Favorite Concept

My favorite concept we have covered in this class was the different funtions of communication and how there are six different functions on nonverbal communication that affect the overall flow of the communication in a small group. For example one of the functions of nonverbal communication is contradiction and this means when we make the nonverbal and verbal messages congruent according to page 101 in Chapter 6 in verbal and nonverbal communication. For example as the text states, a colleague's facial expression can mean something else in comparison to their verbal communcation. When I lived with seven other girls and we wre trying to solve a problem occuring amongst our group, one or some of the girls would say something and their facial expression and gestures said another. That would always make it harder on those around them because their body language and what they were saying were or seemed different. I chose this topic and I like it because I feel nonverbal communication is more vital in a group than we think. Being able to see someone's facial expression,gesture, or body language in general gives us sometimes a better meaning of how that person is feeling and what is on their mind. I am now more aware of and more observant when someone seems unsatisfied about something, I look at their facial expression and also listen to what they have to say and see if they go hand in hand.

What I've learned, Favorite/Least Favorite Thing

What I have learned throughout this class is that how we conduct ourselves through verbal and nonverbal communication, through virtual communication all goes hand in hand and contributes to how a group operates overall as a whole. The diversity of a group is also important because diversity is needed in small to large groups because if we all were alike and though alike, the end results and the process of things would not be as interesting and cohesive. I have relearned that "two heads are better than one." My favorite thing about this class was all the chapters because I thought they were all fascinating to read and gave me a better picture and more clear standing on how vital different forms of communication are in small groups or groups in genera. I don't really have a least favorite thing about this class because all the chapter readings to making blog posts and reading and commenting on our my classmates' blogs helped me to have a better understanding on the readings and concepts. I also found the two assignments on the movie analysis and small group observation project to be very helpful and beneficial because they helped me to realize how and why people interact and act in groups and how in the movie I analyzed "Mean Girls" why the main character changed herself to fit in a small group because she wanted to be accepted. In the end, she realized what she was communiating, the message she was sending to everyone, only hurt herself and learning to be her was what mattered most.

Group Observation Project

For my Group Observation Project I observed our school's baseball team because I know of the leader(the coach) and have helped out at a few of the events over the past few years I have been at state and I have attended their games throughout the past few years. Since I am also a big baseball fan, I love the game, when we were assigned this project, I immediately thought of the baseball team because I have always wondered what it is like in a college athletic team when the coach is in a meeting with the players and what goes on and how it is conducted. I found it to be a very useful exercise because as we have been discussing throughout the semester in our class how small group communication is affected in different ways and how different forms of communication are utilized in a group interaction. What I learned from this project is that how a leader carries themself is very vital because it affects the overall vibe of the room. When I observed the coach he had a nice tone, and he did a well job on communicating to the team what had gone well and didn't in past games and how players did a well job and what can be improved. What I thought was good about this project was that we got to observe at least two team meetings because sometimes seeing something for just one time may not be able to give us a clear vision of how something is and the second time may give us a more better sense of it. For me, I thought both meetings complimented each other and both were very helpful to observe. I am not sure what can be improved. I though overall this was a great project.