Critical reflection

 At the start of the course, my goals were to refine my communication skills through the multiple classes planned for me in the effective communication module and build up my confidence in terms of communication. I felt that I managed to reduce the gap between my current self and my goals through the 2 months’ worth of lessons and post-class activities. In my opinion, I became more confident when speaking in front of an audience and handle interactions with the crowd. Along the way, I picked up several vital skills in communication such as body language. How I portray myself in-front of a crowd is important as it shows how confident I am. An audience would be more attentive to a presenter who is more confident in both spoken and non-verbal skills. What I have done well is I managed to maintain eye contact with my audience as there were many sessions of pitching to my classmates in the attempts to practice for the final presentation. However, I received feedback that my voice was monotonous. What I will keep in mind is on one is perfect and I have much more room for improvements in the rest of my life at the Singapore Institute of Technology and beyond.

 

For the presentation, I was rather worried about the question and answers section as there is a lot of research to be done. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are not as common as battery electric vehicles. The topic is undergoing more research and development. My team and I had trouble researching the relevant data of hydrogen fuel cells from a reliable source as there is a limited number of articles related to hydrogen fuel cell cars. We did what we could as an individual and shared the relevant data with the team. Before the presentation, I recorded myself when rehearsing alone. In the recording, I was able to review the areas that I did well and others that I did not. Areas that I did not do well were probably voice projection, fidgeting, and usage of filler words. I picked up the idea of recording from my classmates and found that it was useful. Other than self-reviewing, I had experience pitching in small groups and receive feedback from my peers. I receive feedback that I was not giving eye contact with my audience. This may be due to the lack of preparation, therefore needing to look at my phone for the materials to pitch on. From this, I learned the importance of preparing for a presentation as it will improve my confidence and improve body language such as eye contact. My teammates also helped clear doubts in the report, reviewing our script for the presentation when there seems to be an error in a certain section. Clement was able to project his voice and had an engaging tone. I was able to tell the difference between him and the other presenters. This is a pointer that I will bring with me and try to include in my presentations for future modules.