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Guide for Giving a Group Presentation

February 21, 2018 - Dom Barnard

In certain academic and business situations, it is more valuable to deliver a group presentation than a solo one. Many people prefer group presentations because there is less pressure on the individual. However there are also unique challenges, such as having to ensure multiple individuals collaborate in order to produce a cohesive piece of work.

Preparing for the group presentation

As with any presentation, there is a significant amount of work during the preparation stage. The group must be well organised because there are multiple individuals, and therefore multiple personalities involved.

Presentation moderator

To assist with organisation, the group should first decide on a presentation moderator – this is essentially the “leader”. The presentation moderator can have the final say when decision-making is needed and, during the Q&A portion of the presentation, can decide which speakers will answer certain questions.

Understanding the audience

To make your presentation engaging you need to  think about the audience  so you can tailor it towards their needs. How much will the audience already know about this topic? What will they want to get from this presentation?

For example, if you are presenting the topic of building a bridge to a group of civil engineers, you can confidently use technical language. However, if you are presenting to secondary school students, you would need to use simpler language and not explain the methods in as much detail.

The presentation’s purpose

As a group, ensure you agree on the purpose of the presentation so that you all understand the message that needs to be conveyed e.g. “We want to find out which treatment works best for social anxiety.” Deciding on your message means that the group can start building key points around this – just keep in mind that each subtopic must contribute to the presentation’s aim.

Divide the presentation

The presentation needs to be  divided into main areas  so there is a clear beginning, middle and end. This is where can you decide on the order of the subtopics. Presentations usually follow this structure:

1. Introduction:

  • It is useful to agree on the first minute of the presentation as a team. This is because the audience should be interested from the start and convinced to listen.
  • The presentation’s aims are also discussed and an overview of the presentation’s structure is provided. For example, “We set out to explore the effectiveness of different treatments for social anxiety. We will first cover the symptoms and prevalence of social anxiety, before explaining the different treatments. This will then lead into a discussion about the pros and cons of each treatment route. Finally, we will explain which treatment route we decided was the most effective for this disorder.”

2. One or two middle sections:

  • These sections consist of providing the information that addresses your presentation’s aim.
  • There can be more of these sections depending on your topic.

3. Conclusion:

  • After summarising all of the key points, there must be a clear conclusion. It is beneficial to appoint the conclusion to the best speaker as this is where all the information is pooled together.

After segmenting the presentation, a time sequence can be created so the group understands the order in which tasks must be completed. It is important to set deadlines for this.

Share responsibility

A frequent problem when working within a group is unequal participation as this can subsequently cause disharmony.

But this is easily avoidable by assigning each speaker a section of the presentation to work on depending on their interests. This means that each speaker should be doing the research for their section and putting together a speech and slides (if being used).

  • It is important to specify exactly what each group member should be doing with their time.
  • Make sure the length of time per speaker is agreed on.
  • Do not change speakers more than necessary because this can reduce the coherency of the presentation.

Build the presentation together

For an audience to follow and enjoy a presentation, it must flow together. Meeting up and building the presentation helps with this because:

  • This prevents the duplication of content.
  • You can put the slides together, although only one individual should be responsible for merging the slides so there is consistency within the presentation.
  • It is useful to receive feedback on the speeches before presenting to an audience.
  • The team can agree on any edits.
  • The team can agree on the conclusion.
  • You can make sure that each speaker will talk for the same amount of time and cover a similar amount of information.
  • The team can come up with the first minute of the presentation together.

Business people giving a group presentation

Use stories to engage the audience

A good presentation opening could  start with a story  to highlight why your topic is significant. For example, if the topic is on the benefits of pets on physical and psychological health, you could present a story or a study about an individual whose quality of life significantly improved after being given a dog.

The audience is more likely to remember this story than a list of facts and statistics so try and incorporate relevant stories into presentations.

Know what each speaker will say

Each speaker must know what the other group members will say as this prevents repetition and it may be useful to refer to a previous speaker to assist in explaining your own section.

Also, if a team member is unable to attend on the day it will be easier to find cover within the group.

Write and practice transitions

Clean transitioning between speakers can also assist in producing a presentation that flows well. One way of doing this is:

  • Briefly recap on what you covered in your section: “So that was a brief introduction on what social anxiety is and how it can affect somebody”
  • Introduce the next speaker in the team and explain what they will discuss: “Now Sarah will talk about the prevalence of social anxiety.”
  • Then end by looking at the next speaker, gesturing towards them and saying their name: “Sarah”.
  • The next speaker should acknowledge this with a quick: “Thank you Nick.”

From this example you can see how the different sections of the presentations link which makes it easier for the audience to follow and remain engaged.

Practice the presentation

Rehearse with the group multiple times to make sure:

  • The structure works
  • Everyone is sticking to their timing.
  • To see if any edits are needed.

The more you  rehearse a presentation  the more you will feel comfortable presenting the material and answering questions as your familiarity with the content increases.

Handling nerves before the presentation

It is  natural to feel nervous  when presenting in front of others, regardless of the size of the audience. Here are some tips:

  • Remind yourself that the audience is there to listen to you and wants you to do well; there is no need to be afraid of them.
  • Remember that the audience members will have to present their projects later and are almost certainly feeling just as nervous.
  • Practicing with your group and practicing your section at home will make you more comfortable and familiar with the material and increase your confidence.
  • Practice pauses  – when people feel nervous they tend to find silences uncomfortable and try to fill gaps, such as using “um” multiple times (filler words). Practicing pauses will help the silences feel less unnatural when you present therefore reducing the need for filler words.
  • When we are nervous we often begin breathing quickly and this in turn can increase our anxiety. Controlled breathing is a common technique that helps slow down your breathing to normal thus reducing your anxiety.

Exercises to control your breathing:

  • Sit down in an upright position as it easier for your lungs to fill with air
  • Breathe in through your nose and into your abdomen for four seconds
  • Hold this breathe for two seconds
  • Breathe out through your nose for six seconds
  • Wait a few seconds before inhaling and repeating the cycle

During the group presentation

Introducing the team.

The presentation should begin with the presentation moderator introducing the team. This is smoother than each individual presenting themselves.

Pay attention to the presentation

You may feel nervous as you wait for your turn to speak but try to listen to the presentation. The audience is able to see the whole team so it is important that you look interested in what is being said and react to it, even if you have heard it multiple times.

Body language and eye contact

Body language is a useful tool to engage the audience:

  • If it is your turn to speak then stand slightly in the foreground of the rest of your group.
  • Smile at the audience as this will make you look more confident.
  • Make eye contact  as this helps you engage with the audience.
  • Keep your arms uncrossed so your body language is more open.
  • Do not look down and read from your notes- glancing down occasionally is fine but keep in mind that you are talking to the audience.
  • This is the same for  presenting visual aids ; you may need to glance at the computer slide but make sure you predominantly face the audience as you are still speaking to them.
  • Keep your hands at your sides but use them occasionally to gesture.

Vocal variety

How you say something is just as is important as the content of your speech –  arguably, more so . For example, if an individual presented on a topic very enthusiastically the audience would probably enjoy this compared to someone who covered more points but mumbled into their notes.

Here are some pointers:

  • Adapt your voice depending on what are you saying- if you want to highlight something then raise your voice or lower your voice for intensity.
  • Avoid speaking in monotone.
  • Sound enthusiastic – the more you sound like you care about the topic, the more the audience will listen.
  • Speak loudly and clearly.
  • If you notice that you are speaking quickly, pause and slow down.
  • Warm up your voice  before a speech

Breath deeply for vocal variety

Take short pauses and breath deeply. This will ensure you have more vocal variety.

Handling nerves during the presentation

  • If you find that you are too uncomfortable to give audience members direct eye contact, a helpful technique is to look directly over the heads of the audience as this gives the impression of eye contact.
  • Try not to engage in nervous behaviours e.g. shifting your weight or fidgeting.
  • Remember that it’s unlikely that the audience knows that you are feeling nervous – you do not look as anxious as you feel.
  • Notice whether you are speaking too quickly as this tends to happen when nervousness increases. If you are, pause and then slow down.

Strong conclusion

Since the conclusion is the last section of your presentation the audience is more likely to remember it. Summarise the key points and lead into a clear concluding statement. For example, if your presentation was on the impact of social media on self-esteem you could list all the main points covered in the presentation and conclude “Therefore, from the amount of evidence and also from the quality of evidence, we have decided that social media is negatively/positively impacting self-esteem.”

Questions and answer session

The questions and answers session after the main presentation can be a source of anxiety as it is often difficult to predict what questions will be asked. But working within a group setting means that individually you do not have to know everything about the topic.

When an  audience member asks a question , the presentation moderator can refer a speaker who has the relevant knowledge to provide an answer. This avoids any hesitant pauses.

If you are answering group presentation questions:

  • Pause before answering- take the time to gather your thoughts and think about your answer
  • Make sure you answer the question- sometimes you may start providing more information than necessary. Keeping answers as concise as possible will help with this.
  • Ask the questioner for clarification if you do not understand- it’s better to ask rather than answering in a way that does not address the question.
  • You’re not expected to know everything- challenging questions will emerge and if you do not know the answer you can respond with: “That’s a really good question, I’m not certain so let me look into that.”

Ending the presentation

A good ending usually consists of the presentation moderator thanking the audience. If there is another group afterwards they should transition to the next group.

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Social Sci LibreTexts

18.2: Communicating about group interaction

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  • Page ID 9072

  • Jennifer Wood@Millersville University
  • Millersville University via Public Speaking Project

Just say the two words separately “group” and “presentation.” Note which word comes first—group (the process) and not presentation (the product). In group presentations, there is often a tendency to put the focus on “presentation.” Thus, the group interaction often falls short to only include exchanging contact information and schedules before diving straight into the presentation assignment. Successful group work begins with something more than simply exchanging contact information. It begins with acknowledging the layers of “group interaction.” Small group interaction is “the process by which three or more members of a group exchange verbal and nonverbal messages in an attempt to influence one another” (Tubbs, 1995, p. 5). Notice that the definition includes both verbal and nonverbal messages. Thus, all your individual actions and words, including silence or no response, communicate something to others. This is why group members are disappointed when other members do not attend group meetings. Their absence from the group communicates a nonverbal message.

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Although “group” and “team” are often used interchangeably, the process of interaction between the two is different. Beebe & Mottet (2010) suggest that we think of groups and teams as existing on a continuum. On one end, a small group consists of three to fifteen people who share a common purpose, feel a sense of belonging to the group, and exert influence on each other (Beebe & Masterson, 2009). On the other end, a team is a coordinated group of people organized to work together to achieve a specific, common goal (Beebe & Masterson, 2009). Many—perhaps even most—vocational and avocational group members and size are determined by those who requested the group presentation. Whereas, vocational and avocational teams are guided by defined responsibilities for team members. For example, a public relations campaign team typically includes an account executive, research director, creative director, media planner and copywriter/copy editor. This chapter will not use the two terms interchangeably. It will focus on the interaction process of a group.

You may be most familiar with casual groups and social groups such as your fraternity or sorority or even your neighborhood. However, there are many types of groups formed everyday including committees, educational groups, problem-solving groups, task forces, work groups, and even virtual groups. In presentational speaking it is important to view the group as a speaking group , which is a collection of three or more speakers who come together to accomplish message content goals. The emphasis on “speakers” is critical because audience members come to a presentation for the speaker content and not necessarily the group’s relationship. Speaking groups require all members to discuss and gain an understanding of one another’s basic speaking skills related to preparation, organization, and delivery. In short, all groups require individuals to build harmony and rapport with one another but successful speaking groups are known more for their message continuity between speakers not the harmony between group members.

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Group coordination is key in building message continuity. At its most basic level, group coordination focuses on group communication, “the process of creating meanings in the minds of others” (Tubbs, 1995, p. 186). Such coordination requires establishing shared meanings about interaction roles, the decision-making process, and conflict resolution. In short, the purpose of group coordination is to assist you in establishing a communication plan.

For many people, the mental image that forms when they hear they have been assigned to a group features some of their worst experiences or a quick private slideshow of their best group experience. Whether a negative or positive mental image, the image may be accurate of the past, but may have nothing to do with the current assignment. So when you first meet in your group, begin by coordinating an icebreaking conversation about each other’s past experiences working in groups and more specifically experiences of working on previous group presentations of the same nature. This icebreaking conversation can play a powerful role in your group, establishing a communication plan forcohesiveness, or the tendency for a group to stick together and remain unified in the pursuit of its instrumental objectives (Carron, Brawley, & Widmeyer, 1998) and minimizingsocial loafing, the decreased effort of each individual member as the number of a group increases (Tubbs, 1995, p. 103). The conversation also will aid your group in a discussion concerningwhat communication vehicles and content will have priority for thisspeaking group.

Review your work. You will find, if you are honest, that 90% of the trouble is traceable to loafing. ~ Ford Frick

interaction roles

Next, remember that groups are cooperative and require each member to participate in different interactions. Benne and Sheats (1948) proposed a classification of roles in three broad categories: (1) task roles, (2) group- building and maintenance roles, and (3) individual roles. Your group will need to discuss how they will communicate about and assign tasks related to preparation, organization and delivery (POD).

Task roles deal with a variety of logistics. Communication related to preparation include such things as guidelines for electronic information retrieval, sharing research information and visual aid content, and the scheduling of milestone appointments such as draft due dates and rehearsal times. Task roles emphasizing organization focus on script development—cohesive language, transitions, and consistent graphics. It is important that your group commits to not developing content independently. A group presentation is not an individual narrative. It is one master presentation. Therefore, the group must plan on how they will identify and close gaps in content and support material. Finally, task roles at the level of delivery necessitates that the group communicate about assumptions, such as every individual is familiar with presentation software like PowerPointor every individual is a regular user of the videosharing website YouTube. Other logistical challenges associated with delivery include planning the introduction of the group, where to stand, and equipment set up.

Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. ~ Warren G. Bennis

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Although a group leader is beneficial, each group member has a responsibility for his/her part of all interactions (refer to Table 18.2). See yourself as a co-equal partner in the group experience. Kelley (1992) suggests individuals be “skilled followers” who engage in two critical activities: (1) they are independent and critical thinkers, and (2) they actively engage in the work, rather than waiting to be told what to do.

You can contribute best by being aware of and monitoring your strengths and weakness and the effect they have on group members. You will always have to apply and modify your individual knowledge, skills, and techniques to be appropriate for the different stages of group presentations.

Further, you will need to maintain ethical relationship boundaries with group members as appropriate to your interaction roles. Thus, when interacting as a member of a new or returning group it is important to think about your familiarity with and use of participatory communication modes such as a preparedness to listen, assertiveness, clear verbal and nonverbal communication, confidence and empathy.

The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy. ~ Meryl Streep

decision-making

Decision-making is not dictatorship. Plus, decision-making isn’t the sole responsibility of a group leader. Decision-making is a group process of making choices among alternatives. In an individual presentation you made a lot of decisions on your own. Now it is time to come together as a group to make decisions (see Table 18.3). When you think about group coordination, decision-making is primarily about setting protocols—mutually agreed upon ways of interacting. As a group be very clear about how you will procedurally make decisions within thisspeaking group; and how the group will make decisions that require assimilating large amounts of information, exploring different ideas, or drawing on the many strands of experience represented among group members.

The group may have to make decisions about the flow of information among members, proposed solutions, the quality of work, or even interpersonal relations among members. The goal is not to anticipate every possible decision your group may encounter. The goal is to know howthis speaking group will make decisions. Successful principles to employ include group decisions always providing (1) a process for every group member’s opinion to be heard within an explicit and articulated time period (deadlines are important); (2) a face-to- face voting method (rather than electronic); and (3) a procedure for prioritizing a set of options, ranking them, and choosing the best fit.

Finally, each group member should remain flexible and learn how to accept newness, incompleteness, and how not to blame others. Thus, choose to be aware of three things. First, some decisions come in increments. Second, the amount of knowledge, understanding, and quality underlying a decision varies. Third, some things are discovered en route to the group’s final outcome.

Too many problem-solving sessions become battlegrounds where decisions are made based on power rather than intelligence. ~ Margaret J. Wheatley

conflict resolution

Perhaps the greatest interpersonal skill needed is the ability to work compatibly with others, regardless of whether or not you like them personally (Lahiff & Penrose 1997). Just because you have worked in groups before does not guarantee you have experienced all types of conflict. The conflict of ideas and conflict of feeling (personality conflict) are most common among members. The causes of conflict are many. They include incompatible personalities or value systems; competition for limited resources especially in a harsh economic climate; inadequate communication; interdependent tasks (where one person cannot complete his or her task until others have completed their work); organizational complexity and departmentalization; unreasonable or unclear policies, standards or rules; time pressure; role ambiguity; change; and inequitable treatment (Kreitner & Kinicki 1995):

Foundational to successful group communication is each person’s willingness to abide by some simple do’s and don’ts of conflict (see Table 18.4). Successful conflict resolution also involves developing a sound negotiating strategy, which involves the overall approach you take when you exchange proposals and counterproposals with another person when discussing a settlement to a conflict (Beebe & Mottet, 2010, p. 195). By articulating a specific plan that addresses both conflict categories appropriately for this speaking group, group members gain a feel for what it will mean to balance between actively listening, doing his/her fair share, and soliciting comments throughout the process. The communication plan also may help your group reach consensus rather than engage in groupthink , which refers to a faulty sense of agreement that occurs when group members seemingly agree but they primarily want to avoid conflict (Beebe & Mottet, 2010, p. 239).

