Final Reflections

As always, good things must come to an end, and I feel that ES2007S was truly one of the ‘good things’ that I was privileged to be a part of this semester. I think the impact this course has made on my life is making the writing of this last blog post more difficult than the rest, simply because there is way too much to say. However, having passed through this course myself, I now know that ex-students really weren’t exaggerating when they commented that ES2007S was one of the most useful courses available in the NUS curriculum.

This course has been a vastly different experience for me in terms of what I managed to learn, as well as the interaction patterns within the class. Compared to my psychology modules, there is no doubt that ES2007S has content that is so much more applicable to real life and the working world that all of us will inevitably join in the near future. I feel that this course has contributed to my academic and personal growth tremendously! In addition, there is actual opportunity to make real friends in this class, rather than just remain as project mates. I think this was the real differentiating factor for me, and something that has enhanced this experience greatly. It’s not that I don’t make friends in my psychology modules. But there tends to be something missing from most relationships that makes it more difficult to progress beyond small talk. However this ES2007S class was very comfortable. To use an analogy, it made me feel like I was back in junior college where I knew all 25 of my classmates personally, rather than the impersonal lectures that are the norm in NUS. And of course, the teacher made a difference (Thanks Brad!). I’m sure everyone will agree with me that Brad’s teaching style made lessons interesting, and I actually looked forward to coming to class.

I opened my first blog post with an excerpt from a movie and it seems only fitting that I should close my last official ES2007S related blog post with one as well. This one is from Memoirs of a Geisha, and it came to my mind today when we talked in class about using non verbals to our advantage.  I couldn't find the exact clip on YouTube, but if you watch the trailer below, you'll know the scene i'm talking about :) 

In this excerpt, Mameha (Michelle Yeoh) trains Sayuri (Zhang Ziyi) to use only her eyes to stop a guy in his tracks. The scene eventually plays out like this: both women left Mameha’s apartment, and Sayuri began to walk, with her head lowered and her eyes concentrated on the road. When a young man on a bicycle rode by, she briefly lifted her eyes to look at him directly in the eyes, before quickly lowering them again. And this subtle flirtatious glance completely distracted the young man such that he lost control of his bicycle and went flying. Sayuri didn’t say a word throughout the whole event and I feel this aptly displays the power that non verbals hold.

In conclusion, I had a lot of fun doing this module and I would definitely recommend other people to take it, although I guess it won’t be the same with Brad gone  to teach EAP.  I wish everyone good luck in their future endeavours, especially those who are already graduating! And for those who still have another year left, hopefully we’ll see each other around NUS J! Bye Sofie and Mikaela, I realise I didn’t get a chance to work with either of you on a closer basis, but I hope you enjoyed your exchange here! And thanks Brad, for everything that you taught us!

TAKE CARE EVERYONE and GOOD LUCK FOR FINALS! J

Evaluating the Oral Presentation

The past month has seen Phyllis, Baowen and I rocket through the ups and downs of our research project. During this time, we really grew into our roles as founders and innovators of SingaBrella, and it went from being just any other school project, to something that we didn’t mind investing our time and effort into. In some way, this idea had become our ‘baby’! Last Friday, all our efforts in cultivating what we hoped would be a stellar research project culminated in the 20 minute oral presentation which all of you were audience to.

My preparation for this presentation included watching a clip entitled Best Elevator Pitch on Youtube, which I have also embedded into this post for you guys to take a look at. Although the speaker was giving only a 2 minute presentation, I was extremely impressed by the way he was able to use catch phrases and numbers to seize the attention of his audience, as well as the smoothness of his delivery despite the pace of his speech. This served as the inspiration for the script that I eventually prepared for the presentation. By practicing extensively (my dog has been privy to multiple renditions of my scriptJ) I was able to achieve a state in which I reduced my use of fillers, of which I received comments about during the mock presentation.  

Looking back on the presentation, I felt that everything went well, and that even the minor glitches, such as the faulty clicker, failed to seriously throw us off balance. In fact, I was really proud of Phyllis despite her mental white out, in that she was able to control her emotions well enough to finish her portion of the presentation where others might have already given up. I felt that the core strength of our presentation was the conviction that all 3 of us had in our idea and our ability to express this confidence in not only our words, but also in our non verbal interactions. This was key in helping us to market our idea as a pressing need, rather than an option that could be done without. In addition, it brought our delivery to a whole different level of effectiveness. Another aspect of our presentation which I felt was commendable was that our slides, save for the SWOT analysis, weren’t overly wordy. In fact, the bulk of our slides comprised of photographs or diagrams. Perhaps we were able to handle this minimalist approach to our presentation slides primarily because we practiced extensively beforehand, as well as the fact that the month we spent developing this idea allowed us to internalise the content well enough to reduce dependency on our slides.

