Small group communication involves interactions between 3-9 people connected by a common purpose. Key aspects include mutual influence, shared identity, and interdependence. Groups form for various reasons like affection, inclusion, and control. Effective small groups have characteristics like trust, competency, commitment, open communication, collaborative climate, and clear goals. The formation of small groups typically involves stages like orientation, conflict, emergence of consensus, and reinforcement. Models of group formation include Fisher's four stages of orientation, conflict, emergence/consensus, and reinforcement/closure, as well as Tuckman's five stages of forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.

1. SMALL GROUP
COMMUNICATION

2. FACE
TO
FACE
COMM
INCREASES
AS
WE
MOVE
DOWN Inter-Cultural Communication
Mass Communication
Organizational Communication
Public Communication
Small Group Communication
Inter-Personal Communication
Intrapersonal Communication
TRANSACTIONS OF COMMUNICATION
FEEDBACK
DECREASES
AS
WE
GO
UP

3. DEFINITION OF SMALL GROUP COMUNICATION
■ Interactions among three or more people connected through a
common purpose, mutual influence, and a shared identity.
■ A small group includes 3-9 people and is characterized by a sense of
collective identity, is interdependent and is created and sustained
through interaction among the group members.
■ Three or more people working interdependently for the purpose of
accomplishing a task.
■ “A collection of three or more individuals who interact about some
common problem or interdependent goal and can exert mutual
influence over one another.” (Wilson and Hanna, 1990)

4. Why do individuals join groups?
■ Affection: It is the central motivating force to join groups.
Humans have a need for affection by way of warmth,
support, empathy and respect from others in the group.
■ Inclusion: The need to be included in a group is one of the
strongest motivating factors for membership in groups.
■ Control: Being a part of a certain group may give us more
control over our environment, over others (friends, family,
colleagues) and ourselves. Control may take positive and
negative forms such as dominating another person with
manipulation, emotional blackmail or positive ways such as
giving reward, affection, etc.

5. ADVANTAGES vs. DISADVANTAGES
1. Group synergy: two heads are better than one and
capable of higher quality work
2. Greater pool of knowledge
3. Better decision making and problem solving
4. Different perspectives
5. Specialization and division of work lead to greater
productivity
6. Direct involvement in task leading to greater
comprehension of the task
7. Increased acceptance of decisions made by group
1. Social pressures to Conform: People may not wish to be
ridiculed, ostracized, teased, silenced etc. by not agreeing
to certain issues.
2. Minority Domination: Some people may feel strongly
about a course of action and are very vocal, may dominate
over others.
3. Goal Displacement: Occurs when members lose sight of
the group’s goals. For example, members may let
personal concerns may override group goals.
4. Groupthink: Occurs when group cohesion leads to faulty
decision making because the group is unwilling to
realistically consider alternatives

6. SIZE OF SMALL GROUPS
■ A small group requires a minimum of three people (two people are pair/dyad),
but the upper range of group size is contingent on the purpose of the group.
When groups grow beyond fifteen to twenty members, it becomes difficult
to consider them a small group based on the previous definition.
❖ 6 persons goup-15 potential dyadic connections
❖ 12 persons group- 36 potential dyadic connections.
■ However, no set upper limit on the number of group members,
■ Number of group members be limited to those necessary to accomplish the
goal or serve the purpose of group

7. TYPES OF SMALL GROUPS
1. Task oriented vs. relational groups :
■ Task groups are formed to solve a problem, promote a cause, or generate ideas or
information. such groups, like a committee or study group, interactions and decisions are
primarily evaluated based on the quality of the final product or output. The three main types of
tasks are production, discussion, and
problem-solving tasks. Task-oriented groups require honed problem-solving skills to accomplish
goals, and the structure of these groups is more rigid than that of relational-oriented groups.
■ Relational-oriented groups are formed to promote interpersonal connections and are more
focused on quality interactions that contribute to the well-being of group members. Decision
making is directed at strengthening or repairing relationships rather than completing discrete
tasks or debating specific ideas or courses of action.

8. 2. Assigned vs. Emergent groups:
⚫ Assigned groups are based occur when members are appointed to a group or a team. Being appointed
to a work committee is an example of an assigned group.
⚫ Emergent groups evolve from the environment. Friends what meet in school are an example of an
emergent group.
3. Primary vs. Secondary groups:
● Primary groups are long term groups, include family, friends, roommates who meet on a regular basis.
● They offer love, affection, comfort, provide kinship support, meet physiological and safety needs and
higher order social and self-esteem needs.
● They form the basis of society and met the human need of inclusion.
⚫ Secondary groups- Formed to accomplish work, perform a task, solve problems and make decisions.
⚫ Have a specific performance objective, recognizable goal to be attained and require coordination among
members.
⚫ There may be less frequent face to face interaction, less emotional and relational communication and more
task related communication.

