Introduction to the Course

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En provenance du cours de University of Colorado Boulder

Teamwork Skills: Communicating Effectively in Groups

30 notes

University of Colorado Boulder

Teamwork Skills: Communicating Effectively in Groups

30 notes

Effective teamwork and group communication are essential for your professional and personal success. In this course you will learn to: make better decisions, be more creative and innovative, manage conflict and work with difficult group members, negotiate for preferred outcomes, improve group communication in virtual environments, develop a better overall understanding of human interaction, and work more effectively as a team. Our goal is to help you understand these important dynamics of group communication and learn how to put them into practice to improve your overall teamwork.

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Module 1

Module 1 is all about communication. But not the common sense or taken-for-granted notions of communication you might expect. Instead, we’re going to rethink communication and challenge some of the conventional wisdom about communication that is common in our society. We’ll compare and contrast different theories or models of communication, and see if we can develop a more sophisticated understanding of communication to understand the complexities of human interaction in today’s groups. We’ll also explore some of the hidden forces of group communication, like context, systems and institutions, and design. These are all things that are “present” in any group situation, influencing how we interact with each other, but easy to miss if we’re not looking. We want to expand our field of vision, so to speak, so we have a fuller understanding of what’s happening in any group situation.

Introduction to the Course3:10

Summary of Course3:21

Rencontrer les enseignants

Matthew A. Koschmann, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Communication

Welcome to the dynamics of group communication. I'm Matthew Koschmann.

I'm a professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Colorado Boulder.

My main area of research and teaching is organizational communication.

And for years, I've been teaching and doing research on group communication.

Focusing on how small groups of people interact with each other in

a variety of professional and civic contexts to make decisions,

solve problems, create new opportunities and otherwise get stuff done with other people.

I'm also involved in a lot of groups in my professional and personal life.

From teams and committees at my work,

to volunteer boards and associations in my community.

So I've got a lot of first hand experience with

the stuff we'll be discussing in our course.

Now, in this course,

I've assembled lots of great information from

my teaching and research experiences as well

as insights from many other experts on group communication.

I'm excited to share with you - and not just because I think this stuff is fascinating.

But also because I know that learning more about group interaction

improving your group communication skills will have a direct,

positive impact on your life both personally, and professionally.

Why is group communication so important?

Well for one, so much of our lives,

both professional and personal,

are mediated through small groups of other people.

Our occupation and education.

Our recreation and socialization.

Our civic participation and even religious expression.

Some are more formal, some are more informal.

But almost all involve coordinating with small groups

of other people to accomplish an experience,

whatever it is we desire in that situation.

Groups almost always arise in response to some sort of necessity or opportunity.

There's something that needs to get done.

A decision needs to be made,

a problem needs to be solved that requires the involvement of several people.

Or there is some prospect we can take advantage of: developing a new product or service,

implementing a new idea,

changing something in our community,

creating a noteworthy event.

If we can just work with others to get it done.

Have you ever noticed that most of our best and worst experiences happen in groups?

Groups can be the source of so much frustration.

Yet, they can also provide the setting for our most memorable moments.

So, it's not groups per se that are good or bad,

but rather how we interact with people in

our groups and how groups as a whole function overall.

That's what makes all the difference.

And that's what we're going to focus on in this course.

You will learn about the key dynamics of group work, including communication,

team development, decision making,

conflict management, diversity and technology.

Understanding these group dynamics will make you a better group

member and help you interact better with the rest of your group.

All of which will improve your group outcome and

enhance the overall quality of your group experiences.

So let's get started.

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