attention. This is definitely a strength that i would continue to exploit to aid me in future endeavors.

Team Reflection

As a team, i felt that though we had several shortcomings, we fared relatively well overall.

In my opinion, the first and foremost issue with our presentation, are our slides. To begin, our slides were too lengthy, with several slides having excessive words. Also, perhaps due to the fact that our slides were done individually before collating, the presentation did not flow well, with some slides being structured differently. Last but certainly not least, would be the several spelling mistakes which made the presentation seem really unprofessional. All these mistakes cannot be attributed to any single group member as everyone is equally responsible in standardizing the slides and rechecking them for errors. As such, i felt that we could have done much better if there was better communication to decide on the format of the slides.

On the other hand, it was apparent that every group member did their utmost to contribute as constructively to the team as they possibly can. Due to a lack of communication, we may not have performed as well as we desired. But in terms of teamwork, i felt that everyone tried their best to accomplish their individual parts for the better of the team, and to bring the team one step closer to the final objective.

I would like to end off with a quote:”Coming together, sharing together, working together, succeeding together.” We might not know if our presentation is a success, but by being able to work as a team, we have already succeeded.

Reflection on meeting 1

On February 9th, Tuesday, my group C05D conducted our first CG1102 project group meeting. We only received details regarding our project the day before, but due to the fact that both my team members had to return to their respective countries for the festive season, we had no choice but to conduct the meeting/video recording in advance.

On Monday when we first received our project details, we immediately arranged to meet each other on the same night to discuss about the agenda for our first meeting. After being clear of which direction the meeting was going to be heading, each of us were assigned parts to prepare for the meeting. We realized that we would only have the chance to meet up once before the actual presentation. Hence we knew that we had to be as productive as possible, and hopefully come up with a solid plan by the end of the meeting.

After a grueling 7 hours of lesson on Tuesday which ended at 6pm, my group had a quick dinner together and headed down to COM1 basement to conduct our meeting cum video recording. Even though all of us were tired from the long day, we did not let it affect the atmosphere of the meeting. We still tried to keep the whole meeting light-hearted, while keeping to the agenda of the meeting.

The meeting began with each of us sharing the parts which we were assigned to prepare for. As one person is sharing, the other 2 members are to ask questions if they have any doubts or queries, and also, to give suggestions on how to improve the idea. This is when i realized that trying to send across your own idea to some one else, is not that simple after all. One plus point that i felt the entire group managed to do is how we can break down our complex idea into simple words and instructions, so that the listener can internalize it quickly and easily.

The next section of the meeting began with us discussing more in-depth about each part of the tasks we were assigned. This is the part when we had some problems in agreeing on which method to approach the problem. But nonetheless, the whole atmosphere was still pretty much happy and we were able to resolve any disagreements with logic instead of emotions. When a group is unable to decide on a particular solution to take, it is always important to not to give in into your emotions and flare up. Always take a step back, analyze the situation, accept the advantages of other people's idea, while at the same time presenting the advantages of your own idea clearly and concisely. Finally at the end, weigh the pros and cons of each solution to come up with the best solution.

Before ending off the meeting, we assigned new tasks to each of us based on our specialties and also, decided on the deadlines of when to complete these tasks. Knowing that the festive season is right around the corner, we agreed that our first deadline would be after the Chinese New Year. Such accommodations is especially important when working with group members of different ethnicity. Lastly, we decided on a date to meet after they return to Singapore to tie up any loose ends.

Resolving Interpersonal Conflicts

We may not realize it, but conflicts between people has been present since the start of mankind. Indeed, we have progressed tremendously since then, but interpersonal conflicts still exists as a problem in every era and every society to date. But are these conflicts necessarily negative? No doubt in many cases, conflicts result in resentment, or hostility between the parties involved. But if handled properly, it could lead to a better mutual understanding and even improve interpersonal relationships.

There are many ways of approaching interpersonal relationships. For example, some may choose to indulge in denial, and refuse to acknowledge that there is a problem. Though this method may be appropriate at times, more often than not, it only leaves the problem untouched, with the potential of leading to further tension and conflict. Another common way of dealing with conflicts is when anger comes in. People tend to confuse anger with conflict, when in fact, the two are very much different entities. Trying to solve conflicts with anger is like adding fuel to fire. The only purpose anger serves is to amplify the problem, resulting in even more friction between the parties.

So, what is the ‘correct’ way to resolve conflicts? To be honest, there is no one fixed solution to all conflicts, but however, there are some universal steps that can be taken to at least approach conflicts in the right direction, to minimize the chances of the conflict going out of control.

Step 1:

To begin, parties involved must view the conflict that is to be solved mutually, and actively participate in the discussion to come up with a compromise that is as fair as possible for the parties involved.

Step 2:

During the actual discussion to resolve the conflict, it is important to stay composed, and view the whole situation objectively. Do not be too caught up with immediate self interests and disregard the position of the other party.

