Blog Post #1 - Viviana Rubio

In my Introduction to Communication class we were assigned group presentations based on different chapters from our textbook. The groups were then to present and explain the key concepts of communication to the class in an easy way to understand. In the end, I really enjoyed all three presentations including my own groups presentation. I liked that each group had a slide with simple designs and straightforward information to follow. There was quite a lot of stuff in some chapters but everyone did a good job of splitting the work and of explaining the topics clearly. And I enjoyed learning new things from every presentation and not just reading from the text book. The class was more interesting and engaging. I was able to see different presentation styles and listen to different people explain concepts.

The first group presented on Chapter 3: Culture and Communication. In their presentation they touched on a number of important topics including race, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability and cultural identity. I was particularly interested in the section about how cultures communicate differently. I remember the slide on long term vs short term orientation because it was interesting to see how different cultures value time, relationships and success differently. I believed that example helped in understanding the idea because it linked communication with real life situations.

The presentation also explained intercultural communication competence and barriers that can affect communication between people from different backgrounds.  I liked that the slides were simple and not too text heavy so it was easy to read and pay attention to. The visuals and examples also helped me stay focused during the presentation. Overall, this group did a really good job making complicated communication concepts easier to understand. It also reminded me how important culture is in everyday interactions, even in situations people might not think about often. 

The second group presented on Chapter 9: Groups and Teamwork. The presentation covered the different types of groups, characteristics of healthy groups, stages of group development, and conflict in groups. I was particularly interested in one slide that compared ethical and unethical goals of groups. I thought that was a clever and interesting way to explain the difference between healthy and unhealthy group behaviour.

This presentation was very easy to relate to because most people have experience working in groups at school, work or even in social situations. As I was listening I kept thinking about my own experiences in working on group assignments and how important communication is when people are trying to work together. I also liked learning about the stages of group development, especially forming, storming, norming, and performing, because those stages really describe how most groups function in real life. The group explained their topics clearly and kept the presentation organized, which made it easier to follow along. I also appreciated how the slides were visually appealing without being distracting. Even though there was a lot of information in the chapter, the group still managed to present it in a way that felt understandable and interesting.

My group presented Chapter 10: Leadership, effective meetings, problem solving, and evaluating group effectiveness. I was a part of this presentation so it was nice to see how all our preparation came together in the end. I enjoyed learning about the different leadership styles like autocratic, democratic, transformational and servant leadership in our chapter.

It was interesting for me to see how different leadership styles influenced how groups worked and communicated. I also liked learning about the problem solving process because it demonstrated how groups can work through issues step by step instead of making hasty decisions. Getting ready for this presentation also made me realize how much teamwork and communication is needed to make a successful presentation. The whole group had to pull their weight and stay organized for everything to work out. I thought our slides were clean and simple and easy to understand which helped us explain the information more effectively. Presenting in front of the class is still a little nerve-racking sometimes, but I think this helped build my confidence in talking in front of other people. The only thing that made our presenting experience a little more difficult was that we only had about two days to get everything ready before the due date. That meant my group had to read through the chapter quickly, split the sections as fairly as we could, and meet outside of class time to rehearse. We also had to decide who was going to be sharing their screen for the presentation, create speaker notes and design our slides. It was only the first week of class and we barely knew each other so working together so soon was a little stressful at first. Some group members also dropped the class along the way which made things more confusing because we didn’t realize it right away. That meant the remaining members had to reorganize the work and adjust our presentation plans at the last minute. Even though it was stressful at times, I think my group handled the situation well and still managed to put together a strong presentation. Overall, I was pleased with how well my group worked together and how our presentation went.

Looking back, I actually enjoyed the experience of all three presentations more than I expected. Each group discussed different topics related to communication but all were somehow connected through culture, teamwork, leadership and interaction with others. I also liked that everyone was prepared and put effort into their presentations. The slides were easy to read and visually organized and not too complicated, so it was easier to stay engaged through each presentation. More importantly, I feel like I actually learned useful information that can be used in real life situations outside of class. From the presentations, I understood how communication is important in daily life, be it culture, working in groups or leadership. I think everyone did an amazing job and I enjoyed learning from my classmates throughout this project.