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An Engineering Student's Reflections.
ENG 2003 has been one of the most useful courses I have taken because of how interactive the course content is. From the layout of eClass, to the weekly lecture activities, to the in-class Kahoot sessions, to the weekly tutorials; everything was set up to make us interact with the course content, week-in week-out. The aim of the course was to teach us how to communicate effectively as engineers in today’s society by introducing us to the principles and concepts that define, not only communication in a professional context, but communication in general.
We covered many topics this semester and they have all been essential to my growth as a communicator, but one topic had the most impact on my skills, and that is the oral presentations module. This topic focused on teaching me how to make and deliver technical presentations in a comfortable and engaging manner to an audience. One of my biggest issues prior to this topic was preparing presentations, I used to try and fit as much information as possible on slides because I made the mistake of thinking ‘wordy = smart’. Through this topic I learned how to say more in presentations with my mouth in order to build a connection with the audience. I also learned the roles other factors play in building a connection with the audience, it showed me how things like dressing, physical gestures, pacing and even the language I use, can determine how the whole presentation goes.
The most useful aspects of the course were the tutorial sessions. The lectures were very interactive but there were so many students in the class that it was impossible to answer every question, so having the tutorial sessions with a few students and a TA was a lifesaver because we were able to go deeper into the topics, go through questions and assignments and still have time to share opinions on the content. All this made sure that I completely grasped the topics every week.
I have always had an issue with how course content was organized on eClass with ENG courses so I was already worried about that prior to taking the course, but when we began, I knew that this would be very different. Everything on eClass was properly arranged, easy to find and distinguish and more interactive than ever, all this made me enjoy and appreciate the course even more.
Work Desk
Branded Cosmetics
Designer At Work
Work Desk
Reflection: Welcome
The improvement in my communication abilities after taking this course is obvious. I used to struggle when making reports and essays because I knew nothing about the 7 C’s, axioms of communication or rhetorical tetrahedron/triangle, and my biggest issue was with conciseness. I used to write pages of information without any aim, but the first few weeks of taking this course took that right out of me and now I know when to cut back on the content I add so the piece still has meaning.
Since I started this course my technical presentation skills have improved the most because I learned how to properly approach them. Going back to my issue of conciseness, the biggest problem I had was writing too much on slides and not talking enough, now I know that my voice has more power than whatever I put down on the slides. This course also introduced me to using speaker notes to keep myself on track during presentations and to help me flesh my points out.
I still have to work on one communication skill, feedback and peer review. I enjoy giving feedback but I struggle with courtesy and sometimes I can be blunt with my reviews. Taking this course has made me to understand why this is an issue, but it can be fixed and I work on it regularly so I can be good reviewer and serve my colleagues better.
My experience in this course has, not only completely changed how I approach other engineering courses and practice, but also how I approach life in general. I have learned how to be more patient and understanding when communicating with others and also how to get my points across more effectively. This course also showed me how to work and communicate with colleagues from different backgrounds to achieve our goals. I am very grateful for the opportunity to take this course and it has set me up perfectly to keep moving forward in my STEM journey.
Reflection: Text
Reflection: Work
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