Reflections!

ES2007S - Professional Communication. This will be the module which i would remember throughout my life as one of the best NUS modules that I have taken.

Effective communication has always intrigued me since I was young. Therefore, being able to learn the dynamics of effective communication; active listening, verbal and non-verbal communication, is a very valuable life lesson for me. I am therefore eternally grateful for this opportunity.

If I had to name a particular aspect of the module that I cherish the most, it would have to be the lesson on presentation skills. I was really captured by the various presentation styles that was employed by various individuals shown during the lesson. I remember being really excited after the lesson, eager to try out the skills that I had just learned.

At that point of time, I was supposed to prepare for an important Biomedical Engineering Design presentation. When I met my group-mates later on in the afternoon, I told them that I wanted to employ the methods I learnt during my ES2007S lesson. I wanted to tell a story at the beginning of the presentation about a make-belief figure called Dr Lee, who was having troubles with his rotator cuff repair surgery for which we were supposed to aid him in improving the procedure of the surgery. I was sure that this would add an emotional appeal to the presentation and that it would work. However, I could see that my groupmates were doubtful of the effectiveness of this method as it was unconventional and unfamiliar.  

I managed to convince them. Below was the story we came up with to start off the presentation.

'Dr. Lee was an orthopedic surgeon. He had just graduated from medical school. Like most of us, he was not the top of his class, but nor was he the worst. Through his experience in med school, Dr. Lee always had an innate fear of complex and drawn out procedures. One day, He was required to perform a rotator cuff surgery. It was his first arthroscopic surgery. But, He hated tying knots. He knew the dangers of knot stacking and he feared this complication. This caused him to fear many of the steps of the procedure. He feared the complexity of the whole procedure. The long drawn out hours, the usage of multiple devices. suture passers, knot pushers was it all really necessary? As he walked towards the operating theater, he thought to himself, if only there were no knot pushers. If only there were no suture passers. If only there were no knots. If only everything was simpler. '

 

The emotional appeal worked like a charm! Our presentation left a lasting impact on both the professors and students and stood out among other presentations. Even after our presentation was over, our Professor still made references to our Dr Lee. It was really heartwarming! And to top it all off, we won one of the best presentation for the entire bioengineering cohort! I was really glad that we decided to employ the presentation skills taught in ES2007. Thank God!