Hmm, I thought I was moderately well prepared, but apparently I am not. My thought and presentation flow was not as smooth as I thought. I stumbled on some points and had to refer to my notes at the end. I guess I need more practice to speak more fluently.
I thought I know the slides really well, but when the presentation started, I tend to look at the slides instead of looking at the audience. This became worse as the presentation went on. Did I forget because I was nervous?
For me, I dont like to memorise presentations, so I tend to try to remember just the main points but this results in the presentation not being as smooth as I thought. Any suggestions to make my presentation smooth? Must I really memorise the speech, or perhaps more practice?
Please give me frank but tactful comments. Definitely need to improve my presentation skills.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Evaluating Intercultural Behavior (Post #4)
This happened a few weeks back after lecture. This happened during the Malay's fasting month, Ramadan. During this period, Malays (exceptions include the sick, elderly..) are not allowed to eat or drink during the day. They can do so only at night.
I was walking with my 2 male project mates after lecture, one Chinese, one Malay. My Chinese friend asked," So what are you guys doing later?". I replied, " I am going to the canteen to eat. You guys want to join me?". My Chinese friend said, " Yes." My Malay friend, who was smiling, suddenly stopped doing so and said," I can't. Because... you know." I said," Oh yeah." Then he said, " I will go off first, see you later", and he walked off. Needless to say, it was an awkward situation.
I did not think it was so bad at first, as I thought Malays cannot eat but they can still drink. When I discovered that they cannot drink, I realised that I was very insensitive. This occurred around 6p.m., so my Malay friend has not been drinking water for more than 10 hours.
I imagine that my Malay friend must be easily irritable at that time due to the lack of food and water for such a long period of time. It was natural for him to act this way, and I understand. It was my mistake for mentioning food in front of him. My Chinese friend knew it was wrong to mention food at that time, but like me at that time, he seems to be not that bothered by that mistake.
I was walking with my 2 male project mates after lecture, one Chinese, one Malay. My Chinese friend asked," So what are you guys doing later?". I replied, " I am going to the canteen to eat. You guys want to join me?". My Chinese friend said, " Yes." My Malay friend, who was smiling, suddenly stopped doing so and said," I can't. Because... you know." I said," Oh yeah." Then he said, " I will go off first, see you later", and he walked off. Needless to say, it was an awkward situation.
I did not think it was so bad at first, as I thought Malays cannot eat but they can still drink. When I discovered that they cannot drink, I realised that I was very insensitive. This occurred around 6p.m., so my Malay friend has not been drinking water for more than 10 hours.
I imagine that my Malay friend must be easily irritable at that time due to the lack of food and water for such a long period of time. It was natural for him to act this way, and I understand. It was my mistake for mentioning food in front of him. My Chinese friend knew it was wrong to mention food at that time, but like me at that time, he seems to be not that bothered by that mistake.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Post #3 - Application Letter and Critique
28 Bukit Sedap Road
Singapore 279925
fangyong213@gmail.com
5th September 2010
Dear Sir/Madam,
I would like to apply for the gameplay programmer position at Ubisoft Singapore that was posted on the Ubisoft corporate website on 26 August 2010. I am currently in the middle of my fourth year at the National University of Singapore, pursuing a Computer Engineering B.Eng.
As you can see from my enclosed CV, I enjoy playing games, in particular the Prince of Persia series. I have played The Sand of Times 3 times already, each time the next installment of the series was released.
I want to play a part in making games, by programming the code and graphics of the games. In following my interest, I have created a few simple games using Adobe Flash by following tutorials on the Internet.
During my studies in the National University of Singapore, I was the Producer of a team of 5 people that had created an original computer game called Wendy the Germ using the software Game Maker. Thus, I have some experience in the process of producing a computer game and am able to work well in a team. I could send you the executable of the game and documentation of the game by email. My undergraduate studies have also given me knowledge of programming languages like that of C, C++, OpenGL and Python.
I am enthusiastic about the learning opportunities in your company. Thank you for taking the time to read my application. I look forward to speaking with you on this opportunity. I can be reached anytime via email at fangyong213@gmail.com or my cellphone, +65 97951111.
Yours Sincerely,
Foo Fang Yong
Singapore 279925
fangyong213@gmail.com
5th September 2010
Dear Sir/Madam,
I would like to apply for the gameplay programmer position at Ubisoft Singapore that was posted on the Ubisoft corporate website on 26 August 2010. I am currently in the middle of my fourth year at the National University of Singapore, pursuing a Computer Engineering B.Eng.
As you can see from my enclosed CV, I enjoy playing games, in particular the Prince of Persia series. I have played The Sand of Times 3 times already, each time the next installment of the series was released.
I want to play a part in making games, by programming the code and graphics of the games. In following my interest, I have created a few simple games using Adobe Flash by following tutorials on the Internet.
During my studies in the National University of Singapore, I was the Producer of a team of 5 people that had created an original computer game called Wendy the Germ using the software Game Maker. Thus, I have some experience in the process of producing a computer game and am able to work well in a team. I could send you the executable of the game and documentation of the game by email. My undergraduate studies have also given me knowledge of programming languages like that of C, C++, OpenGL and Python.
I am enthusiastic about the learning opportunities in your company. Thank you for taking the time to read my application. I look forward to speaking with you on this opportunity. I can be reached anytime via email at fangyong213@gmail.com or my cellphone, +65 97951111.
Yours Sincerely,
Foo Fang Yong
Friday, August 27, 2010
Blog post #2 - Resolving Interpersonal Conflict
Interpersonal conflict occurs when two or more individuals who must work together fail to share the same views, and have different interests or goals. I am going by this definition I found on the webpage http://www.ehow.com/facts_5552016_types-interpersonal-conflict.html.