9. TYPES OF SECONDARY GROUPS
■ Problem solving group: the aim is to get people collectively figure out effective solutions to
problems before them, created by Govt. as well as other organizations
■ Task oriented groups: members are dedicated to the group and are loyal, have clear and
inspiring shared goals, results driven structure, competent team members, collaborative climate,
high standards of performance, external support and recognition, ethical and accountable
leadership.
■ Activity groups: formed for the purpose of organising activities such as sports, theater, music,
cycling, play, entertainment etc. Events may be arranged by these groups
■ Personal growth groups: Created out of personal needs of people, who come together such as
book reading, spiritual guidance, weight management
■ Service groups: People come together to provide services to people as well as fulfill their own
objectives such as to feed the poor, educate and enable people
■ Learning groups: focus is on obtaining new information and gaining knowledge about birds,
plants, saving energy, water, recycling of wastes
■ Advocacy groups: work for change in policies of the government, create awareness among
people and work for the same

10. Virtual groups
■ Engage in virtual interaction by the use of new technology.
■ Can be used for any type of group-primary or secondary
■ Are becoming very important means of communicating such as in the
pandemic
■ Can bring together people geographically scattered
■ Increase probability of inclusion of diverse members
■ Are energy and money saving as no travel costs are involved
■ However participants must have access to technology, internet and be
digitally literate

11. •Trust: Trust is the foundation of any group. Trust means being comfortable
enough to be vulnerable., "trust is like the oil that keeps things running
smoothly.". But growing trust is essential for any group.
•Competency: of the team members and the leader is very important. Their
prior experience in the field can add to their value in the group.
•Unified Commitment :commitment to attend by all the members and to
keep up with any requirements of the group
•Communication: the members should have open lines of communication
using different channels such as face to face, or through texts, emails and
phone calls. The leader must ensure open lines of communication.
Characteristics/Requirements of effective small group
communication

12. • Collaborative climate to work is extremely important to get the best out of
people.
• Encouragement/External support and recognition: Encouraging and
supporting other team members is very important.
• Respect The Rules: All group members must learn to respect the rules set
by the group otherwise it may be difficult to function. These may include
listening to each other and the leader, respecting others point of view, not
shouting or looking down on others etc.
• A clear goal
• A results driven structure
• Standards of excellence
• Principled leadership
Characteristics/Requirements of Small Groups

13. Group formation
Fisher's Model
•THE FOUR STAGES ARE –
•Orientation
•Conflict
•Emergence/Consensus
•Reinforcement /Closure

14. STAGES OF GROUP FORMATION
• ORIENTATION
•Group members get to know each other, the problem, look at operational definitions, criteria, resources
and limitations.
•They experience primary tension, the awkward feeling people have before communication rules and
expectations are established.
•Groups should take time to learn about each other and feel comfortable communicating around new
people.
• CONFLICT
•Secondary tension, or tension surrounding the task at hand.
•Group members will disagree with each other and debate ideas.
•Remember that healthy conflict is essential and good, because it helps the group achieve positive
results.
•Problems associated with the task, suggestions, concerns, hesitations and reservations are spoken up
and discussed. Unproductive conflict needs to be avoided.
• EMERGENCE/CONSENSUS
•Conflict is brought to an end by merging ideas, compromising, choosing alternatives discussed during
the conflict stage. Voting may be resorted to if required. The outcome of the group's task become
apparent.
• REINFORCEMENT /CLOSURE
•In this stage, group members bolster their final decision, statement of group consensus is brought out
and members reaffirm their support for the final decision.

15. •Tuckman's Model
•Forming
•Storming
•Norming
•Performing
•Adjourning

17. Forming
•Most team members are positive and polite, some anxious, as they haven't fully understood what work the team
will do. Others are excited about the task ahead.
•The leader plays a dominant role as group starts to work together, and people make an effort to get to know
their new colleagues.
Storming
•People start to push against the boundaries established in the forming stage. This is the stage where many
teams fail.
•Storming often starts where there is a conflict between team members' natural working styles. People may
work in different ways for all sorts of reasons but, if differing working styles cause unforeseen problems, they
may become frustrated.
•Team members may challenge authority of the leader, or ask for position as their roles are clarified. If not
clearly defined, how the team will work, people may feel overwhelmed by their workload, or they could be
uncomfortable with the approach being used.
•Some may question the worth of the team's goal, and they may resist taking on tasks.
•Team members who stick with the task at hand may experience stress, particularly as they don't have the
support of established processes, or strong relationships with their colleagues.

