Dear class,

With the easy accessibility of the internet in campus, it’s not surprising to see many of you using internet as the primary source for research and learning. After all, one just needs to key in a search term in any search engine of one’s preference and the information will be found. While online research looks useful, there is one pitfall that most of us are unaware of, which is the lack of structure in our learning.

Let’s consider an example. When we want to learn more about communication skills, it’s easy for us to type in “Communication skills” as the search terms in a search engine, and we get the information that we want. However, the information that the search engine pulls out for us comes from all types of sources. Lack of credibility aside, we also face the issue of having to define what it is that we really want to know about communication skills. And without a structure for learning, it is easy for us to get lost in the tons of information and data that is prevalent in the internet. This is the reason why textbooks still exist in the face of the internet, for they provide the structure that is so crucial to our learning.

Textbook acts as a precursor to our learning, providing the basic structures that guide our learning. Of course, one textbook is insufficient to cover a subject matter that we wish to learn. So, we should source for several textbooks. By providing a structure for learning, textbooks adds depth to learners’ learning. This means that books often enable learners to learn more about a particular subject matter than any online articles can hope to achieve. However, online information adds breadth to learners’ learning, in the sense that online information often provides more perspective on a particular subject matter than any single textbook can hope to accomplish (after all, it is impossible for the author(s) of a textbook to cover the entire scope of a subject matter as compared to countless information sources on the internet, no matter how wide-ranging their knowledge is).

So, how do we combine the use of textbooks and the internet for learning?

I propose that we start with a few textbooks and based on the topics of interests in these texts, we can proceed to source for information on the internet. In this way, we are learning through a properly defined structure (with depth) while enhancing our understanding with information on the internet (thus increasing the breadth of our study).

All of you are fortunate to have a library and internet access in campus, so the abovementioned approach is one approach that you might like to consider when it comes to enhancing your learning experience.

In life, I believe that all of us have dreams. It is easy to have a dream in life. The challenging part is in turning our dreams into reality. Some of us didn’t put in the effort, some of us think that it is too difficult and some of us give up midway. If you were to look closely at the cause of our procrastination, we will realise that it is fear and insecurity that stop us in our tracks and prevent us from going forward and realising our dreams.

So what are we afraid of?

In a society that recognises achievements and applauds prestigious titles, it’s not surprising to see many of us not daring to undertake challenging tasks like public speaking, coaching/mentoring tasks etc. The challenge is even greater for students who do not have any previous experiences, unlike working professionals who have both experience and credibility. Merely looking at a public speaker’s online profile and/or resume can be intimidating.

Nevertheless, we have to ask ourselves this: how do all these professionals become successful? And we will realise that - like us- these professionals start with nothing and accumulate their experiences over time. But is it smooth-sailing? Probably not. We only see the successful aspect of their careers but we often overlook the obstacles and difficulties that they overcome over time.

As students, have more courage and believe in yourself. Constantly remind yourself that successful people do not become successful overnight. They put in a lot of time and effort before they become successful.  You can do the same thing if you live life with courage.

Life is not smooth-sailing and it can get rough at times. What’s important is not to hope for a life with no worries, because it’s not going to happen. Life’s a roller coaster ride with its ups and downs. We can’t stop the roller coaster from moving but we can definitely brace ourselves for the ride.

As the saying goes, “the night is darkest before the dawn”. If we have the resilience, determination and perseverance, we will definitely get to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  

Most of us are familiar with product/service marketing through the use of branding.  With the rise of consumerism, branding has become more prevalent. We have seen the impact that branding has on consumers. Since branding promotes the uniqueness of the products/services (and often a lifestyle in recent years), many consumers have been influenced to more readily purchase the product/services. Considering that branding is so impactful, it’s not surprising that marketers have been emphasising on companies branding all if not most of their products according to their target customers.   

What is mentioned above is obvious. However, what is not so obvious is the fact that we can and should brand ourselves to potential employers. I call it “personal branding”. When it comes to personal branding, we do not promote a specific lifestyle. We promote our abilities and talents.

So, how do we do that?

