Sample Essay On Reflective Diary

As an ESL student, I was affected by the Chinese-English Accent despite living and studying in Vancouver in 8 years. My native country was China and my life in the country affected my command in English. I always feared to make presentations using the English language. I was optimistic that the Business communication class provided a chance to eliminate the worries in public speaking and transform me into a better person. While studying at the university, my semester was disrupted by the death of my grandfather. I was saddened to receive the news and my family expected me to attend the preparation to lay grandpa to rest. I boarded a plane and departed to China where I spent almost two weeks of the classroom activities. As I returned to the university, I was in a distressed mood and not in a good position to attain my jovial status as before.
The Business Communication class aimed at improving learner’s public speaking skills. Personally I benefited from the class because I increased my knowledge and awareness. In the beginning, I was poor in public speaking because I needed to improve my poor English communication skills so that I could communicate fluently to capture the attention of the audience. In the Business Communication Class, the instructor expected us to answer why we were worried about the course and our expectations at the end of the course. Surprisingly, I was bold enough to highlight that poor English communication skills were my major challenge that disrupted my ambitions in class. I also indicated that I expected to improve my communication skills including the pronunciation of words to ensure that I transform into a better public speaker than before.
The public speaking survey class was very interesting. At first, I had feared that my group members would criticize my fluency and tone variation. The members supported my efforts and wished that I could emerge the best in public speaking. The move inspired and encouraged me a lot, and I went ahead to give out the best I could. I learned how to sue the voice effectively when presenting a speech. I gained the courage that I would keep my audience attentive to the speech so that they could capture the message conveyed.
The lesson about the seven speaking principles was my turning point as I transformed into a better public speaker compared to the time I started my classes. The instructor taught us the key elements and guiding principles of effective speaking. The primary communication elements provided the best platform to understand communication skills. The most important thing for a speaker is to have the purpose and goal of speaking. This helps an individual to connect with the audience and deliver the message in a successful manner. An individual must be credible and provide evidence where necessary to eliminate doubts within the audience. I also mastered the art on how to adapt to any setting and rise to the occasion with a bang. The best speakers always collect information and thoughts together so that they can be consistent during the presentation. I went ahead to cope with the challenging environment by learning helpful skills that improved my language, tone variation, pronunciation amongst others. The exposure was amazing and appealing. I utilized the PALCOD principles and ensured that all the seven elements equally reflected my presentation. Also, I learned that the best way to emerge as a professional speaker is to prepare and practice before the major presentation. I also realized that seeking for advice from friends and other professionals was a move that worked to improve my public speaking skills. The application of the PLACOD principles was instrumental in helping me to improve my public speaking aides to a great extent.
Edward Tufte’s theory was helpful to me because I realized how to avoid inflicting death by PowerPoint on an unsuspecting audience. In the past, I did not realize that PowerPoint presentations had a specific format that made a presentation to look more professional. I used to design my PowerPoint in bullet points, but this was never contributed to an attractive performance. I had a problem of providing unnecessary information on the slides. Because of my previous mistakes in constructing PowerPoint slides, I understood the best approach to use and ensure that the slides had the right information that will make the targeted audience attentive. My skills in public speaking continued to improve as the business communication class continued. In the end, I had benefited a lot from the lectures and guidance from the instructor.
Since I was a child, I suffered from poor listening skills. My weakness is that I rarely paid attention so that I could capture the conveyed message. My father complained that it was time for me to improve my listening skills so that the issue could not present problems in the future. I could not eavesdrop like my classmates in lower classes. The reality hit me after joining the university. I failed to capture most of the information shared in lectures because of my poor listening skills. I was easily disrupted by any distractions that took place in the classroom. The instructor summoned me to his office so that he could guide me to the best solution that could assist me to cope. I realized that I could do better to improve my listening skills. I learned how to pay attention to the speaker, and this helped me to capture all information shared in a diligent manner. I eliminated my worries and developed enough courage to face any challenges that presented in my classroom activities. In addition, I learned the best way to do way with bad habits that hindered my progress in class. I had developed a habit of avoiding the best students with a good command of English because I feared that I would be ashamed when interacting with them. I realized that being with the best students helped me to understand the communication skills better than before. I started developing the mutual friendship with most of my classmates so that they could treat me as one of their own. It was an effective strategy, and I was the beneficiary in the end.
I had a rough time after I returned from China to bury my grandfather. I found that my classmates were far much ahead of me in the syllabus. I worked day and night to catch up with them though I was a little sad and depressed because of the death of my family relative. I was still a focused student, but the somber mood that had engulfed my mind denied me the chance to remain enthusiastic. I tried my level best to cope with the situation because I had no powers to determine the destiny. “Accept and move on,” the words of a very close friend gave me the courage to pursue my dreams without worrying about the past.
I discovered that confidence was a very important component of communication. Without confidence, an individual could not be grasp effective communication skills. As the adage goes, “confidence makes the cake,” I was poised to gather courage and eliminate the fears that interrupted with my strong beliefs. I succeeded in fighting the worry that carried away my confidence denying me a better opportunity to learn more. The skill boosted my level of confidence, and I was rated among the most active students in the class, and this worked positively for my progress. Studying in the United States presented hurdles that seemed difficult for me to handle at the start but my motivation and inspiration made me a better person. I loved life in the United States because I was exposed a lot of things, and the experience attained increased mu knowledge and awareness. My communication skills had improved towards the end of the semester as I could speak fluent English.
When I started the business communication class, I was uncertain, deceptive, diffident, and nervous and disorganized in my presentation. I learned that these characteristics tampered with my public speaking skills. Before the end of the semester, I had transformed. I was now a confident, calm and honest public speaker and the fear that affected me had disappeared. I was logical in my presentations, and this made my audiences attentive to the detail.