1. Communication Patterns to
Observe in Groups
Who talks to whom?
Spatial and Seating Arrangements
Common themes that the group is
expressing
Who gets listened to in the group
How does the group solve its problems
What is the level of competition within the
group
2. Things to Consider
Group Structure –
Boundaries, Communication
Patterns, Decision Making
Process, Authority
Group Size – 7 to 10 members is ideal
Length of Session – 20 to 40 minutes for
lower functioning groups and 60 -120
minutes for higher functioning groups
Open or Closed – In closed groups new
members cannot join the group
3. Traits of a Strong Group
Leader
Confidence
Passionate
Trustworthy
Maintains Order
Focused – End Result
Delegates
Facilitates Communication Among Members
Remains Calm
4.
5. Types of Communication
Non-Verbal 70% Verbal
Eye Contact Therapeutic
Facial Expression
Non-therapeutic
Posture and Body
Movement
Touch
Paralanguage or
Vocal Cues
Spatial Distance
Confidence – A strong leader believes in themselves and their ability to carry out their role. Their behaviors within the group communicate this confidence to members.Passionate – A good leader is called to motivate others to accomplish the task at hand. They will communicate this with their enthusiasm and their willingness to participate fully in the group's work, even if it means “getting their hands dirty”.Trustworthy – Earns the trust of the group by doing what is promised, maintaining confidentiality of the group and periodically reminding others to do the same.Maintaining Order – When things within the group get of of hand, conflict arises or deadlines approach increasing the groups stress level, a good leader will maintain and bring the group back to order in the chaos.Focused – The leader role models and mentors members to remain on task moving all communication within the group towards accomplishing the groups goal. Effectively redirects “small talk” or refocuses group when thoughts and ideas are moving away from the group's stated goal.Delegates – Gives members tasks to readily move group towards goal . Does not take on to much of these responsibilities themselves. This means that a good group leader will have to trust the group.Facilitates - Takes on the role of gatekeeper when needed to encourage all members to participate. Often the quietness members in the group have powerful ideas but are reluctant to share in the presence of a dominator or aggressor. A good group leader will recognize this and call on those people as well as respond and redirect hostile or inappropriate behaviors from other members, thereby maintaining a feeling of safety within the group.Remains Calm – When hostilities, stress and conflict arises a good group leader remains calm even when they themselves are the recipient of the hostilities.
Please make sure that you review the you tube presentation on “How the Communication Process Works” and have a solid understanding of the responsibilities of the sender and receiver as well as the concept of encoding, decoding and feedback.Eye Contact – “window of the soul” – maintaining eye contact in our culture communicates that we are interested in what others are saying while staring can make people uncomfortable. Cultural variables determine who is allowed to maintain eye contact with whom and for how long, if at all.Facial Expression – Primary source of non-verbal communication. Can give messages related to doubt, fear, disgust, distrust, happiness, sadness, excitement, surprise, etc.Body Posture and Movement – How one holds themselves communicates a lot about how they feel within the group for example slumped in chair with downcast eyes may indicate low self esteem, arms firmly crossed across the chest may communicate a lack of openness to others ideas, warmth is conveyed with a smile, eye contact and keeping hands still (which can very difficult for some). Again, always consider culture.Touch – We have become a bit of a “huggy” culture but we must consider the meaning of touch to others. It can be both positive and negative. An appropriate social touch for example may be a handshake whereas a more intimate touch may be laying one’s hand on someone else's hand or shoulder to offer comfort.Paralanguage or Vocal Cues – Pitch, tone, speed, loudness, etc.Spatial Distance – Intimate is 0-18 inches, Personal is 18-40 inches, Social is 4 to 12 feet, and Public is over 12 feet. Think about how you feel about he relationship you have to someone and what feels like a comfortable distance. In a group meeting it may be Personal or Social. What does it feel like when someone enters your intimate space?
Silence – Conveys interest and involvement while giving another the opportunity to formulate their thoughts and ideas.Listening – Using your nonverbal skills helps to communicate that you are actively listening rather than trying to use words to do so. i.e., eye contact, noddingBroad Openings – Asking questions that provide an opportunity for more than a one word response. For example, “Tell me what you enjoyed about clinical yesterday?” vs. “Did you enjoy clinical yesterday?’Restating – Repeating back the main thought or idea that someone has expressed but not necessarily literally repeating the words. “I am so exhausted after clinical that I can’t stand to talk to anyone.” Restating might be “Clinical takes a lot of energy for you. So much so that it is hard to engage with your roommate when you get home.”Clarification – Trying to clarify what has been said, i.e. “I am not sure what you mean, Could you tell me about that again?’Reflection – Provide feedback about the feelings, questions or content that was expressed. i.e. “You are feeling lost about what you are expected to do in your multicultural group?”Humor – Begin able to make fun of a situation without malice simply to relieve energy. “Oh crap, I signed up for this course because I thought group communication meant learning how to put my cell phone on speaker!”Informing – Providing information to help move the group towards its goal.Focusing – Questioning or making statements that help the group expand on important topics, i.e. “Tell me more about your ideas on how we can speed up the process of getting our outline together.”Sharing Perceptions – Taking a moment to verify what the group is saying. “So it sounds like everyone wants to abandon the idea of using costumes in our multicultural presentation.”Theme Identification – Helps identify underlying themes happening within the group communication, “So it seems like everyone is really angry about the new policies we learned about at staff meeting today.”Suggesting – This is a very tricky one. We can suggest alternatives such as “have you thought about a different way to approach discussing those course requirement changes with your professor.” However you want to be very careful not to give advice because then you may share responsibility in the outcome and the individuals themselves won’t feel empowered. Giving advice can foster dependency.