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.~ George S. Patton

Effective conflict management requires interpersonal and communication competence and draws on group members’ active listening, assertiveness, empathy and clear communication skills. Keep in mind that any conflict is easier to create than resolve (deVito 1992). Overall group coordination will play a role in helping you reflect on group dynamics, plan for communication during group work, reinforce relationships, and establish a unified commitment and collaborative climate.

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How to Give a Great Group Presentation

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Whether for an introductory course, internship, or senior seminar, group presentations are part of everyone's college experience and can be a source of very real anxiety. Next time you are assigned a group presentation, don't panic—instead, embrace the opportunity to learn and demonstrate your abilities. Read to find out what you can do to make your next group presentation memorable.

Distribute the Work Evenly

The first step to planning an A-worthy presentation is to make sure everyone carries their own weight, though this is easier said than done. This step will set your presentation up for success but can be challenging to pull off. It is likely that at least some of the people in your group will have unmatched academic abilities and work ethics, but this problem can be overcome.

Outline the work that needs to be done for the whole project and divvy up roles based on what people are comfortable doing. Make the expectations of each person clear so that there is accountability from start to finish—if something gets sloppily finished or is left entirely undone, the issue can be traced back to whatever group member is responsible and handled accordingly. If necessary, discuss problems with the professor . Don't let one person's laziness sabotage your entire group's work.

Schedule Deadlines and Rehearsals in Advance

As a college student, it can be incredibly difficult to manage your own time let alone synchronize the schedules of several different group members. Planning to get together as far in advance as possible makes it less likely that other commitments are prioritized over important group planning time.

At your first group meeting, set a timeline for when things need to be done. Schedule meetings, deadlines, and rehearsals as far into the future as the assignment allows. Never plan to cram at an all-night stress fest the night before—tired and over-extended group members will have a hard time executing even the most well-planned presentation.

Present Together

Just as you should use the strengths and weaknesses of group members to assign planning roles before the presentation, you should consider the abilities of every group member when deciding how the presentation itself should actually be delivered. Cohesion is crucial to a great presentation. People will notice if one or more group members do not speak or the presentation gets off-topic each time a new person takes over, and weak delivery does not bode well for your grade.

When you are planning how you will present, ask yourself and your group members the following questions:

  • What is the best way to deliver this material?
  • What presenting strengths does each group member have?
  • What goals must be met during the presentation?
  • How will we divide and conquer scripting the presentation?
  • What will we do if the presentation gets off-topic or a member forgets their part?

Prepare for Emergencies

Hopefully, you have put the time into creating an outstanding presentation, so don't let small hiccups derail it. Make sure that you know each other's responsibilities well enough to take over for them in times of crisis.

You never know when someone will get unexpectedly sick , face a family emergency, or be otherwise unable to show up for a presentation. Have a system in place where one group member can serve as an understudy for another group member so that your presentation does not crash and burn if someone is not there. Make the most of your preparations by planning for any scenario and remember to work as a team when things go wrong.

For a crisp presentation that leaves a strong impression on your professor and classmates, you need to rehearse. At least one run-through from beginning to end can smooth out any wrinkles, help nervous members overcome their fear, and ensure that you haven't left anything out.

Go through your parts as planned and offer each other constructive feedback immediately after. This may be uncomfortable, but helpful peer feedback can prevent negative feedback and bad grades from professors. Frame comments to members positively with a "glow and a grow": one thing they did really well and one area for improvement.

You should also discuss a dress code right before you rehearse so that all group members don the appropriate attire for the occasion. Lend each other clothes to help each other out if needed.

Stay Present During the Presentation

As long as your group is up there presenting, you need to be giving the presentation your all. This means that, even if your part is over, you should remain alert, engaged, and undistracted. This will make your presentation look and sound better while also enabling seamless emergency transitions. If you pay attention to your whole presentation, you will be much better prepared to step in for someone that needs rescuing—also, odds are that everyone else (professor included) will be more likely to pay attention if they see you paying attention.

Group presentations can be very effortful and time-consuming, so celebration is definitely in order once it's over. Reward yourself as a team for a job well done to bond after the potentially traumatizing experience you have shared.

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Group Presentations

46 How to structure your presentation

Lucinda Atwood and Christian Westin

This chapter teaches you a quick, easy way to create effective presentations. You’ll also learn how to use valid resources and avoid plagiarism.

There are lots of ways to structure a presentation, but we like this one best. It’s clear, simple and fits most presentations.

In this part of your presentation, you’ll capture the audience’s attention, tell them who you are, and give them a preview of your presentation.

  • Grabber/hook   (Goes before or after the self-introduction) A very brief and interesting statement or question that grabs the audience’s attention. See Grabber Types below for more details.
  • Self-introduction  (Goes before or after the grabber ) Tell the audience your name and credentials. For example: I’m Minh and I’ve been a professional presenter for 10 years.
  • Thesis   The main point or argument of your presentation. Be brief and precise, not general or vague. For example: I’m going to show you how practicing your presentation 10 times will improve your grade by 20%.
  • Overview of main points  Briefly outline the main points that you’ll cover in your presentation. To help your audience, do list these in same order that you’ll deliver them later on. For example: First, we’ll talk about what makes presentations great, then I’ll share some data on how practice affects your confidence and performance, and finally we’ll look at how to practice.

In this part of your presentation, you’ll deliver the detailed information of your presentation.

  • Key point 1   A major point that supports your thesis and may have supporting sub-points
  • Key point 2   Another major point that supports your thesis and may have supporting sub-points
  • Key point 3   The final major point that supports your thesis and may have supporting sub-points

In this part you’ll remind the audience of what you told them, and tell them what to do next.

  • Summary of main points   (Can be merged with your conclusion) Clearly restate your three main points in the same order you delivered them. It’s the same as your overview but in past tense. First, I described what makes presentations great, then I shared data on how practice affects confidence and performance, and finally we looked at how to practice.
  • Conclusion   Restate your thesis in past tense. For example: I’m showed you that practicing your presentation 10 times will improve your grade by 20%.
  • Call to action   Give your audience clear, active and compelling direction, based on what you told them. For example: Practice your presentations ten times and start collecting those A-plusses!

Grabber types

Remember that the grabber’s job is grabbing the audience’s attention, so it must be surprising, fascinating or intriguing. It must also be related to your presentation’s topic. Here are some descriptions and examples:

You can also mix and match grabbers. For example, you could show an image and ask the audience to guess what it is.

The length of your grabber is relative to your total presentation time. For a 2-minute presentation, it should be quite brief – maybe one sentence. For a 16-minute team presentation, a 45-60 second grabber would be appropriate.

Outline your presentation

The fastest way to create a successful presentation is to start with an outline. Y ou’ll need two outlines: a preparation outline, and a speaking outline.

Preparation outlines are comprehensive outlines that include all of the information in your presentation. Our presentation outline will consist of the content of what the audience will see and hear. Eventually, you will move away from this outline as you develop your materials and practice your presentation.

Your speaking outline will contain notes to guide you and is usually not shared with your audience. It will summarize the full preparation outline down to more usable notes. You should create a set of abbreviated notes for the actual delivery.

Use an outline, not a script; this will allow you to be more natural and let you look at the audience or camera. Reading is a guaranteed way to make your presentation boring.

The easiest way to create your outline is to work in this order:

  • Determine your thesis and write this as a full sentence
  • Determine your 3 Main Points
  • Add key supporting points for each of your Main Points
  • Complete the other parts – introduction, grabber, call to action, etc.

Working in this order is fast because it’s easier to create the conclusion and grabber when you’ve already decided on the content. Also, after you have the main structure it’s easy to add details, examples, and stories that make your presentation interesting and convincing.

You can use your presentation outline as a starting point to developing your speaking outline. It’s a good idea to make speaking notes to align with your main points and visuals in each section.

UNC Libraries Presentation Planning Worksheet

Using Examples and Scenarios

Presenters will often use examples and scenarios to help illustrate the their message. The main difference between examples and scenarios is that while both help “show” the audience what you mean, an example is the “thing” itself, while a scenario would include more detail about the sequence or development of events. Scenarios also tend to be longer and more nuanced.

An ‘example’ of a sales target might be: to sell 500 units in 30 days. A ‘scenario’ might be described as: Company A is selling vacuums to the Atlantic Canada region. They are trying to increase their sales, and so have set a target of 500 units in the region in 30 days, using a sales incentive program for employees and promoting a sale at local stores.

A Word About Storytelling

Storytelling can be an effective way to convey your message to your audience. Stories are a fundamental part of the human experience, and, if well-told, can resonate with listeners. Some of the most inspiring TEDTalks speakers use storytelling effectively in their presentations. You can find out more about how to incorporate storytelling techniques into presentations from the TEDTAlk speakers directly.

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Read the following blog post from Nayomi Chibana (2015).

http://blog.visme.co/7-storytelling-techniques-used-by-the-most-inspiring-ted-presenters/

 Test your knowledge 

How to structure your presentation Copyright © by Lucinda Atwood and Christian Westin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Giving Presentations

  • Planning Your Presentation

Planning Group Presentations

  • Using Presentation Software
  • Engaging your Audience
  • Finding and Using Images
  • Citing Sources
  • Overcoming Anxiety

There are both pros and cons to having to deliver a group presentation. On the plus side, you can share the workload and might feel more comfortable speaking within a group than being in front of the class alone. But, problems can arise in group presentations.

Group presentations are less successful when: 

  • Group members don't work together to make sure their component parts of the presentation flow smoothly together, resulting in what feels like 2 or 3 separate presentations  
  • Group members don't practice or know what other group members will be saying  
  • Group members don't plan ahead of time and certain parts of the presentation are stronger than others  
  •  Some group members don't adhere to an agreed upon time limit

To ensure a successful group presentation:

Divide up responsibilities 

  • Decide how you want the presentation to flow together. Will each member be covering a different point or subtopic, or will you alternate speaking between members?   
  • Plan to meet frequently and set deadlines for the group  
  • Set aside time a week in advance of the presentation to practice and edit the presentation together  
  • Communicate with your group members about any changes you want to make to your portion  
  • Look for and eliminate overlap. Avoid having group members repeat what was already said before.   
  • If you are using presentation software, make sure you stick to a consistent theme. The presentation should look like one presentation.  
  • Add transitions between group members. For example, "Next, Jaspreet will discuss how x relates to y." 
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Business Jargons

A Business Encyclopedia

Presentation

Definition : A presentation is a form of communication in which the speaker conveys information to the audience. In an organization presentations are used in various scenarios like talking to a group, addressing a meeting, demonstrating or introducing a new product, or briefing a team. It involves presenting a particular subject or issue or new ideas/thoughts to a group of people.

It is considered as the most effective form of communication because of two main reasons:

  • Use of non-verbal cues.
  • Facilitates instant feedback.

presentation

Business Presentations are a tool to influence people toward an intended thought or action.

Parts of Presentation

structure-of-presentation

  • Introduction : It is meant to make the listeners ready to receive the message and draw their interest. For that, the speaker can narrate some story or a humorous piece of joke, an interesting fact, a question, stating a problem, and so forth. They can also use some surprising statistics.
  • Body : It is the essence of the presentation. It requires the sequencing of facts in a logical order. This is the part where the speaker explains the topic and relevant information. It has to be critically arranged, as the audience must be able to grasp what the speaker presents.
  • Conclusion : It needs to be short and precise. It should sum up or outline the key points that you have presented. It could also contain what the audience should have gained out of the presentation.

Purpose of Presentation

  • To inform : Organizations can use presentations to inform the audience about new schemes, products or proposals. The aim is to inform the new entrant about the policies and procedures of the organization.
  • To persuade : Presentations are also given to persuade the audience to take the intended action.
  • To build goodwill : They can also help in building a good reputation

Factors Affecting Presentation

factors-affecting-presentation

Audience Analysis

Communication environment, personal appearance, use of visuals, opening and closing presentation, organization of presentation, language and words, voice quality, body language, answering questions, a word from business jargons.

Presentation is a mode of conveying information to a selected group of people live. An ideal presentation is one that identifies and matches the needs, interests and understanding level of the audience. It also represents the facts, and figures in the form of tables, charts, and graphs and uses multiple colours.

Related terms:

  • Verbal Communication
  • Visual Communication
  • Non-Verbal Communication
  • Communication
  • 7 C’s of Communication

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Presentation Definition: A Comprehensive Guide

Table of contents, unraveling the presentation definition.

Presentation – a word frequently used in English, Spanish, Latin, French, and Arabic contexts, but what does it exactly mean? In this article, we delve into the definition of presentation , exploring its various facets and applications in different fields.

The Essence of Presentation: A Definition

What is a presentation.

A presentation is the act of presenting information or ideas to a group of people in a structured and deliberate manner, often with the aid of visual aids like PowerPoint, Keynote, or multimedia tools.

Presentations are a ubiquitous part of the professional, educational, and social landscape. The act of presenting, essentially communicating information and ideas to a group of people, has evolved significantly over time. This article explores the definition of a presentation, its various formats, the skills required to make it effective, and the nuances of a great presentation, all while weaving in an eclectic mix of keywords.

Historical Roots: From Latin to Modern Day

The Evolution from ‘Praesentātiō’ to ‘Presentation’

In its essence, a presentation is the act of presenting or displaying information or ideas to an audience. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as “the action or process of presenting something to someone.” In Latin, the term stems from ‘praesentātiō’, denoting the action of placing before or showing. This definition has broadened in modern English to encompass various methods of showcasing information, whether it’s a business pitch, an academic lecture, or introducing a new product.

The term has its origins in Latin (‘praesentātiō’), evolving through various languages like French and British English, symbolizing the act of presenting, displaying, or giving something to others.

Types and Formats of Presentations

Diverse Formats for Different Needs

Presentations can vary in formats – from formal PowerPoint presentations to informal Prez (an informal abbreviation of presentation) discussions, each tailored to suit specific requirements.

Enhancing Presentation Skills: A Guide

Mastering the Art of Presentation

Presentations come in various formats, from the traditional speech to more contemporary multimedia showcases. PowerPoint, a widely used tool, allows the integration of text, images, and graphs to create visually appealing slides. Similarly, Apple’s Keynote offers tools for creating impactful multimedia presentations. The inclusion of visual aids, like graphs and charts, enhances comprehension and retention. For those interested in learning Spanish, Arabic, or French, incorporating these languages in presentations can broaden audience reach.

Effective presentation skills involve a blend of clear communication, eye contact , engaging visual aids , and a confident delivery. These skills are crucial in both business and educational settings.

Presentation in the Digital Age: Multimedia and Keynote

Embracing Technology for Impactful Presentations

In the era of digital communication, tools like multimedia presentations and Apple’s Keynote software have become indispensable for creating dynamic and interactive presentations.

The Art of Visual Aids: Graphs and More

Using Graphs and Visuals Effectively

Effective presentations often include graphs and other visual aids to convey complex information in an easily digestible format, enhancing the audience’s understanding.

Presentation in Different Languages

A Multilingual Perspective

The concept of presentation transcends languages, from English to Arabic , each offering unique nuances in the art of presenting.

Presentation in Literature and Culture

Presentation Copy and Beyond

The term also appears in literary contexts, such as a “presentation copy” of a book, and in cultural scenarios like a “breech presentation” in childbirth, where the baby is positioned to exit the birth canal feet first.

Effective Presentation: Tips and Techniques

Crafting an Impactful Presentation

An effective presentation is more than just delivering facts; it involves engaging storytelling, structured key points , and the ability to connect with the audience.

To deliver an effective presentation, certain skills are paramount. English, being a global lingua franca, is often the preferred language for presentations. However, the ability to present in multiple languages, like Spanish or French, can be a significant advantage.

Eye contact is a crucial skill, establishing a connection with the audience and making the presentation more engaging. Additionally, the ability to read the room and adjust the presentation accordingly is vital.

Incorporating Quizzes and Group Activities

Interactive elements like quizzes can transform a presentation from a monologue into a dynamic group activity. They encourage participation and can be especially effective in educational settings. Quizzes can also be used in business presentations to gauge audience understanding or to introduce a new product.

Presentation in Educational Contexts

Learning Through Presentations

In educational settings, presentations are used as a tool for teaching and assessment, often involving quizzes and interactive sessions to enhance learning.

Synonyms and Related Terms

Exploring Synonyms and the Thesaurus

The thesaurus offers a range of synonyms for ‘presentation,’ such as exhibition, demonstration, and display, each with slightly different connotations.

The Thesaurus and Vocabulary Expansion

Utilizing a thesaurus can enrich presentation language, offering synonyms and example sentences to clarify points. The ‘word of the day’ concept, often found in English learning resources, can be an interesting addition to presentations, especially in multilingual contexts.

