Critical Reflection

Effective communication is one of the most fundamental life skills a person should acquire. To communicate effectively, at its simplest, is an act of conveying information from one to another. After attending Effective Communication CVE 1281, I learnt that communication can be acted out in many ways such as vocally, verbally, non-verbally and even written. However, it is often a combination of several of these skills. My goal at the end of this module was to improve my writing and presentation skills, which professor Brad has greatly contributed to the accomplishment of it.

I have learnt that to be adept and comfortable at presenting and talking to people is all about consistency and to able to communicate concisely. There are skills that are important to be adept at presentation such as, knowing your audience, knowing your product and be confident. Knowing your audience is one of the key factors, it means that you can gauge the type of questions that you will be asked at the end of the presentation. To understand your product will lead you to seem passionate about what you are presenting. Therefore, making you feel prepared and confident with the delivery of your speech.

I realized professor Brad ways of teaching such as calling inattentive students to read out what he was going through with the class is helping them as it gives them a sort of “short notice presentation” to keep them on their toes, which in return I feel that is helping them to work under pressure and gain confidence unknowingly.

With the help of professor Brad religiously commenting and aiding me on my many summary drafts, my writing skills has greatly improved. I noticed that being proficient in writing can communicate my message with clarity and to a much larger audience compared to conversing with people. Furthermore, I believe that having good writing skills can lead to the readers having a good impression on you, making this skill extremely useful for work in the future.

As for my research project, I was fortunate enough to have teamed up with two of the most efficient and cooperative teammates. Due to our various background and strengths, it is key to keep an open mind, communicate and understanding to each other’s ideas. Thus, I learnt that listening and understanding you teammates perspective before correcting and agreeing with them is crucial part in getting your point across.

There can be no doubt that I am very delighted to be one of professor Brad’s student. He encouraged the whole class to aid each other and improve, which makes our learning environment a positive and enriching one. I would like to thank professor Brad for his patience and guidance for our Effective Communication CVE 1281 module.