Subject: Getting to know Mandy
Dear Professor Brad and friends,
It is my honor to write this letter to you, my name is Mandy Foong. I am currently studying Mechanical Engineering, a course I have been interested in since my time at Singapore Polytechnic. Mechanical engineering piques my interest as I not only learn about the hardware aspects of engineering, but I also get to learn about software and systems that are needed at present.
A communication strength that I am proud of is my inability to be socially awkward. When I meet people for the first time, especially during group projects, they tend to be reserved. What I like to do upon meeting people is to break the ice and find similarities between us. Comparing similarities allows me to find their strike zones, thus bridging the distance between us. This has improved my group's progress, allowing us to swiftly clear milestones. Furthermore, it makes my group mates more open to discussions and evaluations as we work together.
However, I do have several communication weaknesses that I am keen on working on. One that I especially struggle a lot with is giving constructive criticism. As I am a blunt person, I tend to provide harsh criticisms. It makes me scared of hurting others as my comments are rude. To avoid this issue, I keep it to myself instead of communicating my worries. I know that this can be bad for teammates due to the lack of open communication, but I hope to find a way to give healthy feedback to my teammates soon.
My goal for this module is to know all the people in this class and hopefully get to know them well too. Since we will have more opportunities to work together and review each other’s content. I would also like to improve on my formal letters. Structuring my presentation and emails would be a crucial skill I need when entering the workforce.
When people ask me what my interest are, or what defining traits make me special, I think that it is their way of getting to know me. Something I do find particularly interesting about myself is how much I like listening to people when they share their stories. Oftentimes, I find myself listening as my friends go on about the joys in their life, the little things that make them happy, or the movies that make them tear up. Many of my friends come to me when in need of a listening ear, or a shoulder to lean on. The best aspect of listening to others is learning their morals and values. It matures me, giving me more life experiences that I would never have been able to discover without my friends.
Best regards,
Mandy Foong
Dear Mandy,
Thank you for the fascinating post. You address all the issues required by the brief, but most importantly, you seem to really open up and share details with us readers regarding who you are. I am intrigued by statements that you make such as "Comparing similarities allows me to find their strike zones, thus bridging the distance between us" and "The best aspect of listening to others is learning their morals and values." Of course, I'd like to read specific examples of how these have worked for you.
At the same time, you really seem to bare your soul as you discuss your strengths and weaknesses in communication. You mention, for example, your bluntness, which I might have…
'Since we will have more opportunities to work together and review each other’s content' -sentence fragment
'but I hope to find a way to give healthy feedback to my teammates soon.' - 'But' could be changed to so as the ideas are connected.