Close The Story Book

“To communicate is to speak”. “Team work is about working together as a team”. These were my shallow concepts of communication and teamwork. After going through twelve weeks of this module, my perceptions were utterly changed. I learned how much more there was to communication and teamwork.

CG1413 Project

This was my favourite project of the semester. However, the entire process from day one was not smooth sailing. We had problems coming up and agreeing on a topic. Each one of us was in favour of a different topic. So this instance made me realize the difficulty in working in teams. A team has to have a common goal and has to work for consensus. We finally did agree on a topic.
Furthermore, over the course of the project, I had the tendency (sub-conscious) to not pay full attention to my members’ ideas or opinions when I felt strongly about mine. I was in fact violating one of the principles of communications and teamwork- Paying attention to the message people have for us and being receptive to new ideas and opinions.

CG1102 Project

Although, this was not a favourite, I learned quite a lot about myself through this project. I understood my roles as a team member. There was initially a communication barrier between me and Tuan Vu but I remained tolerant and respected the individual differences. During meetings, I realized my weakness was my contribution, in terms of content. As a member, I had to provide inputs. Also, there were disagreements on certain tasks and ideas. So this is where constructive criticism and use of EQ came into play. I had to explain to my members (occasionally) why their approach may not be viable and at the same time refrain from disrespecting or dismissing their ideas.


What I have learned

(1) Non-verbal communication is as important. This was amplified during the two Oral presentations (OP). Eye-contact, gestures and body language have a considerable impact on our messages for others.

(2) OP :
Strengths: Eye contact, good pronunciation & time management
Weaknesses: Confidence and energy

(3) As a team member :
Strengths: Encourage and prod fellow members, sensitive and tactful, Respectful of opinions
Weaknesses: Lack of inputs, not placing trust on members

(4) The 7Cs - My first two posts were not concise but I gradually improved.

(5) Dishing out criticism(constructive) is tough but neccessary. Without criticism, it is hard to make progress.

To conclude, I hope to hone my strengths and minimize my flaws that I identified during the course of the module and apply it during my stay in NUS and if possible in the working world.

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I would like to Thank Ms Goh and and all my fellow classmates for a pleasurable and fruitful 13 weeks. I wish all of you the very best in the semesters ahead.

Time to close the CG1413 story book..

Any improvements?

Reviewing my oral presentation on video was an eye-opener as I was able to notice my strengths and flaws. Below is a list of goals that I wanted to achieve prior to OP2 and I will use them to reflect on my performance.

• Strong familiarity with content
• Clear and effective use of language
• Suitable eye contact
• Relaxed, natural and effective use of gestures
• Clear enthusiasm and confidence

OP1 weaknesses: Slightly monotonous; Looked nervous; Did not seem to know content ;Hesitation

I have stated my weaknesses in OP1 to check if there were improvements.

Firstly, I believe I was very well-informed of the content compared to in OP1. I did not solely depend on my memory but rather displayed understanding of the project. Hence, I did not hesitate like I did in OP1. So it was an improvement in that aspect. The use of language was suitable and appropriate and I believe I managed to get my message across effectively and clearly. I did a quick survey with the audience during my presentation and they responded to me well, which serves as a proof.

One of my weaknesses from OP1 was my nerves. I was visibly nervous. In OP2, I believe I appeared far less nervous although my heart was racing. This could be due to the extra rehearsals and practice. Also, I maintained eye contact with the audience throughout and engaged with them. Something I failed to do in OP1.

However, I would like to improve on my gestures. I gesture too frequently which could be a distraction. I could have kept my hands by the side at certain segments of the presentation. Finally, I should appear more enthused and inject some energy into the presentation. Something I feel will come with experience.

In summary, I feel there was progress and I am pleased. As a team, we did relatively well too.

This is Personal (Reflection on Team Meeting 1)

I would like to use this post to focus on my own performance during the first team meeting. I understand that my previous post covered predominantly the team's performance. Before I begin, below is a list of some of the roles of a team member.