Historical and Specialized Types of Presentations

The term ‘presentation’ also has specialized meanings. In historical contexts, a ‘presentation copy’ refers to a book or manuscript gifted by the author. In obstetrics, ‘breech presentation’ denotes a situation where the baby is positioned to exit the birth canal feet or buttocks first. Understanding these specialized definitions enriches the overall grasp of the term.

Presentation in Business: Introducing a New Product

The Role of Presentation in Business

In business contexts, presentations are crucial for scenarios like introducing a new product , persuading investors, or communicating with stakeholders.

Word of the Day: Presentation

Expanding Vocabulary with ‘Presentation’

In language learning, ‘presentation’ can be a word of the day , helping learners understand its usage through example sentences and pronunciation (notated as /ˌprez.ənˈteɪ.ʃən/ in English).

Key Points and Summarization

An effective presentation distills complex information into key points, making it easier for the audience to remember the most important takeaways. Summarization skills are critical in achieving this clarity.

Cultural Influences and Adaptations

The concept of presentations varies across cultures. In Arabic-speaking countries, the style of presentation might differ significantly from that in English-speaking contexts. The benefice of understanding cultural nuances cannot be overstated, as it can significantly impact the effectiveness of a presentation.

The Role of Technology

Technology, particularly multimedia, plays a pivotal role in modern presentations. From PowerPoint slides to advanced software like Keynote, the use of technology has revolutionized the way information is presented. The integration of videos, sound, and interactive elements makes presentations more engaging and memorable.

Eye Contact and Body Language

In delivering a presentation, non-verbal cues like eye contact and body language are as important as the spoken content. Maintaining eye contact with the audience establishes a connection and keeps them engaged. Similarly, confident body language can convey authority and enthusiasm.

The Art of Storytelling

A great presentation often resembles storytelling. It’s not just about relaying facts; it’s about weaving a narrative that resonates with the audience. This involves understanding the audience’s needs and interests and tailoring the content accordingly.

Innovation and New Products

Presentations are often the first introduction of a new product to the market. The effectiveness of these presentations can make or break the product’s success. Highlighting the unique features and benefits in a clear, compelling manner is crucial.

The Power of Presentation

Presentations are a powerful tool for communication and education. Whether in a formal business setting or an informal educational environment, mastering the art of presentation can lead to more effective and impactful communication.

1. Oxford English Dictionary

2. Merriam-Webster Thesaurus

3. Apple Keynote User Guide

4. Presentation Techniques in Educational Literature

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## Frequently Asked Questions About Presentations

### What is in a presentation?

A presentation typically includes a combination of spoken words and visual aids such as PowerPoint slides, graphs, or multimedia elements. It’s an organized way to convey information or ideas to a group of people.

### What is meant by giving a presentation?

Giving a presentation refers to the act of presenting information or ideas to an audience. This act, known in various languages including English, Spanish, and French as ‘presentation’ (or ‘praesentātiō’ in Latin), involves communication skills, visual aids, and sometimes interactive elements like quizzes.

### What makes a good presentation?

A good presentation effectively communicates key points, engages the audience through eye contact and clear speech (often practiced as a ‘word of the day’ in English classes), uses visual aids like graphs, and is well-structured. Effective presentation skills are crucial for this.

### What are the types of presentation?

There are various types of presentations, including formal business presentations (often using PowerPoint or Keynote), educational lectures, sales pitches for a new product, and informal talks. Each type uses different formats and approaches.

### What are the 4 parts of a presentation?

The four main parts of a presentation are the introduction, the main body, the conclusion, and the Q&A session. Each part plays a vital role in delivering an effective presentation.

### What are the three things that a good presentation should do?

A good presentation should inform, engage, and persuade or inspire the audience. It’s about more than just delivering facts; it’s an act of communication that can change perspectives or encourage action.

### How is a presentation linked with multimedia?

Presentations often use multimedia elements like videos, audio clips, and animated graphs to enhance the viewer’s understanding and engagement. Multimedia tools like PowerPoint and Keynote are widely used in creating dynamic presentations.

### How long should a presentation be?

The length of a presentation can vary, but it’s typically between 15 to 30 minutes. The duration depends on the context and the amount of information to be covered. It’s important to keep presentations concise to maintain the audience’s attention.

These answers incorporate various aspects of presentations, including their definition, formats, and the skills required, in multiple languages and contexts, as seen in resources like Oxford dictionaries and thesaurus.

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What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

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Five tips to set yourself apart.

Never underestimate the power of great communication. It can help you land the job of your dreams, attract investors to back your idea, or elevate your stature within your organization. But while there are plenty of good speakers in the world, you can set yourself apart out by being the person who can deliver something great over and over. Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired together are more memorable); don’t underestimate the power of your voice (raise and lower it for emphasis); give your audience something extra (unexpected moments will grab their attention); rehearse (the best speakers are the best because they practice — a lot).

I was sitting across the table from a Silicon Valley CEO who had pioneered a technology that touches many of our lives — the flash memory that stores data on smartphones, digital cameras, and computers. He was a frequent guest on CNBC and had been delivering business presentations for at least 20 years before we met. And yet, the CEO wanted to sharpen his public speaking skills.

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  • Carmine Gallo is a Harvard University instructor, keynote speaker, and author of 10 books translated into 40 languages. Gallo is the author of The Bezos Blueprint: Communication Secrets of the World’s Greatest Salesman  (St. Martin’s Press).

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Group Communication: Definition, Types and Best Practices

Nikita Dymenko

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What is group communication?

Group interaction refers to the exchange and reception of messages among a number of individuals within a team. It’s a prevalent practice in professional settings where team members exchange thoughts, define objectives, and encourage each other. The size of such groups can differ, usually ranging from a minimum of three to a maximum of 20 participants. From compact teams to extensive departments, this mode of communication proves beneficial for all. Effective group interactions allow for the necessary information to be disseminated to attain collective goals.

There’s a wide array of communication methods within a team, and it’s essential to choose an approach that suits the majority. This ensures everyone comprehends the conveyed message. Given the diverse communication styles of group members, it may be required to use multiple methods. For instance, a team leader might conduct a weekly meeting to review progress, while also utilizing emails for more frequent correspondences.

Advantages of group communication

  • Enhanced Communication Skills – As a team collaborates under a leader, their communication skills can experience a significant upgrade. These joint sessions can foster positive transformations in all aspects of their lives and bolster self-confidence. Additionally, using best calendar apps for business can simplify scheduling and improve team coordination.
  • Augmented Teamwork   – When a group’s members have aligned goals and interests, collective unity can amplify outcomes and efficiency. This encompasses improved collaboration amongst team members. Combining group communication with the right HRMS software can make the collaboration process much easier, ensuring streamlined processes and enhanced team dynamics through the benefits of HRMS .
  • Inspiration Surge – Every team member contributes distinct ideas, serving as a wellspring of creativity. This motivates them to articulate their thoughts and add to the overall team endeavors.
  • Time and Effort Economy – When working collectively, a group can achieve more in a shorter span and with less effort as opposed to an individual working solo. The outcomes are typically more noteworthy and acquired in less time.

Disadvantages of group communication

  • Diminished Creativity – When team members share similar perspectives from corresponding fields, it can constrain creativity. This might result in the final product being deficient in innovation.
  • Overly Ambitious Objectives – Setting excessively high targets can weaken the bond of group solidarity and lead to inferior outcomes. This frequently leads to an escalated failure rate.

Types of Group Communication

  • Verbal – When it comes to effective group communication, verbal communication takes the lead as one of the most crucial types. Verbal communication allows individuals to express their thoughts, ideas, and emotions directly through spoken words. It enables us to engage in real-time conversations, exchange information, and foster stronger connections with others.One of the key advantages of verbal communication is its ability to convey not only words but also tone of voice, pitch, and volume. Whether you are giving a sales pitch or doing a public presentation within call center software , these elements play a significant role in shaping the intended message and ensuring clarity in understanding. Through verbal communication, we can add emphasis to certain points or convey different emotions such as enthusiasm, empathy, or urgency.

Group Electronic Communication

  • Non Verbal: Non verbal communication plays a crucial role in group interactions, influencing how messages are perceived and understood. It encompasses various forms, including facial expressions, body language, gestures, and even silence. Understanding the different types of nonverbal cues can significantly enhance group communication and enable individuals to convey their thoughts and emotions effectively. In working groups and team collaboration, nonverbal signals can assist in establishing consistency and mutual understanding. For example, nods, applause, or smiles can demonstrate support and respect for the opinions of other participants.

In business meetings, nonverbal communication can help read the mood and reactions of other participants. This can aid in adapting one’s approach and effective interaction.

Group communication can also be divided based on the location:

  • Direct Communication – This is a variant of spoken communication where individuals are physically in the same location and converse directly without employing any technology. Instances include friends congregating for a meal or a marketer inviting potential customers for a product presentation.
  • Virtual Communication – This is a contemporary form of group communication where individuals can connect using an application and interact via audio and video just as if they were co-located.

Group Communication Video Conferences and Messengers

  • 2.2 Email: Email is one of the most common ways of virtual communication in a group. Whether it is an out-of-office email notification, project update, or general discussion, email remains a versatile tool for group communication. Participants can exchange information, ask questions, share documents, and provide feedback to each other. To increase the open rate of emails, it is important to make sure that email addresses are real – this is where the email finder tool can come in handy.

Tips for improving group communication

Enhancing team collaboration and fostering unity among peers can be facilitated through consistent communication. Here are various methods to refine communication within your team:

  • Nurture an Inclusive Environment – Forming an inclusive and amicable atmosphere aids team members in feeling at ease when reaching out to leaders. This nurtures a culture of transparency, honest communication, and tight-knit professional relationships.
  • Foster Dialogic Feedback – Engaging in straightforward dialogues with team members is crucial, particularly when offering advice or directions. In-depth and constructive feedback on ongoing projects can amplify team communication. To enhance its efficacy, couple verbal feedback with written remarks. This serves as a point of reference for the team member and elicits a reply. Remember to solicit feedback on your personal tasks and behavior as well. This can aid in discerning the clarity of your communication and uncover areas for refinement.
  • Specify Roles and Duties – Efficient task completion is facilitated when everyone is aware of their specific role. Clear delineation of roles and duties contributes to a functional team and simplifies the process for team members to request assistance when needed.
  • Conduct Team-Bonding Exercises – Team building activities that unite the team can elevate group morale. This could involve formal exercises such as role-playing games and athletic challenges, or more relaxed activities like board games. These initiatives can boost morale, enhance communication, cultivate a sense of commitment, foster responsibility, and inspire the team to fulfill their objectives.
  • Leverage Nonverbal Indicators – Nonverbal cues, including posture, gestures, and facial expressions, can be as influential as spoken communication. Ensure these nonverbal signals are congruent with your message when engaging with your team. Even minor gestures can reinforce your communication significantly.
  • Opt for a Suitable Tone – The manner in which you convey your message can influence your team’s acceptance of it. A self-assured and affable tone can make your team feel appreciated. Speak plainly and employ straightforward language to ensure your message is correctly perceived. Follow the same principle in your written communication and avoid buzz words .

Group communication examples

Webinars stand as a commonly utilized modern instance of productive group communication. Within a webinar, an entity or individual introduces a concept, product, or service to an audience of potentially interested parties or prospective clients. The collective interest of the audience fosters interaction throughout the webinar. Should the webinar revolve around a product, some attendees could emerge as potential customers. Every question and aspect of the webinar can be thoroughly explored, offering all attendees beneficial knowledge. Typically, a webinar might encompass around 40-50 attendees.

Group Communication e-learning

Group Communication

Defining groups and teams.

To understand group and team communication, we must first understand the definition of a group. Many people think that a group is simply a collection of people, but that is only part of it. If you walk out your front door and pull together the first ten people you see, do you have a group? No! According to Wilson and Hanna, groups are defined as, “a collection of three or more individuals who interact about some common problem or interdependent goal and can exert mutual influence over one another” (14). They goes on to say that the three key components of groups are, “size, goal orientation, and mutual influence” (14). Interpersonal communication is often thought about in terms of dyads, or pairs. Organizational communication might be thought of as a group that is larger than 12 people. While there are exceptions, for the most part, group size is often thought of in terms of 3-12 people.

Case In Point

Astronaut Jim Lovell’s words during the Apollo 13 lunar mission, “Houston, we have a problem,” launched a remarkable tale of effective teamwork and creative problem solving by NASA engineers working to try to save the lives of the jeopardized crew when two oxygen tanks exploded en route to the moon. Details of the dramatic and successful resolution to the problem became widely known in the motion picture Apollo 13, but it’s not just during dramatic moments when the importance of good teamwork is needed or recognized. In fact, some form of team-oriented work is encouraged in most, if not all, organizations today (Hughes, Jones). So if you feel this is unimportant to know, remember that group communication and teamwork skills are critical for your success later in life.

For example, Joseph Bonito, a communication professor at University of Arizona, allows no more than five people in a group to ensure that everyone’s opinions are reflected equally in a discussion. (Baughman and Everett-Haynes). According to Bonito, if there are too many people in a group it’s possible that some individuals will remain silent without anyone noticing. He suggests using smaller groups when equal participation is desirable. So, if the ten people you gathered outside of your front door were all neighbors working together as part of a “neighborhood watch” to create safety in the community, then you would indeed have a group.

For those of you who have participated on athletic teams you’ll notice that these definitions also apply to a team. While all of the qualities of groups hold true for teams, teams have additional qualities not necessarily present for all groups. We like to define a team as a specialized group with a strong sense of belonging and commitment to each other that shapes an overall collective identity. Members of a team each have their own part, or role, to fulfill in order to achieve the team’s greater goals. One member’s strengths can be other member’s weaknesses, so working in a team is beneficial when balancing individual input. While all members of an athletic team share some athletic ability and special appreciation for a particular sport, for example, members of a football team, for example, have highly specialized skills as indicated in the various positions on the team—quarterback, receiver, and running back. In addition to athletic teams, work and professional teams also share these qualities. Now that you know how to define groups and teams, let’s look at characteristics of groups and teams, as well as the different types of groups and teams.

Characteristics of Groups

  • Interdependence . Groups cannot be defined simply as three or more people talking to each other or meeting together. Instead, a primary characteristic of groups is that members of a group are dependent on the others for the group to maintain its existence and achieve its goals. In essence, interdependence is the recognition by those in a group of their need for the others in the group (Lewin; Cragon, Wright& Kasch; Sherblom). Imagine playing in a basketball game as an individual against the five members of another team. Even if you’re considered the best basketball player in the world, it’s highly unlikely you could win a game against five other people. You must rely on four other teammates to make it a successful game.

Band on stage performing. Prominent is a saxophone player.

Group Communication Then

The first study that was published on group communication in the New School era of communication study was credited to Edwin Black in 1955. He studied the breakdowns in group interactions by looking at communication sequences in groups. However, it wasn’t until the 1960s and 70s that a large number of studies in group communication began to appear. Between 1970 and 1978 114 articles were published on group communication and 89 more were published by 1990 (Stacks & Salwen 360). Study in group communication is still important over a decade later as more and more organizations focus on group work for achieving their goals.

  • Synergy . One advantage of working in groups and teams is that they allow us to accomplish things we wouldn’t be able to accomplish on our own. Remember back to our discussion of Systems Theory in Chapter 5. Systems Theory suggests that “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” This is the very idea of synergy (Sherblom). In an orchestra or band, each person is there to perform in order to help the larger unit make music in a way that cannot be accomplished without each member working together.
  • Common Goals . Having interaction and synergy would be relatively pointless in groups without a common goal. People who comprise groups are brought together for a reason or a purpose. While most members of a group have individual goals, a group is largely defined by the common goals of the group. Think of the example at the beginning of the chapter: Your common goal in a class group is to learn, complete an assignment, and earn a grade. While there may be differences regarding individual goals in the group (what final grade is acceptable for example), or how to achieve the common goals, the group is largely defined by the common goals it shares.
  • Shared Norms . Because people come together for a specific purpose, they develop shared norms to help them achieve their goals. Even with a goal in place, random interaction does not define a group. Group interaction is generally guided by norms a group has established for acceptable behavior. Norms are essentially expectations of the group members, established by the group and can be conscious and formal, or unconscious and informal. A couple of examples of group norms include the expectation that all members show up at group meeting times, the expectation that all group members focus on the group instead of personal matters (for example, turning cell phones and other distractions off), and the expectation that group members finish their part of the work by the established due date. When members of the group violate group norms, other members of the group get frustrated and the group’s overall goal may be affected.
  • Cohesiveness . One way that members understand of the idea of communicating in groups and teams is when they experience a sense of cohesiveness with other members of the group. When we feel like we are part of something larger, we experience a sense of cohesion or wholeness, and may find a purpose that is bigger than our own individual desires and goals. It is the sense of connection and participation that characterizes the interaction in a group as different from the defined interaction among loosely connected individuals. If you’ve ever participated in a group that achieved its goal successfully, you are probably able to reflect back on your feelings of connections with the other members of that group.

