NCPG Roadshow Reflection

I learned that I strive for constant improvement in my interpersonal communication skills when I was encouraged by my group members to recruit participants around the school. This experience took place due to the low participation rate at the start of the roadshow. Our roadshow booth was allocated to the less popular area in school, we did not have many participants that visited our booth. As such, we decided to increase the outreach of our roadshow by approaching students. I advocated for PG by explaining the rationale of our roadshow, which is to increase awareness of PG in adolescents. I also encouraged students to visit our website and booth to gain more knowledge about PG. I felt that the recruitment was emotionally-draining, as I am an introverted person who dislikes approaching others. I was even more tired of the rejections by some students. However, my group members suggested that some students rejected me at the start as I was not convincing in my speech. This gave me motivation to be even more enthusiastic and approach students with a greater sense of purpose, so as to avoid rejection. Ultimately, I became more out-spoken and took more initiative when I advocated about PG to the students. During the roadshow, I learned that advocacy work involves practical actions to raise awareness of prominent societal issues, such as PG (Marcus & Cunningham, 2016). According to a research battery in the United Kingdom (UK), there is a rising prevalence of youths acting as advocacy of change around the world (Marcus & Cunningham, 2016). I have learned that advocacy work empowers youth to initiate societal changes. This leads to greater development in youth’s personal growth. This experience has allowed me to become more persuasive in issues that I strongly advocate for. As I overcome my reluctance towards participant outreach, I became more empowered to initiate changes. I strive to constantly enhance my communication skills, to become a better advocator of change.