My Experience of Working in a Group and an Action Plan - Essay Example

TITLE: MY EXPERIENCE OF WORKING IN A GROUP AND AN ACTION PLAN. Experience of giving, receiving and using feedback One task that our group completed for the business communication consultancy was ‘how to work harmoniously with co-workers.’ Communication can simply be defined as a process of relaying a message from one person to another through various channels. My experience of giving, receiving and using feedback after completing the above task include: Giving feedback Communication is a two way process. The loop is completed when the sender of the communication receives a feedback from the receiver. Each group member was expected to give their individual feedback on why they chose to offer consultancy on the particular topic, what the experience of working as a group taught them and how this assignment has affected their communication skills. As a member of the group, i was delighted with the topic ‘How to work harmoniously with co-workers’. This was due to the fact that i had earlier worked as an intern in a company where team work was emphasised. To begin with, the group consisted of 3 males and 2 females, all are members of Business Club within the University. The group agreed that each member would do their independent research and readings on the topic then present it for further discussion. I will begin by defining communication according to Bovee.C (1992) which states that communication is “Two-way process of reaching mutual understanding, in which participants not only exchange (encode-decode) information but also create and share meaning.” When my turn come to give feedback , i remained seated but continued to share my findings without maintaining eye contact with other members, meanwhile, asking them not to ask questions until i finished the presentation. I tried to be as audible as possible and assumed every member was familiar with business jargon thereby continuing to use them. Receiving feedback When i was done presenting and it was time to receive feedback from my listeners. I tried to be calm, listen and write down key points raised, focusing more on inputs rather that criticism. I felt challenged whenever someone disagreed with a point. 3 members pointed out that i need to maintain eye contact in my future presentations and limit the use of jargons. All members supported the idea that questions should be asked at the end of the presentation so as not to interrupt communication flow which can disorient the presenter. Instead, questions should be jotted down and asked at the end. Using feedback I learnt that a good listener should embrace both positive feedback and criticism for both personal and professional improvement. I also learned that effective communication is two-way and feedback must return to the sender of the message for it to be complete. In our next group work, i intend to maintain eye contact so as to read non-verbal communication from other members. This could also include nodding which affirms a statement hence positive feedback. REFLECTION ON THE GROUP LEARNING EXPERIENCE The 2 communication skills that i have developed include: Listening skills This can be categorised under non-verbal communication. It is a type of communication where one learns to focus on hearing what others have to say while they minimise their talk or interruptions. In other words, listen more and talk less. The two types of listening skills are active/participative listening and passive listening. In active listening, the listener contributes to the conversation by either nodding back or asking questions directly to the giver of the message whereas in passive listening, the listener concentrates fully on listening. I have developed listening skills by keeping quiet and letting other group members talk or share their views without interjecting even when i disagree with their point. I then ask questions later when they have finished talking. This encompasses both passive and active listening. Interpersonal skills This is direct communication where two or more people face each other as they dialogue. While working as a group, interpersonal communication was inevitable. I developed it further by not shying away from sharing my opinions on any topic even when i was not sure of my point. This then fostered learning, self-confidence and friendship between me and other group members. Two examples of situations i encountered during the group project is when one of the members used many words to discuss an issue to a point when many began to murmur or show signs of impatience, others even began to chat on their phones as a sign of boredom. With my newly acquired listening skills, i decided to take short notes and underline important points that she raised in her long conversation. This i later summarised and shared with the group members. Another experience is when i had to endure a group member who was over-bearing and too full of himself. He stood in front of the group each time he contributed to the discussion. He then confidently asked for anyone who disagreed with his opinion to raise his/her concerns (ready to support his argument). This i admired and it taught me to be more confident when interacting with others and to always look them in the face. This helps in noticing non-verbal communication techniques such as facial expressions and gestures. From the experience of working as a diverse team in a group, I have learnt that diversity is strength if well managed. In addition, i have learned that working as a team is a skill that every willing person can learn and that good/effective communication is the ‘engine’ that drives any team to a successful