You may be asking yourself, what about teams? We have focused primarily on groups, but it’s critical to remember the importance of team communication characteristics as well as group communication characteristics. Check out this article that breaks down team characteristics and skills that ensure team success (we bet you’ll find similarities to the group characteristics that we have just explained).

Types of Groups

Not all groups are the same or brought together for the same reasons. Brilhart and Galanes categorize groups “on the basis of the reason they were formed and the human needs they serve” (9). Let’s take a look!

  • Primary Groups . Primary groups are ones we form to help us realize our human needs like inclusion and affection. They are not generally formed to accomplish a task, but rather, to help us meet our fundamental needs as relational beings like acceptance, love, and affection. These groups are generally longer term than other groups and include family, roommates, and other relationships that meet as groups on a regular basis (Brilhart & Galanes). These special people in your life constituate primary groups because they offer love and support for the long run, and given this, primary groups are typically more meaningful than secondary groups.
  • Secondary Groups . Unlike primary groups, we form secondary groups to accomplish work, perform a task, solve problems, and make decisions (Brilhart & Galanes; Sherblom; Cragan, Wright & Kasch). Larson and LaFasto state that secondary groups have “a specific performance objective or recognizable goal to be attained; and coordination of activity among the members of the team is required for attainment of the team goal or objective” (19).

Photo of surfers in the ocean

  • Personal Growth Groups . We form Personal Growth Groups to obtain support and feedback from others, as well as to grow as a person. Personal Growth Groups may be thought of as therapy groups. An example that is probably familiar to you is Alcoholics Anonymous, where alcoholics can share their stories and struggles and get support from others affected by alcohol. There are many personal growth groups available for helping us develop as people through group interaction with others, such as book clubs, weight watchers, and spiritual groups.
  • Learning Groups . Learning Groups focus mainly on obtaining new information and gaining knowledge. If you have ever been assigned to a group in a college class, it most likely was a learning group with the purpose of interacting in ways that can help those in the group learn new things about the course content.
  • Problem-Solving Groups . These groups are created for the express purpose of solving a specific problem. The very nature of organizing people into this type of group is to get them to collectively figure out effective solutions to the problem they have before them. Committees are an excellent example of people who are brought together to solve problems.

After looking at the various types of groups, it’s probably easy for you to recognize just how much of your daily interaction occurs within the contexts of groups. The reality is, we spend a great deal of time in groups, and understanding the types of groups you’re in, as well as their purpose, goes a long way toward helping you function as a productive member.

  • Survey of Communication Study. Authored by : Scott T Paynton and Linda K Hahn. Provided by : Humboldt State University. Located at : https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Survey_of_Communication_Study . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike
  • Image of band. Authored by : _mattxb. Located at : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brittensinfonia_concert.jpg . License : CC BY: Attribution
  • Image of surfers. Authored by : Stan Shebs. Located at : https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oahu_North_Shore_surfing_catching_wave.jpg . License : CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

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Chapter 10.2: Presenting as a Group

Learning Objectives

  • List the four common types of group presentations
  • Discuss techniques for coordinating a group assignment
  • Plan speech organization for the intended audience
  • Practice effective group delivery

Imagine you have been assigned to a group for a project requiring a presentation at the end. “Now is the busiest time in my schedule and I do not have time to fit all these people into it,” the voice in your head reminds you. Then you ask the question: “Is there ever a non-busy time for assembling a group together for a presentation ?” These thoughts are a part of a group presentation assignment. The combined expertise of several individuals is becoming increasingly necessary in many vocational (related to a specific occupation) and avocational (outside a specific occupation) presentations.

Group presentations in business may range from a business team exchanging sales data; research and development teams discussing business expansion ideas; to annual report presentations by boards of directors. Also, the government, private, and public sectors have many committees that participate in briefings, conference presentations, and other formal presentations. It is common for group presentations to be requested, created, and delivered to bring together the expertise of several people in one presentation. Thus, the task of deciding the most valuable information for audience members has become a coordination task involving several individuals. All group members are responsible for coordinating things such as themes, strong support/evidence, and different personalities and approaches in a specified time period. Coordination is defined in the dictionary as harmonious combination or interaction, as of functions or parts.

This chapter focuses on how the group, the speech assignment, the audience, and the presentation design play a role in the harmonious combination of planning, organization, and delivery for group presentations.

Preparing All Parts of the Assignment

In group presentations, you are working to coordinate one or two outcomes—outcomes related to the content (product outcomes) and/or outcomes related to the group skills and participation (process outcomes). Therefore, it is important to carefully review and outline the prescribed assignment of the group before you get large quantities of data, spreadsheets, interview notes, and other research materials.

Types of Group Presentations

A key component of a preparation plan is the type of group presentation. Not all group presentations require a format of standing in front of an audience and presenting. According to Sprague and Stuart (2005), there are four common types of group presentations:

A structured argument in which participants speak for or against a pre-announced proposition is called a debate . The proposition is worded so that one side has the burden of proof, and that same side has the benefit of speaking first and last. Speakers assume an advocacy role and attempt to persuade the audience, not each other.

The forum is essentially a question-and-answer session. One or more experts may be questioned by a panel of other experts, journalists, and/or the audience.

A panel consists of a group of experts publicly discussing a topic among themselves. Individually prepared speeches, if any, are limited to very brief opening statements.

Finally, the symp osium is a series of short speeches, usually informative, on various aspects of the same general topic. Audience questions often follow (p. 318).

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These four types of presentations, along with the traditional group presentation in front of an audience or on-the-job speaking, typically have pre-assigned parameters. Therefore, all group members must be clear about the assignment request.

Establishing Clear Objectives

For the group to accurately summarize for themselves who is the audience, what is the situation/ occasion, and what supporting materials need to be located and selected, the group should establish clear objectives about both t he process and the product being assessed.

Assessment plays a central role in optimizing the quality of group interaction. Thus, it is important to be clear whether the group is being assessed on the product(s) or outcome(s) only or will the processes within the group—such as equity of contribution, individual interaction with group members, and meeting deadlines—also be assessed. Kowitz and Knutson (1980) argue that three dimensions for group evaluation include (1) informational —dealing with the group’s designated tasks; (2) procedural —referring to how the group coordinates its activities and communication; and (3) interpersonal —focusing on the relationships that exist among members while the task is being accomplished. Groups without a pre-assigned assessment rubric may use the three dimensions to effectively create a group evaluation instrument.

The group should determine if the product includes both a written document and an oral presentation. The written document and oral presentation format may have been pre-assigned with an expectation behind the requested informative and/or persuasive content. Although the two should complement each other, the audience, message, and format for each should be clearly outlined. The group may create a product assessment guide (see Table 10.2.1). Additionally, each group member should uniformly write down the purpose of the assignment. You may think you can keep the purpose in your head without any problem. Yet the goal is for each member to consistently have the same outcome in front of them. This will bring your research, writing, and thinking back to focus after engaging in a variety of resources or conversations.

Once the assignment has been coordinated in terms of the product and process objectives, type of presentation, and logistics, it is important for the group to clearly write down the agreed outcomes. Agreed outcomes about the product include a purpose statement that reflects an agreement with the prescribed assignment (i.e. “at the end of our group presentation the audience will be informed or persuaded about the prescribed assignment”). It also includes the key message or thesis to be developed through a presentation outline , a full-sentence outline of virtually everything the speaker intends to say. The outline allows the speakers to test the structure, the logic, and persuasive appeals in the speech (DiSanza & Legge, 2011, p. 131).

T able 10.2.1: Sample Product Assessment Guide:

Logistics for Group Members

As a group, be very clear about the length of your presentation and its preparation. The length of the presentation refers to your time limit, and whether there is a question and answer period involved. Assignment preparation may or may not have a prescribed deadline. If the assignment does not have a deadline, then set one as a group. If there is a deadline, then the group begins by creating a schedule from the final deadline. As a group, create an action timetable explicitly listing all processes and outputs, as well as communication update points.

As a group, decide the best way to leave enough time in the end to put all the pieces together and make sure everything is complete. If there is a written document, it should be completed prior to the oral presentation rather than at the same time. As a group, realize not everyone may work off a physical calendar. Thus, do not hesitate to require each member to write down all deadlines.

Next, the group can strategically add meeting dates, times, and venues to the action timetable. A meeting is a structured conversation among a small group of people who gather to accomplish a specific task (Beebe & Mottet, 2010). For group presentations, meetings do not always include the entire group. So a schedule of who meets with whom and when is useful for planning work and agendas. In addition, all meetings do not serve the same purpose. For example, informational meetings may be called simply to update all group members; solicitation meetings are called to solicit opinions or request guidance from group members; group-building meetings are designed to promote unity and cohesiveness among group members; and problem-solving meetings result in making decisions or recommendations by the time the meeting convenes.

Once the group is unified about the assignment objectives and time frame, it is vital to predetermine the type of note-taking required of each group member (which may vary) and the variety of information exchange. The more systematic a group is in these two areas, the more unified the process and the product. The system begins with each group member writing down the message, specific purpose, and central ideas for the group presentation. If these are still to be determined, then have each group member identify the areas of background information needed and basic information gathering. Next, simply create a general format for note-taking—whether typed or handwritten and what types of details should be included especially sources. Also with the increasing use of electronic databases be very clear on when related articles should be forwarded to group members. The email inbox flooded with PDF files is not always a welcome situation.

The group should be clear on the explicit requirements for locating recent, relevant, and audienceappropriate source material for the presentation. All of this leads to the foundation of clearly defining the responsibilities of each group member. All tasks should be listed, given deadlines, and assigned people. A means for tracking the progress of each task should be outlined. The group should be clear on what are individual, joint (involving more than one group member), and entire group tasks. Throughout the entire process, all group members should be supportive and helpful but should not offer to do other people’s work.

Organizing for Your Audience

Organizing for your audience relates to how the gathered content can be best arranged for them. According to Patricia Fripp (2011), a Hall of Fame keynote speaker and executive speech coach, any presentation can be intimidating but the key is to remember “your goal is to present the most valuable information possible to the members of the audience” (p. 16). Now what you think is most valuable and what the audience thinks is most valuable must be coordinated because of differences in perception (the process by which we give meaning to our experience). Therefore, organizing for your audience is focused on content, structure, packaging, and human element—not for you, not for the assignment, but for the audience. A customized plan of organization will assist your group in creating relevant messages that satisfy others’ personal needs and goals (Keller, 1983).

Audience members are interested in your expertise that has been developed from solid research and preparation. Audience members may have expectations about what foundational literature and key sources should be contained within your presentation. Therefore as a group, you need to go beyond providing a variety of supporting material within your presentation to considering who will be present, levels of expertise, and their expectations. In general, organizing the content should be focused on usage, knowledge levels, and objectives. First, usage refers to how audience members expect to use your presentational content which will help the group transform ideas into audiencecentered speech points. Second, knowledge level means the audience’s knowledge level about the topic within the audience which assists the group in developing supporting material for the entire audience. Third, the objectives are linked to how the content serves the audience’s needs and assists the group in being intentional about helping the audience see the reason for their involvement and receive value for the time they devoted to attend. Overall, the content is coordinated in a way that keeps at the forefront who the decision-makers are and what specifics they need to know, would be nice to know, and do not need to know.

Next professionally packaging a presentation for the audience deals with the structure or how you arrange points. The structure takes into consideration a strong opening, logical order, relevant key points, conciseness, and use of supplementary visual aids. In addition, the linking of points involves conversational language and the appropriate use of acronyms and technical jargon for inclusion or exclusion. The focus is geared to the perception of trustworthiness. Three strategic questions to answer include:

What qualities as a group will demonstrate your trustworthiness to this audience?

What content order needs to be achieved to give a consistent perception of fairness?

What content requires repeating and how should that be achieved—through comparisons, examples, illustrations, etc.?

The packaging of successful group presentations revolves around the type of relationship with the audience, the division of time, and enthusiasm. An important dynamic of group presentations is for your group to know if audience members will be required to give an internal presentation or briefing from your presentation. As a group, know if you are packaging a one-time presentation, bidding for a long-term relationship, continuing a relationship for offering expertise, or if the presentation is tied to internal pressures to performance appraisals. Such knowledge will aid your group in developing talking points which can be re-presented with accuracy.

The type of presentation will help you divide the time for your presentation. The majority of the time is always spent on the body of the speech. A typical 30-minute speech might be divided into four minutes for the introduction, ten minutes for the body, and four minutes for the conclusion. The remaining 12 minutes is for the audience to ask questions, offer objections, or simply to become part of the discussion. It is important to leave enough time for the audience to contribute to the intellectual content. Therefore, always design group presentations with the intent not to run out of time before the audience can participate. All group presentations should have enthusiasm. Group members should be enthusiastic about the audience, message, and occasion. Planned enthusiasm should play a role in creating the introduction, conclusion, and body of your presentations. The consistent use of enthusiasm can be planned throughout the speech outline.

Human Element

Now it is time to focus on compatibility. As a group, consider what will it take to get this audience to pay attention to your presentation. Answer questions such as:

What can your group do to develop an introduction, transitions, and conclusions in a way to connect with this audience?

What types of stories are common or relatable to this audience?

What are the attitudes, beliefs, and values of this audience?

Delivering Your Presentation as One

By completing the other levels of coordination, the group will have decided on the key message, thoroughly researched the supporting material, developed logical conclusions, and created realistic recommendations. Therefore all that stands between you and success is the actual presentation—the vehicle that carries the facts and the ideas to your audience. Here it is important to recognize that if an assignment required both a written document and an oral presentation then be sure one effectively complements the other. Although you can reference the written document during the oral presentation, the oral presentation should be planned with the thought in mind that not everyone is given the written document. Therefore, the oral presentation may be the only content they receive. Since you will not always know who receives the written document, it is best to coordinate the presentation as if no one has the full written document, which can serve as a reference tool for gaining content requiring further explanation or accessibility to detailed information. At the same time, if the entire audience is provided written material keep in mind different decision-makers may be in the audience. For example, the creative director may be only interested in your creative concepts, whereas a vice president of finance may be only interested in figures.

The presentation preparation primarily focuses on your group’s ability to develop a clear plan and execution of delivery. A delivery plan includes essential elements such as (1) purpose, (2) oral content, (3) dress, (4) room, (5) visuals, (6) delivery, and (7) rehearsal to ensure that the group presentation is both captivating and useful to your audience, as well as worth their time.

Group members should keep at the forefront of their minds the answer to the question “Was the general purpose—to inform or to persuade—achieved?” As a group, practice keeping the purpose of the presentation explicit for the audience. The purpose should never become hidden during the presentation. Each group member’s awareness of the purpose is important in maintaining the right kind of delivery. It is possible to have great content for a presentation and miss the entire purpose of the presentation. For example, say your group had been asked to do a presentation about Facebook and how it could be used in the financial industry. You could take an informative or persuasive approach. However, if the audience—banking professionals—attends a presentation where the content is focused on Facebook rather than having a focus on its use in the financial industry, then the purpose was not achieved.

The delivery plan will help you evaluate if the purpose of the presentation is clearly aimed at the primary audience. In addition, the group can determine when and how clearly they are articulating the explicit purpose of the presentation. The purpose is complemented by a clear preview, the audience members’ awareness of what decisions are at issue, and the audience’s desire to get important information first.

Oral Content

Up to this point the majority of the group’s engagement with the content has been in terms of reading and writing. It is time to orally interact with the selected content to ensure that it has been developed for this audience, properly structured, and clearly articulated. The delivery plan is a time to evaluate word choice, idioms, and antidotes. When working with this content, make sure that it is suited to the purpose, and that the key message is explicit so the audience remembers it well.

The introduction of group members, transitions, and internal summaries are all important elements of the delivery plan. A proper introduction of group members and the content will not happen automatically. Therefore, it is important to practice it to determine if introductions fit better at the beginning of the presentation, if names need to be emphasized through the wearing of name tags, or if names are better used as a part of transition content. The use of name only may not be effective in some speaking situations. Therefore, the group needs to determine what a proper group member introduction includes beyond the name. Plus, be consistent; that is, determine if everyone is using first name only or full name, do they need to know your positions, some background, or can you simply state it in a written format such as a team resume. Speech content is not useful if the audience does not accept your credibility.

As in all presentations, an awareness of your physical appearance is an important element in complementing the content of your speech. Do not hesitate to talk about and practice appropriate dress as a group. It is important to look like a group. Really consider defining a group’s speaking uniform by deciding how formal or informal the dress code is.

As a group, the overall question you want to be able to answer is: Did our dress provide an accurate first impression not distracting from the content? So what kinds of things can be distracting? The most common are colors, busy patterns, and large or clinking jewelry. As a group determine what type of dress is effective in coordinating your group’s credibility. It is important to take into consideration cultural, occupational, and regional norms. In addition, it is important to think about branding choices. Often groups want to brand themselves for the audience. It is not necessary to mimic your audience. For example, a sales presentation to cranberry association members may entice a group to wear red. However, the cranberry association may not be the only sale your group needs to make so you will be forced to ask the question: Will each sales presentation audience determine the color we accent in dress? In short, do not let the speaking occasion brand you. Simply know what is considered professional for this presentation. You have spent a lot of time on preparing the content for this audience so do not detract from it.

