More Bang For Your Buck: Getting the Most Out of Your Meeting

We have all been to meetings that have been dull and boring. Those meetings seem to lack the lustre to inspire a group to action. Doug Malouf discusses a few tips for holding meetings to help motivate the ranks around you.

To start Mr. Malouf suggests that you create eye-catching meeting notices. The point of this is so that those coming to the meeting wont just believe it's another boring group meeting. This will motivate them to be excited or interested with the meeting ahead. A few things you can do to the meeting notices include: printing on colored paper, using fun upbeat illustrations, and to keep the words on the notices short. Keeping the words short would leave a little teaser to the recipient and make them more interested in the meeting.

For meetings in which all the members might not know each other, Malouf suggests name cards for the meeting. This gets the participants involved and allows you to speak on a name basis through out the meeting, making it more personal. Another activity to involve is a meet and greet in the beginning of the meeting. A good website to use for some ideas on icebreakers is http://wilderdom.com/games/Icebreakers.html.

In the beginning of the meeting, be sure to state the charge in a fun and upbeat manner. Using humor and friendly relaxed speech will do wonders to help build empathy. One can also use a fun amusing story to help wake up an audience. This ensures that the audience knows that you are trying to include them, not just read off facts and hold a boring meeting. Malouf suggests however to refrain from joke telling unless you are considered "a natural" at it.

There are many things to do to help hold a fun, enjoyable group meeting. Use these tips and you'll be sure to win the audiences attention and work your way towards pleasing meetings.



Work Cited:
Malouf, Doug, and Catherine M. Petrini. "Nine 'M's for Meetings That Motivate." Training & Development 46.10 (1992): 17. Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 2 Apr. 2010.

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Preventing the Dark Side Before They Rule Again!

Throughout the experiences in group in your life you'll come to the realization that not all groups are good experiences. You'll see the truth that not all leaders will be knights in shinning armor. There will be some that lead the group astray, hinder their tasks, and cause a group to fail. There is a darkside of leadership. This darkside ofleadership is something we most overcome. But how can you prevent the darkside from coming to power again while avoiding an epic lightsaber battle.
Holly Dolezalek explains in her article The Dark Side When Good Leaders Go Bad

Share Power
When leaders work alone they begin to lose touch with the reality of a group. They begin to taste the darkside through the power they began to abuse. So to avoid tasting the darkside yourself, work with others and share the responsiblities so you yourself wont become mad with power.

Remember the Mission It may seem so simple and easy, but just remembering why your group/organization was created can stop you from entering the corruption of that group. The first rule of the standard agenda is to know the charge. When you loose side of the charge you loose sight of who you are and what you stand for. This loss of identity allows for corruption and bad leadership to settle in. So stay on task! Simple and easy, never forget who you are and why your group was created.


Control You appetite "Anyone's dark side is influenced by the things they want or think they need." Becomming a narrow-minded, goal hungry monster will drive your leadership towards the path of the dark side. Try and understand the appetites you contain for your group and keep them in check. The better they are in check they less they will be likely to fuel your decisions. Avoid Groupthink!

Be Reflective To look inwards towards developing virtues of self-control and self-knowledge allows your group to always be refreshing the ideas and mindset of the group. Reflecting on the group and yourself can allow your leadership and group to stay fresh, alert, and far from the dark side.

The dark side has powerful means of persuasion... DON'T GIVE YOURSELF TO THE DARKSIDE!




Work Cited:
Dolezalek, Holly. "The Dark Side When Good Leaders Go Bad." Training 43.6 (2006): 20-26. Education Research Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 Mar. 2010.
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Removing GroupThink

As we spoke about in our last post, groupthink is a negative comformity within the group. It lessens the possibilites for new and better ideas and limits the groups' abilities. To avoid groupthink, Carl Mann discusses certain measures should be taken such as:



1.) Encouraging discussion
Leaders should not set preferences and "rules" when establishing an agenda. This allows each member to feel a part of the group and encourages them to state their opinions. Discussion is the best way to create conflict which can lead to better decision-making.

2.) Divide into subgroups
Dividing into subgroups would encourage debate within the group and allow more passive opinions to be heard. Also, once each subgroup reaches a decision, it makes for a great discussion for the group as a whole to therefore find the best possible outcome.

