Chapter 20 Group Communication Group Communication Introduction Small

Chapter 20 Group Communication

Group Communication: Introduction • Small group: Limited number of people gathered for a specific purpose • Group dynamics: The ways in which members relate to one another and view their functions – Can determine whether a group achieves its mission

Group Communication: Introduction (cont. ) • Small groups offer important advantages over individual efforts. – People can often achieve a better outcome through collaboration than by working alone. – Each group member has unique experiences and perspectives to offer. – The group can divide a project so that each member takes responsibility for the portions of the job that he or she is best suited for.

Effective Group Leadership • Selecting a Leader – Groups gain leaders in various ways: • Designated leader selected by an external authority • Implied leader with preexisting authority or skills particularly well suited to the task at hand • Emergent leader who comes to be recognized as a leader by the group’s members over time

Effective Group Leadership (cont. )

Effective Group Leadership (cont. ) • Leading Meetings – Address procedural needs. • When and where will meetings take place? • Who will start meetings and record notes? • How will notes get circulated?

Effective Group Leadership (cont. ) – Model the behavior you expect. • Avoid interrupting others or dismissing their questions or comments. • Do not dominate discussions or decisions.

Effective Group Leadership (cont. ) – Facilitate discussion. • Ensure that all members of your group have the opportunity to participate in each discussion.

Effective Group Leadership (cont. ) – Keep members on task in a friendly manner.

Effective Group Leadership (cont. ) – Help members avoid groupthink, the tendency to accept ideas and information uncritically because of strong feelings of loyalty or single-mindedness within the group. • Groupthink erodes the lively and open exchange of ideas necessary for informed decisions. • It also suggests that being increasingly amiable with other members of a group can decrease independent, critical thinking and replace it with groupthink.

Effective Group Leadership (cont. )

Effective Group Leadership (cont. ) – Facilitate decisions. • When group members have thoroughly discussed the issue at hand, help them come to a decision. • Never use your power to manipulate the group.

Effective Group Leadership (cont. ) • Managing Conflict – Help organize the group’s presentation. • You don’t necessarily need to make all the decisions yourself, but you do need to coordinate the decisions to be made.

Effective Group Leadership (cont. ) – Refer to ideas by topic, not by person. • Focus on the content of specific suggestions rather than attributing those suggestions to individual members. • When ideas get associated with an individual, that person may become defensive if the proposal is criticized, even if it has real shortcomings.

Effective Group Leadership (cont. ) – Resolve conflicts quickly. • Try to resolve distracting conflicts rather than allowing them to continue or repressing them. • Give each disagreeing member an equal opportunity to explain his or her perspective. • You may ultimately need to offer your opinion or vote in order to break a deadlock on an issue.

Effective Group Leadership (cont. ) – Focus on tasks, not disagreements. • Articulate desired changes in behavior rather than criticizing individuals. • A personality clash may better be solved by discussing the problem in private with the members who disagree.

Effective Group Leadership (cont. ) – Manage disruptive emotions. • Even after a conflict has been resolved, members may still feel angry, upset, or embarrassed, and may withdraw from the group. • Bring reluctant members back into the discussion by inviting their input on important issues.

Effective Group Membership • Three types of member roles: – Task-oriented roles • Initiators suggest the group’s goals and offer new ideas or propose new solutions. • Information providers offer facts relevant to the issue under discussion. • Information gatherers ask other members to share facts they know, or they seek out needed information from other sources.

Effective Group Membership (cont. ) • Elaborators add supporting facts, examples, or ideas to a point that someone else has made during the discussion. • Clarifiers attempt to make the meaning of another member’s statement more precise. • Evaluators offer their own judgments about the ideas put forward during a discussion. • Synthesizers identify emerging agreements and disagreements among the group as a whole. • Recorders take notes during the meeting, tracking major decisions and plans made by the group.

Effective Group Membership (cont. )

Effective Group Membership (cont. ) – Maintenance-oriented roles • Harmonizers decrease tension in the group. • Compromisers attempt to find common ground between adversaries within the group, and offer solutions that may be palatable to both sides. • Encouragers inspire other group members by complimenting their ideas and work. • Gatekeepers facilitate the exchange of information among group members. • Norm facilitators reinforce healthy group norms and discourage unproductive ones.

Effective Group Membership (cont. )

Effective Group Membership (cont. ) – Self-oriented roles • Blockers stop the group from moving toward its objective by refusing to accept group decisions or the opinions and ideas of other group members. • Withdrawers refuse to make any contribution or to participate in the discussion. • Dominators monopolize group interactions. • Distracters—the exact opposite of harmonizers— send the group in irrelevant directions with off-topic comments or extraneous conversation.

Effective Group Membership (cont. )

Effective Group Membership (cont. ) • Tips for Participating in a Small Group – Prepare for group meetings. – Treat other members courteously. – Listen interactively. – Participate, don’t dominate. – Participate authentically. – Fulfill your commitments.

Group Decision Making and the Reflective-Thinking Process • Reflective-thinking process – Particularly effective approach to making a group decision – Five steps: • • • Define the problem. Analyze the problem. Establish criteria for solutions. Generate possible solutions. Select the best solution.

Group Decision Making and the Reflective-Thinking Process (cont. )

Delivering Group Presentations • Symposium – Several or all group members speak to the audience in turn. – Plan carefully and systematically by agreeing on which topic each member will address, how she or he will present it, and how much time is available. – Each speaker should introduce and provide a transition to the next speaker.

Delivering Group Presentations (cont. ) – Organize the symposium as you would an individual speech by including an introduction, body, and conclusion. • Have the first speaker also give the introduction. • Have the final speaker present a conclusion summarizing each presenter’s main idea.

Delivering Group Presentations (cont. ) • Panel discussion – Group members converse among themselves at a table while the audience watches and listens. – A panel requires a moderator who: • • Introduces panelists Leads group discussion and monitors time Ensures that each panel member participates May participate in the discussion

Delivering Group Presentations (cont. ) – Panel members should: • Participate in the discussion • Give each other an opportunity to talk • Be tactful and professional when disagreeing with another panelist – Atmosphere is usually more casual than in a symposium. • Talk about the panel discussion in advance with your group so that you all know which questions or topics you want to bring up.

Delivering Group Presentations (cont. ) • Single group representative – One person is responsible for presenting on behalf of an entire group. • Check that the group has decided on the best approach to the presentation. • Be sure that all group members have input. • As the speaker, distinguish whether you are representing your own views, those of some members of the group, or a consensus of all group members.

Delivering Group Presentations (cont. )