PRINCIPLES

PRACTICE
COMMUNICATION
Face to Face Seminars – ALL ZOOM SESSIONS
 27 July 2021, Tues 7pm to 10pm
 17 August 2021, Tues 7pm to 10pm
 31 August 2021, Tues 7pm to 10pm
PCQs (10%)
 PCQ01: 27 Jul, 0000hrs to 26 Jan, 1900hrs
 PCQ02: 17 Aug, 0000hrs to 16 Feb, 1900hrs
 PCQ03: 24 Aug, 0000hrs to 2 Mar, 1900hrs

TMAs (40%)
 TMA01 (20%): 16 Aug, (Mon 11.55pm)
 TMA02 (20%): 30 Aug, (Mon, 11.55pm)

Exam (50%)
 Re-sit Revision Lecture: TO BE CONFIRMED
 Timed Online Assignment (TOA) (50%):
Galanes, G., & Adams, K. (2018). Effective group discussion:
Theory and practice (15th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill
Education.
 In-text citation: (Adams & Galanes, 2018)

Floyd, K. (2017). Interpersonal communication (3rded.). New York,

NY: McGraw-Hill Education.
 In-text citation: (Floyd, 2017)
EXAMPLE
 Seminar 1 - Human Seminar 2 - Individual Seminar 3 - Group

• Elements of the • Listening • Culture in small groups

communication process
• Overview of each element
• Characteristics of
channels
• Denotation & Connotation
• Noise
• Managing conflicts (SU3)
• Models of Communication
• 6 characteristics of
communications
• Non-verbal
Communication • Group Communication
• 10 nonverbal cues
• 6 functions of nonverbal
communication
• Characteristics of
nonverbal communication
• Barriers to listening
• 6 stages of listening;
HURIER model
• Types of listening
• Becoming better listeners
• 3 types of conflicts
• 5 conflict management
styles
• Expressing disagreement
productively and ethically
(SU3)
• Creative and critical
thinking
• Groupthink symptoms
and preventions
• Leadership
•Leadership styles
•Sources of power
• Perception and
communication (SU2)
• Presenting the self
• Factors influencing how
we present authentic self
• Principals of perception
• Steps in forming
perception; selection,
organization, interpretation
• 4 Attribution biases/errors
• Factors influencing
perception
• Model of self-awareness:
Johari’s Window
Listening
 Barriers to listening
 6 stages of listening; HURIER model
 Types of listening
 Becoming better listeners

Group Communication (SU3)

 Creative and critical thinking
 Groupthink symptoms and preventions

Managing conflicts (SU3)

 3 types of conflicts

 5 conflict management styles

 Expressing disagreement productively

and ethically
 What it means to listen effectively
 What is listening
 Importance of listening
 Misconceptions
 How culture affects listening
 Ways of listening
 Stages of listening
 Types of listening
 Common Barriers of Listening
 Honing Listening Skills
 The active process of
making meaning out of
another person’s spoken
message (Floyd, 2017)
 Sensory process of
receiving and perceiving
sounds
 Hearing is the
Same as Listening

 Listening is Natural
and Effortless
 Effective listening = listening
consciously & understanding
what the speaker intends to
communicate
 Paying attention to
someone’s words well
enough to understand what
the person is trying to
communicate
 Paying attention to written as
well as non-verbal messages
  Affects listener’s expectations of directness
 Affects nonverbal listening responses
 Affects understanding of language

SG US
 Hearing
 Understanding
 Remembering
 Interpreting
 Evaluating
 Responding
 RESPONDING
1. Stonewalling: Responding with silence or lack of expressing
2. Backchanneling: expressions or vocalizations that indicate that
you are listening
3. Paraphrasing: restating what the speaker has said in your own
words
4. Empathizing: conveying that you understand and share the
feelings with the speaker
5. Supporting: expressing your agreement with the speaker’s POV
6. Analyzing: providing perspective
7. Advising: communicating advice to the speaker
 INFORMATIONAL LISTENING
1
[Listening to Learn]

CRITICAL LISTENING
2
[Listening to Evaluate and Analyze]

EMPATHETIC LISTENING
3
[Listening to Understand Feeling and Emotion]
 Separate what is and isn’t
said

Avoid confirmation bias

Listening for substance more

than style

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VOubVB4CTU
 Be a skeptic

Evaluate a speaker’s
credibility

Understand probability
Listen nonjudgmentally

Acknowledge feelings

Communicate support
nonverbally
GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY (TB178 >)
 Provides a general analytical framework
(perspective) for viewing an organization
1. Synergy
2. Interdependence
3. Interconnections
 within the organization
 between the organization and the environment
 Organization as ORGANISM
 “A set of elements standing in inter-relations”

 The systems framework helps you keep track

of all the individual components of a small
group as they interact to create a complex
whole
 GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY (TB178 >)
1. Synergy: A group is a synergistic whole more than a
simple collection of individuals. The central system
principle, interdependence, states that the parts of a
system do not operate in isolation; they continuously
affect each other as well as the system as a whole.

