Communication

Group Assignment

This semester in my communication class we completed four group assignments. These four group assignments were all different. They all taught me the different types of people and concepts in a group, and how to apply them to real life situations.

1. The first concept for my experience was perceiving the self and others. The group assignment consists of completing an online assignment which required by applying communications towards your major. After we wrote our responses about our majors, we then had to respond to our group response and vice versa. My group responded the day it was due. I perceived them as unorganized and very inconsiderate because they were not as courteous of my time as I was with theirs. I perceived myself as courteous and reasonable because I gave them enough amount of time to reply to my responses. According to Floyd “Interpersonal perception which helps us to make meaning about people from our own and others behaviors” (53). The chosen experience illustrated by the chosen concept that first impressions are important and can make you feel a certain way towards other group projects in the future. The concepts reveal about the specific situations that we can make own perception by how people respond. It can make perceive others behaviors by their actions.

The second concept for my group experience was that small groups are cohesive. The group assignment consists of picking a theme/theory that relates to college. We all had common ideas, so it was easier to come up with a theme/theory. The group was very organized and every opinion was heard. We had a goal to get our work done in a timely manner and to complete the task. The chosen experience illustrated by the concept “task cohesion”, which Floyd defines in his book as “the extent to which everyone in the group is working together toward the same objectives” (210). Our group was cohesive because we work together efficiently to complete a goal without being unorganized and scattered. The concepts reveal situations that each member influences another to give a better idea than the first.

The third concept for my group experience was speaking persuasively and demonstrating your competence. The group assignment was to act your ulterior goal and to complete it. There were many different styles of people in the group. Each person had a role to make it difficult for you to complete your goal. In the process of the assignment, in order to complete your ulterior goal, you had to speak persuasively so your group members could believe that what you were trying to help. In the mean time, your goal was to waste time. We all had to demonstrate our competence by trying to complete the ulterior goal. The chosen experience illustrated by the chosen concept according to Floyd “…people have competence when they have the required skills, knowledge, and organization, to perform a task” (377). The group was demonstrating competence by showing the knowledge that they have of different styles they had to act. The concepts reveal about the specific situation was when you know what you are doing, you can convince people to believe what you are saying is right.

The fourth concept for my group experience was to build rapport. The group assignment was to discuss which companies we did not like and explain the reasons why. We had to explain why