We should start with the basics, which is identifying and acknowledging our talents and abilities. All of us are unique and we possess specific skills that others do not.  These skills and abilities are what differentiate us from other job candidates when we look for jobs. Most job candidates apply for jobs with a cover letter and resume. But the details on these documents are merely skimming the surface when it comes to promoting our talents most of the time. I will recommend an additional 1-page document which provides a detailed summary of your achievements and abilities alongside your cover letter and resume when you apply for job in the near future.

Below are some questions to help you with this 1-page document:

• Do you have any interests or hobbies that you do not mind engaging in, even if it cost you time and effort? List them down. Identify the skills that are required for these activities.
• Do you have friends who commended you on specific achievements? List them down.  Identify the skills that are required for these activities.
• Have you joined any activities in school before?  What skills have you learnt from these activities? List them down.
• Have you attended any courses before? List them down.
• What is your goal in life? Is there anything that you wish to achieve in your life? Write them down.
• Look through your school testimonials. Look at the comments by your teachers and identify any skills that have been highlighted. Write them down.
• What profession(s) are you interested in? Write it down.
• In your life, which areas do you tend to excel and have interest in? Write them down.

After you have done the above, try to identify common areas and summarise your abilities and talents.

Now, do your interests and talents align with your preferred professions/career? If they do, it’s good. If not, you might like to explore other career options, since working in a profession of your preference which requires expertise that you do not excel in is not a good option. It’s best if you are able to join a profession where you have both the interest and the abilities. While we may switch career more than once in current times, it’s still advisable to get the right job for our first job. This is because our first job usually provides the foundation for our subsequent jobs.

Now, arrange your abilities and talents on a piece of paper. Writing in paragraphs or in point forms are both all right. Personally, I will encourage you to write in paragraphs as it looks more detailed and structured. Organise your writing such that your readers will be able to get an overview of your achievements, abilities and talents easily. Be as detailed as possible.

It will be good to start working on personal branding now while you are still in school.

Brand yourself, and shine.

Dear class,

I have noticed that some of you are holding back during the course of the lesson when questions are posed by the educators. This is especially so when it comes to the “Q & A” session at the end of each team’s presentation, where some of you have also hesitated to question the presenting teams. 

There are several benefits to asking and answering questions, as follows:

• Improves analytical skills: When you ask a question in class, you are actually clarifying some facts on behalf of your classmates as well. This benefits the class on the whole. The same can be said when you pose a question to the presenting teams. When you attempt to answer a question posed to you by one of your friends, you have to think things through before answering. This improves your analytical skills, a set of skills that is drastically different from your presentation skills.  While your presentation skills involves getting your message accurately across to your target audience, analytical skills involves exploring issues from various perspectives (some of which you have not even thought of previously) and putting forward your stand persuasively and convincingly.  A good presenter needs both analytical and presentation skills since both are vital ingredients for an interesting and credible presentation.
• Gaining confidence and learning humility: When you start to ask questions consistently, you began to develop a skill to explore issues from various perspectives, which is good. And if you were to answer your friend’s or your educator’s question correctly, it builds your confidence over time. And confidence is an important ingredient to being successful in life. And if you were to answer a question incorrectly, you learn humility from the experience, which is also good.  This is because it is always good to remind ourselves that all of us make mistakes and we do not know everything. When we are able to accept ourselves, others will be more accepting of us.
• Failures are the stepping stones to success: Following from the last point above, we should have an awareness that failures are the stepping stones to success. Many successful individuals fail many times in their lifetimes. Therefore, avoiding failures will also hinder you from being successful. Instead, go ahead and put in your best effort in everything you do (which includes asking and answering questions in class). If you fail, learn from your mistakes and try again. It’s merely a matter of time before you succeed. But remember, we must all learn from our mistakes and failures.

So, I hope that all of you are able to put in more effort in class by asking and answering questions during the course of the lessons, which includes the “Q & A” sessions at the end of the presenting sessions.

Keep up the enthusiasm!

Out of all the talents, the Creatives are the most misunderstood.

Highly individualistic by nature, the Creatives take pride in all of their works. While there may be some Creatives who appreciate the contributions of others, most of them do not. They take great delight in creating something out of their own efforts and they often create something for aesthetical value and not for practical usage.