2. A group is a synergistic whole, more than merely a

collection of individuals. The principle of synergy, also
called nonsummativity, states that the whole is not just
the sum of its parts but a unique entity that emerges
from the parts of the system and their
interdependence.

3. Predicting where a group ends up by knowing where it

started is not possible.
GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY (TB178 >)
The systems perspective helps keep us from
oversimplifying our understanding of how a group
functions and perhaps missing something important.
For example, sys-tems theory emphasizes multiple
causation, the fact that whatever happens in a system
is not the result of a single, simple cause, but is
produced by complex interrelation-ships among
multiple forces.
GENERAL SYSTEMS THEORY (TB178 >)
A group that is an open system interacts freely
with its environment, with resources,
information.

A closed system has relatively little

interchange between the group and its
environment. Its boundaries are more solid or
less porous than an open system.
Community Club Information
Country Club Members
Online Discussion
Canvas Discussion
 -ENVIRONMENT-

INPUT COMMUNICATION
PROCESSES
•Member behaviors
•Group norms
THROUGHPUT •Power relations
•Conflicts
•Problem solving
•Decision Making
FEEDBACK
OUTPUT
 1. CREATIVE THINKING 2. CRITICAL THINKING
Creative Thinking techniques Ways to Enhance critical thinking
AVOIDING Group Think
 When group members use imagination, intuition,
hunches, insight and fantasy to come up with unusual
and innovative solutions unlike when in other
ordinary group discussions
 Both individual and group creativity are needed
 4 ways to cultivate (but not guaranteed) group
creativity:
a) Diversity
b) Discussion rules
c) Climate
d) Environment
1. Brainstorming –
generating as many ideas
as possible without
evaluation
2. Mindmapping –
encouraging radiant
thinking produced by free
association
3. Synectics – stimulates
thinking in metaphors and
analogies (i.e. looking for
similarities in different
A. COMMUNICATING IN GROUPS

 …the intellectually disciplined process of

actively and skillfully conceptualizing,
applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or
evaluating information gathered from, or
generated by, observation, experience,
reflection, reasoning, or communication, as
a guide to belief and action.
 OR
 …systematic thinking using evidence,
reasoning and logic to promote soundness
1. Having the right attitude
 Open-mindedness – willing to
consider new information and ideas,
even if they contradict previous
beliefs
 Probing questions – examine
information in greater depth by
questioning data
2. Gathering information
 Assessing information needs –
what information are missing
 Collecting needed resources –
direct observations, reading, the
Internet, databases, interviews, etc.
3. Evaluating information
 Determining the meaning of what
is being said
 Distinguishing fact from opinion
 Identifying and clarifying
ambiguous terms
4. Checking for errors in
reasoning
 Overgeneralizing
 Attacking person over argument
 Confusing causal relationships
 Either-or thinking
 Incomplete Comparisons
**AVOIDING Group Think
 Excessively high cohesiveness, in which disagreement is
seen as disloyalty or to cause problems by
making suggestions or criticisms
 Desire for conformity
a) Symptoms of groupthink:
1. Group overestimates its power and morality
2. Group becomes close-minded
3. Group members experience pressure to conform

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRW8vgoHOWg
**AVOIDING Group Think
b) Preventing groupthink:
1. Encourage members to “kick the problem around”
2. Establish a norm of critical evaluation
3. Prevent leaders from stating preferences at the
beginning of a group’s session
4. Prevent insulation of the group