1. Information Giver - Offers facts or generalizations that may relate to the team's task.
2. Information/Opinion Seeker - Asks for clarification of suggestions & opinions made by other members and asks how people in the team feel
3. Opinion Giver - States beliefs or opinions having to do with suggestions made
4. Supporter/Encourager - Praises, agrees with, and accepts the contributions of others; offers warmth and recognition
5. Feeling "Expresser" - Makes explicit the thoughts & feelings.

Now the question is, did I fulfill my duty as a team member?

Whenever any of my team members suggested something or offered any kind of input pertaining to the task, I clarified them to ensure we were on the same wavelength and that the suggestion/information was not something irrelevant to the task. I constantly asked questions to avoid making assumptions and to have a clearer picture of things. I also lauded Jing Mei when she contributed a unique idea that no one thought of, showing support.

However, I did not contribute enough to the meeting in terms of information/facts. The first ten to fifteen minutes of the meeting was largely one-sided with Tuan Vu speaking. This could be due to my lack of knowledge of the task. Also, I rarely provided any kind of opinion. I kept my feelings and thoughts to myself and did not express them enough. I was afraid my input would be of no use and only disrupt the flow of the meeting.

For subsequent meetings, I need to be armed with some knowledge about the task so that I can contribute. Also, I have to express opinions and thoughts without fear even if they ought to be futile.

Team Meeting 1 : The good and the bad

The first meeting for our CG1102 project was held on the 11th of February 2010. Thankfully, we managed to get a conducive place with very little interferences. The meeting went quite well in general but not as well as we would have liked.

Click here to view video

Firstly, In all honesty, none of us liked the idea of being filmed. We were unnatural at certain segments of the meeting and at times felt self-conscious. However we got on with it and as the meeting wore on, we slowly started to settle down and feel comfortable.

Prior to this meeting, we did not appoint a team leader but Tuan Vu took charge and led the discussion quite well. My team has to appoint a leader before we have our next meeting.

We had some confusion during the course of the meeting and had an awkward moment of silence. All three of us had different interpretations of certain things and could not understand each other. Maybe each of us should have explained explicitly what our thoughts and interpretations were.

The plus point was that we clarified each others’ viewpoints and respected it. We also covered most items on the agenda and on most occasions, waited for each other to finish speaking before responding.

On a personal note, I feel I could have contributed more to the meeting. At times, I kept my thoughts to myself as I did not want to disrupt the flow of the meeting and I was afraid my opinions would cause confusion and would be of no use. I also realized that I gesture quite a bit and maybe sometimes need to keep my hands to myself.

In summary, there is plenty of room for improvement for my team and I am hoping for a near perfect meeting the next time.

What would your next move be?

The NUS Business Entrepreneurs Society conducts meetings on every alternate Saturday from 9am-3pm. There is also a lunch break from 12-1pm. As the chairman of the NUS Business Entrepreneurs Society, you are conducting the yearly evaluations/performance reviews for your club. The evaluations are sent to the head, Prof Andrew Tan. Students who stand out will be given more opportunities to achieve their Entrepreneurship goals and receive recognition.

You are meeting with one committee member, namely Soniya and you express that she is doing good work, and is professional and courteous to fellow members and clients. However, you also indicate that there are some areas of improvement needed including: taking too much time at lunch (more than allotted time), coming to meetings late and leaving early. Soniya is astounded and says that because you didn’t address these issues way before so why are you doing it now. She also tells you that she stays back and gets any work that has to be finished urgently done if she is late for meetings.


You explain that these issues have been discussed with the entire committee in past meetings – the topics of being punctual, and not abusing flexible scheduling in this society , and thought your message was clear. Soniya storms out of the performance review saying how unfair you are, and she is going to report you to Prof Andrew Tan and NUSSU. As the chairman, you are pressured not to let the issue get blown out of proportion as it will reflect badly on the society’s image.
What would your next move be? How do you resolve this?

