A story that will help you in exam! :)

Today I went to a really fantastic talk by Ajarn Brahm, one of the most famous Buddhist teacher in the world. Today's topic was about "How to balanced your study and Personal Life." Not only his content was great, he is wise and he exemplify the great communication skills.

One of the things that he uses was stories and we have been talking about this is ES2007s for very long. Stories get people interested, grab their attention and most important of all memorable. He was talking about having a positive attitude towards whatever comes to your life, Be Positive. This is a story to illustrate my point and to help you in your exam.

This story is called "Good, Bad, Who knows?" The story goes like this. There was a king who went for hunting in a jungle. As he was hunting, he was bitten on his finger by an animal. The cut was pretty swollen and the finger almost came off, so he asked the doctor to came over and examined his condition. He asked how was the wound after the doctor put the bandage on. The doctor says "Good, Bad, Who knows?" The king thought what a stupid doctor, he doesn't even know the condition.

After he went back to the palace, the doctor changed the bandage and was asked again about the condition. Again he said "Good, Bad, Who knows?" The king was stunned but still trust his doctor. Nevertheless, after 3 days, the cut was infected and the finger had to be amputated. The king was really angry with this stupid doctor, so he personally put the doctor in jail. The king asked how does that feel. The doctor once again answered "Good, Bad, Who knows?"

Few days later, the king went hunting again. But this time he got lost in a jungle alone. He then was caught by an indigenous tribe who need a human sacrifice for their god and they thought he would be a perfect one. After all the rituals, the king was at the post ready to be burnt. However, one of the tribal priest realized that he only had 9 fingers. The priest said "he is not a perfect sacrifice for our god, we must find a new one."

After the sweet escape, the king went back to the palace and immediately realizes the doctor because he just saved his life. Then, the king apologized to the doctor. But the doctor said "it's fine. I have 10 fingers. If I weren't in jailed, I would be with you and by now I would be dead."

From this story, we could learn that whatever comes to our life we will never know whether it is good or bad, so instead of worrying and dreading, why don't we take positive attitude and relax in life. " In the light of examination period, whatever we will do for our exam. Why don't we take a step back relax, smile and say "Good, Bad, Who knows?"

May you be well and happy,

The start of the learning journey that will never end

I still remembered why I signed up for this course. When the bidding system was ongoing, I still felt the sense of failure and disappointment from interviews with top universities, including Oxford University, Columbia University and Imperial College London. From the experience that I have gone through, I felt that my communication skill is really far from good. I wanted to learn how to express myself well and communicate effectively, so I thought this course would actually help.

I came to the course without knowing anyone, going to class just by myself. However, after I stepped in and saw what was happening around me, I thought this may not be that bad after all. Through this course, I have really gained insights on communication skills. I have never noticed that non-verbal communication can affect the way other people perceived me that much. Resume writing and interview skill were also one of the most important aspect that this course has taught me. I left this class knowing everyone and I have learned as much from them as I learned from Brad.

In term of group work, I really learned how to be patient and more accepting toward others' working style. This is a very important skills that we all need in real life. Through research project and peer teaching, we all have gained the knowledge into what we were doing. However, I think more importantly the skill that we used through these projects have taught us more than we can ever imagine.

All in all, this course for me is just the start of effective communication. It's a football academy where young players learned all the tactics from. However, after the graduation, the real improvement comes when these players actually play in real matches against different teams. Just like what we are now. We are only at the start of the journey. We are now facing the real world where we will hone our skills to be the star in this league, so let the journey begins. It has been great training with all of you in various discussions and projects. All the best everyone.

Cheers,
Billet

ENG: Oral Presentationo Reflection

Preparation

This is a really tough part. We all are really busy and it is a little difficult to get together sometimes. Wen Lue was sometime not contactable and we were worried about him. However, when we met 3 days before the real presentation, he was really impressive. I was shocked by how much he improved from the peer teaching session. As for Yan Ling, you are naturally a rather shy person, presentation is not your forte. This is not really an easy job for you.

Nevertheless, I remembered sitting down at the bench at the end of the day, listening to everyone's section. I had an idea of breaking up the presentation into sections, making it like interviewing panel style of presentation. This is a really good solution to a presentation because it make the content easy to follow and there is a moderator who can reiterate the point. I think after we used the idea, everyone in the group gained more confident in presentation. I am really glad that I could help the rest to do better.

As for myself, I think I am a confident person in presentation. However, what I lack is the skill to handle the use of language. Hence, I need a lot of practice and preparation to present what I intend to. The introduction was done over and over again to get all the content inside without any awkward sentences. We also took video of ourselves so that we are aware of our non-verbal communications.

