Week 4

Effective Oral Communication

Communication and Group Relationships
-Cultural Influences
-Group Communication
-Group Decision Making
-Individual Personality
-Group Dynamics
-Models of Communication
-Barriers to Communication
Essential Elements of a Group Presentation & Group Paper
Communication & Group
Relationships
Cultural Influences
Individualism, collectivism, self-monitoring, and predicted-outcome
value
Western ideology not necessarily applicable to other cultures
One of the most important environmental factors that shapes
personality
Individualist vs. collectivist
Individualist cultures value competition, independence and achievement
Collectivist cultures value social harmony, respectfulness and group
needs
Culture includes the beliefs, values, behaviours and material objects
that constitute a peoples way of life
Communication & Group
Relationships
Cultural Influences
Individualistic cultures include: European countries, North America, and
Australia
Collectivist cultures include: Asian countries, South America, and Africa
Three ways to study personality in a cultural context:
1. Cultural-comparative approach: a way to test cultures in other parts of the
world to see if they have the same traits
2. Indigenous approach: development of personality assessment based on the
culture being studied
3. Combined approach: combination of the above 2 approaches
Communication & Group
Relationships
Group Communication
Communication behaviours for effective group work:
1. Listening
2. Clarifying statements (clarifying and confirming)
3. Deliberating and discussing
4. Keeping discussions on task
5. Eliciting viewpoints from others
6. Offering feedback
7. Mediating conflicts
Communication & Group
Relationships
Group Communication
Goals of effective group communication
Trusting, cooperative environment
No anxiety
Participants take risks, ask questions
All contribute
Developing a climate of trust takes time
Communication & Group
Relationships
Group Communication
Exercise on effective group communication
You have 5 minutes to get in a group with people who like the same music as
you
Each person in the group should share their top three songs, and why they
like this type of music
Groups should practice active listening, clarifying and confirming, and be able
to share this information
Communication & Group
Relationships
Group Decision Making
Groups decide things in seven steps:
1. Identifying the decision to be made
2. Analyze the list through discussion
3. Establish criteria
4. Brainstorm solutions
5. Evaluate options and pick the best one
6. Implement the solution
7. Monitor the outcome
Communication & Group
Relationships
Group Decision Making
Decision making methods:
Decision by authority
Decision by majority
Decision by negative minority
Decision by ranking
Decision by unanimity
Decision by consensus
Communication & Group
Relationships
Individual Personality
16 personality types
Four main personality types
Helpful nurturers
Creative idealists
Cerebral realists
Strategic directors
Communication & Group
Relationships
Group Dynamics
Kurt Lewin 1940s came up with this term
People take on distinct behaviours when they work in a group
Study the effect of these behaviours on other members of the group
Positive groups: work as a team, work towards a collective decision, hold
each other accountable
Negative groups or dysfunctional groups: behaviours upset work, tasks
are not accomplished, wrong choices, poor work
Communication & Group
Relationships
Group Dynamics
Causes of ineffective groups:
Weak leadership
Deference to authority
Blocking
The aggressor
The negator
The withdrawer
The recognition seeker
The joker

Group think
Free rider
Communication & Group
Relationships
Group Dynamics
How to improve group dynamics:
Know your team
Tackle problems quickly
Define roles and responsibilities
Break down barriers
Focus on communication
Pay attention
Communication & Group
Relationships
Models of Communication
1949 Shannon and Weaver: process of sending and receiving messages or
transferring messages from a sender to a receiver
1. Sender or source of message
2. The message
3. Transmitter
4. Signal
5. Channel
6. Noise
7. Receiver
8. Destination
Communication & Group
Relationships
Barriers to Communication
Why do barriers exist?
Misinterpretations
We delete, distort and generalize information
We think we clearly understand what everyone is saying all the time!

How can we reduce barriers?

Communication & Group
Relationships
Barriers to Communication
1. Understand that others see things differently to you
2. Get feedback from the receiver
3. Face-to-face vs. electronically
4. Use language that fits audience
5. Use the right communications channel
6. Have integrity and honesty in your communication
7. Make it easy for others to listen to you
Communication & Group
Relationships
Barriers to Communication
Exercise to eliminate barriers
Divide into 2 groups; one group has the white board the other group has the flipchart
Each team is to come up with a practical solution to remove listening obstacles such
as:
People working in isolated office or environment
Dealing with a customer who talks too much
Working in a noisy workplace
Dealing with a frustrated client
Dealing with visual distractions at workplace
Each team has 10 minutes to come up with at least one solution for each scenario. At
the end of the activity, one representative from each team writes down their ideas on
the board and explains how his or her team came up with the solutions.
Essential Elements of a Group
Presentation
Everyone presents for approximately equal time per person
A speaker can speak more than once throughout the presentation eg. 6
minutes can be 3 & 3 or some other combination
First speaker should introduce all the members of the group
Introduce each speaker by first and last name
Pronounce each name correctly practice this
Also could share what topic each speaker will be presenting
After a speaker makes his/her presentation, he/she should say who is
next
When not speaking, other group members should look attentive
Essential Elements of a Group
Presentation
Presentation should include: problem statement, background, options,
option analysis and recommendation (include a plan)
Can use PowerPoint
Slides should:
Transition well and support what each presenter is saying
Be in the correct order
Be crisp and clear (succinct, concise)
Be a synopsis of your paper (not the whole paper!)
Essential Elements of a Group Paper

Should have the same headings as your presentation

Paper should include: problem statement, background, options, option
analysis and recommendation (include a plan)
Might have a Table of Contents
References section using APA format to cite sources
Sources: might only have one or two
Include a cover page that includes:
Everyones names, spelled correctly, first and last names, student numbers
Create a title for your report
Submitted to, date, instructor
Essential Elements of a Group Paper

Ensure page numbers

If various people are contributing to the paper, ensure it sounds the
same
Appoint one person to edit and consolidate the pieces
Ensure you are courteous and meet the agreed time frame for
submitting to that one person
Proofread proofread proofread
Be concise in your writing
Write paper in the third person eg. It is the opinion of the authors vs.
we think that