Effective Communication Is a Necessary Skill When

Effective communication is a necessary skill when dealing with groups. Developing a team that meets goals and deadlines efficiently is a must. Although everyone in the group is different, each person has something useful to contribute and it is up to every individual to remain open and acknowledge the pros and cons of ideas. Listening plays a major role in communicating these ideas.

The type of listening style primarily used in the group is content oriented listening because the group has to remain professional on some level. "People who are content-oriented are interested more in what is said rather than who is saying it or what they are feeling. They assess people more by how credible they are and will seek to test expertize and truthfulness." (Watson & Barker, 1995, pg 22) If personal details of everyday life and so forth leak into the discussion of the team, the situation has a chance of becoming informal and casual, possibly leading to loss of interest in goals. In regards to listening at times certain barriers remain present when attempting to effectively listen. Barriers that may arise to effective listening are misinterpretation and lack of understanding possibly stemming from prejudgment.

Not everyone is the same or speaks the same language. For instance, people present in the team, like myself, may have issues with English because it is not their native language. When someone in the team lacks the same fluency as others in the team, certain vocabulary maybe misunderstood or not understood at all. Grammar and syntax also play a role. Misinterpretation may occur when the speaker attempts to say something indirectly or with a hidden agenda. Again not everyone reacts or thinks the same so some might be too shy to voice their opinion assertively and may beat around the bush confusing the listener.

In relation to me and my wants, I want people to perceive me as a competent, open-minded, and responsible person. I know how my other teammates behave in group thanks to my wilingness to communicate with them. I am not shy even though my fluency is not as advanced as I would want it to be. I think my aptitude and my cooperativeness allow for others to think of me as an active member of the team. In terms of adapting to different communication styles, it is all about patience, compassion, and assertion.

People respond differently to certain things. If a person is confident and willing to talk through an issue, most problems get resolved. When I needed time to get my point across, my teammates waited for me to finish. This allowed for me to express myself and gain confidence in my speaking ability. My team is diverse and although it presented difficulties at first, it allowed for greater understanding and efficiency. In chapter 3 on page 65 Beebe and Masterson discuss the increased productivity of diverse groups. "when comparing homogeneous groups with divers groups, researchers find that diverse work groups often have more trouble initially, but over time they become more productive than homogeneous groups."(Beebe & Masterson, 2009, pg 65) Communication is not just about verbal, but also non-verbal.

Chapter 7 discusses non-verbal communication in detail and suggests how non-verbal communication can help someone persuade, understand, and assess a person or situation better. Examples shown in the book are posture, eye contact, and what the person is doing when talking or listening. For instance, in order to seem confident and honest, having a clear and somewhat loud voice, with expansive gestures, direct eye contact, and relaxed posture creates the illusion the speaker knows what he/she is saying. Eye contact is one of the main things discussed in chapter 7.

When attempting to enhance the functionality and efficacy of a group, eye contact is crucial. "When eye contact does occur in a small group setting, it may serve one or more important functions: (1) cognitive, (2) monitoring, (3) regulatory, and (4) expressive." (Beebe & Masterson, 2009, pg 154) Eye contact creates an environment that leads to more openness within the group. In chapter 1 on page 10: "Openness is a basic ingredient for team success: having team members who are straight forward and willing to appropriately discuss delicate issues is a predictor of team success. Team members who are not open to new ideas and who participate less are perceived as less valuable to the team" (Beebe & Masterson, 2009, pg 10) also discussed on the same page is supportivness and its role in a successful team: "supportiveness team members listen to others, are willing to pitch in and accomplish the job, and have an optimistic outlook about team success. Non-supportive members try to control team members and focus on their individual interests rather than on team interest." (Beebe & Masterson, 2009, pg 10)

In relation to the group I am in, the strengths I noticed throughout the time spent with them is everyone's preparedness and positivity. Everyone was supportive, open, and willing to adjust old ideas for new and improved ones. This made for a cooperative environment that helped everyone achieve and meet their goals. Regardless of who was speaking, everyone had their share of speaking and contributing to the group. No one felt judged or neglected.

In terms of weaknesses there were few but of the few that were present the biggest one was scheduling meetings. As mentioned before, the team is diverse. With this diversity comes scheduling conflicts. Some worked, others had more classes. It was difficult to find one day that would suit us all. Eventually Sunday was chosen and once we did meet, things went smoothly.