Think of a recent situation in which you found listening difficult. Which one (or more) of the four phases presented the most difficulty for you? Why? How could this have been overcome?

-       The four components to listening must all work together smoothly. If one element is not working then usually listening becomes difficult. An example of hearing becoming difficult for me is when I go to my business law class and the teacher is talking about a hole bunch of things that do not make sense to me. The most difficult part of this is I can not properly evaluate the information given to me because I am too busy trying to keep up and write notes on what the teacher is saying. Because all the terms are new to me and there are so many it is hard for me to form an opinion on the message the teacher is giving. This can be over come by coming to class with a recorder. I think if I first listen to the lecture and learn the definitions of terms and concepts and then go back and hear it again It will be easier for me to from an opinion on what is being presented.

post 1

I can remember one particular instance where listening was difficult for me. I was in class and someone right in front of me was watching an NFL playoff game. I decided not to miss class because it was review day and I needed to pay attention because the next test was important. If it were not review day, I would have stayed home to watch this game. Because the person sat in front of me, it was hard for me to pay attention. I think it was because of my selective attention. I love football and am a huge fan of the team that was playing in the game and I did not really care about the history class. Because the game was more important to me, I was drawn toward the game making it very difficult to pay attention to the lecture. As a result I didn’t do to good on the test, next time ill move seats!

Task in groups

A concept I found interesting in chapter 6 was Task. Groups are formed to solve complex goals, and in order to complete these large goals smaller task need to be set. A set of activities that lead to a larger goal being complete is what task are. Task is important in the organization of the group and with good task set up a group can keep on track better so they can complete the complex goal at hand. In order for a group to set up good task to follow they must ask two questions. One being “ what are we trying to accomplish” and “ what are the steps involved in accomplishing the goal.” It is important for a group to first realize what the overall goal they are trying to accomplish so they do not waste time in doing something that they don’t need. The next step is for the group to set up specific task to keep the group organized and help the group complete the goal.

post #1

When talking about the eight principles of nonverbal communication the two that I find important and most prevalent in my small group experiences are the things we know lead to interpretation and the assignment of meaning, and culture norms and expectations guide our interpretations. The norms of people depend of which culture they are a part of and something seen as a problem in their eyes may not seem like a problem in person who is a part of a different culture. In my own experience, my high school had some Japanese exchange students, we were all a part of a group, and they were very non-conformational and apologized after every disagreement they had with the group. I found this strange but thinking back on it, it is how there society operates. When talking about the principle of the things we know lead to interpretation and the assignment of meaning I think of a time when I was in a group for a middle school project. We had someone who was very into telling long drawn out stories during meetings and people in the group became fidgety, like playing with their pen on doodling on their paper this meant they were disinterested of loosing attention.

post # 3

Following the guidelines for observer feedback to a group is important. There are simple rules that you should follow that will greatly improve your feedback and in turn improve the group. First avoiding generalization is important. Being specific is helpful for a group so they can pin point a problem, or strength. Second, paying attention to behaviors in the group that could be changed is key. The point of feedback is to better the group and to better the group you must better the individuals in the group. Do not debate or argue with the group. You must remember it is not about you or your thoughts, it should be all about the group so leave the debating to them. Try not to micro manage the group, or go over every little process that involves group work. If you chose two or three specific things that is better the group. Remember your role as an evaluator or developer and try not to get give personal opinions because you are not there as a group member. Try to focus on the positive things the group did and always end your sessions with detailed suggestions on how the group can improve. When presenting ideas to the group be as clear and concise as possible, if the group did not understand your feedback you wasted both of your times. Try your best to compliment in public and criticize in private, you wouldn’t want to offend someone in front of their group. Lastly, and most importantly develop a solid relationship with the group members because this will pay off in the end.

group evaluation

Group process evaluation to a group is very important for many reasons and there are a couple ways one can go about offering valuable feedback to a group. One tool a group can use is verbal interaction and content analysis. This method keeps record of how many time one group member address another and what kind of comments are made. This method is good for keeping track of individuals behaviors. Another method mentioned for group evaluation is ethical reflection. This method involves keeping a journal of everything that happens in the group. Important insights that could have been forgot about are easier to remember when written down and is good for the group.  The journal is also used to observe ethical behavior the group used during work over time. This method is important because unclear ethical behavior will lead to a lack in trust that will destroy the group.

observers or consultants are important for small group growth

A group success is vital but not all groups succeed. The most important thing to realize when in a group that has not met expectations is to salvage the most you can by learning from your mistakes. Realizing what you have done wrong can be difficult when you are wrapped up in a group. For this reason observers or consultants are important for small group growth. Observers and consultants are the best pick for evaluating groups because group members themselves cannot efficiently evaluate the group while being a part of the group process, or contributing to the group. Outside observes can also provide insights that might not been mention before. In addition, observers or consultants skills are specific to evaluation making them the best bet to have a solution for a group. In the end using a consultant can benefit small groups because they offer skills and insights that can help a group grow so they can produce better outcomes.