Chapter 3, 9, and 10 Presentations Reflections

 An Interesting Experience to Say the Least

By Amanda B. Varona

        Whoa! Now those were some pretty awesome presentations filled with great insight and quality speech writing. And not to toot my own horn, but my group didn't do too shabby either! In this post, I'm going to tell you all about what I thought of everyone's presentations in regards to chapter 3, 9, and 10. Spoiler alert, I actually enjoyed our groups the least. What I enjoyed about all the presentations is how we could use this knowledge and apply it to our everyday lives. Because knowledge is power and if you don't use it, you lose it. Now keep on reading and let's get into the juicy bits!



       So since I'm a fan of going in ascending order, we'll start with the Chapter 3 presentation first (a.k.a my group). We focused on intercultural communication and the idea is to understand and respect one another's culture in order to better get along! Kind of ironic that it felt like our group didn't have too much communication. I wanted to make that presentation an awesome experience, but like with most groups I'm paired with, I tend to be the one putting in the most effort. If I had to apply one aspect from Chapter 3 to our presentation, it would be that adopting an appropriate attitude would have really made our presentation shine and have everyone be on the same page. Another detail that I found great is acquiring ACCURATE knowledge of the cultures we are interacting with. Being in Miami, we all are bound to work with people outside our own culture. And it is important to to try and study them, observe them, immerse ourselves in them! Calle Ocho is such a fun time filled with great attitudes and food, yet it's all about the culture at the end of the day. We all want to prosper and try to have fun along the way. 



       Onto Chapter 9 we go! And Communicating in Groups was probably my favorite presentation out of the three. The reason being that I personally enjoy working in groups because collaboration breeds awesome ideas. But of course that depends on the type of group you find yourself placed in and what is the purpose of said group. One aspect that really resonated to me was how to set effective work group team goals. Goals have to be specific, serve a common purpose, be challenging, and shared amongst everyone in the group. No one wants to feel left out and pulling your own weight is so satisfying! But guess what has been coming up in the last couple of years because of a certain pandemic? Virtual groups! In my opinion, those are tricky groups to be a part of. Only because most of the time, it feels a tad impersonal taking to a screen and not a live human being. But I learned in this presentation, that if we utilize the technology correctly and create chances for the group members to get to know one another, it can still be a positive experience. I thought this group presented this information very eloquently and clearly. Five out of five!



        Last, but definitely not least is the chapter 10 group! They were definitely putting out a positive energy that kept me entertained and focused. Forgot to mention! They're topic is Group Leadership and Problem Solving. Which mind you, unless you live under a rock (or maybe work remotely) is unavoidable in the modern work world. My favorite part about their presentation has to be when they discussed evaluating group effectiveness. It is never easy to be critical of your peers, let alone receive criticism from them! But it is a crucial part for everyone so that they may grow and learn from their faults. The criticism of course must be constructive and not a personal attack. Another valuable lesson I learned is that leadership is not singular. Everyone can be a leader in a group. What changes is what you are leading in! There are maintenance roles, which include supporters, interpreters, harmonizers, mediators, expediters, gatekeepers, and recorders. Personally, I see myself as more of an expediter! I love to observe and make suggestions based of what I believe could be improved. Because when I ask questions, I know the answers will benefit not only myself, but everyone in the group. And one thing to mention about this chapter is of course, group presentations! Might as well mention that since it’s what we literally just did. A group presentation quality is based on the strength’s of the individual. And the ability of said individuals to come together in order to present a topic. Using both charisma and knowledge.  



        Conclusion

        All in all, everyone did a pretty swell job. Most of the groups seemed to present their subjects well and were well informed of their subject matter. I learned a lot about working with others and being able to apply that knowledge in my own life will bear nothing but delicious fruit for me! And even though I wish my experience with my own group was a more positive one, I will not let that deter me from working with other groups in the future. If I had to pick three important lessons chapter to keep in my mind moving forward it would be the following. From Chapter 3, respecting and understanding dominant cultures, co-cultures, and culture identity. Being aware of that makes us better humans and thus, better group members. In Chapter 9, knowing what healthy characteristics of a group are. Which includes having an ethical goal, interdependence, cohesiveness, productive norms, accountability, and synergy. Finally, from Chapter 10, Deciding what format of group would best work for the individuals involved. Whether it be a written, virtual, or oral format. Working in groups can be a powerful tool if everyone involved puts their best foot forward. That's all from me! Hope you learned as much as I did. Catch ya in the next post.





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