It is not always feasible to practice your delivery in the actual room where you will deliver your speech. However, it is extremely important that you actively plan your delivery for the room by recreating the speaking environment. If prior access to the room is not available, then you will need to do your planning by asking a series of questions of the presentation planner. Some common things to find out include the size of the room; if a projector is available and its location within the room; is there a platform and/or a stationary lectern; is there a sound system and how many microphones; where the group will be seated before being introduced; will the presentation be recorded; what is the availability of the room in advance of the presentation; and what is the number of seats and seating arrangement so the group can plan for the zone of interaction.

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The term visuals refers to both non-technology visual aids (handouts, posters, charts, etc.) and presentation technology. Visuals should not appear as though several individuals made them but rather as uniform to the group’s presentation. All visuals should blend smoothly into the speech. All group members should be clear on what visuals or documents were pre-requested (so you do not eliminate them as unnecessary during rehearsal). Many times it is better to simply project or display visuals. At other times, visuals may need to be assembled in a presentation packet for all audience members. Bohn & Jabusch (1982) suggest that there are several researched-based reasons why visual aids enhance presentations including (a) enhanced understanding —helps audience comprehend what they hear and see; (b) enhanced memory —serves as a visual reinforcement; (c) enhanced organization—visually displays your organizational strategy; (d) enhanced attention —grabs and maintains audience interest; and (e) enhanced sequencing —shows rather than describes.

The four modes of delivery—memorized, impromptu, manuscript, and extemporaneous—are all valuable in group presentations. However, the most common mode of delivery is extemporaneous. Earlier in the chapter, developing a script was discussed. The step of transforming the script into a delivery outline —an abbreviated version of the preparation outline (DiSanza & Legge, 2011)—is a significant part of planning delivery. The ultimate goal is to figure out how the group can be confident that the entire presentation stays together and does not just exist in pieces. The delivery outline may go as far as to stipulate vocal and gesture instructions. The delivery outline is not created to be read from, therefore, the group also should determine how speaker notes will be used. The delivery outline should be provided to every group member so everyone is familiar with the entire presentation. It is important to set up contingency plans for who will present content if someone is absent on the day of the presentation—the presenter who gets stuck in morning traffic or the professional who had a flight delay.

The key is for all group members to remain conversational in their delivery style. This may be best achieved by utilizing effective delivery strategies such as appropriate gestures, movement, and posture; appropriate facial expressions including eye contact; and appropriate vocal delivery—articulation, dialect, pitch, pronunciation, rate, and volume. Group members should evaluate each other on audibility and fluency.

Rehearsals are for the final polishing of your presentations. It is a time to solidify logistics of how many group members are presenting, where they will stand, and the most appropriate transitions between each speaker. Group members should grow more comfortable with each other through rehearsals. A key aspect of polishing involves identifying gaps in content and gaining feedback on content (oral and visual), style, and delivery. The rehearsals are a good time to refine speaker notes and to practice the time limit. The number of scheduled rehearsals is dependent on your group and the amount of preparation time provided. The most important element for the group is to adapt their rehearsal timetable based on an honest evaluation of the speaking skills represented within the group.

The only part of a group presentation that you may not be able to rehearse is responding to the actual audience members’ questions and objections. However, you can anticipate the types of questions and practice a simple strategy of how you will respond—repeating the question, stating who from the group will respond, and answering succinctly. Four of the most common types of questions are follow-up questions; action-oriented questions focused on what would you do if; hypothetical questions focused on different scenarios; and information-seeking questions. A primary way to practice is to think of at least three questions you would like to answer, prepare the answer, and practice it during rehearsal(s).

The foundation of a group presentation is constructed from all the guidelines you use in an individual presentation coupled with additional strategies for working effectively with others. Group presentations primarily entail group communication, planning, organization, and delivery. Effective groups communicate about interaction roles, decision-making, and conflict resolution. Such communication helps the group reflect on group dynamics, customize communication for this speaking group, and establish a unified commitment and collaborative climate.

Key Takeaways

  • The quality of your coordination impacts the delivery of a group presentation
  • Begin by establishing key objectives
  • Organize with your audience in mind
  • oral content

Reflect on the following questions:

  • How might a group presentation be different than presenting individually?
  • In preparing for a group presentation, what are some key questions and considerations for your group?
  • How can you ensure your group presentation is effective and appears ‘as one’?

Beebe, S.A. & Mottet, T.P. (2010). Business and professional communication: Principles and skills for leadership . Allyn & Bacon.

Bohn, E. & Jabusch, D. (1982). The effect of four methods of instruction on the use of visual aids in speeches. Western Journal of Speech Communication, 46 , 253-265.

DiSanza, J.R., & Legge, N. J. (2011). Business and professional communica tion: Plans, processes, and performance (5th ed.). Pearson.

Fripp. P. (2011). 9 timely tips for pre-presentation preparation. American Salesman, 56 , 13- 16.

Keller, J.M. (1983). Motivational design of instruction. In C.M. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional des ign theories: An overview of their current status (pp. 383-434). Lawrence Erlbaum.

Kowitz, A.C. & Knutson., T.J. (1980). Decision making in small groups: The search for alternatives . Allyn and Bacon.

Sprague, J. & Stuart D. (2005). The speaker’s handbook (7th ed. ) . Thomson Wadsworth.

AUTHORS & ATTRIBUTION

This content comes from the introduction, “Preparing All Parts of the Assignment” and “Delivering Your Presentation as One” written by Jennifer F. Wood, Ph.D., in Chapter 18 Group Presentations. from the Public Speaking Project. This content is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND: AttributionNonCommercial-NoDerivatives License.

group presentation definition in communication

Presenting as a Group by Jasmine R. Linabary, Ph.D. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercialNoDerivatives 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

harmonious combination or interaction, as of functions or parts

a structured argument in which participants speak for or against a pre-announced proposition

a group presentation characterized by one or more experts being questioned by a panel of other experts, journalists and/or the audience

a group presentation format that consists of a group of experts publicly discussing a topic among themselves

a group presentation format that involves a series of short speeches, usually informative, on various aspects of the same general topic

a clear, agreed upon outcome for the presentation

a full-sentence outline of virtually everything the speaker intends to say; allows speakers to test the structure, logic, and persuasive appeals in the speech

an abbreviated version of the preparation outline

Interpersonal & Small Group Communication Copyright © 2023 by Weber State University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

group presentation definition in communication

7 Strategies to Improve Your Group Communication

Enhance team collaboration and productivity with these seven effective communication strategies. Implement practical tips and tools for better results.

group presentation definition in communication

Have you ever been in a meeting that left everyone feeling confused about a project or company goals rather than informed? Missteps in group communication can lead to a domino effect of misunderstandings and inefficient workflows.

But effective group communication is more than just talk — it’s about making sure everyone is on the same wavelength. Pulling this off isn’t easy. The challenge lies in balancing different perspectives while guiding everyone toward a common goal.

In this guide, we identify the signs of poor group communication and explore the art of communicating effectively as a group.

What is group communication?

Group communication, or  team communication , is the process of exchanging information, ideas, and feedback among your team. It involves both verbal and nonverbal communication, like body language and tone of voice.

Group communication is shaped by group norms, roles, and interpersonal relationships. These elements dictate the flow of communication, determine who speaks and who listens, and regulate how feedback is given and received.

Small-group communication vs. large-group communication

Small-group communication usually involves a handful of people, allowing for informal interactions. They often lean on more intimate communication methods, such as person-to-person chats or small team huddles. The cozy setting makes it easier for everyone’s voices to be heard, promoting rapid idea generation and problem-solving.

On the other hand, large-group communication involves a broader audience and more formalized structures and processes. Bigger organizational structures use tools like mass emails and group presentations to get messages across to hundreds or thousands of people.

While individual input might sometimes be overshadowed with a large group, the diversity of voices brings varied perspectives. It’s also possible to find comprehensive solutions thanks to a broader set of insights.

5 signs your group communication is breaking down

Effective group communication is like the glue that holds a team together. When communication starts to wane, it can lead to a series of problems that hinder a team's success. It's important to recognize the red flags as soon as they arise.

Here are five telltale signs that your group communication may be on the fritz:

1. Disconnected team

When team members feel disconnected, there's a noticeable lack of engagement and active participation. This is reflected in poor meeting attendance or radio-silent meetings, or a marked drop in collaborative discussions.

In larger groups, disconnection can lead to the formation of silos, where sub-groups operate independently. The fragmentation can negatively impact overall group synergy and communication.

2. Increased misunderstandings

Misunderstandings happen more and more frequently. In fact,  53%  of people have missed messages as a result of poor communication at work. Repeated backtracking and re-explaining eat into your team’s productive time, but cloudy messages force team members to constantly seek clarity.

This atmosphere plants seeds of doubt in your team. They often question if they're all on the same page at all.

3. Rising tensions

Small  conflicts escalate  into full-blown fights. Your group dynamic and energy have changed — what used to be cordial relationships are now strained. It feels like walking amid landmines, with every move being a potential trigger.

‎Especially in larger groups, where you have to deal with more personalities, the likelihood of clashes increases.

4. Reduced productivity

Your team’s productivity is taking a hit. Tasks that once seemed straightforward now take much longer. On top of that, you notice an uptick in errors stemming from miscommunication.

Nearly  50%  of workers report their productivity being affected by poor communication. Clearly, when communication falters, productivity and efficiency suffer.

5. Low morale

When communication breaks down, so does the team spirit. Members feel undervalued and overlooked, and they start believing that their voices don’t matter. As a result, members start to distance themselves from team initiatives or discussions.

And not before long, low morale becomes contagious, dampening the energy and motivation of even the most dedicated team members.

Benefits of group communication

While technology has made communication more accessible, it doesn’t mean we have gotten better at communicating. In fact,  32%  of people in a 2023 survey believed communication with colleagues had become more of a challenge in the last 12 months.

As a manager, improving group communication and resolving communication issues can offer numerous advantages, such as:

Boosted collaboration and synergy

Effective group communication is the bedrock of effective collaboration. Welcoming and listening to diverse viewpoints helps you create the opportunity for deeper conversations and more innovative solutions.

As team members complement each other's strengths, there's a tangible synergy in their work. Teams start  working better together .

Better problem-solving

Group communication means pooling everyone's knowledge. Different team members contribute their own set of expertise.

‎When issues arise, a collective brainstorm can lead to quicker and more well-rounded solutions. With more minds to tackle challenges, problem-solving is more effective.

Increased engagement and morale

Team members feel heard and important. This not only boosts morale but also creates a sense of belonging and shared purpose.

Moreover, effective group communication nurtures trust and transparency, which encourages more active participation and enthusiasm in team activities and discussions.

Faster decision-making

With clear group communication, discussions are streamlined and bottlenecks decrease. There's less back-and-forth, and everyone is aligned from the start.

Having timely input from all relevant stakeholders also ensures that the decision-making process is quick and effective. This reduces delays and promotes action-oriented outcomes.

Strengthened team relationships

A recent study revealed that  52%  of workers admitted poor communication affects their trust in their team. Through transparent group communication, you can build stronger bonds and a good rapport.

Embracing and understanding different team members' perspectives not only adds value to discussions but also cements team unity and mutual respect.

Group communication channels

To master group communication, we need to first understand the tools and channels at our disposal.

‎Face-to-face meetings

Face-to-face meetings remain a timeless method for group communication. It’s the classic and most direct approach to get a message across.

Because you can see the person right in front of you, you have the advantage of capturing the nuances of nonverbal communication and fostering a genuine connection among team members.

The direct nature also allows for spontaneous feedback. This immediacy can reduce misunderstandings. You’re also able to address issues right away.

Suitable for:

  • Personal feedback reviews
  • Conflict resolution
  • Brainstorming sessions
  • Small group meetings

Emails serve as a reliable choice for formal communication, documentation, and asynchronous updates. They are great for providing detailed explanations of projects or instructions and for sharing important attachments.

The flexibility makes emails suitable for a wide range of scenarios within the professional sphere. They also accommodate busy schedules by allowing recipients to access and respond to messages at their convenience.

  • Formal announcements
  • Documentation of decisions and agreements
  • Asynchronous communication
  • Distributing files and attachments

Instant messaging

Instant messaging is a quick and accessible solution for addressing questions, clarifying queries, and engaging in real-time discussions or informal chats. It’s a versatile mode of communication because you can use it via a mobile app and communicate on the go.

This platform enables fast communication and the exchange of ideas. It promotes real-time collaboration, making it ideal for quick decision-making and efficient problem-solving.

  • Quick inquiries
  • Informal conversations
  • Sharing brief updates and notifications

Video conferencing

Video conferencing serves as a bridge between face-to-face and digital communication. This has become a common communication channel since the pandemic, and it’s essential for connecting remote teams.

Through high-definition video and crisp audio, video conferencing preserves the human touch in virtual interactions.

  • Remote team meetings
  • Presentations
  • Client meetings

Collaborative platforms

Collaborative platforms, such as Motion, are tools for  project management  and  progress tracking . They help teams communicate by providing a centralized space for sharing updates, assigning complex tasks, and monitoring progress.

For example, Motion allows you to track each team member’s progress and communicate directly on project boards, making sure everyone is on the same page.

  • Team updates
  • Task assignment
  • Project discussion

7 strategies to enhance group communication

Whether you're leading a project, managing a remote team, or working in a collaborative environment, effective group communication is a key ingredient for success.

Here are seven strategies to help you enhance team communication:

1. Practice active listening

As the age-old saying goes, "We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak."

Active listening is a specialized skill that embodies this principle. It involves giving your full attention, asking clarifying questions, and providing feedback only after genuinely understanding what has been said.

As a leader, when you prioritize listening over talking, you create a space where your team members are encouraged to express their ideas and concerns openly. This, in turn, leads to more robust discussions, better problem-solving, and enhanced collaboration.

Most importantly, it ensures that everyone feels heard and valued, contributing to a more cohesive and productive team environment.

2. Set clear roles and responsibilities

Setting clear roles and responsibilities reduces confusion and overlapping tasks. This clarity enhances the efficiency of group communication.

When each team member knows their role, it creates a sense of accountability and purpose because everyone is aware of their specific contributions to the team's goals.

‎Motion, as a powerful task management tool, automatically delegates tasks to the most appropriate team member and allows you to track each member's progress. This feature streamlines the distribution of responsibilities and ensures that everyone is aligned with their tasks.

3. Understand each person’s communication style

Effective communication hinges on understanding and adapting to various communication habits based on different personalities. According to  DiSC , there are four core personality styles that impact how people communicate:

  • Dominance:  Results-driven and direct, they prioritize business goals and may come across as very straightforward.
  • Influence:  Relationship-focused, they excel at persuading and collaborating with others with enthusiasm.
  • Steadiness:  Cooperative and calm, they prefer a more gradual pace and enjoy cooperation.
  • Conscientiousness:  Detail-oriented and precise, they value expertise and accuracy.

Offering communication skills training workshops on different communication styles can significantly improve group dynamics. By educating team members, you empower them to communicate with compassion and build stronger relationships.

4. Encourage open communication

It's important to create an environment where team members feel safe expressing concerns and ideas openly. Fostering open communication strengthens trust, promotes teamwork, and enables more efficient problem-solving.

Open communication that doesn’t discriminate between positions often leads to the discovery of new ideas and perspectives that may not have been considered otherwise.

‎Motion plays a valuable role in this by allowing teams to directly comment on projects, facilitating real-time discussions and feedback. This also promotes transparency and keeps all project stakeholders updated and aligned.

5. Use the right communication tools

Knowing when to use chat, email, or face-to-face interactions can significantly impact the clarity and efficiency of your communications. Avoid over-relying on a single communication channel, as this can limit your team's ability to convey complex ideas or address urgent matters appropriately.

Creating a  project communication plan  that outlines which tools to use for specific types of communication can be highly beneficial. This plan ensures that everyone is on the same page and helps prevent miscommunication.

‎Motion further simplifies this process by integrating various communication platforms, such as Zoom for video conferencing and Google Calendar for scheduling face-to-face meetings. This seamless integration extends the versatility of your communication toolkit, so you have the right tool for every situation.

6. Lead by example

Effective group communication starts with  leadership . Leaders who demonstrate open and respectful communication set the tone for the entire team. For example, they actively participate in discussions, resolve conflicts constructively, and offer guidance when needed.

An open-door policy is a practice where leaders keep their doors figuratively or literally open for team members to approach them with any issues, ideas, or concerns. This accessibility shows the team that you are approachable and welcome discussion. Team members are more likely to share their thoughts and concerns when they feel their voices are heard and valued.

Leading by example not only encourages effective communication, but also enhances trust, creativity, and overall team performance.

7. Conduct regular feedback sessions

Regular feedback sessions offer team members the opportunity to express their concerns, provide suggestions, and share their insights. This contributes to a more open and transparent communication environment.