The last point is what makes the Creatives unsuitable in most corporate workplaces, where practicality and profits often take precedence over aesthetical beauty. Conflicts and disagreement often result between management and the Creatives since there’s apparently a conflict of interest between the two: the management wants to make a profit with a practical product while the Creatives often opt for aesthetics.

Another factor that makes the Creative averse to working in the corporate workplace is the fact that most of them hate the rules and bureaucratic atmosphere that exist in most work places. The Creatives often wants independence and flexibility to do what they want to do, which means that they want some quiet time to think things through. And they have a strong dislike for deadlines. Unfortunately, deadlines are prevalent in most work places and the numerous meetings often frustrate the Creatives. This may explain why the Creatives are often found in certain professions, which includes fashion design, advertising and any form of performing arts (dance, musicals etc) where freedom and flexibility is often given and even encouraged.

It’s interesting to note that there exists a group of Creatives who are able to blend their creative talents with the practical demands of companies. This gives them an edge when it comes to certain industries such as the design industry, the IT industry etc. An ability to use their creative talents to increase the profitability of a company may be one of the few ways for Creatives to assimilate into the company. Nevertheless, most Creatives will never allow their creative talents to be compromised by bureaucratic demands.  

To most Creatives, being creative is actually a gift. This is because not everyone is one. They feel that they are special in this world and they want to make use of this talent to create something for the good of mankind.  Most of them do not pursue materialistic wants and they are satisfied that the works that they have created have made this world a more beautiful place.

Dear Class,

The media industry- like all other things in life- is constantly changing. And as media professionals in the near future, it will be good for all of you to be adaptable and to be able to cope with changes.

It’s also good to get an experience of working with deadlines as several professions in the media industry  (such as journalists, writers and editors) do require one to work under such conditions. Many media professionals love their job and the reason that they are able to excel in their line of work is primarily because they have the passion to do it and working with deadlines often provides them with an adrenaline rush  to see their valued work come to fruition.

It will be good to realise that media professionals work towards what their target audience wants to see and read, and not what the media professionals themselves want. Understanding this perspective is crucial to the success of media organisations and subsequently, the media professionals themselves. 

Below are some of my thoughts on the areas that that all of you are able to develop:

-          Writing Style: Develop a strong curiosity of what is happening around you. Develop a strong thirst for knowledge. Identify the trends in the media industry. What do media consumers want? During your leisure time, keep a personal journal and pen your thoughts frequently. This practice is similar to what you have been doing for your reflection journal. This will help you improve your writing style. So, do develop a writing style of your own. Most successful writers have a distinct writing style. You can be one of them.

-          Photography / Page Design and Layout: Browse through all types of magazines and mentally “digest” the images on the various pages.   Observe the various angles that images are captured. Do you see a pattern? What are the common types of photographs? Subsequently, take your own pictures and develop your own style.  You can also cut out photographs from your used magazines. Gather the photographs together and base on a theme of your preference (such as “Courage”), selectively choose the photographs of the same thematic element by putting them together and separating them into sets. Now move one set of photographs to a piece of A4-sized paper and move the photographs around on the piece of paper.   Practice moving them in different directions and at different angles. Try stacking one part of a photograph on another. Tile them at different angles. Which of these arrangements have a stronger visual feel/appeal? Why? Doing all this will enable you to seek out common patterns in images, familiarise you with the art of photography as well as improving your foundations for page design and layout. It’s interesting to note that a single, well-selected photograph is impactful. However, having several photographs of the same thematic elements  arranged in  an appropriate and creative way adds a lot more punch to the message that you want to convey to your viewers/readers.  

For page design and layout, there are 6 primary factors that you need to take into considerations:

-        Emphasis   (e.g. placing a dark image on a white background etc)

-        Contrast   (e.g. using strong colours of different contrast to draw the viewer’s attention)

-        Balancing (e.g. Ensuring that the elements on the page are all balanced. That is, there should not be a situation where there is five images on the left side of a page while the right side is blank)

-         Alignment: (This has more to do with text than images, such as aligning the text left, centre or right)

-         Repetition: (Repeating visuals elements such as lines, font type, font size etc. has the ability to enable the readers to retain the information that they have read or seen)

-         Balancing:  (Such as the rational way of aligning the photographs from left to right)

A great visual layout and design usually fulfils all the abovementioned 6 factors. Do also build up your knowledge of typography. Changing the font types can also change the impact of the message. 