3.) Welcome outsiders
Encourage outside members to voice their opinions and attend meetings. Outside members looking in for the first time may offer views that have previously ignored.

4.) "Second Chance Meeting"
This is a meeting after the initial decision has been made where group members and outside members can attend to ask questions on issues they doubt. To ensure that everyone is comfortable with the final decision.

5.) Appoint a "Devil's Advocate"
When groupthink is apparent, it is critical for someone to play "devil's advocate" to fuel discussion. Their job would be to voice a rival opinion to the mainstream thoughts to find an "outside the box" solution.



So if you find your self making decisions with the groupthink model, just remember our easy tips to eliminate this negative process from your organizaton or group. You too can find the best possible solutions to any problem, including groupthink!


Works Cited
Mann, Carl P. "How to Remove Groupthink from Executive Decision-Making." Public Relations Quarterly 31.3 (1986): 28. Communication & Mass Media Complete. EBSCO. Web. 19 Mar. 2010.
Media:
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Too much cohesion a bad thing?

Finding harmony in a group allows a group to gather unity for their "charge". But when it goes too far and groups begin to feel like that have drank from the fountain of youth issues begin to arise.

Jin Nam Choi of the University of Michigan and Myung Un Kim of the Seoul national University reported a study on organizational applications of group think and the limitations to different organizations.



Groupthink was described in Choi and Kim's article as an agreement-seeking tendency that hinders the ability for effecting decision-making skills leading to a complete failure of this group. Groupthinkers are said to suffer from two symptoms. The first related to positive team performance, the other dealt with how little negative performance affected the group.

Throughout the study they visualized, behavior functions they used involved two different forms of group activities: internal and external. The internal activities lead towards team building and greater communication between the group. The external activities were directed at the environment of the group to manage how they interacted with each other. Their goals were to assess groupthink and defecting decision making in an organizational setting. The other aspect of their study focused on how groups think and what they do that starts to snowball to the groupthink setting.



The gist of the study suggests that groupthink is bad. And should not be apart of small groups and organizations. But how do we remove group think?







Tune in next time to find out how to remove group think from your organization!

Citiation:

Choi, Jin, and Myung Kim. "The Organizational Application of Groupthink and Its Limitations in Organizations." Journal of Applied Psychology. 84.2 (1999): 297-306. Print.

Group Presentation: Friend or Foe?

There are a lot of things that students dislike about being a student: homework, exams, these things called classes, working in groups, or the dreaded presentation. Why? Because your grade depends on other people. On top of not wanting to work in a group at all, the one thing that sends shivers down the spine are those two words, "group presentation."

Researchers have found that working in groups and then giving a final presentation is when students' learning is at its peak. They have found that student learn the best through "active, collaborative, small-group work inside and outside the
classroom," (Kågesten, Owe and Johann Engelbrecht). It enables the student to learn and develop many skills unattained when just listening to a lecture. According to the study by Owe Kågesten and Johann Engelbrecht, these skills include a plethora of social skills such as working with others, time management, oral skills, presentation skills and in depth understanding of the subject.

This being said, it does not lessen the fear of a group presentation. Half the reason that a group presentation scares people, is because of previous poor group experiences. Other reasons include a fear of splitting the work because of it not getting done, not getting done to the caliber of your own etc.

Now, the group has met, gained the information and needs to start putting your presentation together. Where to start?

Knowing your audience is the first step. You need to be able to target your key audience and keep their attention the entire way through the presentation. For example, making jokes can be appropriate for a peer audience, but for a professional audience you need to make sure to keep the joke professional. When you know your audience, it is easier to present the information as well. You can build a PowerPoint to coordinate with the audience.


A bad PowerPoint can ruin a good presentation!
PowerPoint's used to be used only in complex presentations when a visual was necessary. Recently, they have become very popular with every presentation, whether it be large or small.

Some reminders when making a PowerPoint include:
1.) Keep the slides to a minimum. You want your audience to listen to what you have to say, not be distracted by your PowerPoint.
2.) Put a blank slide in between slides when you have a lot to explain. This makes them focus on you.
3.) Dim the lights as little as possible
4.) Keep it short, sweet and to the point!