It's equally important to ensure that team members are comfortable with both giving and receiving feedback. A two-way feedback process helps build trust and mutual respect within the team, ultimately enhancing overall communication.

‎Motion helps you schedule regular feedback sessions and create recurring tasks to follow up on action items from these meetings. This feature strengthens the feedback loop, making sure that any issues are addressed promptly.

Strengthen your group's communication with Motion

It might come as a surprise, but  82%  of workers report improved communication and alignment with their colleagues through project management tools like Motion.

We provide a range of features to enhance group communication, from real-time discussions to task assignments and feedback loops.  Communicate better with Motion  — sign up for a free trial today.

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1 Introducing Group Communication

Introductory Exercise

  • Think of five words that express what you want to do and where you want to be five years from now. Share your five words with your classmates and listen to their responses. What patterns do you observe in the responses?
  • With the results of our introductory exercises #1 in mind, please list what you can do and where you could be in five years without support, interaction, or collaboration with anyone other than yourself. Share and compare your results with classmates.
  • Create a list of at least 10 groups to which you belong. Family, church, friends or clubs, online groups, and even this class count! Share and compare your results with classmates.

Chapter 1 Learning Objectives

  • Understand the importance of group communication
  • Define communication and describe communication as a process.
  • Identify and describe the eight essential components of communication.
  • Identify and describe two models of communication.
  • Identify ways in which group communication differs from interpersonal communication.
  • Identify relationship and task advantages and disadvantages of working in groups versus individually.

group presentation definition in communication

Getting Started

Communication is an activity, skill, and art that incorporates lessons learned across a wide spectrum of human knowledge. Perhaps the most time-honored form of communication is storytelling. We’ve told each other stories for ages to help make sense of our world, anticipate the future, and certainly to entertain ourselves. We gather around in groups and hear or see stories that say something about our world, our community, who we are. How did we learn the stories we tell each other? From each other. Groups and teams come together to create amazing movies. Artists gather together to produce songs that inspire us. People, effectively working together, can do the impossible. Telling a story to your friends or peers draws on your understanding of yourself, your message, and how you communicate it to a group that is simultaneously communicating back to you. They respond to your story, perhaps tell a few of their own, and you feel like you are in a group. You are an individual, and a member of the group, at the same time. You are a member of many groups. Knowing how to communicate effectively as a member of a team or in a group is key to your success. You were not born knowing how to write, or even how to talk—but in the process of growing up you have probably learned something about how to tell, and how not tell, a story. When people stand around and want to know what comes next you know you have their attention. They are as much a part of the story as you are. When everyone is involved and listening or participating, it is a fun experience.

Teams Start with Human Connections | Matt Eng | TEDxSanAntonio

1.1 – Why Study The Dynamics of Group Communication?

Learning Objective

Communication is key to your success, in relationships, in the workplace, as a citizen of your country, and across your lifetime. Your ability to communicate comes from experience, which can be an effective teacher, but this text and the related group communication course will offer you a wealth of experiences gathered from professionals across their lifetimes. You can learn from the lessons they’ve learned and be a more effective team and group communicator right out of the gate. According to Ken Boughrum, Executive Vice President and Managing Director, and Tyler Durham, Vice President and Managing Consultant, Stromberg Consulting, “Great teams are  distinguished from good teams by how effectively they communicate. Great team communication is more than the words that are said or written. Power is leveraged by the team’s ability to actively listen, clarify, understand, and live by the principle that “everything communicates.” The actions, the tone, the gestures, the infrastructure, the environment and the things that are no done or said speak and inform just as loudly as words. Effective teams and groups start with effective communication. [1]

Communication Influences Your Thinking about Yourself and Others

We all share a fundamental drive to communicate. Communication can be defined as the process of understanding and sharing meaning. [2] You share meaning in what you say and how you say it, both in oral and written forms. If you could not communicate, what would life be like? A series of never-ending frustrations? Not being able to ask for what you need, or even to understand the needs of others?

Being unable to communicate might even mean losing a part of yourself, for you communicate your self-concept —your sense of self and awareness of who you are—in many ways. Do you like to write? Do you find it easy to make a phone call to a stranger, or to speak to a room full of people? Do you like to work in teams and groups? Perhaps someone told you that you don’t speak clearly, or your grammar needs improvement. Does that make you more or less likely to want to communicate? For some it may be a positive challenge, while for others it may be discouraging, but in all cases your ability to communicate is central to your self-concept.  Take a look at your clothes. What are the brands you are wearing? What do you think they say about you? Do you feel that certain styles of shoes, jewelry, tattoos, music, or even automobiles express who you are? Part of your self-concept may be that you express yourself through texting, or through writing longer documents like essays and research papers, or through the way you speak. Those labels and brands in some ways communicate with your group or community. They are recognized, and to some degree, are associated with you. Just as your words represent you in writing, how you present yourself with symbols and images influences how others perceive you. On the other side of the coin, your communication skills help you to understand others—not just their words, but also their tone of voice, their nonverbal gestures, or the format of their written documents provide you with clues about who they are and what their values and priorities may be. Active listening and reading are also part of being a successful communicator.

Communication Influences How You Learn

When you were an infant, you learned to talk over a period of many months. There was a group of caregivers around you that talked to each other, and sometimes you, and you caught on that you could get something when you used a word correctly.  Before you knew it you were speaking in sentences, with words, in a language you learned from your family or those around you. When you got older, you didn’t learn to ride a bike, drive a car, or even text a message on your cell phone in one brief moment. You need to begin the process of improving your communication skills with the frame of mind that it will require effort, persistence, and self-correction. You learn to speak in public by first having conversations, then by answering questions and expressing your opinions in class, and finally by preparing and delivering a “stand-up” speech. Similarly, you learn to write by first learning to read, then by writing and learning to think critically. Your speaking and writing are reflections of your thoughts, experience, and education, and part of that combination is your level of experience listening to other speakers, reading documents and styles of writing, and studying formats similar to what you aim to produce. Speaking and writing are both key communication skills that you will use in teams and groups.

Communication Skills Are Desired by Business and Industry

Oral and written communication proficiencies are consistently ranked in the top ten desirable skills by employer surveys year after year. In fact, high-powered business executives sometimes hire consultants to coach them in sharpening their communication skills. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the top five personal qualities/skills potential employers seek are [3] :

  • Communication skills (verbal and written)
  • Strong work ethic
  • Teamwork skills (works well with others, group communication)
  • Analytical Skills

Knowing this, you can see that one way for you to be successful and increase your promotion potential is to increase your abilities to speak and write effectively.

Teams and groups are almost universal across all fields because no one personal has all the skills, knowledge, or ability to do everything with an equal degree of excellence. Employees work with each other in manufacturing and service industries on a daily basis. An individual with excellent communication skills is an asset to every organization. No matter what career you plan to pursue, learning to interact, contribute, and excel in groups and teams will help you get there.

Key Takeaway

Communication helps you understand yourself and others, learn new things, and build your career.

  • Imagine that you have been hired to make “cold calls” to ask people whether they are familiar with a new restaurant that has just opened in your neighborhood. Write a script for the phone call, and focus on the climate, the environment, and the service. Ask a classmate to co-present as you deliver the script orally in class, as if you were making a phone call to the classmate. Discuss your experience with the rest of the class.
  • Imagine you have been assigned the task of creating a job description for a Social Media Manager. Search online and find at least two sample job descriptions, and create one. Make sure you pay attention to words like “effective in virtual teams” and other details that highlight the importance of communication skills. Please present the job description to the class and share what you learned on how communication skills play a role in the tasks or duties you have included.

1.2 – The Art of Communication

Learning Objectives

Many theories have been proposed to describe, predict, and understand the behaviors and phenomena of which communication consists. When it comes to communicating in the workplace, we are often less interested in theory than in making sure our interactions generate the desired results. As a member of a group or team we are often collectively judged on what we produced, not what we individually contributed to the final product. Working in a team can be a challenge, but it can also produce results no individual member could have accomplished alone. Knowing what makes for a productive group starts with effective communication.

Defining Communication

The root of the word “communication” in Latin is communicare, which means to share, or to make common. [4] Communication is defined as the process of understanding and sharing meaning. [5]

At the center of our study of communication is the relationship that involves interaction between participants. This definition serves us well with its emphasis on the process, which we’ll examine in depth across this text, of coming to understand and share another’s point of view effectively.

The first key word in this definition is the word process . A process is a dynamic activity that is hard to describe because it changes. [6] .

Imagine you are alone in your kitchen, thinking to yourself. Someone you know (say, your mother) enters the kitchen and you talk briefly. What has changed?  Now imagine that your mother is joined by someone else, someone you haven’t met before—and that this stranger listens intently as you speak, almost as if you were giving a speech. What has changed? Your perspective might change, and you might watch your words more closely. The feedback or response from your mother and the stranger may cause you to re-evaluate what you are saying. When we interact, all of these factors and many more influence the process of communication.

The second key word is understanding . “To understand is to perceive, to interpret, and to relate our perception and interpretation to what we already know.”   If a friend tells you a story about falling off a bike, what image comes to mind? Now your friend points out the window and you see a motorcycle lying on the ground. Understanding the words and the concepts or objects they refer to is an important part of the communication process. [7]

Next comes the word sharing . Sharing means doing something together with one or more other people. You may share a joint activity, as when you share in compiling a report; or you may benefit jointly from a resource, as when you and several co-workers share a pizza. In communication, sharing occurs when you convey thoughts, feelings, ideas or insights to others. You can also share with yourself—a process called intrapersonal communication—when you bring ideas to consciousness, ponder how you feel about something, or figure out the solution to a problem and have a classic “Aha!” moment where something becomes clear.

Finally, meaning  is what we share through communication. The word “bike” represents both a bicycle and a short name for a motorcycle. By looking at the context the word is used in, and by asking questions, we can discover the shared meaning of the word and understand the message.

Eight Essential Components of Communication

In order to better understand the communication process and how it provides a foundation for group communication, let’s break it down into eight essential components. Each component serves an integral function in the overall process.

Source The source imagines, creates, and sends the message. In a public speaking situation, the source is the person giving the speech. He or she conveys the message by sharing new information with the audience. The speaker also conveys a message through his or her tone of voice, body language, and choice of clothing. Taking a turn as a group member can sometimes feel like a speech as all eyes are on you. The speaker begins by first determining the message—what they want to say and how they want to say it. The next step involves encoding the message by choosing just the right order or the perfect words to convey the intended meaning. The third step is to present the information, sending the information to the receiver, audience, or group members. Finally, by watching for the audience’s reaction, the source perceives how well they received the message, and responds with clarification or supporting information.

Message “The message is the stimulus or meaning produced by the source for the receiver or audience.” [8] When you plan to give a speech or write a report, your message may seem to be only the words you choose that will convey your meaning. But that is just the beginning. The words are brought together with grammar and organization. You may choose to save your most important point for last. The message also consists of the way you say it—in a speech, with your tone of voice, your body language, and your appearance—and in a report, with your writing style,  punctuation (!), and the headings and formatting you choose. In addition, part of the message may be the environment or context you present in and any noise which may make your message hard to hear or see.

Imagine, for example, that you are addressing a large audience of sales reps and are aware there is a World Series game tonight. Your sales team members might have a hard time settling down, but you may choose to open with, “I understand there is an important game tonight.” In this way, by expressing verbally something that most people in your audience are aware of and interested in, you might grasp and focus their attention.

Channel “The channel is the way in which a message or messages travel between source and receiver.” [9]   For example, think of your television. How many channels do you have on your television? Each channel takes up some space, even in a digital world, in the cable or in the signal that brings the message of each channel to your home. Television combines an audio signal you hear with a visual signal you see.  Together they convey the message to the receiver or audience. Turn off the volume  on your television. Can you still understand what is happening? Many times you can, because the body language conveys part of the message of the show. Now turn up the volume but turn around so that you cannot see the television. You can still hear the dialogue and follow the story line.

Similarly, when you speak or write, you are using a channel to convey your message. Spoken channels include face-to-face conversations, speeches, telephone conversations and voice mail messages, radio, public address systems, and voiceover-internet protocol (VOIP). Written channels include letters, memorandums, purchase orders, invoices, newspaper and magazine articles, blogs, e-mail, text messages, tweets, and so forth.

Receiver “The receiver receives the message from the source, analyzing and interpreting the message in ways both intended and unintended by the source.” [10] . To better understand this component, think of a receiver on a football team. The quarterback throws the message (football) to a receiver, who must see and interpret where to catch the football. The quarterback may intend for the receiver to “catch” his message in one way, but the receiver may see things differently and miss the football (the intended meaning) altogether. When the quarterback and receiver, as well as the rest of the team, fail to communicate, an interception—like a miscommunication—is bound to occur.

As a receiver you listen, see, touch, smell, and/or taste to receive a message. Your team members “size you up,” much as you might check them out long before you open your mouth. The nonverbal responses of your listeners can serve as clues on how to adjust your opening. By imagining yourself in their place, you anticipate what you would look for if you were them. Just as a quarterback plans where the receiver will be in order to place the ball correctly, you too can recognize the interaction between source and receiver in a business communication context. All of this happens at the same time, illustrating why and how communication is always changing.

Feedback When you respond to the source, intentionally or unintentionally, you are giving feedback. Feedback is composed of messages the receiver sends back to the source. Verbal or nonverbal, all of these feedback signals allow the source to see how well, how accurately (or how poorly and inaccurately) the message was received. Feedback also provides an opportunity for the receiver or audience to ask for clarification, to agree or disagree, or to indicate that the source could make the message more interesting. As the amount of feedback increases, the accuracy of communication also increases. [11]

For example, suppose you are a sales manager participating in a conference call with four sales reps. As the source, you want to tell the reps to take advantage of the fact that it is World Series season to close sales on baseball-related sports gear.  You state your message, but you hear no replies from your listeners. You might assume that this means they understood and agreed with you—but later in the month you might be disappointed to find that very few sales were made. If you followed up your message with a request for feedback (“Does this make sense? Do any of you have any questions?”) you might have an opportunity to clarify your message, and to find out whether any of the sales reps believed your suggestion would not work with their customers.

Environment “The environment is the atmosphere, physical and psychological, where you send and receive messages.” [12] The environment can include the tables, chairs, lighting, and sound equipment that are in the room. The room itself is an example of the environment. The environment can also include factors like formal dress, that may indicate whether a discussion is open and caring or more professional and formal. People may be more likely to have an intimate conversation when they are physically close to each other, and less likely when they can only see each other from across the room. In that case, they may text each other, itself an intimate form of communication. The choice to text is influenced by the environment. As a speaker, your environment will impact and play a role in your speech. It’s always a good idea to go check out where you’ll be speaking before the day of the actual presentation.

Context “The context of the communication interaction involves the setting, scene, and expectations of the individuals involved. ” [13] A professional communication context may involve business suits (environmental cues) that directly or indirectly influence expectations of language and behavior among the participants.

A meeting, presentation, or personal conversation does not take place as an isolated event. When you came to class, you came from somewhere. So did the person seated next to you, as did the instructor. The degree to which the environment is formal or informal depends on the contextual expectations for communication held by the participants. The person sitting next to you may be used to informal communication with instructors, but this particular instructor may be used to verbal and nonverbal displays of respect in the academic environment. You may be used to formal interactions with instructors as well, and find your classmate’s question of “Hey Teacher, do we have homework today?” as rude and inconsiderate when they see it as normal. The nonverbal response from the instructor will certainly give you a clue about how they perceive the interaction, both the word choices and how they were said.

Context is all about what people expect from each other, and we often create those expectations out of environmental cues. Traditional gatherings like weddings or quinceaneras are often formal events. There is a time for quiet social greetings, a time for silence as the bride walks down the aisle, or the father may have the first dance with his daughter as she transforms from a girl to womanhood in the eyes of her community. In either celebration there may come a time for rambunctious celebration and dancing. You may be called upon to give a toast, and the wedding or quinceanera context will influence your presentation, timing, and effectiveness.

In a business meeting, who speaks first? That probably has some relation to the position and role each person has outside of the meeting. Context plays a very important role in communication, particularly across cultures.

Interference Interference , also called noise, can come from any source. “Interference is anything that blocks or changes the source’s intended meaning of the message.” [14] . For example, if you drove a car to work or school, chances are you were surrounded by noise. Car horns, billboards, or perhaps the radio in your own car interrupted your thoughts, or your conversation with a passenger.

Psychological noise is what happens when your own thoughts occupy your attention while you are hearing, or reading, a message. Imagine that it is 4:45 p.m. and your boss, who is at a meeting in another city, e-mails you asking for last month’s sales figures, an analysis of current sales projections, and the sales figures from the same month for the past five years. You may open the email, start to read, and think “Great—no problem—I have those figures and that analysis right here in my computer.” You fire off a reply with last month’s sales figures and the current projections attached. Then, at 5 o’clock, you turn off your computer and go home.  The next morning, your boss calls on the phone to tell you he was inconvenienced because you neglected to include the sales figures from the previous years. What was the problem? Interference: by thinking about how you wanted to respond to your boss’s message, you prevented yourself from reading attentively enough to understand the whole message.

