Jason Godoy - Post 1

 

Reflecting on Publicly Communicating About Communication

Before the assignment

    This course first assignment for many students (including myself) was something straight from a nightmare. A group assignment. For me this was terrifying for numerous reasons; 1) I'm what's known as an introvert which means that I find the action of being around people to be quite draining so I tend to spend a lot of my time avoiding people. This means I have little to no people skills. 2) Historically when I got assigned to do things with people I don't know for assignments I end up having to do most of the work whilst getting little to no credit. 3) I have social anxiety, this means I don't do well with having to engage with people since I get concerned that I'll shame or degrade myself. This extreme anxiety while engaging or conversing with strangers (especially in front of many that I don't know) causes me to tremble, fidget, talk shakily, and at worst breakout into tears. For all these reasons I reiterate that this assignment for me was a waking nightmare. However, to my surprise this assignment wasn't too bad despite me at the time feeling like the small man underneath this text.

What's the assignment

       To break it down simply, the first presentation for this course concentrated on group communication, multicultural communication, and leadership and problem resolution. Three groups were formed with the purpose of working on each individual topic that was previously stated. We were given a considerable amount of time considering how little work was needed to get ready to present. In order to make sure that everyone carried out their duties, each group leader took care to maintain open lines of communication with their members. This also serves as a point of where I was proven wrong since unlike what I was expecting, everyone was on top of their stuff to a slightly unfortunate degree because by the time I was able to access the power point everyone had already taken what I could write about which was all kinds of unlucky for me. Thankfully, my expectations were again subverted because my group actually helped me have something to actually present in front of the class. On top of that most of our communication  for the assignment was online which meant that my social battery wasn't going down as quickly as it expected it to. Now, subverted expectations aside, it is now time to talk about 

Presenting the Assignment

    Thankfully, my group was dubbed Group 2; therefore, we presented second because that's how numbers works. So Group 1 presented their power point about intercultural communications and to be frank it was a decent presentation. They discussed how cultural variations between individuals can make intercultural dialogue challenging at times. They also discussed the values of other cultures and how those societies deal with cultural shock. The issues of sex and gender, sexual orientation, age and generation, race, religion, and ethnicity were also covered. By the time the presentation was over, they had described how culture affects intercultural communication and how it's crucial to respect others' traditions, regardless of how bizarre they may seem to you. In other words, to respect others who are or may be different to you which unfortunately needs to be spelled out for some people.

    I had no major gripes, qualms, or complaints about Group 1's presentation. They were able to concisely talk about all their information clearly. I only really had a few minor issues. Firstly, I noticed that several of them were reading their information verbatim from the slides or flashcards. While I don't think this is a bad thing to do, I do believe that the presentation might have looked better if some of the speakers had turned to face the audience rather than the screen or down to their feet. My second concern is that I was slightly bored since the presentation and slides to me were bland. Although, Group 1 did take the time and effort to add pictures and slight design choices to their slides, I unfortunately found it a little basic. However, these problems are me nitpicking the presentation since overall I was able to get vital information out of their presentation.

    Next was Group 2, which meant it was my turn to go up and hyperventilate whilst staring at a room of strangers. But, self-deprecation aside, I believe my group did a pretty decent job at presenting how to Communicate in Groups. Despite my personal belief that we did well, we did have our flaws mind you. While presenting, one of our team members did experience some difficulties, but it didn't deter them which I found very commendable. I was also really anxious and believed I wouldn't be able to do well, but in the end I did better than I thought I would and felt a wave of relief hit me afterwards. Overall, I believe everyone did their best and clearly conveyed the subject to the audience. But since our chapter was brief, as I already mentioned, some folks spoke more than others which really couldn't be avoided. I also saw that some of us kept turning to a script. Despite this, I still think our group did a good job talking about our subject.

    To sum up our presentation, we talked about group communication. We began discussing the characteristics and different kinds of groups, including families, social groups, support groups, etc. After that, we moved on to developing wholesome group traits. This paragraph covered honesty, respect for others' differences, accountability, dependability, and trust. The following section covers the stages of group development, including forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning, and transforming. Conflicts within the group were presented last. This covered the various disputes that may arise in groups as well as conflict prevention and resolution techniques.

Then last but not least was Group 3 who talked about leadership and problem solving. They also discussed how, in order for meetings to be successful, it is crucial for both leaders and participants to embrace their respective roles. When it comes to meetings, preparation, effective listening and communication skills, as well as ensuring that everyone has comprehended everything, are crucial. The group also discussed finding solutions to problems. They discussed the methodical approach to problem-solving, which emphasizes group identification, definition, and analysis of the issue in order to share knowledge and develop a solution. They discussed the value of evaluating options and provided five strategies for collective decision-making. Last but not least, measuring group effectiveness aids in group members reaching their objectives.

    I definitely saw a difference between Group 1's presentation and this one. Group 3 piqued my interest by utilizing examples to expand on their slides and by projecting their voices more. Some of them simply read what was on the screen without giving it any further thought, which unfortunately gave the impression that they hadn't put any work into their presentations. Despite that fact that everything was stated straight from the board, the presentations from Group 3 showed a sincere endeavor to interact with the audience, which was well appreciated.

Reflection on the Assignment

All in all, each group did a wonderful job presenting, and everyone was able to clearly explain the material from the chapters. The speeches were entertaining, and it was clear that everyone pitched in to keep things running well. Due to the fact that we already know how the setting will be, I am confident that everyone will do far better during our upcoming presentations. Everybody learns from their errors, and there is always space for progress. So, I for one can't wait to see what everyone brings to the table on our next assignment.