Chapter Reflections

Samira Gonzalez

Communication is very important and plays a big role in our lives. Good

communication skills are essential and allows all of us to understand information more

accurately and quickly. Being able to communicate effectively is a vital life skill. All the

groups presentations have given examples and explained their part to make this valid.

In group 1, they presented chapter 3 which talks about intercultural communication.

In their presentation they talk about how culture is the system of shared values, beliefs,

attitudes, and norms that guides what is considered appropriate among an identifiable

group of people. They also mention how intercultural communication refers to the

interactions that occurs between people whose cultures are so different that the

communication between them is altered. Intercultural communications offers the ability

to deal across cultures. This means having more and more contact with people who are

culturally different. Group 1 also mentioned something about communication strategies

and acquiring accurate knowledge. The more we know about other cultures before we

attempt to interact with people in them, the more likely we are to be competent

intercultural communicators. There are culture centered skills that include practice

listening, which means listening closely for concrete facts and information and asking

questions while listening. Another skill is practice intercultural empathy such as

imaginatively placing yourself in the other persons cultural world and attempting to

experience what he or she is experiencing. The last skill is to develop flexibility, this

means the ability to adjust your communication to fit the other person and the situation.

In group 2, we presented chapter 3, which talks about communicating in groups. We

mentioned how group communication consists of all the verbal and nonverbal message

shared among members, is what makes participating in groups a positive or negative

experience. We also mentioned how there could be conflict in groups just like conflict is

inevitable in interpersonal relationships, so it is not a surprise that there would be conflict

in group interactions. There are many group types that have to do with communication.

Some examples are families, social groups, interest groups, service groups, work groups

and teams, virtual groups, mediated communication in virtual groups, etc.

In group 3, they presented chapter 10. They talked about group leadership and

problem solving. They mention how leadership is a process whereby an individual

influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. For example, this means

leadership isn’t just one person in charge, but it is a set of communication functions

performed by any group members at various times based on each one’s unique strengths

and expertise. They also talked about how there are five key leadership responsibilities.

They mentioned how for shared leadership to work, all members must do their part. The

first key to leadership was to be committed to the group goal. The second one was to

keep the discussion on track. The third one was to encourage input from all members and

lastly, manage conflict among members.

I learned a lot from all of the presentations. We all used communication when it

came to get the PowerPoint done and did our part. I believe all groups did a great job and

their presentations were very thorough.