After looking at the Nurturer and the Reformer, it’s probably good to look at another type of talent, known as the Achiever.

Nurturers thrive in relationship building and Reformers have their strengths in following and achieving their life goals. The Achievers, on the other hand, have their eyes on achievements. To the Achievers, achievements are their life. Every moment in their lives are dedicated to achieving something. These can be in the form of academic qualifications, sports achievements (it is interesting to note that trophies are especially important to them since it’s a physical symbol of their effort and achievements), positive job appraisals and compliments from friends or any form of contributions that they consider valuable.

While it’s true that some Achievers do well in life in terms of financial stability and/or wealth acquisition, most Achievers do not measure their worth in life in terms of monetary terms but rather, in their achievements. It can be a closing of a sales deal. It can be a contribution of an article to a magazine and seeing it in print. It can also be the completion of a 3.5km run. As can be observed, monetary acquisition is not a prerequisite in the lives of  the Achievers. But making positive contributions through their own effort is.

Achievers can be found in all walks of life and their entire lives are often purposeful. Once they have directed their focus on their life goals to contribute their abilities to make the world a better place, they will almost always achieve them with excellent results. Their existence is hence beneficial to society and their contributions immense.  

It is important to note that the Achievers are often independent workers. If they are invited to work in a team, it is important that the objectives of the team work be aligned with the objectives of the Achievers and that efforts be made to ensure that the achievers be placed within a specific job domain where they have full autonomy. For example, should Achievers be tasked to work with a team in an advertising company for a publicity campaign, it will be advisable for Achievers to be given full autonomy over a certain product line. Giving Achievers a sense of control over their work is vital to them doing their best.

It can be observed that Achievers often have a tendency to do their best and excel in what they do. This tendency of theirs actually reveals their primary weakness, which is their competitive nature. While competitive nature is good for solitary activities (such as writing and editing) and solitary sports (such as jogging and cycling), being competitive is detrimental to their effectiveness as team players. This is because they have a tendency to stand out from the rest. In another words, Achievers are more of an individualist than a conformist.  

But all is not lost. Achievements are often sought after by employers who need people to spearhead projects. This is because the Achievers’ passions for achievements are crucial to the success of any tasks. Hence, Achievers are often regarded as an asset to an organisation.  Nevertheless, care has to be taken to ensure that Achievers are given the flexibility and freedom in their work.

Achievers are at their best as independent workers and when empowered, they are almost unmatched in terms of work efficiency.

Some possible career options for Achievers will be:

• All professions where the Achievers have the expertise, flexibility and freedom to maximise their abilities to the fullest.

Dear class,

Through the times that I have been facilitating classes for the past semesters, I have observed the strengths of different teams from their presentation sessions and have noted the various qualities that make such teams strong. I wish to highlight the essence of these teams’ attributes through the description of a hypothetical class Team X as shown below:

When Team X is asked to present, its members are calm and composed. Their strong coordination skills can be observed as each members goes about setting up the presentation. While some set up the projector, the rest began to position themselves either at the front or the back of the class, readying themselves for the presentation.

When all are ready and the facilitator gives the signal to begin, the team members are at ease and one presents after another. During the course of the presentation, the members are confident of their content and - save for some technical details which they might refer to on their laptops or scripts, they present their points using their own words to the best of their abilities. They put in the effort to elaborate on the points that they are presenting and they provide relevant examples whenever it is applicable. Coordination skills between them are strong when the team present.  All the members are attentive and focused on what the other team members are talking. In the event that any of their team mates fumble in their presentation, they will immediately step in and assist.  This same phenomenon can be observed during the “Q & A” session as well.

During the course of the presentation, it can be observed that the team is formal in their presentation. They are serious but not to the extent of forgetting to use a dose of humour every now and then. The team members always stand while they are presenting (and this is so even while their team members are presenting) and they refrain from engaging in any form of distractions such as eating, drinking or even spinning in their chairs while presenting.  All the team members are focused during the presentation and none of the team member can be seen to be joking with members of other teams during the entire course of their presentation. They do not walk around the class chatting with members from other teams as well while their team mates are presenting, and they do not doodle on the white board should there be one behind them during the presentation.

