Chapter 19 Group Communication

Group Communication: Introduction Group dynamics contribute to a group’s success or failure. Groups must learn to use appropriate behavior. Groups must learn to communicate the group’s successes to others. Small groups offer advantages over individual efforts.

Group Communication: An Overview This chapter discusses: Effective group leadership Effective group membership Group decision making and the reflective-thinking process Delivering group presentations

Effective Group Leadership It is difficult for groups to function without a leader.

Effective Group Leadership: Selecting a Leader Designated leaders are chosen or appointed by an outside authority and often have an official title. Implied leaders have skills that seem to match their group’s tasks; they are not officially elected or chosen. Emergent leaders come to be recognized by the group’s members over time as having the knowledge or skills to take the lead—usually without being officially elected or named.

Effective Group Leadership: Selecting a Leader

Effective Group Leadership: Leading Meetings Effective group leaders conduct meetings that help members work productively. The next few slides will provide tips for facilitating meetings.

Effective Group Leadership: 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: Leading Meetings Model the behavior you expect. Avoid interrupting. Don’t dismiss or ignore the comments of others.

Effective Group Leadership: Leading Meetings Facilitate discussion by ensuring that all members actively participate.

Effective Group Leadership: Leading Meetings Keep members on task by not letting discussions stray from items focused on shared group goals.

Effective Group Leadership: Leading Meetings Help members avoid groupthink, the tendency to accept ideas uncritically, often because of a strong group loyalty. Try to broaden the discussion and test ideas before moving to a final decision. Draw out insightful participants or raise potential problems yourself.

Avoid Groupthink

Effective Group Leadership: Leading Meetings Facilitate decisions rather than make them for the group.

Effective Group Leadership: Leading Meetings Help organize the group’s presentation by coordinating decisions such as who will present introductions and conclusions, and how issues will be framed.

Effective Group Leadership: Leading Meetings Tip: Set clear goals and try to achieve them. Tip: Groups who set goals high usually achieve better results than groups who set their goals low. So set high goals for your group.

Effective Group Leadership: Managing Conflict Minimize conflict or channel it in a positive direction. Refer to ideas by topic, not by person. Resolve conflicts or disagreements quickly. Focus on tasks rather than disagreements among members. Manage disruptive emotions by bringing reluctant members back into the discussion—even if they are angry or upset.

Effective Group Membership: Three Types of Member Roles Task-oriented roles Maintenance-oriented roles Self-oriented roles

Effective Group Membership: Task-Oriented Roles Initiators offer new ideas or solutions. Information providers offer facts relevant to the issue under discussion. Information gatherers seek out information from other members or sources. Elaborators add supporting ideas to a point someone else has made. Clarifiers try to make the meaning of another member’s idea more precise. Evaluators judge ideas in the discussion. Synthesizers identify emerging agreements or disagreements. Recorders take notes and may also organize communications between group meetings.

Effective Group Membership: Task-Oriented Roles

Effective Group Membership: Maintenance-Oriented Roles Harmonizers decrease tension in the group with humor or positive comments. Compromisers attempt to find common ground between adversaries. Encouragers inspire other group members with compliments. Gatekeepers facilitate the exchange of information between members. Norm facilitators reinforce healthy group norms and discourage unproductive ones.

Effective Group Membership: Maintenance-Oriented Roles

Effective Group Membership: Self-Oriented Roles Blockers stop the group from moving toward its objectives by refusing to accept group decisions. Withdrawers refuse to contribute to the discussion. Dominators monopolize group interactions, interrupt, argue for the sake of arguing, and insist on the last word. Distracters send the group in irrelevant directions with off-topic comments.

Effective Group Membership: Self-Oriented Roles

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 Define the problem. What has brought the group together? Analyze the problem. Ensure that the group has all the required information. Establish criteria for solutions. These criteria will help you judge proposed solutions. Generate possible solutions. Have members brainstorm ideas without judging them. Select the best solution. Evaluate solutions based on your established goals and criteria. Work toward a group consensus, avoiding counterproductive behavior.

Group Decision Making and the Reflective-Thinking Process

Delivering Group Presentations: Symposium Several or all group members address 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: Symposium 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: Panel Discussion Group members converse among themselves at a table in an atmosphere that is more casual than a symposium. A panel requires a moderator who: Introduces panelists Leads group discussion and monitors time Ensures that each panel member participates

Delivering Group Presentations: Panel Discussion Panelists should: Give each other an opportunity to talk Be tactful and professional when disagreeing with another panelist

Delivering Group Presentations: 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 the group’s views or your own.

Delivering Group Presentations

Tips for Delivering Group Presentations Tip: If you have the group project divided among group members, be sure to transition the parts into a complete and coherent whole, otherwise it can sound choppy and disjointed. Tip: Be sure to practice as a group and make note of transition points to be sure they go smoothly.