Observation of team behaviour: Intercultural and interpersonal communication

The process by which people exchange information, feelings and meaning through verbal and non-verbal messages is what we call interpersonal communication. Working in a team means there is going to be a lot of interpersonal communication going on. As members of a team, we must not only be concerned with what we say but how we say it as well (the tone, facial expressions etc). Now, the other thing is that our team members may not all be from the same culture, background and country as us especially in a multi-racial society like Singapore. Therefore, the more we should be mindful, thoughtful and sensitive when communicating. We must possess good intercultural communication skills.

Intercultural communication is the interpersonal interaction between members of different cultures, practices, knowledge, values and beliefs. I believe our team members for this and other modules are from different countries namely India, Vietnam, Malaysia and China. Therefore, we cannot say whatever we please and we cannot do whatever we please. We must be tolerant and accepting of the other cultures that surround us.

For example, we all speak differently and have different accents. For some of our team members, English may not come as fluently and for others their accent might be pretty strong and we may have a hard time understanding them. In these instances, we should listen intently and not judge them. Confirm meanings, clarify, acknowledge and give feedback. This will give them confidence to speak up and make them feel at ease in the team. Misunderstandings and confusion can also be avoided. Below is a funny clip about a little misunderstanding.



I mentioned above that we cannot do whatever we please. Well I have a personal experience to share. During my secondary school (high school) days, I had a classmate who was from the Middle East. He was a talented football player. During an inter-class football tournament, he scored a sensational solo goal which sparked wild celebrations among the team. In the midst of it all, a player from the opposition came up to him and repeatedly gave him the thumbs up. Things got a little heated and two of them had to be separated. I was perplexed at first but later came to know that the thumbs up gesture which to us means “good job” is perceived as an obscene gesture by some from the Middle East.

Communication and Teamwork: Why are they important for me?

Communication as I understand it, is about relaying our message to other people. Getting our message across. It is also about receiving information that others send to us thus making it a two-way street. When both come hand in hand, we have good and effective communication.

Communication can be verbal, non-verbal or in written form. Communication comes so naturally to us that we often forget to appreciate it. We forget how a simple breakdown in communication can lead to damaging consequences. For example, during my stint in the Police Force, I was in the middle of a case involving 2 men brawling and trying to rip each other apart. The reason? The victim kept staring at the aggressor and was displaying “threatening” body language that the aggressor took offence to. This is an instance of non-verbal communication gone wrong I suppose.

Communication is an integral aspect of our lives as it helps build relationships. If we do not communicate, there is no way we can build healthy relationships with our family, peers, teachers and friends. I am sure before this module, most of us didn’t know our fellow group mates (be it CG1102, CG1108 or CG1413). Now that we have met them, the only way to slowly bond and build a good relationship is through communication.

Another reason why communication is important because it helps us in decision-making especially when we are working in teams. If a disagreement emerges regarding an issue and a decision has to be made, we have to deliberate (i.e. communicate) within our team and reach that decision.

As I mentioned earlier, I believe that to communicate effectively, we must not only pay attention to the message we have for people but also pay equal amount of attention to the message people have for us. This effective communication is vital in a team. A team consists of members who all have a common goal. Working together and achieving that goal I believe is what we call teamwork. Teamwork is important in many settings these days. In the corporate world, the military and even in school. With effective teamwork, we can achieve many great things that an individual alone will struggle to.

I feel we should regard teamwork quite seriously because as engineers to-be, more often than not we will be working in teams to complete projects and assignments in the workforce. Every individual has his/her strengths and weaknesses and by working individually , the end-product might not be as impressive as the one done by a team. In a team, we have people of different strengths and weaknesses and when these people come together, they complement each other resulting in a high quality end-product.

For teamwork to be effective, we must first have a good leader. A leader who makes tough decisions, motivates and inspires people and basically keeping the members focused on the task. The members also have an important role. They must know their duties well, be sensitive towards each other, trust each other and most importantly have each others’ back. A team with these attributes has a great chance of achieving great things.

To sum it up, communication and teamwork is going to be vital in most parts of our lives. It is going to be put to the test in the upcoming weeks for us CEG students!