The final post

Finally comes the final post. Actually I felt a little bit sentimental at the pizza feast treated by madam Fazilah after our last tutorial, which was just another saying, “All good feasts come to an end.” This module gives me the most supports, inspirations and gains during my stay in NUS and this research group is the most harmonious one amid all the groups I’ve been in. Jay did a lot to improve my writing and oral presentation, and even helped me to revise my paper in another module, to which I’d like to express my greatest thanks. He is the one who can always grasp the big picture and the always cheerful Shi Chie has many awesome ideas to share. Of course I will not forget the cold and sarcastic Alex, who takes a judgmental look at all our work, and makes our research more all-rounded.

The most important skill I’ve acquired is how to make a professional oral presentation. In fact I did not have the concept of how an oral presentation should be before I came here, because in Chinese schools little emphasis is laid on the presentation, even for university students. After observing the presentations made by all my classmates, I realize that the PowerPoint slides should be concise and to the point, and that the presenter should be capable of holding the attention of the audience by applying different methods to make the presentation catchy and thought-provoking.

Another portion that gives me a lot of enlightenment is how to write an application letter and resume. First of all, I became aware of my problems in writing according to the peer review from my classmates. Additionally, it seems that creative ideas won’t always help because I tried to make my resume look more colourful and eye-catching and Mdm Fazilah advised me not to. However, I am relatively satisfied with my performance in the mocking interview, for which I made a lot of preparations so that I wouldn’t be too nervous during the interview.

After all, this learning process is really fulfilling and rewarding, which will also become a part of the wonderful memories of my study here. I see another kind of teaching method that is different from what I see in China; I choose a module that can equip me with some very pragmatic skills that can help me make early preparations for the future; I encounter a responsible and warm teacher and a group of young people with great ideas and positive energy. Just like what I’ve been told by a Japanese teacher from another module, “That is why you are here, in NUS, Linna.”

Reflection on Oral Presentation

 

This is my last presentation here in NUS and of course I took it very seriously because I hope my study here could have a nice ending pose. Thanks to the help from all of my teammates, I didn’t make my presentation as unprofessional and dragging as what I did in my home university. So in this blog, I am going to reflect on my work during this group project in terms of preparation, delivery and use of slideware.

I was responsible for the survey design, distribution, results collection and data analysis before our oral presentation, so that I am the most suitable person to address this survey report and make it a plus to our big picture. My intention was to make this part concise and to the point and at the same time not frigid and dull. So when I wrote my handscript, I tried to add my own experience and some humour to the result analysis in order to resonate with all the audience. Thus I think I was well-prepared and fully aware of what I was going to talk about. Alex, Jay and Shi Chie kept reminding me to “have the highlights in mind” before the preparation, which was directive and helpful. The PowerPoint slides were also improved by these three science guys. The data was added into corresponding pie charts and the bar graphs were complied to a single format so that the slides looked more professional. I did learn a lot from them about how to prepare for this oral presentation.

I was undoubtedly a little bit nervous when it was my turn to stand in front of the audience. My biggest weakness was that I could not get rid of my handscript, and my utterances were not fluent enough. That reduced my use of eye contact with the audience and necessary gestures to enhance my convincing image. As Madam Fazilah said, I looked less natural, relaxing and confident because I had to refer to my notes from time to time. However, this handscript was necessary for me because I did not want my speech to be dry and ungrammatical. I have to admit that public speaking skills are the biggest stumbling block for me in terms of my English proficiency. I will sharpen my spoken English further in the future.

After all, this experience is really fulfilling and rewarding, and the process of working with my teammates were very delightful, especially when we decided to shoot some funny pictures to create humour sense in our performance. Anyway, the work is done now and I am quite relieved!