Assignment 1 - Formal Letter

Dear Mdm. Fazilah

I am Jantzen Lee Jian En from SIE2016 Effective Communication Tutorial Group 3. Graduated with a diploma in International Logistics & Supply Chain Management from Ngee Ann Polytechnic, I had initially intended to pursue my further studies in the same field. However, due to the changing industry needs, multiple renowned universities had decided to remove the program deeming it obsolete.

 Despite the uncertainty, I remained unfazed and explored other fields of programs. It was then when I chanced upon Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Land) in SIT. As a Thinking Tinkerer, I was intrigued by the workings of complex mechanisms and equipment. Also, the railway industry in Singapore is ever-growing with URA’s masterplan. After considerations, I decided to further pursue SIE (Land) with my supply chain knowledge as a value-added skill set that I can offer to my future employers.

One of the communication strengths I have gained is having confidence. Through business communication modules in my polytechnic days, I was exposed to communication skills and presentation techniques. I was trained to portray myself as a competent speaker through frequent presentation simulations.

However, my weakness in communication is the failure to be an active listener. As an ESTJ, I can often be inflexible and judgemental. Sometimes in conversation, I find it hard to concentrate and understand the speaker. This makes it hard to empathize the speaker on an emotional level.

My goal for the module is to develop myself to be an engaging and active listener. I feel that it is important as good communication fosters a good working relationship. Furthermore, I aim to improve my minutes-writing which was a big weakness in my polytechnic. With proper coaching, I hope that these skillsets would enable me to join the workforce as a competent engineer.

Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude for taking the time to read my letter.

Yours Sincerely
Jantzen Lee Jian En
SIE 2016 T3 | Group 3

Comments

  1. Joe HuiSeptember 8, 2019 at 6:17 AM

    Hey Jantzen,

    Liked your content, especially the part on how you decided to further study in the field of engineering. I as an INTP personality type (almost your polar opposite) was intrigued by how different we both are although we became good friends in such a short amount of time. Here's to many more years of good friendship!

    Some other thoughts on your formal letter:
    1. The 1st paragraph seems too long; maybe split it in 2? (Perhaps at "Despite..." ?)
    2. Some grammar errors[?](I am not that great either so might be wrong, but you might want to consider this few):
    - 1st para 2nd line: "...from NP, "
    - 1st para 5th line: "... in SIT. " (All caps for SIT)
    - 2nd para 1st line: "... is having confidence. "
    - 4th para 3rd line: "...in my polytechnic days. "
    3. Was thinking that maybe you can add in an example for both strengths and weaknesses? But that might make the letter too long...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jantzen LeeSeptember 11, 2019 at 11:07 PM

      Hi Joe,

      Thank you for your feedback and suggestion! It is funny how despite our difference in personalities, we are able to click well together. Perhaps it could be our common goal to study hard! I hope our friendship will remain strong and to many more years of good friendship!

      Yours Sincerely
      Jantzen Lee

      Delete
  2. Tay Wan XuanSeptember 14, 2019 at 12:16 AM

    Hi Jantzen, it is a pity that the program you wanted deemed obsolete but it is good in a way to see how quickly you are back on track and ventured out looking for other programs. Active listening can be hard when you do not understand the speaker and for that I feel that you could start off by asking probing questions. It shows the speaker you are having an interest and at the same time it could clear your doubts too. Also, hope that you will be able to achieve your goals for this module!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jantzen LeeSeptember 14, 2019 at 8:27 AM

      Hi Wan Xuan,

      Thank you for your feedback and suggestion! I will bear that in mind and apply it more often in conversations to improve myself.

      Yours Sincerely
      Jantzen Lee

      Delete
  3. Devaraj DomingoSeptember 14, 2019 at 3:41 AM

    Hey Jantzen, it is sad to hear the program you wanted got deemed obsolete. It amazes me to see how you can remain positive throughout and slowly got yourself interested in engineering. I understand that active listening can be difficult at times, especially when you are not able to concentrate and understand the speaker. Personally, for me, I believe that composing yourself and maintaining eye contact with the speaker will be able to help you focus and understand the speaker better. One key point to being an excellent active listener is to relax and be attentive.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jantzen LeeSeptember 14, 2019 at 8:27 AM

      Hi Raj,

      Thank you for your feedback and suggestion! I will bear that in mind and apply it more often in conversations to improve myself.

      Yours Sincerely
      Jantzen Lee

      Delete
  4. Tan Yih ChyuanSeptember 16, 2019 at 4:56 AM

    Hey Janzten, I am glad that even though the programme you've wanted got deemed obsolete. You remained positive and went on to another field which caught your interest. Personally, I too have active listening issues and the importance of it during a conversation with peers or colleagues. I do hope that you will be able to improve on your minutes as written in your goals throughout this module and I hope to learn and work together with you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. FazilahSeptember 26, 2019 at 5:16 AM

    Dear Jantzen

    Thank you for your letter.

    I am glad that you did not give up and continued your education and now you are in my class!

    It is good that you have confidence that have been developed over the years. Maybe you can share with your classmates how you developed that confidence as some of them have mentioned in their letters to me about lacking self-confidence.

    Listening is indeed a critical element in being an effective communicator. Now that you are in your project teams, listening is important so that your team can produce the best solution to the problem if the ideas by all members are listened to carefully.

    Best wishes to you in this module and SIT!

    Kind regards
    Faz (Mdm)

    ReplyDelete

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