On playing devil’s advocate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p-uY_i-wvc
 Identifying and clarifying ambiguous terms
 Evaluating opinions–determine credibility of
source
 Assessing the accuracy and worth of information
COMPUTER-MEDIATED AND GROUP
COMMUNICATION
 Members use computers to ‘talk’ online and some use
Group support systems (GSS), such as email groups,
chatrooms, discussion boards etc. to help solve problems.
 Groups using CMC gave members time to get to know
each other and to adapt to GSS appropriately.
 Use of computer technology in communication lessen the
effects of conflict.
 Or does it?
 Lack of verbal and non-verbal cues over CMC –how
does it affect communication?
 Other kinds of actions and behaviors as a result of lack of
verbal and non-verbal cues over CMC: inflammatory,
profane, negative communication?
MANAGING CONFLICTS
 When discordant ideas or feelings are
expressed/experienced between two interdependent
parties, typically a protracted one
OR
 When two or more people express
incompatible ideas, are at variance with each other
over group procedures, or do not like each other
 Common view: Conflict is harmful and should be
avoided
 BUT
 Conflict CAN…
a) help members understand the issue better
b) improve group decisions
c) increase member involvement
d) increase cohesiveness
 Another common view: Conflicts can be resolved if parties
are willing to discuss the issues
 BUT
 Conflicts over basic values, scarce resources, goals can
be difficult to resolve EVEN IF all parties involved are
willing to sit down to talk
MANAGING CONFLICTS
HOW TO INFLUENCE THE GROUP
 Arguments are of high quality (well-evidenced
and thought through carefully)
 Arguments are clear & consistent
 Arguments well supported by subgroup (if you
form one) – form coalitions
MANAGING CONFLICTS
NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE
 Alternates between individual work and
group work to help a group hear from every
member when discussing without bitterness
from a win-lose conflict.
 Nominal –in name only.
 Members usually 6 –9. Individually write
ideas out in each other’s presence then
members record the ideas on a chart,
discuss as a group and evaluate them by
ranking procedure until members all agree.
MANAGING CONFLICTS
PRINCIPLED NEGOTIATION
Each member responsible within the group
and respecting their relationship.
1.Separate the people from the problem –be
objective.
2.Focus on interest and not positions –
productively.
3.Be creative at inventing alternatives e.g.
brainstorming for mutual gain.
4.Objective criteria with the best intention for
fair and appropriate solution to a problem.
 Substantive

Affective Procedural
1.Substantive/Task Conflict
 “Revolves around the task and is found in
disagreement over ideas, meanings, issues, and
other matters relevant to the task”
Characteristics:
 Group members challenge ideas, proposals,
evidence, and reasoning; and critically evaluate
them
 Doubts are discussed openly and everyone works
together for the best solution
2.Affective/Relational Conflict
 “Originates from interpersonal power
clashes, likes and dislikes unrelated
to the group’s task.” It is about the
WHO in the conflict and is generally
harmful to group work.

Characteristics:
 One or two group members acting as
superior to others
 Perception of “deviants”
 Perception of “inequality” (eg.
workload)
 Formation and dissolve of “coalitions”
3.Procedural/Process Conflict
 “Is a type of substantive conflict over the ways to
achieve group goals”. This disagreement is about
HOW the group works
Characteristics:
 It may be a substantive or affective conflict in
disguise
 Members really disagree over procedures yet use
ineffective behavior to manage conflict
 Members sometimes withdraw from a substantive
conflict by forcing a vote thus using procedural
conflict to steer clear of substantive and affective
conflict
3.Procedural/Process Conflict

How to get there?

5-STYLE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT**
5-STYLE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT**
Accommodation: Willing to engage in conflict however backs away
by giving in to appease the other party // putting aside own goals in
favor of another person’s // effective when they realize that their
needs are less than the other person’s or realize that they might be
in the wrong //
Avoiding: original problem is not directly addressed or resolved –
“sense of ignore it and it will go away” // when you simply avoid an
issue or not challenge solutions // you are not helping others reach
their goals and you are not pursuing your own // works when the
issue is trivial or when you have no chance of winning // effective
when the atmosphere is emotionally charged and you need to
create some space (allow cooling-off periods)
Collaboration: Working with others to find a solution to please both
parties // win-win style // effective for complex problems // requires
a high degree of trust and reaching consensus from everyone might
take a lot of time
Competitive: Win-lose style // Showing a preference for coming out
ahead at the expense of the other party(s) / act in an assertive way to
achieve your goals without cooperating with others // achieving
preferred outcome without regard for others’ needs // good when
you need quick decisive action //
Compromise: Partial win/partial lose solution // trap is not to fall into
compromising as an easy way out // Giving a little and gaining a little
to manage the issue // should not be used as a long-term resolution
1. Express disagreement or doubts tactfully instead of
keeping it underground. Ask the what and ask how to
solve appropriately & humbly
2. Express disagreement in a timely manner –don’t
wait till it is too late to ask or speak
3. Express disagreement with sensitivity - without
criticizing the person
4. React to disagreement with inquiry not
defensiveness