An effective team communicates well. While it’s important to agree on roles and sharing work, how the group members communicate is also extremely important. If you’re working online, you should observe basic standards of netiquette. This will help to develop a professional atmosphere conducive to honest, positive communication and reliance on each other. Read the Safe Community Charter to find out more about the University's expectations.
Poor communication is a very common cause of problems when people are working collaboratively. Regular and sustained communication is key to good group work; periods of ‘radio silence’ tend to lead to frustration within a group. These tips will give you an idea of some key things to remember.
Communication is a two‐way process: you have to receive information as well as transmit a message. This means listening, interpreting, understanding and thinking about what people are trying to tell you, not just letting them know what you think.
Concentrate on what the speaker is saying, rather than what you want to say next. Take brief notes and let people know that you are listening to them with the occasional nod or by asking a question. If you’re not sure what other people mean, ask for clarification before taking offence.
Wait until the speaker has finished their point – don’t interrupt. Sometimes silence is a good thing while group members think about what has just been said. Try to avoid long speeches with no breaks where people could lose interest. Get to the point quickly or, if you’re communicating in a text format, start by providing some short bullet points to summarise, noting that the full explanation is below. In a virtual meeting, make use of break out activities, having the main group split into smaller groups to discuss ideas and then each small group feeding back to the whole group.
Most communication is non-verbal. Pay attention to people's body language as this can reveal a lot about how they feel about the group. Are they looking distracted? Have they crossed their arms or are they looking defensive? At the same time, consider your own body language and facial expressions and the impression they may be giving.
Communicating online can be more difficult because group members may not be able to see each other. There is no body language to help convey your message and the tone of written messages is more likely to be misinterpreted. Think carefully about what you are going to say and how it might be interpreted; replying with a very short ‘no’ or an emoji to someone’s suggestion may come across as unsupportive, or even rude and hurtful. If you’re not sure what other people mean, ask for clarification before taking offence.
Everyone has a right to an opinion and it’s important to discuss a disagreement without getting personal. Focus on the task and try to be as professional and calm as possible. Know that sometimes you may need to compromise or let things go in order to move forward. Suggest ideas that the whole group can comment on, "Why don't we…" or "What do people think about…"; build on other people's ideas, "That's an important point you made because…"; and acknowledge your errors and apologise, "Oh I see, I'm sorry I misunderstood…".
When choosing a platform for communication, ensure that everyone has access to it and that no one feels pressured to buy some new equipment or software to enable them to engage. Remember that group members have lives outside the project and sometimes they may feel upset or unable to concentrate due to external factors. We all feel this way at times, and no‐one performs brilliantly 100% of the time. Always be respectful when communicating online and follow the Safe Community Charter guidelines. Be aware of differences in the use of language. Terms can have different meanings to different people and be interpreted as confusing or offensive.
People can go with the majority rather than speaking up about something they disagree with. If they feel strongly that it was the wrong decision and don’t get the chance to say so, it can lead to resentment later. Make sure to raise your point so that the group can discuss it and decide the best course of action. It’s not enough to just say what you think - you need to explain the reason why you think what you do. For example, “I don’t agree, that would take a lot of time and we need to get things done quickly” is more effective than “That won’t work”.
Some people do not have as much confidence as others. If you notice someone is not taking part as much as they could, try to gently bring them into the conversation. Ask them what they think and be careful how you respond: “That’s one way of looking at it” is better than “That is stupid, no‐one else agrees with that”. In online discussions, be patient as not all group members may be able to check the chat messages as often as others, but their input should still be equally valued. It might be useful to agree on what a minimum level of engagement by all members should be, perhaps adding some agreed deadlines or agreed times at which members will check chats. This can lead to conversations being drawn out as members read and respond to messages over time. Someone may wish to respond to something said before the most recent message sent, so it may be useful to agree on a way to ensure discussion threads are connected. If your message is time critical, consider how to make sure all group members read it in a timely manner.
As your group work progresses, you will need to give each other feedback on work done to date. The purpose of this feedback is to evaluate the current position in relation to the end goal. How you give and receive feedback can be crucial; feedback offered, or received, in the wrong spirit can be detrimental to the team ethos.
Group work can be an enjoyable and fun experience. Be positive and optimistic. Try starting every meeting with something light‐hearted. Get someone to tell a joke or mention something fun they’ve done since the last meeting.
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