18. Norming
■Gradually, the team moves into this stage. People start to resolve their differences, appreciate colleagues'
strengths, and respect the authority of the leader.
■Team members know one another better, they may socialize, ask one another for help and provide
constructive feedback. People develop a stronger commitment to the team goal.
■There is often a prolonged overlap between storming and norming, because, as new tasks come up, the
team may lapse back into behavior from the storming stage.
Performing
■Work put in by the team leads, without friction, to the achievement of the team's goal. The structures and
processes help in providing support system.
■The leader can delegate a lot of work and concentrate on other important tasks.
■It feels easy to be part of the team at this stage.
Adjourning
■Many teams will reach this stage eventually. For example, project teams exist for only a fixed period, and
even permanent teams may be disbanded through organizational restructuring.

19. Difference Between
Centralized and Decentralized small groups

20. Basis for Comparison Centralization Decentralization
Meaning
Retention of power and authority
of planning and decisions, with the
top management
The dissemination of authority,
responsibility and accountability to
the various management levels
Communication Flow Vertical Open, multi-directional and free
Decision Making Slow Comparatively faster
Advantage
Proper coordination and
Leadership are important to
manage affairs
Sharing of burden and
responsibility among different
leaders
Power of decision making Lies with the top management.
Multiple persons have the power of
decision making
Reasons
Inadequate trust over the people in
the organization leading to
centralized control
Considerable trust over people in
the organization
Best suited for Small sized organization Large sized organizations

21. TYPES OF SMALL GROUP FORMATIONS
Few patterns are popular in mainstream
communication studies. Such as
⚫Circle
⚫Chain
⚫Y
⚫X
⚫Wheel

22. DECENTRALIZED PATTERNS

23. TYPES OF FORMATIONS-CENTRALIZED

24. • In Circle pattern, the Group Leader in the circle can
communicate much more with the subordinates sitting next to
him or her.
• Seating is determined by hierarchy.
• Other group members may sometimes receive sender’s
message directly or other times through others in the circle.
• The message does not flow in multiple directions at a time.
• The process of sending and receiving message generally takes
a lot of time as it must travel from people to people to reach
the desired recipient.

25. • Experiences similar problems, delayed transmission of messages,
hierarchal seating arrangement, one way flow of communication at a
time
• All members cannot communicate with the leader of the group like in
circle
• The last member of the chain receives modified messages because of
transmission and perception errors.
• No/distorted feedback to the leader making it problematic to identify the
message distortion.

27. • It is more complicated pattern and also has the communication problems
which appears in both circle and chain pattern.
• The group is separated into three and the group members can
communicate with the other members group through leader only.
• Is more complicated as there are different sub-groups within a group. In
the center is a leader who manages these sub-groups.
• This is an example of centralized pattern but can be decentralized also.
• There is a chain of command within the sub-group. The lowest level of
each sub-group communicates with the members senior to them. They
communicate it with their seniors. Then, that member communicates it
with the leader.
• The message sent by the leader follow top-to-bottom approach.
• The sub-groups cannot communicate with each other. They need to pass
the information through the leader to send any message to other sub-
groups.

28. The X pattern—
One person is at the center stage and everyone speaks to
him/her. It is a formal pattern of communication. The chair is
supposed to be function as the neutral center.
D C
B
A
X

30. • One of the best patterns as compared to other three.
• Here, all members can communicate with the leader and vice versa.
• The leader has direct contact with all the group members and there are
no communication problems, feedback from the group members can
be easily obtained.
• But all the group members can’t interact with one another.
• There is a leader at the center of all communication. He may or may not
sit in the center.
• All others are members that stand at the same level in structure. This
is an example of centralized pattern.
• This, pattern is taken as the best pattern of communication for any
organization as leader can have direct contact with all.
• Communication problems are less and the method is quick. There is no
distortion of information by other members of the group while passing
message.
• Prompt and simultaneous feedback is also encouraged in the
communication pattern.

31. All channel network
⚫Free flowing communication
⚫All members are at the same
level
⚫Leader may be appointed for
convenience
⚫Permits exchange of ideas
⚫Confusion, noise and lack of
decision may be there

32. All Channel/Star Pattern
• This is the most informal
network in which all the
members communicate
with everyone.
• This is a leaderless
group where there is
freefall of information
and interaction amongst
all its members

33. Thank You