HEE HEE

Dear Professor Brad Blackstone, My name is Hong Xian and I am a student in your Critical Thinking and Communicating module. After going through a few seminars with you, I have a rough idea of what to expect and I look forward to learning more from your lessons. I graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic with a diploma in Mechanical engineering with a minor in Business. My interest in engineering started ever since I could pick up and play the guitar. As my skills improved, I became more interested in learning more about my instrument. This interest eventually turned into a hobby. From basic maintenance to modifying and swapping out components in my own electric guitars. This act of modifying benefits greatly from technical knowledge that is found in engineering courses and so this is why made the choice. My greatest communication strength is active listening. I hate jumping to conclusions and forming opinions before knowing the full story. In general, if someone is telling me something that...

 "Developing excellent communication skills is absolutely essential to effective leadership. The leader must be able to share knowledge and ideas to transmit a sense of urgency and enthusiasm to others. If a leader can't get a message across clearly and motivate others to act on it, then having a message doesn't even matter." Gilbert Amelio, former President and CEO of National Semiconductor Corp "A letter is pointless unless it's delivered." The leader is the one carving a path for the team to follow. He/She must ensure that everyone on the team is on the same page and understands the assignment. Getting his/her messages across to the whole team is absolutely vital to the success of the team. If the leader does not communicate well, he/she risks the team losing confidence in him/her which in turn can lead to them being dismissive.   If the leader does communicate well, the team will naturally become more motivated as they see and understand the goal set...