Critical Reflection

As a student who went through multiple effective communication classes in polytechnics, I would say that SIE Effective Communication in SIT is a completely different experience. At the beginning of the SIE Effective Communication module, I expected to find the lesson content to be the same as what I studied during my Polytechnic years. Hence, I did not have any expectation of gaining any knowledge out of it. However, I have been proven wrong with the content I have been taught over the past 13 weeks. My lecturers in my previous effective communication module place more emphasis on the content of the proposal than on the presentation technique. Therefore, I have always assumed that my presentation skills are not an issue if I can present myself confidently. Nevertheless, the content from this module has permitted me to realize some weaknesses I was unaware of. Different behaviors during presentations have been highlighted to enhance our quality of presentation. To prevent unnecessary attention to the audience, behaviors such as remaining seated when our teammate is presenting, smooth handing of the presentation to our teammate, and position standing were stressed. Some of these behaviors are minor but impact the quality of our presentation in an adverse way. While focusing on the quality of presentations, critical thinking is also emphasized to create an unbiased perspective. The Critical Thinking Framework by Paul-Elder enhances the quality of thinking by taking control of the structures inherent in thinking and imposing standards on them. Oftentimes, emotional reasoning can cause us to look at things from a biased perspective, which may affect our standpoint as well. Therefore, the guideline of the Paul-Elder Framework will help us to rethink and consider viewpoints from other perspectives.

As the team leader for my group report proposal, it can definitely be challenging to work with individuals coming from different backgrounds with different personalities. Thus, I would like to stress the importance of ensuring that all team members understand and are on the same page with the report's contents. As well as the importance to take in feedback on individual concerns and compromise with a wise decision. These factors were emphasized as they will highly impact the process of report writing as well as the report deliverables. Despite some difficulties we faced as a team, we definitely learned some new skills from each other. The past experiences with effective communication classes have given us different knowledge which we were able to apply in this module. Thus, the application of different knowledge was a valuable informations that we could learn from each other. Such knowledge on brushing up on the visual aid and preparation of foreseen questions is new information that was never taught to me. Furthermore, the new skills that we have acquired from our teammates and the new content taught in SIE Effective Communication module, it has enabled us to prepare an effective presentation and report. As such, I would like to thank my teammates and professor Brad for the informative knowledge they have shared which will be beneficial to my future studies and career.

To conclude this critical reflection, I would like to purge my language skills to deliver a professional presentation and report in the future. Language has always been a barrier that I have faced since young, and I hope that I will be able to overcome these difficulties through the next three years in SIT.