To engage the class in their learning, the team also pose questions to the class during the course of their presentation, making sure that they have sustained the audience’s attention with their questions while not allowing their questions to be disruptive to the flow of their presentation.  When the team presents, each team member presents according to their prepared slides while at the same time, they are aware of what other team members are presenting. This is because they have discussed the content of their presentation before the actual presentation. This has enabled all the team members to understand the content of the entire presentation and how their presentation contributes to the team’s presentation on the whole. In fact, the team members are so familiar with the presentation content for the lesson that each of them are able to switch at will and present any of their team member’s slides should the situation calls for it. This is because every team member understands the presentation content and more importantly, the flow of the entire presentation.

The above illustrates the strong team dynamics of an excellent team. Although it is hypothetical and such a team does not exist yet, I hope that all of you are able to work towards being the great presenter that you already are. All of you are doing well, and have the potential to be the great presenters and team members in such a team as described above if you put in the effort to realise your potential. I do not expect you to work towards my ideals or expectations but I hope that you are able to improve yourself to the point where you can present with ease as a presenter while being a cohesive team member in your team as well such that you will be able to contribute to the team effort.

When all of you work together as a team, you can achieve great things. And some of these achievements are things that you may not consider possible before. 

So, keep up the good work and enthusiasm!

Dear class,

I will be starting another series on this blog, and will be naming it “The Fisherman and Sam” series. While the “Talent” series provides a factual description of the various talents in us through our personalities, “The Fisherman and Sam” series will take on a narrative style in the form of a story. From the stories in this series, I hope that we are all able to draw some lessons of life through the interactions of the primary characters, which in this case revolves around The Fisherman and Sam. So, do keep a lookout for it.

Below are the character introduction of The Fisherman and Sam:

Sam: Sam is a typical corporate employee working in a multinational company (MNC).  He is academically-inclined and regards life as a journey to achieve his goals.  Hence, he has always put in his best effort in everything he does. This probably explains his quick climb up the corporate ladder, and being promoted to be the Director of Advertising within a year. Few among his friends ever made it made it that far within such a short time. And this is something that Sam has always took pride in. That is, his achievements.

Nevertheless, Sam always feels that something is missing in his life. He is always looking, always searching. Initially, Sam thinks that he can find the missing puzzle of his life in his work. Thus, he has spent long hours in the office, wrapping up every last piece of documentation that requires attention and closing every sales deal that is possible. “Super-achiever” is a term that is associated with Sam in the office, a mark of recognition given to him by his colleagues and peers who often held Sam in high regard.

However, over time, Sam realises that fulfillment cannot be found in his work.  So, he looks for it outside the office, in the company of friends. Still, Sam feels that his life is empty. So, he went for romance. After several attempts, Sam finds himself in a daze, as romance gives him a different type of happiness but a different kind of pain as well.

Feeling disappointed, Sam decided to stop looking. And just when he’s just wandering along the pier going nowhere, Sam met The Fisherman. Through the interactions that he made with The Fisherman, Sam’s life begins to change for the better. And finally, he found happiness.

This is often the case, isn’t it? Just when we are so exhausted in looking for something and are on the verge of giving up, the thing that we are searching for all this while appears right before our eyes.

The Fisherman:   The Fisherman has no name. Or maybe, he once has a name. It just does not matter to him anymore. People now know him only as The Fisherman. The Fisherman probably likes to be called this way. As the name implies, The Fisherman loves to fish. In fact, he often spends an entire day fishing. In good weather, of course. He lives in a hut just by the side of the lake with his wife and two children, a son and a daughter. And the other children playing by the lake like The Fisherman for his good-natured disposition and humour.

Throughout his life, he has never worked in an urban city before. Not even when people tell him that riches can be found in the faraway cities. The Fisherman delves in simplicity and is never one who succumbs to consumerism. And urban cities have an allure that attracts the unaware and the uninitiated.  The cities have a way of stuffing one with irrelevant information and commodifying things and people. And these are things that The Fisherman is aware and steer clears of.