Once the research is done, the PowerPoint is made, and the presentation has been split up between each group member, it is time to practice.

Practice is such an important part of giving a presentation, especially in a group. It is essential that every member is confident in their information and knows it well so that they are not reading off the slides. PowerPoint slides shouldn't have very much writing on them anyway, so each member should be holding note cards that highlight main points only. Each member needs to be confident to speak their section by only seeing main points, spiking their memory. Be careful not to memorize your presentation because you may sound boring and monotone. Also, if a member who memorizes their portion loses their spot, it will be extremely hard to find it again. Finally, keep eye contact and keep your voice under control. Speaking to fast or too slow are signs of nervousness. While your information may be great, these vocal mistakes can make the group sound less credible. And keeping eye contact will keep your audience engaged.

Following these simple steps will help any student get through a presentation, whether it is solo or group orientated.


Citations
Henderson, Jeanette. "Stop the boring PowerPoint presentations!." Machine Design 79.13 (2007): 54-58. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 Feb. 2010.

Kågesten, Owe, and Johann Engelbrecht. "Student group presentations: a learning instrument in undergraduate mathematics for engineering students." European Journal of Engineering Education 32.3 (2007): 303-314. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 Feb. 2010

Sun, Calvin. "Improve Your Presentations." Student Lawyer 37.2 (2008): 28-31. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 26 Feb. 2010.

United We Stand, Divided We Fall

Communication within a group is important to overall success. It is important to quickly and effectively resolve all conflict immediately that surfaces within the group. Allowing conflicts to fester within will create tension and ultimately result in failure. Walkter Stephen lists three main ways to maintain morale and avoid group self-destruction:

1.) Check yourself before you wreck yourself - Self-reflection is a critical part of keeping the peace when working in groups. You may be over-reacting, under-reacting or simply being apathetic. If you find yourself upset over a group issue, take a minute to calm down, and reflect on the overall charge. Remember, temper is the only thing you can't get rid of by losing it!

2.) Get in where you fit in - Don't wait to be asked what your opinion is in the group. You need to be comfortable within your group and actively contribute.

3.) Relish contrasting opinions - Everyone is different and can learn from the other members of the group whether it be values, beliefs, or actions. It is important to be open-minded and encourage everyone to contribute conflicting ideas. When someone plays "devils-advocate," it has the ability to open up the door for discussion, discovering new ideas and relish contrasting opinions.



Citation:
Stephan, Walter G. "Psychological and Communication Processes Associated With Intergroup Conflict Resolution." Small Group Research 39, no. 1 (February 2008): 28-41. Communication & Mass Media Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed February 19,

Top 5 Ways to Develop Yourself as a Leader

Every small group has a person who either steps up or is delegated by the group as the leader. How they handle that responsibility will determine the groups dynamics and eventually their success. Leaders need to be able to self reflect and develop their own skills. Followership cannot be coerced, only volunteered, hence becoming a better leader involves improving the service we offer. According to Gayle Lantz, there are twelve complete thought out ideas on how to do this. We have summarized and placed in order of importance what we feel is the top five of her ideas:


5.) How can I think more strategically?
First, you need to completely know and understand your charge so that you can make a plan of attack instead of jumping in head first. It is important to never lose sight of your charge when setting goals and actions.

4.) How will I recognize success?
Nothing can be achieved without goals ways to measure your actions. Find ways to measure your actions against what you want to achieve and if it is something unmeasurable, then change your approach.

3.) What is one "problem" that I can turn into an opportunity?
Look to turn every weakness into a strength. Don't let problems shift the focus of the group, instead use each as an opportunity for success.

2.) What is my biggest fear and how will I face it?
Resisting a fear, only empowers it. Embrace things that make you nervous and overcome them to make you a stronger leader and in turn, your group will follow.

1.) What leadership skill can -and should- I get better at?
Everyone has their faults, gain feedback from your group members on what yours is and what you can change. Your group members will respect you if you extend them the courtesy first.




Citation:
Lantz, Gayle. "Twelve Leadership Questions for 2010." BusinessWeek Online (2010): 21. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 18.Feb. 2010.