when do we work in small groups?

I was at an interview before the break and met up with a class of students who majors in Public Relations. During the Q&A session, I was asked this question: how can a class like Small Group Communication relate to Public Relations?

I was stunned for a few minutes because I never get this question when I teach COM 320 at Purdue. Since the class is offered from the Department of Communication, and it is an elective, I seldom get Communication students in my class.

Nobody questions the link between Small Group Communication and Public Relations.

I think this is a good question. Why is Small Group Communication relevant to PR? Engineering? Marketing? OLS? Computer Technology? Accounting? Why study group processes at all?

This is a good question and the short answer is: you cannot get away from working in small groups. Being adaptable and having the flexibility to work with groups is essential in today's work place.

So what have we learned about small group communication so far?
- 5 theories of group communication (social exchange, functional, systems, symbolic convergence, structuration)
- the group formation process
-enhancing creativity within small groups
- relating to others in groups and teams (cultural and interpersonal aspects)
- preparation to collaborate

Start putting these knowledge into practice and continue to refine your small group communication skills!

Video resumes

While the video resumes you put up on your blogs might not be the final version that you want to upload to a professional career site like LinkedIn, it is a start. You might think it's silly to put up a video resume when you can do the introductions in person in class. But what I really want you to do is watch yourself as you do a self introduction. In small groups, it is mandatory that you give a speech to let your co-workers know who you are, where you come from, what kinds of experiences do you bring to the table. This is just one way for you to look at yourself and observe (your content, your eye contact, your voice, your tone, your volume).

How did you come across? too serious? too casual? too much fun? unapproachable? giggly? fidgety? take a good look at your videos again and think about how you want to adjust your image. Making a good impression is important as you start establishing your identity in a group setting.

and remember: you cannot NOT communicate!

It's great to be back!

I owe the class a huge apology! For being on the road so much that I have no time to enjoy the great dynamics of this class. the good news is that I am done traveling - at least for the next several weeks, and I intend to give 120% to class to make up for the loss time.

I am definitely looking forward to getting back in the classroom and sharing the learning experience with all of you. Thank you for your patience and understanding; i know my schedule was real crazy.

See you in class people!!

From students to leaders

Last Thursday, B&G Clubbers brought 30 pumpkins, some volunteers, candies packed in beautiful bags and a lot of enthusiasm to the Boys & Girls Club in Lafayette. They were expecting 15 children, but 30 turned up; some were even turned away because there wasn't enough pumpkins to go around.

When I got there, the event was already underway. A few kids were sitting around a long, rectangular table, digging their hands into huge pumpkins, and pulling out all the yucky fiber and sticky seeds. David Loverde was busy walking around handing out scoops for the kids and Mitch was helping him by distributing plastic bags where the kids can dump their gloriously yucky pumpkin seeds.

Katie, Chris and Brandon were in the other room, helping other kids with the carving and getting ready for the games.

I put down my bag and coat and asked David what can I do to help. He seemed a little surprised that I will be helping and was uncertain what task to give to me. I sat down with a kid and started helping him gut a pumpkin.

As I sat there and observed my surroundings, I noticed everyone who saw me "at work" seemed a little surprised. Perhaps it was because they were used to seeing me as their teacher, their instructor, their leader. Whenever I asked them what I should do, or what I can help with, or where I should go for something, they seemed a little hesitant to assign me with a role/task.

But after awhile, everyone got more comfortable calling the shots for the events. It seemed natural that I will be helping out and that I am no longer the one assigning tasks. I have changed, from a leader to a follower. And my students have evolved, from being students to being leaders.

I enjoyed watching the transformation and observing how quickly they move into their roles. Everyone was clear on their responsibilities and carried them out with ease and confidence. Sometimes I feel ashamed for being worried for my students. As this event reminded me, undergraduates are a formidable breed of adults. They are passionate, energetic, has the best networks around, and are learning and applying the latest skills they have acquired from classes. Most formidable of all is that their enthusiasm and optimism have not been tainted by encounters with failures - to them, the world holds many possibilities!

Working amongst the B&G clubbers reminded me of what I used to be in my undergrad years. I was stage manager for a theater group, I was organizing bazaars and donating profits from sales to charity organizations, I was organizing camps for incoming freshmen, i.e. I was doing 5000 things at the same time and I don't recall thinking that I can't do it because Iwas merely an undergrad.

I had a lot of fun letting B&G Clubbers take the lead. In fact, I am very proud of them for stepping up and calling the shots. As the saying goes, if you want to teach a person survival skills, you don't bring the fish to them, you teach them how to fish.

Many times, our roles within a team changes. What is important is that when it comes to your turn to step up to the plate, you take the initiative and embrace your role as a leader and guide your team through the task. Even if there are times when you feel uncomfortable switching roles, you just have to bite the bullet and focus on the task. Be confident, because people look to you for guidance.

On a sidenote, this was my first pumpkin gutting experience! I had a lot of fun pulling out the seeds and fibers with the kids (maybe even more fun than the kids did). I know the group brought more pumpkins and had intended to carve one for me, but the overwhelming responses left me empty handed. I am a little disappointed that I did not have a pumpkin to bring home. BUT what I brought home was the knowledge of how to carve a pumpkin! Yes, I was paying close attention to every step of the project and I have every intention of duplicating it sometime this weekend so I have a carved pumpkin this Halloween. Thank you, team B&G Clubbers for showing me how to do this. I have bought a pumpkin today and the carving tools and I will complete the task tomorrow. If successful, I'll have pictures!

Worlds Smartest Dog

Deduction reasoning in the most incredible sense!
Thank you Josh for sharing this on your blog post:

"This is a really funny clip showing how a smart dog get's the ball without jumping into the dirty pool. The clip shows the dog's deductive reasoning... From the dog's perspective, the syllogism is:
-The ball is in the water and can be pulled out without jumping in.
-The mattress will float when I jump on it.
-I can paddle to the ball and get it out of the pool by jumping onto the mattress."

~Josh Heber

Getting to Yes (not really) - Sharktank Belt Buckle Venture

Last week, we learned about the 4 techniques of principled negotiation from Fisher and Ury's book "Getting to Yes". The four strategies are:
1. Separate people from the problem
2. Focus on interests, not position
3. Invent options for mutual gains
4. Insist on using objective criteria

Watch the above clip from Shark Tank, an ABC show where entrepreneurs come on the show to showcase their products to various venture capitalist. The entrepreneurs give a brief sale pitch and hopefully get the VCs interested enough to invest in the venture in exchange for a share of the company.

Watch this particular designer of buckles as he gives his sales pitch and go into negotiation. Observe how he lock himself into position by demanding $500,000 from the VC in exchange for 25% of his company. Watch how the negotiation process turns out to become one in which he has to defend why his company is worth 2 million dollars.

The negotiation process breaks down. This guy walks away with no deal. Note what the investors say about his arrogance.

What could have happened if this guy were willing to invent optins for mutual gains?

Remember, whenever you enter a negotiation process, you need to be mentally prepared to negotiate and don't let your ego get in the way!

An example of an A blog post

Kristen was the first student to post a blog on their group's web site and the first person out of 50 of you to post a blog. On top of that, it is an excellent example of what I expect to see on your blog and so I wanted to share it with all of you.

Take a look at Kristen's post here

*round of applause for Kristen*
Good job!