1) Did you have a positive learning experience doing the research project?
Of course! Although there was a lot of hard work as our group attempted to do a topic (Passion in NUS undergraduates) that is more abstract, I learnt a lot from doing this research project, such as knowing myself and my group members better.
2) What have been some significant things you learnt about:
• Having clear communication as a whole?
Initially, as we were not familiar with each other, our communication was not as easy and clear. However, after spending weeks on the project, we subsequently got to know each other more and thus, we were able to communicate and convey our ideas better and efficiently. Clear communication is very important for a group to function well. I have learnt that speaking in a concise manner or using illustrations can lead to better communication.
• Building interpersonal relationships?
We got to know each other more as friends rather than just project mates. I really appreciate the chit-chats that we have before we dive into doing our project at our meetings. I have learnt that, by engaging in active listening, communication is made simpler.
• Being a team player?
The report requires a lot of cooperation and coordination as it is quite substantial. Therefore, it would require every member to be able to work as a team. I would say that every member in our group has been very cooperative and we were able to bring up and discuss issues freely. I have learnt that it is important to keep an open mind to the ideas of others in order to improve our project.
• Doing research
As mentioned, our group’s research topic is relatively abstract, thus, we must dig deeper in order to find relevant materials for our project. I have learnt that it is important to support our report with secondary sources in order to prove our point.
• Writing reports?
I have learnt to adopt and observe the 7C methodology of writing. For instance, the report must be concise and clear in what we are trying to convey.
3) What are some specific principles of communication that you would want to use to extend to your next team project, the oral presentation?
• Look out for non-verbal cues on whether our audience is paying attention to what we are saying, and then make subsequent adjustments such as changing tone of presentation to re-engage their attention.
• Engage in active listening when the audience has queries on our presentation. This would allow us to answer their questions confidently and convincingly when we know what they are asking.
4) What are some weak areas of communication that you do not want to extend to completing the team oral presentation project?
• Be open-minded about the questions or suggestions that the audience might have and, although we do have to defend our point of view, we must not get too uptight about it. It is important to be firm but not overly aggressive.
Blog Post #1
15 years ago
3 comments:
Hi Chong Guan, I agree with your point that one must be open-minded to others' ideas. For our group project on premarital sex, at first we wrote in our survey question asking if the respondents believe that social stigma is one of the contributing factors if they did not engage in premarital sex.
One of the groups who edited our premarital sex survey said that social stigma could cut both ways. For example there were people who felt that being conservative and not engaging in premarital sex was also a social stigma in an increasingly open-minded society.
We decided to take their opinion into consideration and add the words "Premarital sex is frowned upon by Singapore society" after the words "social stigma" to clarify our definition.
Hence I believe that it is important to take other people's opinions into consideration to improve our project because others may have ideas that we never thought of. In this case, we would never have thought that the way we framed that question was subjective. Thanks to the group that helped us!
Hi Chong Guan! I'm glad you've enjoyed working with this group because I certainly have! I agree that all of us were/are able to communicate well with each other. And yes, by being-open minded, we've managed to learn even more from each other. With regards to the presentation, like you, I personally think that it is indeed very important to look out for non-verbal cues that might indicate the audiences' disinterest. It is not an easy feat to engage the audience, especially when the topic that we will be presenting on is quite an abstract one, but hopefully, as a group, we will be able to present it well and make it more interesting than ever.
Hi Chong Guan,
The questions in Appendix 2 are meant to serve as a guide to helping you reflect on your research project. I did not expect you to have a question-answer format in your post.
Anyway, I'm glad that despite the hard work, you have gotten to know yourself and your project mates better and that they are now your friends rather than just your project mates!
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