© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 1 Chapter 6 Working in Teams Technical Communication, 10/e John M. Lannon

© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 2 Managing a Collaborative Project  Appoint a group manager.  Define a clear and definite goal.  Decide on the type of document required.  Decide how the group will be organized.  Divide the task.  Establish a timetable.  Decide on a meeting schedule and format. (continued on next slide)

© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 3 Managing a Collaborative Project  Establish a procedure for responding to the work of other members.  Develop a file-naming system for drafts.  Establish procedures for dealing with problems.  Select a group decision-making style.  Appoint a different “observer” for each meeting.  Decide how to evaluate each member's contribution.  Prepare a project management plan.  Submit progress reports regularly.

© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 4 Sources of Conflict  Interpersonal differences  Gender differences  Cultural differences

© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 5 Guidelines for Active Listening  Don’t dictate.  Be receptive.  Keep an open mind.  Be courteous.  Show interest.  Hear the speaker out.  Focus on the message.  Ask for clarification.  Be agreeable  Observe the 90/10 rule.

© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 6 Thinking Creatively Explain each of the following ways of “thinking outside the box.”  Brainstorming  Brainwriting  Mind-mapping  Storyboarding

© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 7 Tools for Electronic Collaboration  Basic  Text messaging and chat systems  Groupware  Digital whiteboard  Web conferencing  Teleconferencing  Videoconferencing

© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 8 Ethical Abuses  Intimidating one’s peers  Claiming credit for others’ work  Hoarding information Activity: Go to and see what it takes to be nominated for the top 100 corporate citizens.

© 2005 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 9 Any Questions? For additional help reviewing this chapter, please visit the Companion Website for your text at