Month: September 2018

GROUP AND LEADERSHIP

 

Was there a group leader?

I wouldn’t say there was a solo group leader, especially by the end of the activity, but I did definitely see there were certain members in my group who took more control of the situation from the start.

 

How was this chosen?

We didn’t vocally chose a leader in our group, naturally someone started taking control and saying their ideas and the rest seemed to agree and follow this persons ideas and expand on them.

 

If informal, how did you know?  What were the actions that marked them as a leader?

We knew as they were very vocal and kind of made the first decisions in the group. They actively presented their ideas by showing us what they think and then they suggested what other group members should do to follow their plan.

 

How did this impact on the rest of the group e.g. was there some underlying resentment/ did anyone feel excluded?

Everyone in my group was very compliant and agreed with the ideas presented by the group leader(s), I don’t think there was any underlying resentment, everyone seemed very happy and included as we all had a job to do.

 

What was most challenging for you about working in this group? (personal reflection)

I sometimes felt as though I wasn’t doing enough since there were members who took more control in the situation, sometimes I did feel as if i wasn’t doing enough at some points and wanted to help more but there wasn’t much else to do, I could have been more vocal about changes I would have wanted to make rather than just being compliant with everyone else, but in general I do feel as though I worked well in my team and we had a successful den.

 

EXPLAINING 

 

How clearly did you think the group explained to you?

I think the group explained their ideas to me very well, our communication as a group was very good and everything we were doing was fairly clear.

 

What made this clear or unclear?

The explaining was clear as we had a person who outlined the instructions of what we should do to build our den and we all discussed this and constantly communicated with each other and if anyone was unsure they asked questions ensuring we were all understanding of what we were doing.

 

What stage of the 5Ps might have been missed out?

we perhaps missed the third stage which was preparation as we started to build and put down our ‘flooring’ without clearing the area we were in and by the end the floor was a mess with twigs and other natural materials, there was also some areas which were hard to access due to us not preparing and clearing the area.

 

ENVIRONMENT

 

What was the impact of the environment on your communication?

We had to perhaps be louder as things like the wind or noise of branches bellow us made it harder to hear each other.

 

What changes did you make when explaining to others that you might not have considered in a typical classroom?

I had to speak a lot louder and get closer to people when talking to them and in a classroom sense i might not have to do this as much.

 

How challenging was it so speak above the sounds in the environment?  How can we make this communication easier on both speaker and listener?

The speaker could try and move to a sort of quiet area outside to ensure there is less noise, the listener should ensure they’re focusing their full attention on the speaker. The listeners should also ensure they’re close to the person speaking and that they’re not wondering around the outdoor space.

 

When listening, did the environment distract you? How can we overcome this?

The environment didn’t distract me personally but if something like the noise in the environment distracted me it could be overcome by moving to a different place.

 

NEGOTIATION 

Were your negotiations successful?  Why/Why not?

Yes our negotiations were successful as a few of us went to the negotiations and built the case that the item we needed was essential to our build.

 

What was most challenging about these?

It was challenging on the other half of the negotiation as everything we used we needed for our den and we didn’t want to say no to the others but we knew we couldn’t give it up. It was also hard to get the other team to agree especially when we were so stubborn about giving our stuff up

On Monday,  I took part in an outdoor workshop which developed our ability to communicate within a team! For this workshop we had to create a den using a variety of random materials and things from the natural environment. My group and I decided to use poles and a cover to create a tent like den.

Group and leadership:

I feel like my group worked well together and we all shared an equal part. I don’t feel like anyone took the lead as such rather we all shared our ideas and decided between us which we would decide to go with. I feel this was positive as it meant that everyone felt included and valued. The most challenging aspect of working as a group for me was overcoming the barrier of not knowing everyone in my group well, however I feel the group was great as a whole.

Explaining-

Another part of my workshop on Monday was explaining the process my group had taken to create our den.  The group who explained to me were clear and concise and I feel they completed all 5P’s of explaining.

Enviroment-

This workshop took place in the woods outside of the Ayr campus. I feel this environment was relaxed which led to me feeling relaxed, this allowed me to communicate effectively and confidently. One difficultly this environment had was speaking over the surrounding noises (eg ; the wind, birds and passers by), this led to  each and every one of us having to speak much louder and clearer to ensure everyone could hear us. However, I don’t feel like this affected our group much as we all stood close together and spoke loud and clear.

Negotiation-

Another aspect of this workshop was having to negotiate materials with other groups. My group needed another large pole in order to complete our den however another team had it. At first the other team was not open to trading however when we offered our two small poles they were happy to trade.

I found this workshop extremely beneficial. It helped to develop not only my communication skills but acted as a team building opportunity. I am looking forward to taking part in more!

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