Critical Reflection

Module Learning

At the beginning of this module, I strived to improve my presentation skills which included delivering a smooth presentation without awkward pauses and confident speaking skills. In the past, I would always present unprepared and always asked myself why I was always so nervous. My slides were always wordy and I would go in without a script. This caused me to stutter constantly with many awkward pauses. I forgot what to say and ended up reading from the slides instead. I realised that I was not a natural speaker unlike many others, and would need to practise to be able to speak well in front of others.

The oral presentation conducted in this module gave me a fresh new opportunity to showcase my presentation skills. With the preparation of a rough script and multiple rehearsals, I was able to polish my content. Using the 7 Cs of communication helped me shape my script as well. The peer reviews from my teammate and classmates allowed me to think of ways to improve the presentation, making up for the parts I fall short of. The final presentation went smoothly, allowing me to confidently cover all the points I aimed to make. I would say this was my key takeaway from this module.

Another goal I have set to achieve is spontaneous presentation skills. In real life, we might have to make a presentation at any time just like the one simulated in class regarding an elevator pitch. This would not allow you to have any preparation, so learning to wing it at times like this is crucial. This is what I fell short of towards the end of this module. Hopefully, with further presentations, I could get used to being more confident in general making it easy to conduct it spontaneously

Project Learning

In this module, the presentation was able to make me understand the teamwork my team was able to display. Our team leader, Rynus, took the initiative to split the presentation into parts, allowing us to choose which we would want to take up. While making the slides, we all reviewed each other's parts and suggested edits. We would also find time every night before the presentation to come together to present, without complaint. This allowed us to suggest changes to each other's scripts, and give many pointers as to what we can improve on. The rehearsals conducted in person also allowed us to help each other improve the non-verbal aspects of our presentation, like showing off good body language, Through the joint cooperation of all members and many rehearsals, we were able to give an excellent presentation.

Learning is not always a one-man job. There will be many takeaways from working in a team that can't be learned from doing solo work. Everybody has their experiences and opinions that they can share and from this, you can learn a thing or two from them. As not everybody is perfect, it is hard to see what mistakes you make. Some others might not be able to as well so the peer review from multiple perspectives helps to spot as many problems as possible, providing a lot of help in making improvements and learning from mistakes. A good team with good teamwork will complement each other well. This will be able to provide the optimum result.

This module was very useful in helping me gain confidence and improve my writing, critical thinking, and presentation skills. Unlike the communication classes in polytechnic, Prof. Brad made the class really engaging which made the class a joy to attend. Everyone would be given an equal opportunity to participate actively in the class discussions. I gladly thank Prof. Brad for this amazing opportunity.