Twitter
Facebook
Flickr
RSSOur very first meeting was efficient and objective! All of us, Paul, Zhen Yong, Nivetha and I, were punctual and prepared for the meeting. We already had a rough idea of the contents that we were going to discuss during the meeting as the agenda was planned beforehand. The prior brief discussion before the first meeting also helped us to prepare for the necessary equipments we needed for the recording of the video. I feel that the preparations we did enabled us to proceed with the meeting smoothly and efficiently.
During the discussion, we were objective and our discussion barely strayed from the main topic. As Paul led the discussion, all of us were focused on following the agenda closely and making the meeting as efficient as possible. At various points of time, we contributed and suggested different ideas for the project comfortably. I also realised that we would pay attention to whoever was speaking as well as contribute ideas appropriately.
However, there is always room for improvement. On an individual level, I saw myself raising questions as another person was speaking. I realised that it disrupted whatever that he/she was saying. I should have noted down my doubt and waited till the person finished saying what he had to say before I raised any question for clarification. It certainly did not allow me to listen actively as my mind was busy questioning the doubts as I listened to the speaker. On a whole, I thought that the video could be improved. When watching it, I found it quite disturbing that the laptops were blocking the view and the hand gestures of Paul, Zhen Yong and Nivetha could not be seen clearly. Hence, I feel that it would have been much better if we used a video recording camera which is placed at an angle that could capture all of us instead.
Post #4: Reflection on meeting 1
Post #3: Resolving Interpersonal conflict
Interpersonal conflict is something inevitable in life. The most significant encounter of an interpersonal conflict I had when I was in secondary two still remains fresh in my memory. Those were the days when my best friend and I would share everything and anything under the sun with each other. We both agreed that certain things will be kept just between us and trusted each other on that promise. I thought that some things would be readily understood that it was supposed to be meant for her knowledge only, so I did not make it a point to remind her to keep it a secret.
To my horror, I came to a realization that she had been telling my other friends about my personal problems! I felt betrayed and bitter. I wondered if I was wrong to have trusted anybody in the first place. I tried to confront her immediately if she was aware of her own actions. What greatly surprised me was that she was not apologetic and she even defended herself with reasons that led her to do it although she knew she was not supposed to. It aggravated my anger as I was truly disappointed in her. I insisted that it was wrong of her to make her own decision to tell my problems to others without my consent. Soon, we were raising voices at each other, eager to win the argument. We were too emotional to think clearly as we argued. Finally, it ended with both of us walking away, hurt and tearing.
For the next couple of weeks, we did not speak to each other. During that period of cold war, I reflected on our argument. Actually, we were both at fault for not taking a step back each. The heated conflict could have been avoided if we were cool-headed when confronting each other. I guess we both felt awkward avoiding each other so we apologised to each other when we coincidentally met in the CCA store room one day. After patching up, we came to a conclusion that there was miscommunication between us and we did not understand the message we tried to convey to each other.
Thinking back, I realised that on my part, I should have told her clearly that some problems were too sensitive to let anyone else know. She could have discussed with me before she did something that made me feel betrayed. However, she was actually getting help for me without the intention of misusing my trust while I did not listen to her properly when she tried to explain herself to me during the confrontation. I regret that such unnecessary conflict occurred when we could have communicated to each other clearly and prevented so much unhappiness. However, I feel that such encounters are the ones that teach us life skills that could change us for the better and help us strengthen our relationships when we overcome them successfully! I'm glad that conflict did not affect our relationship and it's now a topic that we would mention in our conversations and laugh off as a memorable "childish" act!