Interference can come from other sources, too. Perhaps you are hungry, and your attention to your own situation interferes with your ability to listen. Maybe the office is hot and stuffy. If you were a member of an audience listening to an executive speech, how could this impact your ability to listen and participate?  Noise interferes with normal encoding and decoding of the message carried by the channel between source and receiver. Not all noise is bad, but noise interferes with the communication process. For example, your cellphone ringtone may be a welcome noise to you, but it may interrupt the communication process in class and bother your classmates.

Two Models of Communication

Researchers have observed that when communication takes place, the source and the receiver may send messages at the same time, often overlapping. You, as the speaker, will often play both roles, as source and receiver. You’ll focus on the communication and the reception of your messages to the audience. The audience will respond in the form of feedback that will give you important clues. While there are many models of communication, here we will focus on two that offer perspectives and lessons for effective communicators.

Rather than looking at the source sending a message and someone receiving it as two distinct acts, researchers often view communication as a transactional process (Figure 1.1 “The Transactional Model of Communication”), with actions often happening at the same time. The distinction between source and receiver is blurred in conversational turn-taking, for example, where both participants play both roles simultaneously.

Figure 1.1 The Transactional Model of Communication

group presentation definition in communication

Researchers have also examined the idea that we all construct our own interpretations of the message. What I said (or wrote) and what you heard may be different. In the constructivist model (Figure 1.2 “The Constructivist Model of Communication”), we focus on the negotiated meaning, or common ground, when trying to describe communication. [15] , [16]

Imagine that you are visiting Atlanta, Georgia, and go to a restaurant for dinner.  When asked if you want a “Coke,” you may reply, “sure.” The waiter  may then ask you again, “what kind?” and you may reply, “Coke is fine.” The waiter then may ask a third time, “what kind of soft drink would you like?” The misunderstanding in this example is that in Atlanta, the home of The Coca-Cola Company, most soft drinks are generically referred to as “Coke.” When you order a soft drink, you need to specify what type, even if  you wish to order a beverage that is not a cola or not even made by The Coca-Cola Company. To someone from other regions of the United States, the words “pop,” “soda pop,” or “soda” may be the familiar way to refer to a soft drink; not necessarily the brand “Coke.” In this example, both you and the waiter understand the word “Coke,” but you each understand it to mean something different. In order to communicate, you must each realize what the term means to the other person, and establish common ground, in order to fully understand the request and provide an answer.

Because we carry the multiple meanings of words, gestures, and ideas within us, we can use a dictionary to guide us, but we will still need to negotiate meaning.

Figure 1.2 The Constructivist Model of Communication

group presentation definition in communication

The communication process involves understanding, sharing, and meaning, and it consists of 8 essential elements: source, message, channel, receiver, feedback, environment, context, and interference.

  • Draw what you think communication looks like.
  • List three environmental cues and indicate how they influence your expectations for communication.
  • How does context influence your communication? If you could design the perfect date, what activities, places, and/or environmental cues would you include to set the mood?

1.3 Communication in Context

  • Identify and describe five types of communication contexts.

Now that we have examined the eight components of communication, let’s examine this in context. Is a quiet dinner conversation with someone you care about the same experience as a discussion in class or giving a speech? Is sending a text message to a friend the same experience as writing a professional project proposal or a purchase order? Is working in a team or group the same as working together as a family? Each context has an influence on the communication process. Contexts can overlap, creating an even more dynamic process. You have been communicating in many of these contexts across your lifetime, and you’ll be able to apply what you’ve learned through experience in each context to group communication.

Intrapersonal Communication

Have you ever listened to a speech or lecture and gotten caught up in your own thoughts so that, while the speaker continued, you were no longer listening? During a phone conversation, have you ever been thinking about what you are going to say, or what question you might ask, instead of listening to the other person? Finally, have you ever told yourself how you did after you wrote a document or gave a presentation? As you “talk with yourself” you are engaged in intrapersonal communication.

Intrapersonal communication  involves one person; it is often called “self- talk.” [17] Donna Vocate’s 1994  book on intrapersonal communication explains how, as we use language to reflect on our own experiences, we talk ourselves through situations. [18] . For example, the voice within you that tells   you, “Keep on Going! I can DO IT!” when you are putting your all into completing a five-mile race; or that says, “This report I’ve written is pretty good.” Your intrapersonal communication can be positive or negative, and directly influences how you perceive and react to situations and communication with others.

What you perceive in communication with others is also influenced by your  culture, native language, and your world view. As the  German  philosopher  Jürgen Habermas said, “Every  process  of reaching  understanding  takes  place  against  the  background of a culturally ingrained pre-understanding. ” [19] .

For example, you may have certain expectations of time and punctuality. You weren’t born with them, so where did you learn them? From those around you as you grew up. You learned from your family, or the group of people who raised you. What was normal for them became normal for you, but not everyone’s idea of normal, is the same.

When your supervisor invites you to a meeting and says it will start at 7 p.m., does that mean 7:00 sharp, 7-ish, or even 7:30? In the business context, when a meeting is supposed to start at 9 a.m., is it promptly a 9 a.m.? Variations in time expectations depend on regional and national culture as well as individual corporate cultures. In some companies, everyone may be expected to arrive 10-15 minutes before the announced start time to take their seats and be ready to commence business at 9:00 sharp. In other companies, “meeting and greeting” from about 9 to 9:05 or even 9:10 is the norm. When you are unfamiliar with the expectations for a business event, it is always wise to err on the side of being punctual, regardless of what your own internal assumptions about time and punctuality may be.

Interpersonal Communication

The second major context within the field of communication is interpersonal communication. Interpersonal communication  normally involves two people, and can range from intimate and very personal to formal and impersonal. You may carry on a conversation with a loved one, sharing a serious concern. Later, at work, you may have a brief conversation about plans for the weekend with the security guard on your way home. What’s the difference? Both scenarios involve interpersonal communication, but are different in levels of intimacy. The first example implies a trusting relationship established over time between two caring individuals. The second example level implies some previous familiarity, and is really more about acknowledging each other than any actual exchange of information, much like saying hello or goodbye.

Group Communication

Have you ever noticed how a small group of people in class sit near each other perhaps they are members of the same sports program, or just friends, but no doubt they often engage in group communication..

“ Group communication is a dynamic process where a small number of people engage in a conversation. ” [20] Group communication is generally defined as involving three to eight people. The larger the group, the more likely it is  to break down into smaller groups.

To take a page from marketing, does your audience have segments or any points of convergence/divergence? We could consider factors like age, education, sex, and location to learn more about groups and their general preferences as well as dislikes. You may find several groups within the larger audience, such as specific areas of education, and use this knowledge to increase your effectiveness as a communicator.

Public Communication

In public communication , one person speaks to a group of people; the same is true of public written communication, where a dynamic process where a small number of people engage in a conversation. The speaker or writer may ask questions, and engage the audience in a discussion (in writing, examples are an email discussion or a

point-counter-point series of letters to the editor), but the dynamics of the conversation are distinct from group communication, where different rules apply. In a public speaking situation, the group normally defers to the speaker. For example, the boss speaks to everyone, and the sales team quietly listens without interruption.

This generalization is changing as norms and expectations change, and many cultures have a tradition of “call outs” or interjections that are not to be interpreted as interruptions or competition for the floor, but instead as affirmations. The boss may say, as part of a charged-up motivational speech, “Do you hear me?” and the sales team is expected to call back “Yes Sir!” The boss, as a public speaker, recognizes that intrapersonal communication (thoughts of the individual members) or interpersonal communication (communication between team members) may interfere with this classic public speaking dynamic of all to one, or the audience devoting all its attention to the speaker, and incorporate attention getting and engagement strategies to keep the sales team focused on the message.

Mass Communication

How do you tell everyone on campus where and when all the classes are held? Would a speech from the front steps work? Perhaps it might meet the need if your school is a very small one. A written schedule that lists all classes would be a better alternative. How do you let everyone know there is a sale on in your store, or that your new product will meet their needs, or that your position on a political issue is the same as your constituents? You send a message to as many people as you can through mass communication. Does everyone receive mass communication the same way they might receive a personal phone call? Not likely. Some people who receive mass mailings assume that they are “junk mail” (i.e., that they do not meet the recipients’ needs) and throw them away unopened. People may tune out a television advertisement with a click of the mute button, delete tweets or ignore friend requests on Facebook by the hundreds, or send all unsolicited email straight to the spam folder unread.

Mass media is a powerful force in modern society and our daily lives, and is adapting rapidly to new technologies. Mass communication  involves sending a single message to a group. It allows us to communicate our message to a large number of people, but we are limited in our ability to tailor our message to specific audiences, groups, or individuals. As a business communicator, you can use multimedia as a visual aid or reference common programs, films or other images that your audience finds familiar yet engaging. You can tweet a picture that is worth far more than 140 characters, and are just as likely to elicit a significant response. By choosing messages or references that many audience members will recognize or can identify with, you can develop common ground and increase the appeal of your message.

Communication contexts include intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, public, and mass communication.

  • Please recall a time when you gave a speech in front of a group. How did you feel? What was your experience? What did you learn from your experience? If given a second opportunity, how would you approach the group differently?
  • If you were asked to get the attention of your peers, what image or word would you choose and why?
  • If you were asked to get the attention of someone like yourself, what image or word would you choose and why?
  • Make a list of mass communication messages you observe for a one hour period of time. Share your list with classmates.

1.4 – The Advantages and Disadvantages of Working in Groups

All human beings exist, spend time, and  behave  both  individually  and  in  groups. When you’re a student, you spend a great  deal  of  your  time  in  groups.  In  the working world, whether you’re already in it or not, you spend even more. [21]

Of course, many times you have no choice whether you’ll work alone or in a group. You’re just told what to do. Still, you’re best apt to be prepared if you know what to expect of each status.

Differences between Group and Interpersonal Communication

The mere fact that groups include multiple people leads to at least four consequences. Whether these consequences prove to be advantageous or not depends on the skill level and knowledge of a group’s members.

First, since not everyone in a group can talk at the same time (at least, not if they intend to understand and be understood by each other), members have to seek permission to speak. They need to decide how to take turns. In this respect, a group is inherently more formal than a single individual or a dyad.

Second, members of a group have to share time together. The larger the group, the less average time per person is available and the fewer opportunities each member will likely have to contribute to discussions.

Third, communication in groups is generally less intimate than in interpersonal settings. Because there are so many personalities and levels of relationship to consider, people in groups are less inclined to share personal details or express controversial views.

Finally, group work is more time-consuming than individual or interpersonal effort. Why? For one thing, group members usually try to let everyone share information and views. Also, the more people are involved in a discussion, the more diverse opinions may need to be considered and allowed to compete.

As we’ve noted earlier, groups apply themselves toward reaching aims and accomplishing things. In addition to this task-oriented characteristic, however, they include and depend upon relationships among their members. Although these two elements are usually intertwined rather than discrete and separate, an overview of the pluses and minuses of each can help you make the most of your experience in a group.

Relationship Advantages

The columnist David Brooks  interpreted  research  as  indicating  that  human  beings are “wired to cooperate  and  collaborate,  just  as  much  as  we  are  to compete. [22] What’s in it for you in terms of relationships, then, if you work in a group instead of alone? Well, you may have a number of your   most important human needs satisfied. Here are some specifics:

  • You may enjoy fellowship and companionship.
  • You may receive moral and emotional support for your views and objectives.
  • You may meet three important needs identified by  William  Schutz, which we’ll discuss more in Chapter 2 “Group Communication Theory” : [23] inclusion, affection, and control.
  • You may have your impulsiveness curbed or your reticence challenged.
  • You may cultivate ties that yield future personal or career advantages.

In the chapter 4 we’ll further explore the ideas William Schutz, who theorized about levels of basic human needs and how they may vary from person to person and according to people’s circumstances. We’ll also review Abraham Maslow’s model of human needs.

Relationship Disadvantages

Despite the advantages it offers, working in groups almost invariably presents challenges and disadvantages in the realm of relationships. These are some of the chief dangers you may encounter as part of a group:

  • It will probably take a lot of time to create, maintain, and repair the human relationships involved in a group.
  • Your group may generate conflict which hurts people’s feelings and otherwise undermines their relationships.
  • You may misunderstand other group members’ intentions or messages.
  • Some group members may attempt to deceive, manipulate, or betray the trust of other members.

Task Advantages

Anthropologists have asserted that a major feature of mainstream culture in the United States is a relentless pressure to do things—to accomplish things. Tom Peters is credited with first calling this cultural feature “a bias for action.” One best-selling business self-help book reinforced this national passion for dynamic behavior. Its title is A Bias for Action: How Effective Managers Harness Their Willpower, Achieve Results, and Stop Wasting Time . [24] Without doubt, accomplishing tasks  constitutes a central purpose of most human behavior in the modern world.

When you’re trying to get something done, working in a group promises many positive possibilities, among them being the following:

  • The group will most likely have access to much more information than any member possesses.
  • The group can focus multiple attentions and diverse energy on a topic.
  • The group may be more thorough in dealing with a topic than any individual might be. This thoroughness may arise simply because of the number of perspectives represented in the group, but it also owes to the fact that members often “propel each other’s thinking.” [25]
  • The group may harness and exploit conflict to generate new and better ideas than an individual could. When tension and disagreement are resolved constructively, chances of achieving group goals increase.
  • The group may attain deeper understanding of topics. One analysis of studies, for instance, indicated that students in group-based learning environments learned more, and remembered more of what they learned, than did counterparts exposed to more traditional methods. [26]
  • Synergy —a combined effect greater than the simple sum total of i ndividual contributions—can arise. Sometimes synergy  results through enhanced creativity as group members share and build upon each other’s strengths and perspectives. You can probably think of examples of an athletic squad or business group comprising members with modest individual strengths that  performed  superlatively together.
  • The group may spur needed social change. Margaret Mead wrote, “Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” It may be reasonable to question whether the world always works the way Mead described, but many examples do exist of small groups which initiated changes which spread to larger and large parts of society. All other things being equal, a group of committed individuals will project more credibility and engender more support than will a solitary person.

Task Disadvantages

  Groups aren’t always successful at reaching their goals. You’ve probably experienced many situations in which you became frustrated or angry because a group you were part of seemed to be taking two steps backward for every step forward—or perhaps you felt it was going only backward. Here are some features of group work which distinguish it in a potentially negative way from what you might be able to accomplish by yourself or with a single partner:

  • In order to be successful, groups need broad, ongoing, time-consuming exchanges of messages. They need to invest in coordinating and monitoring what they’re doing. With people as busy as they are in the twenty-first century, “out of sight” is indeed often “out of mind.” If they don’t keep in touch frequently, group members may forget what they’ve most recently discussed or decided as a group. They also run the risk of losing track of the structures and processes they’ve put in place to help them move toward their goals.
  • Some group members may engage in “ social loafing .” When one or two people are assigned a task, they know they’re being watched and are apt to shoulder the burden. In a larger group, however, any given member will feel less personally responsible for what takes place in it. If too many members follow the natural tendency to observe rather than act, a group may lose its efficiency and thereby find it much more difficult to reach its aims.

To accomplish tasks and relate effectively in a group, it’s important to know the advantages and disadvantages inherent in groups.

  • Identify two groups of which you’re a member. Describe

a.  how each group determined how to take turns in communicating—or, if you weren’t part of determining this process, how people take turns now;

b.  the most controversial view you can recall being expressed in each group; and

c.  a task which feel each group performed better than any of its individuals might have done alone.

  • Describe an experience in which you observed people cooperating or collaborating when they might instead have competed. What do you believe motivated them to cooperate?
  • Identify two examples of your personal or vocational growth which you feel you owe to participation in a group.
  • Identify a group you’ve been part of which contributed to positive social change. How did it establish its credibility and influence with other people and groups.

1.5 – The Impact of Social Media on Group Communication

  • Identify the nature and types of social media.
  • Identify ways in which social media can foster and endanger group communication.
  • Identify safeguards which groups can adopt when communicating via social media.

You may disagree with the whimsical words of Ogden Nash and the more philosophical statement by Steve Jobs. Perhaps you feel that today’s electronic technologies are nothing but wonderful. Whatever your opinion, though, you’ll have a hard time arguing that the Internet is a small part of people’s lives in today’s world. Consider these facts about social media:

  • Facebook was expected to register its one-billionth user sometime in 2012.
  • Ten hours of video recordings are uploaded to YouTube every minute.
  • Flickr provides access to more than three billion photographs.
  • More than three-quarters of everyone worldwide who uses the  Internet takes part in social media. [27] Users of the world, unite! [28]

Do you remember the first time you saw the ocean? Did it awe and overwhelm you, as it did the authors of this book? Did you feel small and insignificant?

The ocean can affect us emotionally, but it can also make an intellectual impression. Knowing its scientific side, we realize that people can interact with the ocean in sundry ways. We also know it’s not possible for us as individuals or groups to go everywhere on the ocean at once or to tap all its potential. So it is with social media in the Digital Age.