completion of a project. I have also learned that human beings are complex but each person has a unique strength that can improve the performance of a team. As for the weaknesses, each person has them too even though proper communication and understanding could convert the weaknesses into learning experiences for other members if properly managed. This strengthens the team in the long run. ACTION PLAN Action Plan outlining three communication skills, knowledge or behaviours that i would like to improve. Current situation As an aspiring business lady, I do understand that effective communication is one of the most important factors that propel a business to success and that it is a continuous process. In this regard therefore, I’m currently very conversant with interpersonal communication, listening skills, academic communication and non-verbal communication. From my experience with the group, i can attest to the fact that effective interpersonal communication contributed to knowledge sharing, friendship development and overall success of the project. We learned to understand each other’s weaknesses and point them out in a friendly manner when giving feedback. As one who is usually very social and quick to talk, since the group assignment, i continue to practise listening more. Just like the joke that says “Humans were created with two ears and one mouth so they can listen more and talk less”. This makes my classmates and friends to feel more appreciated as their opinions, concerns and ideas are taken seriously. I also know that non-verbal communication skills such as gestures, facial expressions, attitudes and communication in written or typed mode (such as the one I’m doing now) is important in a team. This helps in understanding one another hence developing appropriate strategies to deal with each situation when need be, hence team work. However, i would like to improve on the following communication skills: a) Non-verbal communication One of the challenges i encounter on a day-to-day basis is the fact that sometimes “what you see is not what you get”. This applies in situations where gestures and attitudes contradict the message spoken verbally. This i relate to individual personality. For instance, some people have a natural frowning face which portrays them as unapproachable yet they are very kind when one gets to know them better. I therefore feel like i need to research further and understand this better so that i don’t judge some group members harshly during meetings. b) Unfocused interactions This type of interpersonal communication is whereby one listens to or observes another person whom they are not directly communicating with. It is usually common when one is walking or standing out in public and gets attracted to the happenings around them. This can both be positive and negative. Positive in the sense that one gets to be aware of their surrounding as well as good for improving research skills. On the other hand, one risks being branded a stalker or a private investigator (depending on the situation). I feel the need to understand better how to effectively use this skill for improvement in research skills. c) Intra-personal communication This can be defined as individual reflection or meditation. I understand this as a situation where an individual internally speaks to self and i believe that it is important for making decisions or resolving conflict (both within and those that occur when interacting with others. This type of communication was specifically important after the group work where i quietly reflected on the interactions that went on in the group, especially those that touched on personality differences. I would like to improve on this so as to be able to understand my strengths and weaknesses, how to improve on them as well as how to effectively work in a team of diverse cultures and temperaments. I believe that a good communicator needs to understand herself first then she can understand her listeners. I believe that communication is a process and so is learning the skill. I intend to improve my skills by reading widely then discussing with my classmates while at the same time practicing the communication skills which i already understand. For example, i shall be slow to judging others based on their non-verbal communication. This certainly boils down to listening more. Steps to success plus timeline I intend to research widely in order to improve my skills on non-verbal communication, unfocused interactions and intra-personal communication (Completion date: 11th October 2012). Compare then compile readings from different authors (Completion date: 15th October 2012). Discuss the findings with my classmate (Completion date: 17th October 2012). Practice the findings in the next group meeting and on my day-to-day interactions (Completion date: 20th October 2012 for the next meeting and on-going for day-to-day interaction). Supporting tools and resources 1. Laptop and Internet 2. Journals on communication 3. Lecture notes of Business Communication class 4. Text books REFERENCES 1. ARON W. SIEGMAN; STANLEY F (1978) Non verbal behaviour and communication, Lawrence Erlbaum associates. Accessed on 12/10/2012 (Online) via http://www.communicationskills.co.in/types-of-communication-skills.htm (Communication Skills). 2. BOVEE, COURTLAAND L., THILL, JOHN V. (1992). Business Communication Today. New York, NY, USA: McGraw Hill Inc. 3. ULLICA SEGERSTRÎLE; PETER MOLNÁR. LAWRENCE (1997), Non verbal communication: Where nature meets culture. Lawrence Erlbaum associates. Accessed on 12/10/2012 (Online) via http://www.communicationskills.co.in/types-of-communication-skills.htm (Communication Skills). Read More