All in all, I think this oral presentation was a great learning experience, and it was a great way to put to use everything that I learnt in this course so far. Thanks to everyone who gave comments, and THANK YOU Phyllis and Baowen! It was a pleasure doing this project with you guys; I really had a lot of fun! J

Evaluating Intercultural Behaviour

We live in a highly globalised world where the flow of human traffic is no longer as obstructed as it was a few hundred years ago. Now, with air travel being so advanced, people can go almost anywhere they want, with the only real restriction being time and money. This is why we are finding ourselves in an increasingly cosmopolitan environment. We no longer have to go Germany to see Germans, or Korea to see Koreans. Instead, we find people of different nationalities and cultures all around us. In fact, U-town, which houses the exchange students in its different residences, is a prime example. Hence we don’t have to set our sights too far to look for examples of intercultural behaviour.
My blog post today, concerns two intercultural examples, the first of which I experienced while I was on exchange.

#1: Level 1 vs. Level 0

This incident occurred between my Singaporean friend and I when we were in London. We were supposed to meet outside the Nike store at Oxford Street but when I arrived he’d already gone inside. He did send me a message stating that he was on level 2 of the store and so I proceeded to take the escalator up. However despite walking around the whole of the second storey, I didn’t see my friend anywhere. Thinking he was in the changing room, I sat down to wait. It was only later, when I called him that I realised the fundamental error in our communication. Basically in the UK, the culture is to refer to the first floor of a building as the ground floor, or level 0. However in Singapore, the first floor is simply referred to as the first floor, or Level 1. Hence when my friend texted ‘Level 2’, he’d been adhering to the norms of English culture and was actually on Level 3, if interpreted from a Singaporean standpoint, which was why neither of us could find each other despite both of us being in the exact same store. I think this is a good example of adapting to another culture when you have to. As the saying goes: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. In order to be able to fit in and comprehend the customs of another country, we must make the effort to accept and adopt their practices into our own behaviour, even if it is just for awhile.

The second event concerns my family. This is because I come from a family that is somewhat like a mini United Nations: many of my aunts and uncles have a spouse of a different nationality. For example my aunt is Thai, and I have an Uncle each from Malaysia, Ireland and France. And to complicate matters, my family is Peranakan too.  Hence no post about intercultural behaviour would be complete without mentioning my family.

#2: Hello vs. Bonjour

This doesn’t relate to any specific incident, but my French uncle and his children have the habit of breaking into French when speaking to one another, even in group contexts where no one else but themselves can understand what they are saying. This happens especially when they get excited over something and my aunt frequently admonishes them for such behaviour. And while this doesn’t detract from our closeness as a family, it does, as mentioned in the peer teaching session, induce a temporary sense of exclusion whereby you get other family members smiling sheepishly at each other as if to reassure one another that they aren’t alone in not understanding this confusing babble. If such behaviour were prolonged in a different setting such as at work, it might cause other members of the group to feel neglected or to lose interest in the conversation and would definitely affect the effectiveness of any communication taking place. By conversing in a different language understood only by certain individuals, it erects a barrier that English as a lingua franca has helped to break down.

Hence with the increase in flow of human traffic from one country to another, intercultural communication and behaviour is becoming increasingly crucial to our survival. It isn’t enough to strive for effective interpersonal communication, we must also aim towards achieving successful intercultural communication as well!

Application letter critique

Hi everyone! Here is the link to the internship advertisment for which I composed my application letter:

http://ch.tbe.taleo.net/CH02/ats/careers/requisition.jsp?org=MILLWARDBROWNUK&cws=10&rid=1097

And this is my application letter:

Lim Yi Wen Gail
Block XX Ghim Moh Road #XX-XX
Singapore 27XXXX

19^th February, 2013

Millward Brown Singapore
50 Scotts Road #04-01
Singapore 228242
(65)63232273

Dear Sir/Mdm:

I am a third year psychology undergraduate at the National University of Singapore, and I am writing to express my interest in the Quantitative Market Research (QMR) Internship as advertised on the company website. Millward Brown is amongst the most well established market research organizations worldwide as evidenced by its extensive clientele of global brands. A trusted name in the industry, it has impressed clients with its dedication to enhancing value and maximizing returns. I have long admired the success of Millward Brown and would greatly like to contribute to it. I will be available from May to August 2013 to participate in this internship.  

I believe I am the right choice for the QMR Internship because of my benefiting educational background. As a psychology major, my degree has well equipped me with skills to understand and analyze the cognitive processes of humans, which will be useful in interpreting consumer behaviour and developing suitable recommendations. I have also been trained in research and statistical techniques, which are useful for data analysis and questionnaire construction. In addition, my solid academic records are a testament to my strong grasp of the knowledge that can supplement this field of work. This will definitely enable me to give of my best to the demands of the internship.