Delivery

In the end, the presentation went well. For me, I did what I intended to do in bringing the audience into the presentation. It was a good experience being a moderator for the group. It's not an easy job. The moderator have to pay full attention to the presenters, looking out for the uncleared or unsaid points, so that I could prompt the presenter to reiterate the points. However, through the experience, I think our group did a really good job helping each other in presentation style.

Use of slideware

Our group had a little disagreement on the slideware. For me, I have always preferred less words, simple and more pictures. However, to my groupmate, they want some of the point to be in the slide, so that they won't miss any point. I actually didn't like the idea and went to changed their parts and they weren't particularly happy about it. I am really sorry. I should have consulted you before. Nevertheless, we all agreed to tone down the slide and use ourselves as presentation.

In summary, through this presentation, I have learned a lot about working with other people and how we helped each other through. Wen Lue, sorry for being judgmental about the way you worked. In the end, you did an impressive job. Xing Quan is a very good group leader, keeping us on track. I am very grateful to work with you all. All the best for exam!

Intercultural Behavior

This is an experience gained from living in a boarding school. I was in secondary 3 when I first went into a boarding school. I was so excited to embark on this new journey. I still remember exactly my room number was 3-206. It was a two-bedded room. After I was shown around, I went to my room for the first time. I entered the room with great anticipation, when my nose begged for a retreat. The room was very smelly. I was so shocked at the room condition that all my excitement was all gone. That night, my roommate came back. Luckily, he was a friendly person. He introduced himself as Sean. He was from Central Europe.

After I stayed with him for a week, I found out the reason why the room was so smelly. It was because my roommate only took a bath 3 times a week and washed clothes only after they were worn for three times, although he exercised often. The room got smellier by the day. Until one day, I could not stand it anymore. It had been disturbed by the smell for the whole day.

Finally, I gathered a courage and asked him why didn't he take a shower more frequently. The answer was "isn't three times a week frequent enough?" I was baffled by his answer. He went on explaining that at his home town he only took shower once a week. The weather there was so cold that you hardly sweat. Here he was so sweaty, so he had already washed up more often. Being from the warm and humid country like Singapore, I believe that we have to wash yourself up twice or even three times a day and we wash our cloth after we wear once. I told him that this is the norm here, otherwise, your smell wouldn't be desirable to other people. He was astounded by our social norm.

After my comments, his habit slowly changed. He showered more often than before and the smell subsided. It was an experience of cultural difference which could result in a conflict. However, when I voiced my concerns out, he graciously took my advice. I believe a person who is more familiar with a particular culture should help others to adapt. This, I believe, is how to bridge the inter-cultural differences.

Peer Teaching Session

Hey guys,

I know you guys are busy with preparation for mid-term exam, but please help us comment on my group's peer teaching session. Good luck for exam! ((:

Billet

My Cover Letter for Shell and the advertisement

Shell Internship

There are countless reasons why you should consider an internship with us.

- opportunity to gain invaluable business experience
- see first-hand what it would be like to work for Shell.

On an internship with us, you can expect to:
• See what the energy industry is really like, from the inside
• Take part in interesting, live projects
• Take on real business challenges
• Get to know current Shell employees and other students
• Find out whether you would enjoy working at Shell
• Track the long-term results of your work
• Build valuable work experience, skills and knowledge.

Product / Process Researcher
It's down to us to make sure that the most innovative technologies are available and applied in the design of new processing routes as well as in the development, improvement and innovation of products. We use in-house expertise as well as acquiring technologies from third parties.

You could be involved in:
Challenging the existing approaches to processing
Researching and developing new catalysts
Creating high-performance fuels and lubricants
Developing sustainable energy technologies
Collaborating with customers on novel product initiatives
Researching new areas of physics in Exploration & Production.



#5-103 Raffles Hall,
19 Kent Ridge Crescent
Singapore 119278
HP: (Hand phone number)
E-mail: (e-mail address)

1 September 2010

Human Resource Manager,
Shell Eastern Petroleum (Pte) Ltd
83 Clemenceau Avenue,
Singapore 239920

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to express my interest in working in Shell on an internship as Product/Process Researcher. I was introduced to this job by the Shell website. Due to my interest in the energy industry, I am very keen to work there.

My name is Thanasak Hoontrakul, currently studying in year 1 Chemical Engineering at National University of Singapore. I have a passion in energy field and qualities which I believe will suit corporate culture the Shell. My passion in improving existing systems led me pursued a Nanyang Research Project in my junior college years in which I worked closely with Nanyang Technological University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. In this project, I worked with a piezoelectric material which has an interesting property of producing electricity through stress and strain. Through this project, I have learned the skills necessary for engineering research including reading of literature reviews, conducting experiment and writing research paper. All of which will help in the position I applied for.

