We've come to the end of the road - ES2007S

This semester seemed to have zoom past in a blink of the eye, doesn't it? ):

I could recall frantically clicking around CORS website during the bidding period, trying to find for one last module to fit into my timetable and which would not 'cost' so much ( don't we hate CORS??!) when Aldrich suggested for us to take ES2007S together. We had both heard of the module in the previous semester as our group of close friends took it back then. We gathered feedback from them that although it was a demanding module which requires time and dedication (to our blogs), it was no doubt, enriching and fun. Upon further research, I also felt that ES2007S will be able to prepare me when I start job-hunting with all the resume and application letter writing practices. They also mentioned that Brad was the best tutor so advised us to choose a class under him, which we did!

This may sound cliche, but I definitely enjoyed myself during ES2007 classes. There was always something new to learn every week and I loved how the class was interactive instead of the usual boring seminar-styled lectures. Brad would make us stand up and arrange ourselves according to height, did random pairing-ups so everyone would get a chance to work with one another, give each other constructive feedback and such.. all of which were engaging and makes learning so much more fun! (:

And, who could ever forget the mock job interviews! I need to take this chance to apologise to Sarah again if I really did freak her out when Sheryl and I interviewed her. The poor girl was ignored by me the entire time! ):

However, fun aside, this module was also strapped with a heavy workload. As this module is non-examinable, it also meant that every piece of assignment that was to be handed up throughout the whole semester carried with it a significant weightage. And there was also the final proposal and presentation which we had to complete in the very limited time-span, talk about being stressed!

On a personal level, I'm really glad I took this module in the first place. Not only did I managed to learn valuable skills and tips on writing a good resume/application letter/personal statement, my presentation skills have also improved. And the amazing thing about this is that I did not just learn from Brad the man alone; I managed to learn from everyone in the class through feedback sessions! I definitely need to credit everybody for my improvements. (:

It is of my immense pleasure to have met everyone in this class and also given a chance to work with you guys. We may not have known each other for a long time but the concern you people showed for me (from my last post) really warmed my heart (: Let's meet up after the exams alright! (:

Reflections on Oral Presentation

Allow me to be honest, I may not be the best presenter ever but I have always loved presentations. (Am I weird?) I still get butterflies in my stomach when I have to stand in front of an audience and talk but I have always enjoyed the feeling after completing a presentation. So, yup, I was very very much looking forward to this final ES2007S presentation!

My team started working on our presentation a little later than the other teams and we were all feeling pretty stressed, especially when we saw that all the other 3 teams had notable progress with their slides and outlines on the wiki! But I'm glad my team-mates and I work pretty well under stress. We focused on how we can deliver an engaging presentation to the audience and decided to include a video which stars ourselves. (Kudos to Sheryl for editing the video!) We also decided to keep our slides minimalist, clean and distinctively black-and-white.

I was tasked to design the presentation slides and honestly, I enjoy doing so. However, we had a little problem because all three of us had our own presentation scripts, which may not flow well with the slides. Luckily, our team met up to iron out this little miscommunication and my teammates also sent me their final 'scripts' so that I could double-check and make changes. We did a 'time-check' and a mock presentation on Wednesday, two days before the presentation, to ensure that we do not over-shoot the time limit and that the presentation was coherent. The fact that the presentation was less than 48hours away finally sunk in and I was starting to feel jittery! I rehearsed my parts at home for the two nights, trying to remember as much as I could without looking at my cue cards and hoped for the best.

On the morning of our 'big day', we met up an hour earlier to have a final run-through of our presentation. That was also when I whipped out the tennis ball and explained my idea to Aldrich and Sheryl! We had zero rehearsals of the idea beforehand because we only decided to include it in at the very last minute. Before we knew it, it was time to go for class!

So, my laptop was slow but it worked fine. (Luckily!) Aldrich started on the introduction and gave an overview and went on to talk about some background information... it felt like he was talking too fast because IT WAS MY TURN, TOO SOON! I started off pretty confidently and made sure I had good posture and voice projection. (Did I, did I??) However, after the video and feeling embarrassed that I had my face all over the projector screen, I started to lose my focus and I found the need to peek at my cue cards. And I was definitely shocked when Aldrich threw the tennis ball back to me instead of Sheryl! After the presentation, I felt that I could have handled the situation much better. Instead of picking up the ball and instructing Aldrich to throw it to Sheryl, I should have just kept the ball and continued with the presentation and pretended like nothing went wrong! ): Be spontaneous be spontaneous!!

After the presentation, our team was prepared to be bombarded by questions during Q&A session but surprisingly, the floor was kind to us. We took turns to answer the questions (and completed each other's sentences, like twins!!) and were glad that it was over within the next few minutes!

I felt that our team did generally well for the presentation. We may not have been perfect and fantastic out there because we were nervous, but I felt that we managed to deliver our ideas across. On a personal level, I was also coping with the heartache of a breakup of a relationship of 2years plus and was a little disoriented throughout the week. Hence, I am grateful for team-mates like Aldrich and Sheryl, their presence definitely gave me a little confidence boost and the strength to stay strong!