Favourite Topic: Building a Professional Presence

I thought this was the most useful and practical of all the workshops because it applied instantly. This subject required us to dress formally in suits for lessons. Throughout this workshop, we had a good look at ourselves; assessing ourselves on whether we had fulfilled the guidelines stated. This workshop is absolutely necessary. Now, when i see people outside in business suits, i tend to notice them more; their suits, the grooming of the individual etc. And I spot mistakes and flaws sometimes in the way they dressed. A very useful part of the workshop was the different dress codes for different occasions and what the dress codes meant. This gives me a sense of security that if i had to attend such functions in the future I would not be worried about my attire and focus on my behaviour instead.

Knowing how to behave is also an important part of building a professional presence because first impressions count a lot. Some of these bahaviours include 'meeting and greeting', 'shaking hands', 'handling business cards', 'small talk' and 'body language'. These behaviours define first impressions. They 'are practice-able' in normal lives such as meeting and greeting people and shaking hands. Everyone knows how to do all these, but doing it right is what differentiates BESE students from other people.

Skin care was also talked about the in the workshop. A pleasant, clean looking face is always pleasant. Therefore it is important that we know how to take care of our skin. Some of my controversies of skin were answered in this workshop; like how we should never pop our pimples because they would leave scars instead of healing faster.

I realised that sometimes, the lecture notes included extra bullet points which did not serve any purpose at all and they proved to be rather confusing.