Tuesday, 2 September 2008

Knowledge sharing

It has been sometime since I involved in knowledge sharing sessions...
It was something that I so familiar with when I was at UKM as a student...then when I started my career at ECO Energy Sdn Bhd.
Since I moved to this new department...the door for all that has been opened again where I've been invited to give talks by many...to talk on things related to energy efficiency. Surely due to my works now mainly to promote more efficient energy usage in this country as a regulator.
I've been an acting Head of this unit since February although there is no certainty yet on how long I would be assigned for this additional responsibility....I'm just happy enough to carry out as long as I'm entrusted to do it.

My first task to present as a representative from the Energy Commission was a talk on how to use energy efficiently for secondary school students at Slim River. Then followed by a presentation on the technical evaluation for fiscal incentives with regard to energy efficiency and renewable energy projects to an audience from related government agencies. Not long after that, again I was asked to address a small group of representatives from an industry in a workshop.

Last week I was quite busy with two talks that I delivered. On 26 August , I gave talks again in two sessions in a training program at a competency centre for a government agency located at Ipoh. Immediately after that I drove to Kuantan to give another talk for a group of industry people in an event organized by the TNB on 27 August.

Tired?..yes I'm because so much efforts required by me mentally prior to those talks from preparing the presentation materials and to think on how would be the best way I deliver each of it. On the other hand, I'm also excited in doing it. Hard to explain how does it feel when I stand in front of the audience and slowly releasing my voice to grab their attention. I was not easy but by collaborating with years of experiences professionally and personally on each topic, it definitely helped me a lot.

I know that there will be plenty more talks that I would have to deliver due to the nature of my works now. Sometime I do asked questions to myself whether I am a good presenter or otherwise because naturally I was not this "type" of person during t my school time until I reached the university. Then slowly I started to speak up my thoughts and what I feel about something.

After sometime, I started to feel the excitement of sharing my thoughts with others especially when in the end it ended with unexpected conclusions where most people around me feel good about it.
The beauty part of knowledge that I have seen in me is when I share it with others, I would only get more knowledge in return which may come in many ways. This kind of excitement has encouraged me to read more, know more people and sometime allowing me to stand up to prove my points in certain situations.

Initially there were situations where my judgment clouded by my excitement where I can become very defensive when I came into arguments on certain issues. Over the years, I have also learned on how to appreciate what others might think as well and there could be time I might not be so right or totally wrong.

Since then, from a fairly quiet person, people started to know me as talkative one and sometime they do said that I am very talkative or talk to much sometime.
From this new part within me that I have discovered, it really changed my personality as a whole. From there I dare to ask questions to anyone that I think would be able to answer me and later giving me own thoughts on those answers.

That has been the way how I learn about many things in my life...share what I have in mind no matter it is purely thought of knowledge that I gained from everywhere and getting other to share theirs with the way they would like to express their own thoughts.
In that process I also learn how to be a listener and quickly to analyze the meaning behind all those conversations. There are situations I knew and learned about something in quicker ways because it came from the person who really did it or truly experienced it.

When I was at the campus, I used to organize many events such as workshops for university and school students, career planning talks and forums s for undergraduates and many more. I watched all speakers that we invited in those events with full of interest and admiration. I was so excited seeing their delivery of knowledge in many ways and methods. That really triggered my interest in the way knowledge can be shared with others. I have been always keen and excited to see how and what are the responses from the audience on each topics presented. The most interesting part for me is how those speakers handled those responses and then keep the session lively with all eyes keep focusing on them.

This is the kind of way that I wanted to learn about many things and then share with others. I know that time, being in an engineering background would make it easy for me to be out the "norms" as an engineer because engineers normally do not talk that much. On top of that, the normal perception is, engineers can only talk on technical matters and technical sessions normally will not be lively.

Over the years, I guess I have polished my knowledge sharing skills in many ways. Naturally I was not born as a talented public speakers but at certain degree, I am quite comfortable with the way I get my points heard now. I am quite free to share anything about what I have in mind depending on the people who are around.

That is one of the main criteria that I always looking at when want to develop my career. I want the type of works that would offer me that opportunities. A career that will enable me to share my professional thoughts about my works and how I see things from my perspective. Being in this energy efficiency field really has given me so much satisfaction to fulfill my wishes with regard to knowledge sharing and I can't be in a better position than this elsewhere.

I have the confidence now and I know learning will be always a major part for me in years to come for me to improve myself. It has been my dream when I leave this world, people will remember me for the knowledge that I shared with them and I have ever wanted to be known in my career now, purely due to the knowledge that I have in me.
I'm just so grateful to Allah for giving me with this kind of feeling for me to really enjoy and appreciate a career that I am in now. It is totally as blessing for HIM and now is up to me to take this opportunity to push myself to a greater in my career and pursuing what I would love to do in sharing the knowledge that I have. May be my knowledge would not be that much but I know, I'll continue to get more and share it more.

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