From 23 to 26 September 2026, I was in Port Dickson attending a programme on communication, language and leadership. It was a pretty packed four days, with sessions covering leadership identity, communication, emotions, trust, influence, conflict, reframing and even official writing.

Some of the sessions were quite interesting, especially the ones on how we communicate with people and how easily we make assumptions. One of the things we learned was to ask questions first instead of immediately making our own interpretation of what someone says or does. It sounds simple, but I realised how often we do the o

There were also quite a few activities and role plays throughout the programme, which made it less of a typical sit-and-listen kind of course. I actually enjoyed the opportunity to discuss things with the other participants and hear how they approached different situations.

One of the highlights was actually on the final night. We were quite lucky because the KSU of KPT, Dato’ Ts. Dr. Haji Aminuddin Hassim, joined us for the evening. He spent some time with us and shared some of his experiences and tips on how to be successful in our careers. One thing he said that stuck with me was to stay positive and always look at the bright side. Nothing particularly complicated, but sometimes it is good to be reminded of something that simple.

And of course, being in Port Dickson meant I had to make some time for the beach too. 😄 I managed to do a brisk walk along Pantai Bagan Pinang, almost an hour going and coming back. So at least there was some exercise in between all the sitting, listening and talking.

Overall, it was a good four days. I came in expecting another work-related programme, but ended up learning quite a few things that I can probably use both at work and in dealing with people generally.

Now back to work. 😅

P.S. Four days went by much faster than I expected.