The conflict I am going to discuss occurred during my internship in the US recently. It is between me and my supervisor. The conflict is more about me disliking my supervisor for certain things that he did, but not doing much about it. I am quite sure he was not that happy with me too, although he went about his business like nothing was wrong. This is pretty much an unresolved conflict.
When I first came to my internship company, I was quite surprised that what I was promised to do on the internship was very different from what I had to actually do when I got there. However, I was still interested in learning more about everything. Of course, I was not thrilled as I am unable to work on my interest.
The main reason for this conflict occurring is that my supervisor had an unrealistic expectation of my abilities. He told me to do things that only a professional would be expected to do. I said I would try, but not to expect too much of me. I felt that he was not very happy when I told him this. In the end, I managed to do some of the work that he told me to do. Sadly, he was not really impressed with my work. But, he was very impressed with my colleagues’ work (photoshop designs for a website). I was in charge for implementing the functionality of the website. Perhaps my work was not as showy as my colleagues’ work, but I was a little angry that my hard work was not appreciated. I have to tell myself that generally programmers are underappreciated and live with it.
Another reason for this conflict is that my supervisor comes to work late and leaves work early most of the time. When he leaves early, he will sometimes give reasons like he is attending the soccer practice of his son. He is frequently absent for work too, up to 3 days in a row. Perhaps this is an American work culture, or perhaps he is really working outside some of the times he is absent. But this made me less motivated to work for him and his project and I started to focus on my own work instead. He should have at least pretended that he was working outside by saying that he was going for meetings or such.
Since this was a 3 month internship, I did not really care about this “conflict” as I was leaving him anyway. But if I was really working in a company with him, I would tend to resign from that job. I would rather work in a job that would make me do my best for the company. But if I was unable to resign, what would be my possible solutions? How can I work effectively and happily if I have a supervisor like that in future?
The conflict I am going to discuss occurred during my internship in the US recently. It is between me and my supervisor. The conflict is more about me disliking my supervisor for certain things that he did, but not doing much about it. I am quite sure he was not that happy with me too, although he went about his business like nothing was wrong. This is pretty much an unresolved conflict.
When I first came to my internship company, I was quite surprised that what I was promised to do on the internship was very different from what I had to actually do when I got there. However, I was still interested in learning more about everything. Of course, I was not thrilled as I am unable to work on my interest.
The main reason for this conflict occurring is that my supervisor had an unrealistic expectation of my abilities. He told me to do things that only a professional would be expected to do. I said I would try, but not to expect too much of me. I felt that he was not very happy when I told him this. In the end, I managed to do some of the work that he told me to do. Sadly, he was not really impressed with my work. But, he was very impressed with my colleagues’ work (photoshop designs for a website). I was in charge for implementing the functionality of the website. Perhaps my work was not as showy as my colleagues’ work, but I was a little angry that my hard work was not appreciated. I have to tell myself that generally programmers are underappreciated and live with it.
Another reason for this conflict is that my supervisor comes to work late and leaves work early most of the time. When he leaves early, he will sometimes give reasons like he is attending the soccer practice of his son. He is frequently absent for work too, up to 3 days in a row. Perhaps this is an American work culture, or perhaps he is really working outside some of the times he is absent. But this made me less motivated to work for him and his project and I started to focus on my own work instead. He should have at least pretended that he was working outside by saying that he was going for meetings or such.
Since this was a 3 month internship, I did not really care about this “conflict” as I was leaving him anyway. But if I was really working in a company with him, I would tend to resign from that job. I would rather work in a job that would make me do my best for the company. But if I was unable to resign, what would be my possible solutions? How can I work effectively and happily if I have a supervisor like that in future?
Friday, August 20, 2010
Blog Post #1 - Effective Communications Skills
I think communicating effectively to another person is to get your message across to him COMPLETELY. That means that the listener understands one hundred percent of what you are talking about. I personally think that is impossible, but we can get close to it.
Usually, when you listen to a person talk for more than a few minutes, you tend to lose focus, and start to think about other things. For example, sometimes during lectures, I will start to think about what to do after lecture unintentionally, and as a result, missed part of what the lecturer is saying. I am assuming this is true for most, if not all my readers.
Thus, I want to know how to keep people’s attention to me as long as possible when I speak and at the same time understand most of what I am trying to say. I believe this is the end result of effective communication, and why I want to learn how to communicate effectively.
Following this rationale, whenever I go for a job interview, the interviewer will understand what I want from the company and what I can do for the company EXACTLY. Another example is that when I present my final year project, the examiner will understand completely what my project is about.
Basically, no matter the environment and the audience, I want people to be interested in and understand what I am saying. And hopefully, in the process, they will like me at the same time.
I have to admit this is a little ambitious though.
Usually, when you listen to a person talk for more than a few minutes, you tend to lose focus, and start to think about other things. For example, sometimes during lectures, I will start to think about what to do after lecture unintentionally, and as a result, missed part of what the lecturer is saying. I am assuming this is true for most, if not all my readers.
Thus, I want to know how to keep people’s attention to me as long as possible when I speak and at the same time understand most of what I am trying to say. I believe this is the end result of effective communication, and why I want to learn how to communicate effectively.
Following this rationale, whenever I go for a job interview, the interviewer will understand what I want from the company and what I can do for the company EXACTLY. Another example is that when I present my final year project, the examiner will understand completely what my project is about.
Basically, no matter the environment and the audience, I want people to be interested in and understand what I am saying. And hopefully, in the process, they will like me at the same time.
I have to admit this is a little ambitious though.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
My first post
Hello. This is my first post. I have never blogged before. Is it something like facebook?
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