Critical Reflection

At the start of the effective communication module, I have set out a few goals to achieve such as developing my social skills in speaking as to be more confident when speaking to an individual, group or audience setting. To achieve this goal, I had to get off my anxiety and shyness when speaking. I am content to say that I have developed a few social skills and acquire other useful skills.

Over the weeks of attending classes, most of the time we had to stand in front of the class to present our thoughts and views on the task we had done. At the start of the weeks, I was nervous and not well prepared as presenting after I have completed a task was a first to me. After a continual cycle of presenting to my class as a form of public speaking, it had taken the edge off my anxiety and to be more confident in the way I speak and present myself. I learnt many efficient critical thinking methods such as Paul – Elder Framework, the 7Cs of Communication and Pyramid Principle. These methods helped me in the understanding of elements of thought, intellectual standards and traits. When explaining my views and thoughts, its best to follow the structure of “what, why and how” for better understanding and comprehension to the listeners. With what I have experience, learnt, unlearned and relearn, it can be applied to other modules and when I am I working in the near future as communication is key. It would help in my writing and presentation and I could still improve the way I speak to be more clearer.

From the technical report project, I have also learnt many things such as working as a team, research, evaluation and communication. The teams were picked out and I did not have the opportunity to speak to the other members before the selection process, so it was good opportunity to make friends and introduce with one another. From working as a team, we could identify each other’s strength and weaknesses in the aim of improving ourselves. Many of the meetings were done online and not face to face as it was during the pandemic. Finding the right time for meetings and only communicating through chats and voice call taught us to relay information efficiently. We did manage to meet up in person once and it was a memorable experience. Although not many tasks were done then due to the environmental changes literally as we kept moving locations, we manage to have a closer relation which was also one of my goals to achieve during this module. As time passes, we learnt to communicate better and understand each other’s perspective. Any doubts faced was also resolve through a team effort to make sure everyone was on the right page. I had a great time working with my team and I look forward in future projects where I am able to use the teamwork skills I learnt.

Before ending this reflection on my experiences, I would like to take the opportunity to thank Professor Brad Blackstone for his guidance and sharing of knowledge he has acquired along the years. I had a great learning experience as the lessons were engaging and memorable. I will take the opportunity of learning the many useful skills taught and gain, which I will apply it in my future endeavors. I look forward in having to be able to lead a team on a big project which can be appreciated by others for the quality and usefulness of the project.