Rashell Sanchez

February 06, 2023

The first assignment in our Speech class was making a presentation about different subjects for which we were divided into three groups. Each group would make their own Power Point and each participant would add their part to it. The first group got to talk about Intercultural Communication. The second one about Communicating in Group and the third one (the one that I belonged to) presented about Group Leadership and Problem Solving. Certain rules needed to be followed on Power Point such as having little writing and adding videos and lots of pictures, and of course, being creative.

Every presentation taught me something new, something I did not know before and I will share with you some of the knowledge I got from it.

Let's talk about group one...

Group 1 talked about especially important topics; they talked about intercultural communication and they could not have explained it better. I loved this group because they only had a few days to prepare and made it look like they had one month working on it. Plus, I learned a lot about Intercultural Communication and how a culture can be so different than ours. Also, about "culture shock." These two words particularly caught my attention because I experienced a culture shock when I moved to this country and did not have any idea that it had a name. So, yes, I experienced culture shock when I moved here and for this reason, I feel I could fully understand this presentation because of the knowledge of two diverse cultures in my life. Food, language, economy, values, and many others were all new to me by then and I had to learn how to integrate myself into this whole new culture. Group one also touched on other important points in culture such as religion, sexual orientation, individualism/collectivism and how the combination of each makes every culture particular and different explaining throughout many videos, images, and charts. I also loved the fact that one of the group members used pictures of her personal life experience to explain her topic.

Then, group 2 addressed the subject Communicating in Groups. This group did also an excellent job; all members were well prepared, self-confident when talking, fluent and congruent. They used a lot of images and videos to explain each topic, making it easier to understand. Some of the topics they touched on were Families, Social Groups, Supporting Groups, Work Groups, Stages of Group Development, Conflicts in Groups, just to name a few. I learned that Social groups are composed of people who care about each other's welfare while Support Groups is more about people who provide encouragement, while Interest Group is composed of people that share the same interest. They are all different but what Group 2 really made sure that we all understood is that despite each group that we belong to might have a different goal and purpose, the key to succeed as a group will always be communication. Communicating any ideas, interests, goals, and even differences make the group always keep its synergy and achieve any goal.

Also, Group 2 explained how communicating in group can be also done virtually and it's not difficult whatsoever; just by following simple steps such as using the most advanced technology, being well equipped, create opportunities for the group to interact, rules, and opportunities to evaluate the technology, we could have an amazing virtual group communication. This way of communicating give us a HUGE advantage nowadays, especially after the pandemic, a lot group meetings went virtually giving us a lot of free time.

Lastly, but not least important Group 3 presented about Group Leadership and Problem Solving, and I can extend on this because is the one I worked on lol. To be honest, I enjoyed doing it and it was actually the first successful Power Point I do on my own.

via GIPHY

We began by talking about effective group leadership and the group members responsibilities. Then, we explained how shared leadership and effective communication plays out in a group meeting. Then we turn our attention to problem solving and systematic problem solving. Finishing with communicating results (my part) and evaluating group effectiveness.

It is so important to understand that having a leader in a group can have a huge impact on the outcome of this, both for good or bad, depending on the leader. But more important than that is to know that each member of a group is a leader and have its own responsibilities. Yes, do not think the leader is that one person who takes care of every single thing; each group has Maintenance Roles, and what is "Maintenance Roles?." This was also new to me, but is just a set of behaviors that help the group develop and maintain cohesion. These Roles include the Supporters, Interpreters, Harmonizers, Mediators, and Tension Relievers, all fundamental for the group outcome.

Also, a topic that one of my classmates touched on that caught my attention was something very simple and important for a group success. Five Key Shared Leadership Responsibilities:

1. Be committed to the group goal.

2. Keep the discussion on track.

3. Complete individual assignments.

4. Encourage input from all members.

5. Manage conflict among members.

All the presentations went amazingly, but to me group one was the best one. They were the very first to present and each of them were so well prepared, organized, and confident when talking. I could tell they did a lot of research about their subject. The most important and what I loved about these presentations is that I learned a lot while had fun.