As my interest lies in energy industry, I have read extensively in this area. I was attracted particularly to the Algae, an easy growing plants as well as a high consumer of carbon dioxide. Both of characteristics are advantageous in being biofuel. To further my scope in energy industry, in my first year, I took a module called “Clean Energy and Storage”. I was also fortunate to personally talk to Professor Klaus Lackner, a leading scientist in Energy Storage, in Columbia University. We discussed about the possibilities of future Energy Storage Systems. I believe that the position I am applying for is working closely with research in sustainable energy in which I am keen to explore. I hope to bring this enthusiasm to the shell community.

Apart from my interests, I am also a very outgoing person. These aspects have earned me various leadership positions such as Golf Captain in secondary school, House Captain in Junior College and House Captain in my hostel. Although I have numerous responsibilities, I was award Service Awards for both house captain positions for outstanding contributions. I believe my ability to work well with people and leadership skills would help me accomplish the assigned tasks.

The experience in Shell would drive me to be more passionate in this industry. The challenging environment in Shell would also stimulate my competitive nature. I believe that if I were to work in Shell I would be able to strive in Shell. I hope I would be given an opportunity to further discuss any possible contribution I could give to the company. I am looking forward to hear from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Thanasak Hoontrakul

What if your bestfriend sleeps with your girlfriend-to-be?

This is a real story that happened to my friend. For the confidentiality, let’s his name be Peter. Peter was a very lover-like and sweet boy. He could easily fall for girls and be faithful to her for a long time. During the holidays, he met this girl, Helen, in a party. He had quite a good time with her during the party, so Peter asked her out for a few dates. They started getting physically close. Peter realized that the relationship was going quite well, so he wanted his best friend, Fred, to know her. However, Fred was quite good in talking to girls. Off the record, a playboy would describe Fred’s personality.
As Peter wanted his best friend to know his date, all three of them went out together; they all had an enjoyable time, so Fred got her number. Behind Peter’s back, Fred went out with Helen couples of time. Meanwhile, Peter’s feeling for Helen increased tremendously. He liked her very much. Nevertheless, the moment of truth came shortly afterward. Helen told Peter that they should stop seeing each other. Totally bewildered, Peter demanded an explanation, but Helen refused to do so. Nonetheless, after Peter pestered for the answer a few days later, she told him, “Fred and I went out couples of time. Once, we drank together. While we were tipsy, we slept together.” Peter was stoned. His best friend for many years chose to betray him for a girl whom they just knew. He stopped talking to Fred after that incident, although Fred and Helen both apologized and told him it’s because of intoxication. Still, Peter thinks this is too much to forgive them.
Should Peter forgive Fred for his action and talk to him again? After all, if a four-years-long friendship is ended because of a girl who they barely know.

P.S. This story is an account of an incident, so it might not be perfectly accurate. The names in this story are all made-up for storytelling purpose.

Why effective communication is important to me?

‘What is the purpose of my life?’ is the first question I asked before I answer this question. It is of utmost important to know what I want in my life before answering why this skill is important to me. As a 19 years old undergraduate, I have a dream of revolutionizing Thai education system.

As a child born to a middle income family, I am fortunate to be educated in top schools. Therefore, for my teenage years, I always thought of Thai education system as a decent one. However, during the holidays before university started, I had an opportunity to teach at an orphanage house in Thailand for 3 months. It was when I truly understand the education system. The quality of education in the school is so low that primary-one students couldn’t even add two digits numbers together. It may be partly due to their family background. The lack of love from their relatives might suppress their motivation to study. Nevertheless, the problems shouldn’t be blamed on them. We should ask why the government isn’t doing anything to improve the quality of education. Education is not about going to school for 12 years. It is what we learn inside that is important. Without education, quality of life will not improve and they will be idle in society. They could also be used as pawns in political conflicts.

This was the driving force for me to think about how am I going to change this. Personally, I hate politics, especially in Thailand, where corruptions are part of politicians’ lives. Therefore, I have decided I am going to set up a non-profitable organization helping the students especially in rural areas to improve their education and hence their lives.

Now, going back to the question why effective communication is essential in my life. For the goal I am looking at, it is a job that requires effective communication skill ranging from recruiting people to join the organization to effectively teach the children in the rural area. In recruiting and management of organization, effective communication would help in the understanding between colleague. Furthermore, by using speeches to motivate the staffs, the organization would run more efficiently and non-corruptly. Apart from the management side, I also have to go down to the schools and talk to the principals, persuading them to join the movement. We have to convince them that this is not an organization which looking for profits, but we want to help improve the quality of life in those area. Last but not least, I will be the teacher myself. Hence, effective communication will help the student get most from my lessons. Essentially, for my goal to be successful, effective communication is the key.