QLK 501 Reflection

After attending these few weeks on communication skills, I was able to learn more about my communicating style.

I think I am best at giving quick straight to the point responses, which I feel is very important when students ask questions in class. Timely responses reassures the listener that one has given thought about the question and when I give responses, I tend to look more confident than I am of the answers that I was supposed to give.

I was able to talk with varied pitches and my words were pronounced clearly which should be understandable to most listeners. When I speak, I tend to put emphasis on keywords which helps direct audiences’ attention to the key points. I used to always say “ok” to try to retain my listeners’ attention, but CST classes has taught me that the same purpose can be achieved with appropriate and timely eye contact.

When I first started contract teaching, I remembered very clearly that I developed a sore throat within 2 days. I have been screaming too much at the class and this excessive shouting may have caused harm to my vocal chords. After reviewing the videos for vocal production and practicing some of the advice given, I believe I will be able to speak loudly, without hurting my throat.

During my oral presentation, I observed that I tend to move abit from left to right. Although there were attempts to make eye contact with the audience, it could be improved upon by letting the gaze stay longer.

However, sometimes I may be too long-winded and beat around the bush. This is especially evident when I realize I could not give a straight answer. I need to work on this, maybe through the help of the tutors and me peers to give me feedback when possible. I feel that there were times when I lacked the confidence and needed to rely on speech cards to speak to an audience, which was the case for my oral presentation.

I have spoken to peers that I find pretty stable when giving speeches and asked them for advice on building confidence in speech, they generally said that I needed to practice more and be comfortable when speaking to a large group of people. They also said that I should not let my gaze settle on one spot when speaking but to engage my audience. My tutor, Mrs Glenda Singh, suggested the “W” method, and I tried using it for my subsequent presentations. It worked and it also helps in building momentum for my presentations.