The vastness, breadth, and ease of access of social media are unprecedented in human history. But they resemble the ocean in other ways besides their size. When we go to sea, bad things can happen. We can fall prey to storms, find ourselves becalmed and bored, or discover that we don’t have the right gear to snag a particular kind of fish. We may also fall overboard and drown. Similar perils are associated with social media.

What Are Social Media?

A simple definition of social media  is that they are Web-based and mobile technologies which enable interaction among people. Social media may be divided into six types: collaborative projects, such as Wikipedia; blogs and microblogs, such as Twitter; content communities , such as YouTube; social networking sites, such as Facebook; virtual game worlds; and virtual social worlds. Of these types, the first four are most likely to be valuable for serious and purposeful group communication.

How Social Media Help Groups

Until just a few generations ago, members of a group who wanted to communicate with each other at the same time needed to move themselves to a shared physical location to do so. Today, social media make it unnecessary for people to “transport their atoms” like this. These media also facilitate communication within groups in the several ways. First, they allow physically separated people to communicate in real time. Such communication is called “ synchronous ,” whereas interchanges that don’t follow each other are referred to as “ asynchronous .” Just the “wow” factor of seeing and hearing people simultaneously when they’re dispersed over hundreds or thousands of miles can propel a group forward.

Social media also allow people in different places to collaborate on projects. As information related to tasks emerges over time, people can sustain their focus and attention on individual and shared responsibilities.

Social media permit people to keep contact with each other when they’re not meeting formally. Electronic availability makes it possible for people to enjoy a sense of proximity and familiarity with each other.

Social media enable group members to identify and collect information pertinent to their aims. Visiting forums, blogs, podcasts, and other Internet sites can make it possible for members to enlarge their understanding of the topics they deal with.

Finally, social media can benefit members by focusing attention primarily on messages instead of “status markers” such as titles, age, and attire.

Communicating through social media frees groups from the constraints of place and time that until recently used to apply to all human interactions. It can also save considerable money and time that people used to have to spend.

How Social Media Endanger Groups

If you’re using a butter knife and drop it on your foot, your foot will hurt. If you’re using a chain saw and drop it on your foot, you may become permanently disabled. When it comes to group communication, social media resemble chain saws much more than they do butter knives. People may fracture friendships, lose jobs, squander opportunities, and wreck reputations through their use and misuse of social media.

Groups may encounter many kinds of dangers when they use social media. For one thing, social media can constitute a huge time sink. Nearly half of all Facebook and Twitter users sign in to their accounts during the night or first thing in the morning. Is social media the new addiction? [29] Because these resources are so multifaceted and visually enticing, they may distract groups from both their task-related and group maintenance functions. Trying to select and learn to use social media can lead groups down blind alleys.

Social media also make it easy to distribute hurtful or dubious material. Misunderstandings can spread quickly and widely via electronic media, and they can be difficult to correct once people’s feelings have been hurt or enflamed. Even just few intemperate words composed in haste, or comments intended to be taken in jest but open to multiple interpretations, can create lasting problems within a group.

Third, social media may drain the sense of “ social presence ” from interactions because they transmit people’s nonverbal messaging incompletely, if at all.

Last of all, groups using social media may leave dirty “digital tracks.” Nothing that members of a group post to the Internet should be considered private, and inappropriate messages or images can easily prompt criticism or even legal action.

Social media make it possible to transmit messages faster and more widely than face-to-face communication can. At the same time, reactions to messages exchanged via social media may vary dramatically because the media lack “personalness” and are processed by each individual according to that person’s circumstances and frame of mind.

Safeguards for Groups Using Social Media

To make the most of the convenience that social media offer while avoiding the pitfalls they may present, groups should be careful how they operate. As a general rule, it’s best not to say or do anything using social media that you wouldn’t do in a face-to-face setting. Here are some specific steps your group can take to best communicate via social media:

  • Set guidelines for how you intend to use social media. A full-blown “policy” may not be necessary for small and informal groups, but it never hurts to put something in writing that your group members can refer to as they work or that you can offer to new members as part of their orientation to the group. These guidelines should probably identify ways in which social media are to be used to support group members. In addition, a statement should probably be included which indicates that all group members are expected to behave professionally when using social media.
  • Check the privacy settings on the social media sites you use. Make sure you know how much of your communication is shared with which potential audiences. If you’re not sure whether a message or post will be accessible to the whole world, assume that it will be and act accordingly.
  • Monitor your group’s online “persona” regularly. Find out what other people see when they enter the group’s name or other details in a search engine.
  • Never divulge passwords from your group’s social media resources. Though the likelihood is slight, someone with access to such information could post objectionable content while posing as a group member.
  • Take care to share messages and information with only the individuals you mean them for. Pause, think, and look carefully before pressing any “send” or “share” button.
  • Be sure you know the copyright status of any materials you draw upon as you conduct your group’s business. If you’re not sure it’s legal or ethical to borrow or copy a particular item without asking, assume that it isn’t.

Real-time communication through social media makes it possible for group members to gauge each other’s attitudes and feelings with some accuracy. Responses to asynchronous messages transmitted via social media may not arrive in a timely fashion, however. As a result, using social media to explore topics and solve problems requires tact, patience, and flexibility.

Social media are pervasive and can facilitate the operation of groups, but they must be used carefully to avoid causing serious harm.

  • Identify two social media you or your friends have used regularly. Describe a problem you solved while using the media.
  • Describe a misunderstanding you’ve experienced while using social media. How might it have been avoided in a face-to-face setting?
  • Imagine that you and five classmates or work colleagues have established communication via a social medium. What rule or guideline would you adopt above all others to govern your activities?

Review Questions

Interpretive Questions

  • What assumptions are present in transactional model of communication?
  • How does our native language or culture influence our communication or style of presentation?

Application Questions

  • Observe two people talking. Describe their communication. See if you can find all eight components and provide an example for each one.
  • Find an example of a model of communication where you work and provide an example for all eight components.

Supplemental Videos

  • O’Rourke, J., and Yarbrough, B, (2008). Leading Groups and Teams. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning, p. 2. ↵
  • Pearson, J., & Nelson, P. (2000). An Introduction to Human Communication: Understanding and Sharing. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. p. 6 ↵
  • (NACE, 2009) ↵
  • Weekley, E. (1967). An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English (Vol. 1). New York: Dover Publications, p. 338. ↵
  • Pearson, J., & Nelson, P. (2000). An Introduction to Human Communication: Understanding and Sharing. Boston: McGraw-Hill, p. 6. ↵
  • (Pearson & Nelson, .2000) ↵
  • McLean, S. (2003). The basics of speech communication. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. ↵
  • McLean, S. (2005). The Basics of Interpersonal Communication. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, p. 10. ↵
  • McLean, S. 2005. p.10. ↵
  • McLean, S. 2005, p.10 ↵
  • Leavitt, & Mueller, R. (1951). some effects of feedback on communication. Human Relations , 4, 401–410. ↵
  • McLean, S. 2005, p. 11. ↵
  • McLean, S. 2005, p. 11 ↵
  • Pearce, W. B., & Cronen, V. (1980). Communication, Action, and Meaning: The Creating of Social Realities. New York: Praeger. ↵
  • Cronen, V., & Pearce, W. B. (1982). The coordinated management of meaning: a theory of communication. In F. E. Dance (Ed.), Human Communication Theory (pp. 61–89). New York: Harper & Row. ↵
  • Wood, J. (1997). Communication in Our Lives . Boston, MA: Wadsworth, p.22. ↵
  • Vocate, D. (Ed.). (1994). Intrapersonal Communication: Different Voices, Different Minds. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum ↵
  • Habermas, J. (1984). The Theory of Communicative Action (Vol. 1). Boston: Beacon Press, p. 100 ↵
  • McLean, S. (2005). The Basics of Interpersonal Communication. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, p. 14. ↵
  • O’Hair, D. & Wiemann, M.O. (2004). The Essential Guide to Group Communication. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, p. 7. ↵
  • ”Galanes, G., & Adams, K. (2013). Effective Group Discussion: Theory and Practice. New York: McGraw-Hill, p. 5. ↵
  • Galanes, G., & Adams, K. (2013). Effective Group Discussion: Theory and Practice. New York: McGraw-Hill, p. 5. ↵
  • Bruch, H., & Ghoshal, S. (2004). A Bias for Action:  How Effective Managers Harness Their Willpower, Achieve Results, and Stop Wasting Time. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press.  ↵
  • Wood, J.T. (1997). Communication in Our Lives . Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, p. 270. ↵
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  • Hunter, C. (2012, January 23). Number of Facebook users could reach 1 billion by 2012. The Exponent Online Retrieved from http://www.purdueexponent.org/features/ article_8815d757-8b7c-566f-8fbe-49528d4d8037.html ; Kaplan, A.M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). ↵
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Your sense of self and awareness of who you are.

The process of understanding and sharing meaning.

A dynamic activity that is hard to describe because it changes.

To perceive, to interpret, and to relate our perception and interpretation to what we already know.

Doing something together with one or more other people.

What we share through communication.

The person who imagines, creates, and sends the message.

The stimulus or meaning produced by the source for the receiver or audience.

The way in which a message or messages travel between source and receiver.

Receives the message from the source, analyzing and interpreting the message in ways both intended and unintended by the source.

Messages the receiver sends back to the source.

The atmosphere, physical and psychological, where you send and receive messages.

Involves the setting, scene, and expectations of the individuals involved.

Model of communication in which actions happen at the same time.

Model of communication focusing on the negotiated meaning, or common ground, when trying to describe communication.

Communication that involves one person; it is often called “self- talk.”

Normally involves two people, and can range from intimate and very personal to formal and impersonal.

A dynamic process where a small number of people engage in a conversation.

Involves sending a single message to a group.

A combined effect greater than the simple sum total of individual components in a process or entity.

The tendency of members of a large group to feel diminished personal responsibility and to rely on the rest of the group to perform necessary tasks.

A unified view or approach adopted by a group which may arise out of members' desire to conform and be approved of, and which members resist giving up even when presented with reasonable evidence.

Web-based and mobile technologies which enable interaction among people.

A group of people who create, store, and make available text, images, or other digital data on line - e.g., video recordings on YouTube.

Exchange of messages in real time - i.e., such that each person's message is immediately perceived by its receiver(s).

Exchange of messages by senders and recipients who do not reach each other or generate responses immediately.

The sensation of being in immediate, direct contact with other human beings rather than being distant in time or space from them.

Dynamics of Group Communication Copyright © 2021 by Andrea Polites is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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  2. Group communication Characteristics Definition and Examples

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  6. Why effective communication is your key to success

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  1. Small Group Communication

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COMMENTS

  1. Presenting as a Group

    All group presentations should have enthusiasm. Group members should be enthusiastic about the audience, message, and occasion. Planned enthusiasm should play a role in creating the introduction, conclusion, and body of your presentations. The consistent use of enthusiasm can be planned throughout the speech outline.

  2. Group Communication: Definition, Types and Best Practices

    Group communication is the act of sending and receiving messages to multiple members of a group. In a business environment, groups often use this type of communication to exchange ideas, determine goals and motivate other members. The size of groups can vary, but they typically comprise at least three members and up to 20 members.

  3. Guide for Giving a Group Presentation

    Sit down in an upright position as it easier for your lungs to fill with air. Breathe in through your nose and into your abdomen for four seconds. Hold this breathe for two seconds. Breathe out through your nose for six seconds. Wait a few seconds before inhaling and repeating the cycle.

  4. 18.1: Introduction to Group Presentations

    Chapter Objectives. After studying this chapter, you should be able to: Identify the differences between a small group, a team, and a speaking group. Evaluate your individual presentation skills. Describe the four coordination elements of group presentations. List the four common types of group presentations.

  5. 18.2: Communicating about group interaction

    The group leader can facilitate communication about member experience in the areas of presentation planning, organization, and delivery (see Table 18.2.1 18.2. 1 ). Table 18.2.1 18.2. 1 Leaders' Responsibilities in Group Presentations. Preparation. Help build and maintain group communication about: Familiarity with the topic.

  6. Presenting as a Group

    Symposium. "A symposium is a public presentation in which several people present prepared speeches on different aspects of the same topic" (Lucas, 2020, p. 387). If your small group presents a symposium, you need to decide in advance who will present which aspect of your findings or project and practice in advance.

  7. How to Give a Great Group Presentation

    The first step to planning an A-worthy presentation is to make sure everyone carries their own weight, though this is easier said than done. This step will set your presentation up for success but can be challenging to pull off. It is likely that at least some of the people in your group will have unmatched academic abilities and work ethics ...

  8. How to structure your presentation

    Outline your presentation. The fastest way to create a successful presentation is to start with an outline. Y ou'll need two outlines: a preparation outline, and a speaking outline.. Preparation outlines are comprehensive outlines that include all of the information in your presentation. Our presentation outline will consist of the content of what the audience will see and hear.

  9. Communication about Group Interaction

    Just say the two words separately "group" and "presentation." Note which word comes first—group (the process) and not presentation (the product). ... At its most basic level, group coordination focuses on group communication, "the process of creating meanings in the minds of others" (Tubbs, 1995, p. 186). Such coordination ...

  10. 3 Group Presentation Pitfalls

    Summary. Putting together an effective group presentation takes teamwork and coordination so it doesn't look like a patchwork quilt. And yet, many of us never budget the time to fully prepare ...

  11. PDF What's Different About Group Presentations?

    A symposium presentation is a group presentation that is essentially a collection of individual presentations connected by a broad topic. Typically, the topic is broken up into sub-topics, and each group member, one after another, makes a presentation on his or her sub-topic. This format is very easy to organize and coordinate.

  12. What Are Effective Presentation Skills (and How to Improve Them)

    Presentation skills are the abilities and qualities necessary for creating and delivering a compelling presentation that effectively communicates information and ideas. They encompass what you say, how you structure it, and the materials you include to support what you say, such as slides, videos, or images. You'll make presentations at various ...

  13. Group Presentations

    Set aside time a week in advance of the presentation to practice and edit the presentation together. Communicate with your group members about any changes you want to make to your portion. Look for and eliminate overlap. Avoid having group members repeat what was already said before. If you are using presentation software, make sure you stick ...

  14. What is Presentation? Definition, Parts and Factors

    Definition: A presentation is a form of communication in which the speaker conveys information to the audience. In an organization presentations are used in various scenarios like talking to a group, addressing a meeting, demonstrating or introducing a new product, or briefing a team. It involves presenting a particular subject or issue or new ideas/thoughts to a group of people.

  15. Presentation Definition: A Guide To Effective Communication

    A presentation is the act of presenting information or ideas to a group of people in a structured and deliberate manner, often with the aid of visual aids like PowerPoint, Keynote, or multimedia tools. Presentations are a ubiquitous part of the professional, educational, and social landscape. The act of presenting, essentially communicating ...

  16. Communicating in Groups and Mass Communication

    Group Communication-Lumen-Principles of Public Speaking; After reading this chapter, you should be able to: Identify the differences between a small group, a team, and a speaking group; Evaluate your individual presentation skills; Describe the four coordination elements of group presentations; List the four common types of group presentations

  17. What It Takes to Give a Great Presentation

    Here are a few tips for business professionals who want to move from being good speakers to great ones: be concise (the fewer words, the better); never use bullet points (photos and images paired ...

  18. Group Communication: Definition, Types and Best Practices

    2.1 Video Conferences and Messengers: Through video conferencing platforms and group chats and messengers such as Trueconf or Microsoft Teams, groups of people can communicate in real-time via video and audio connections, exchanging messages, files and links in real-time. This allows participants to see and hear each other, share presentations ...

  19. What is group communication? With definition and examples

    Benefits of group communication. Effective communication between a group of people can have a number of benefits. It can be a good way to share ideas and get new perspectives on problems, possibly generating novel solutions. Communicating across a group can also ensure all team members have the same ideas about the team's aims, objectives and ...

  20. Defining Groups and Teams

    Groups cannot be defined simply as three or more people talking to each other or meeting together. Instead, a primary characteristic of groups is that members of a group are dependent on the others for the group to maintain its existence and achieve its goals. In essence, interdependence is the recognition by those in a group of their need for ...

  21. 10.2 Presenting as a Group

    Group presentations primarily entail group communication, planning, organization, and delivery. Effective groups communicate about interaction roles, decision-making, and conflict resolution. Such communication helps the group reflect on group dynamics, customize communication for this speaking group, and establish a unified commitment and ...

  22. 7 Strategies to Improve Your Group Communication

    7 strategies to enhance group communication. Whether you're leading a project, managing a remote team, or working in a collaborative environment, effective group communication is a key ingredient for success. Here are seven strategies to help you enhance team communication: 1. Practice active listening.

  23. Introducing Group Communication

    Communication is key to your success, in relationships, in the workplace, as a citizen of your country, and across your lifetime. Your ability to communicate comes from experience, which can be an effective teacher, but this text and the related group communication course will offer you a wealth of experiences gathered from professionals across their lifetimes.