Why you should not do ES2007S?

Simple. Learning is difficult. If a person is not humble and willing to learn, ES2007S will be an impossible module to follow through. For me, ES2007S tested my humility and patience in the past 13 weeks.

If you are not willing to step out of your comfort zone, you should not do ES2007S. I have been presenting and writing all my life since primary school, and have picked up many bad habits along the way. Some bad habits have been mistaken as good style, ie overcrowding slides provided our audience with plenty of information, fluff in writing equates better English etc. Ms Lim, my tutor, refuted these assumptions and I was made to learn everything all over again.

If you are impatient and unwilling to change, you should not do ES2007S. An old Chinese proverb goes: “Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.” What had made ES2007S such a tough module were the numerous practice sessions, and how we were supposed to be involved in evaluating other people based on the concepts we learn. Impatient as I was, it was tedious and time consuming to make myself sit through my classmates’ proposals and ideas.

Learning things all over again made me reflect about myself. Sitting through others’ proposals and ideas strengthened my understanding and allowed me to learn through their mistakes. I am glad I found the humility to listen and the patience to go on the learning journey.

I came into this module envisioning myself giving a keynote address Steve-Jobs-style, with a standing ovation at the end. I ended this module humbled, more patient, and a little wiser on how we should present ourselves to others.

But then again, if you are not up to the challenge, you should not do ES2007S.

Calvin Tan, how will you grade your own oral presentation?

If I were to give a score for my oral presentation it will be:

Preparations: 4/10

Presentation: 3/10

Teammates: 10/10

Those attending ES2007s know that Ms Lim is a very sharp tutor.  Just as Superman eventually found kyptonite, i finally met someone more a perfectionist than I am. The habits that I was used to when doing presentations: the use of singlish, frowning to make a point etc were all unprofessional in Ms Lim’s evalution.

I was more conscious about myself, my gestures and the way I speak. Every sentence was corrected in my head prior to it being delivered, and it felt really tedious to do the presentation. Especially at the start when there was some technical error with the presentation, I stuttered because I was caught off guard! Being sick didn’t help with my concentration. I looked at Ms Lim, and her stern look intimidated me even more.

It was a relief when the audience laughed when Captain Planet appeared as our guest demonstrator. In my head, it was “Yes! Everything is falling in place!”  When it was my turn to present I again, I was less self-conscious. My focus was on the smiles of my classmates, and how I could make them smile again.

I realized many things in the time leading up to the presentation. First of all, my teammates, Lynette and Wang Chen, were really awesome. They were accommodating with my schedule and encouraged me when I could not attend meetings because of my research project. They were willing to take my views and my comments into consideration during our preparation phase even though it meant an overhaul of our presentation or doing extra work. When I used to rattle off without thinking during presentation, I guess Ms Lim’s presence had a way of ensuring that I gave every word a thought.

When I thought I was good, I realized I could have been even better.