Step 3:

Lastly, always stay positive and look at the big picture. The issue at hand might or might not be worth damaging the relationship. Hence, sometimes there may be advantages in being gracious and taking a step back.

As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, and that is every bit true when it comes to interpersonal relationships. This is where effective communication skills would play a part. Being able to relate to others, and understanding them, would enable you to make appropriate changes to your words or actions before they become a source of conflict.

To end off, i would say that knowing how to resolve interpersonal conflicts is definitely a plus point in any field of work, enabling us to work harmoniously with our peers and friends.

Observation of team behavior: Intercultural and Interpersonal communication

In today’s multi-cultural society, we constantly find ourselves interacting with people of different nationality, age, gender, and not forgetting, different cultural backgrounds. This is especially the case here in Singapore where we pride ourselves in being a cosmopolitan, and multi-racial society. However, more often than not, differences bring about communication barriers which might lead to conflicts. Hence, this post that I am about to write is to discuss ways to avoid these conflicts, and work effectively with teammates of different cultures and backgrounds.

To begin, I would like to mention some observations that i have made while being with teammates of various cultural backgrounds.

As an Asian myself, i would say that we are generally rather reserved in our words and actions, not wanting to stand out of the crowd and risk embarrassing ourselves. In contrast to that, Caucasians are usually more outspoken, and expressive. I wouldn’t judge and say which is better, but when dealing with someone of a different culture, it is better to ask when you are unsure of something, instead of hoping that what you do does not offend the other person. By asking and learning, we can avoid making a fool of ourselves and even worse, resulting in a conflict.

Next, i would like to say that there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ cultures. A culture that is different from our own, does not mean that it is incorrect. We have to accept that people of different cultures have different upbringing, and as a result, may act and think differently. For example, for Americans, direct eye contact is a gesture of saying that we are paying attention to the speaker. But for a Japanese, direct eye contact generally makes them feel uncomfortable. As such, we have to be receptive, and adaptive, so as to make the other party feel comfortable.

Lastly, I will now discuss how is it like to be on the receiving end. When someone does an action that comes off as rude or inappropriate, our natural reaction would be to get angry. But before we get all angsty, we should take a step back and reevaluate the situation. Is the person of different cultural background? Did the person deliberately do or say it to offend me? Or is the person simply oblivious to the fact that he is offending me? When dealing with a person of different cultural background, we should always try to be forgiving, taking into account that the other party might not know that he or she has stepped over the line.

To conclude, i would say that interacting with people of different cultural background may seem intimidating to some. But if the appropriate steps are taken, not only can we avoid awkward moments, we may also be able to learn and appreciate other cultures.

Principles of Communication

To me, communication is a two-way process of interchanging information, through various different channels. Be it a casual conversation between two friends, or addressing a conference, the basic principles of communication still hold. Being able to understand and be understood may seem simple, but in fact, there are many factors that play a part in effective communication.

Below are a few factors that may affect communication:

1) Know your audience.
-Knowing who you’re addressing to, allows you to set the tone that you should be using, which will allow both you and the receiver to communicate in a more comfortable setting.

2) Know your purpose and your topic.
-Knowing clearly what message you have to send across, generally allows your message to be clearer and more concise. Having sufficient knowledge in the topic that you are talking about also enables you to be more confident while communicating.

3) Anticipate objections.
-Keep in mind that not everyone thinks and agrees on what you have to say. Always have an open-mind on how the audience may respond to you, even if the response might be negative.

4) Present a rounded picture.
- By presenting the big picture, it allows the audience to not feel that you are biased, and also gives the audience a better understanding of the topic from another point of view.

5) Follow through on what you have to say.
- Never negate what you are saying, failing which would result in your audience being confused.

6) Communicate a little at a time
- Always try not to overwhelm the audience with information. If due to time constraints, summarize your points and present in a short and concise manner.

7) Have several communication channels.
- Try to present your message in various forms, so as to hold your audience’s attention.

8) Develop ways to get feedback from audience
- By getting feedback from the audience, you are able to make sure that the message is being sent across to the audience, and if not, gives you a second chance to say it again.

Communication is a life-skill that many fail to grasp the importance of it. Being able to communicate effectively allows me to better understand by peers, and also to be better understood by them.

During my free-time, I help out at a wakeboarding school as an instructor. In the course of my work, I have come to realize that sometimes making someone understand my instructions is not as easy as it seems to be. A particular instruction may seem so simple and redundant to explain for me, but to a complete beginner, my words may seem like Greek to him or her. As such, it is important to put myself in the shoes of the listener, gauge his or her skill level, and make appropriate changes to my set of instructions.

Problems like this are actually omnipresent, just that many of us fail to see it as a problem and hence fail to rectify it, resulting in communication breakdown. To conclude, I strongly believe that effective communication is a skill whose importance can hardly be over-emphasized.