But life has a way of bringing people from different walks of life together. This is probably the reason why The Fisherman chances upon Sam one fateful early evening, along the lake of Ceranest while fishing.  This chance encounter will change both their lives forever.

Dear class, 

We are all talents in this world. Nobody is less than that.

Knowing this is important. But what’s more important is that we are able to identify our talents and realise our true potential. There are many of us who live our entire lives without fully utilising our talents. I hope that you will be one of them who will realise your talents. Hence, I have started this “Talent” series to help you explore the talents that you have.

There are many ways to identify talents. The fact that we tend to excel in the things that we love to do has shown the possibility of identifying talents through our interests.  We are also able to identify our talents in something that we do best as well. However, for this “Talents” series, I have chosen to look at the various types of talents through our personalities as I feel that our personalities - albeit some minor changes due to our life experiences - usually stay the same over a lifetime. More importantly, our personalities usually give a more accurate gauge of the career options that we are able to explore. Many research tests in recent years that are personality-based seem to reinforce this perception. Do note that the term “The Nurturer” as used in this article is different from what is reflected on the materials you may find online. This is because I am defining this term based on the experiences of my interactions with such talents. The same can be said of the subsequent talents that I will be writing on.   

So, let’s begin with the first type of talent, known by many as “The Nurturer“.

Individuals who are considered as Nurturers are often overlooked by many in society, precisely because they often do not take up prominent positions such as a company’s CEO or even members of senior management in the corporate workplace.  The primary focus of the Nurturers in their lifetime is not in creating a vision for companies but rather, developing a vision for individuals and to develop the fullest potential of every single individual under their care.  And these may include mentees, students, a fellow colleagues or even their loved one.

They have a knack of identifying other’s strength and encouraging them to further develop them. And they usually have the ability to do this to such an extent that others are able to carve out a career path that are meant for them over a lifetime. It is therefore not surprising that people often gave great thanks to the Nurturer for helping them identify the paths in their lives that they are taking.  Hence, gratitude is often given to the Nurturers, who often accept them in humility.  To the Nurturers, to help is not a favour or an obligation. It is a calling.

However, the Nurturer’s greatest strength is also their greatest weakness. I believe this speaks true of all if not most personalities. The Nurturer’s tendency to be caring is sometimes taken advantage of. It has often been said that Nurturers may be among the individuals who are often bullied. From personal experiences, I beg to differ. In most instances that I came across, Nurturers are often respected instead. Personally, I feel that deep down in the hearts of all of us, we respect individuals who care about us, who notice us and who give us a helping hand. And in return - be it in a conscious or subconscious manner - we have a tendency to want to return the kindness rendered. And this should always be the case. As the saying goes: kindness begets kindness.

While most of us recognise talents that is aligned and in tune with our own, Nurturers are usually able to identify talents in others that are different from their own. This is what makes the Nurturers so powerful and charismatic as it has often been said that a person is powerful not because of his or her strengths and abilities but rather,  it’s his or her ability to appreciate talents while employing and nurturing them in the endeavours where they can be at their best.  Such is the charismatic prowess of a Nurturer.

The nurturers often have the unique ability to blend into any environment.  It’s this precise skill that enables Nurturers to be skilled mediators when it comes to conflict resolution as they are able to get on good terms with the various personality types. An aura of amicability seems to revolve around nurturers and people find them to be pleasant and caring. Nurturers are also often among the first few individuals that come to someone’s mind should they require any form of assistance, assurance or advice.

Nurturers are the gems in this world. They provide the light at the end of the tunnel. Or rather, they are the light at the end of the tunnel. They enable us to reach an equilibrium when it comes to our emotional level.  Some of us have even associate the Nurturers with the term “Births” and “Rebirths”, for the Nurturers have the unique ability of seeing the talents in any individual and making them shine in life.

So, are you a Nurturer?

If so, the following are some career paths that you might like to consider:

•  Teacher (at all levels)
•  Counsellor
•  Social Worker
•  Career Coach
•  Career Consultant
•  Writer (of relevant genres and publications)