Beyond that, I have also had the opportunity to hone good project management and oral communication skills during my term serving on the students’ council in my junior college. I was the vice chairman of the freshmen orientation programme and through organising this and various other school events, I learnt how to manage a diverse team of individuals, as well as communicate ideas efficiently. Furthermore, my continued membership in a choir has taught me how to be a team player, instilling in me the ability to cooperate, facilitate and mediate. I feel that these are critical skills for a QMR intern because this job involves working as part of a team to serve clients. Being able to manage an account well and communicate effectively is important for convincing clients of the credibility and superiority of Millward Brown, which will contribute to the growth of the company.

With its strong global presence, I believe that there are few better places than Millward Brown from which I can broaden my horizons and gain valuable experience about the marketing research industry. I am highly interested in the QMR internship and would greatly appreciate an interview. I can be contacted via my mobile at (65)9XXXXXXX or by email at limyiwengail@hotmail.com. Thank you for taking time to review my application and I look forward to a fruitful internship at Millward Brown.

Yours faithfully,



Gail Lim (Ms.)

Resolving Interpersonal Conflict

“I’m going to be late.”  Up until about a year ago, if I were to be given a dollar coin every time I heard this phrase, let’s just say my piggy bank would be well fed without much effort on my part. This is because I had a friend who just couldn’t seem to integrate the concept of punctuality into her personality. I didn’t hate her for it, in fact she was and still is one of my best friends, but this only made addressing her bad habit more complicated than if it concerned a complete stranger.  Before her late-coming was resolved, I developed my own bad habit of letting her tardiness slide because while I yearned to tell her enough is enough, I was fearful that the confrontation might change the dynamics of our friendship. Hence I was always side stepping the issue.  I got used to having to wait for her for 15 minutes, an hour, sometimes even an hour and a half. The problem was that it was getting on the nerves of the other people we regularly hung out with.

The straw that broke the camel’s back occurred last April, when this friend, let’s call her S, myself and our other friends decided to get together to celebrate one of our birthdays. We were going to have a picnic and S was allocated the all important task of buying the cake before joining the rest of us in the park.  When the day finally came, it was no surprise that S was nowhere to be seen at the appointed meeting time. However, we decided to wait a little longer before giving her a phone call to obtain her whereabouts. After 20 minutes had passed, my other friends were getting impatient and so one of them, let’s call her K, placed the phone call.

After 3 unsuccessive attempts, K finally got through to S. However, to our horror, S informed us that she was still at home. And perhaps the heat had gotten to our heads, but a shouting match then erupted between S and K over the phone. While I did not manage to catch S’s side of the conversation, I distinctly heard K use words such as irresponsible and tardy, and after yelling at her to grow up and start respecting other peoples’ time, K hung up in a huff. And as though as an afterthought, she proceeded to send a text message to S telling her not to show up for the picnic, nor any of our gatherings for that matter, until she could manage to be on time. At that point, I felt like we all shared K's sentiments, yet I was speechless at how brash she had been in handling the matter. Needless to say, S didn’t reply. She also refused to show up for our gatherings for a good 2 months, and even when she did, it took another month before she warmed up to K again.

Thankfully, the curtain has fallen on that chapter of our lives and we have since resolved this interpersonal conflict. But there is no doubt that K could have handled the situation better instead of yelling at S. In fact, I could have handled the situation better as well, instead of evading the problem and giving it the opportunity to escalate to such proportions.

So how do you think K or myself could have better resolved this situation?

The Importance of Effective Communication

I watched the film ‘Cast Away’ when it was released in theatres 12 years ago. In a nutshell, the movie depicted Tom Hanks getting washed up and stranded on a deserted island. While there, Tom Hanks proceeded to create an imaginary friend, Wilson, from a volley ball that he found.

He talked to Wilson all the time, and to me, Tom Hank’s desperate attempt at creating a communication partner even on that uninhabited island is a clear indication of how desirable communication is to humans. Indeed, it is undisputed that in today’s globalised society, being able to communicate with others is of penultimate importance. In fact, humans manage to communicate through a myriad of ways. Hence everyone can communicate, but effective communication is much more elusive, and that is what we all seek.

I define effective communication as being able to get one’s point across effectively and efficiently. Effective communication skills are important to me because I believe they enhance the quality of life by decreasing the likelihood of misunderstandings when communicating. Furthermore, it would aid in strengthening the connection I experience with my communication partners, which would, in the long run, satisfy the human need for belonging.

Another reason much closer to heart, and one that I’m sure all of us can relate to, would be that effective communication skills would pave the way for a brighter future. As a psychology student, I am interested in applying psychology to the real world and am currently seeking an internship in consumer and business development. This job would entail extensive interaction with clients. Being able to communicate effectively would definitely enable me to engage in better client management, and it is more likely that I would be able to do a good job than if I went around giving clients the wrong impression. It would also place me a cut above my peers and colleagues in my future work place.

In conclusion, effective communication skills are definitely beneficial. I look forward to graduating from ES2007S as a better equipped individual ready to face the communication challenges of the world!