1. DR. LAM COMMUNICATION TRAINING

2. AGENDA What is this training about? What is it based on? How does it apply to my team? How can I use it for my teamwork?

3. WHAT IS THIS TRAINING ABOUT? Teaches you to choose communication mediums Improve your communication with teammates Set expectations with each other Improve team functioning Bond with your team Medium = tools used to deliver information (e.g., text message, phone call, face-to-face meeting, email, discussion board)

4. WHAT IS MEDIA SYNCHRONICITY THEORY? A theory that helps you make practical decisions about communication. When teammates choose mediums effectively, teams experience better communication and better But wait, shouldn’t choosing mediums be obvious?

5. NOT SO FAST… It may seem obvious to select a medium that matches your synchronicity needs, but… 98% of all student communication was through email (Lam, 2013) Why? So, our goal is to determine what it means to choose communication effectively

7. FOUR IMPORTANT MEDIA CAPABILITIES 1.Transmission velocity- How fast will the message get to the receiver? 2.Parallelism- How many transmissions can be sent simultaneously? 3.Rehearsability – Can you edit or fine tune a message before sending it? 4.Reprocessability- Can you retrieve a message again in order to process the information further?

8. LET’S PRACTICE Text CHRISLAM138 to 22333 Or visit https://www.polleverywhere.com/chrislam138

9. ACCORDING TO MST There is no “best” medium Texting isn’t better than IM or email, for example Instead there is a “best fit” for certain situations

10. HOW TO DETERMINE “FIT” 1.Consider how fast you need feedback. Do you need immediate feedback? Can you wait to have a discussion? 2.Consider the communication context. Is it new information that requires considerable discussion? Is it familiar information that requires less discussion? 3.Consider social circumstances. Have you agreed upon using certain mediums for certain tasks? What is appropriate? (Is it 4am and a text would wake up your teammate?)

11. STEP 1: CONSIDERING YOUR FEEDBACK NEEDS 1.If you need Immediate Feedback, consider a fast medium Text message IM/Chat Phone call Video conference Face-to-face meeting Other? 2.If you don’t need immediate feedback, consider a less synchronous medium Email message Social media message Discussion board posting Other?

12. STEP 2: CONSIDERING THE CONTEXT What are you trying to communicate? Is it new and complicated? Use a medium that allows you to have a back-and-forth discussion (e.g., face-to-face, video conference, IM, phone call) Is it familiar information you’ve already discussed? Use a medium that doesn’t require as much set up time (e.g., email) Do you need to record the content for a later date? Use a medium that allows for recording (e.g., avoid phone or video conference) Mixed situation? Consider multiple mediums. For example, send a text and then a follow-up email.

13. STEP 3: CONSIDERING OTHER SOCIAL FACTORS Have you agreed on a particular medium? If you’ve agreed to use gchat for group discussions, then use it. However, you may have to use an additional medium that can notify everyone to join gchat (like a text). What are the social norms? E.g., Is it appropriate to initiate a video chat at 2 AM?

14. LET’S LOOK AT SOME EXAMPLES Scenario: It’s 6pm on Thursday afternoon. You won’t see your group again until the next Monday. You want to make sure John is almost done with the outline that is due on Monday. Answer the following: 1.Do you need (or want) immediate feedback? 2.Is the information complicated or simple? Should it be saved or recorded? 3.Do you know what medium John prefers or will most likely use? Based on those answers, what medium did you choose?

15. MORE EXAMPLES Scenario: It’s 9pm on Sunday afternoon. You won’t see your group until Monday. You want to contact John so that you can get the outline and edit it before class Monday. Answer the following: 1.Do you need (or want) immediate feedback? 2.Is the information complicated or simple? Should it be saved or recorded? 3.Do you know what medium John prefers or will most likely use? Based on those answers, what medium did you choose?

16. EVEN MORE EXAMPLES Scenario: It’s 1 hour after class just ended. You have met with your group and divided all the work up until you meet again in two days. You suddenly realized that no one has volunteered to complete the audience analysis. Answer the following: 1.Do you need (or want) immediate feedback? 2.Is the information complicated or simple? Should it be saved or recorded? 3.Do you know what medium John prefers or will most likely use? Based on those answers, what medium did you choose?

17. FINAL EXAMPLE Scenario: Your final project is due Monday. It’s Sunday afternoon and you need a group decision on the final report. Each team member has a different section and you are in charge of putting all of the sections into one single document. Answer the following: 1.Do you need (or want) immediate feedback? 2.Is the information complicated or simple? Should it be saved or recorded? 3.Do you know what medium John prefers or will most likely use? Based on those answers, what medium did you choose?

18. CONCLUSION Setting communication expectations is the most important step Next Steps: 1.Share contact information with each other (make publicly available) 2.Text each other today 3.Complete communication contract