Welcome to the next video in Module 1, where we're rethinking communication. In the first few videos of this module we focused on theories of communication, emphasizing two general approaches to understanding communication. Communication as transmission and communication as social construction. Now we turn our attention to some of the hidden forces of group interaction, including context, interaction design and systems and institutions. All of which help us rethink our understanding of communication. Now what do I mean by hidden forces? Well I mean all those things that are present in any group situation that influence how we interact, even if we don't see them. It's never just the people in the room or at the table talking with each other, there's always something more, like people's professional or personal commitments that are affected by the group. The unspoken norms or rules of decorum that are unique to a particular setting. Or even the physical layout of the room that influences the way people should interact in certain ways and not others, and so much more. All this stuff is lurking in the background, enabling or constraining our actions, decisions, and interpretations. So if we want to be good communicators in groups, we have to understand and be aware of the hidden forces of group interaction. Now first up is the notion of context. A keen understanding of context underwrites all effective communication. If real estate is all about location, location, location, good communication is all about context, context, context. That's because communication is situational. What is effective or appropriate in one situation may be completely ineffective or inappropriate in another situation. I [LAUGH] often joke with my students that the answer to any question in a communication class is, it depends. What you should say, how you should say it, and whom you should say it to, all depend on the situation you're in. And that situation is best understood in terms of context. The broader circumstances that provide the setting for a particular event, and from which that event can be understood and assessed. Context influences virtually everything we do in groups. How you communicate is a function of the context you think you're in, and people's assessment of your communication depends on their understanding of the context. Even though our understanding of context is often taken for granted, and that people don't always agree on the exact nature of the context that they're in. Of course every situation is unique, but a lot of group communication happens in two general contexts, professional groups or civic groups, or some hybrid of the two. Yes, that does leave out a couple other key contexts, namely, peer groups and family groups. But those have some special dynamics that are beyond our purposes here. So we'll focus on professional and civic contexts of group communication. Groups in professional settings work in a context that tends to emphasize teamwork and task accomplishment, where involvement is usually required, and lines of authority are relatively clear. And hopefully you can recognize right away how these contextual factors would influence group communication. There are pressures to conform, to support the team, and to get things done. There are consequences for your lack of involvement or participation. And there are protocols for who gets to make decisions and who's responsible for various outcomes. I'm sure many of you have worked in professional settings where you were part of a group. And you experienced the pressures and expectations of teamwork, compulsory involvement and compliance with some sort of decision making hierarchy. And these experiences have been both positive and negative. They provide the context by which great things are accomplished and they can be the source of much frustration and group dysfunctionality. Now,civic groups on the other hand are a bit different. By civic groups,I mean all the group work associated with our community involvement. The things we do in our neighborhoods,our religious congregations,our voluntary associations, and any other kind of extra-curricular activities of civic engagement that are beyond our professional responsibilities. A substantial amount of group work involves citizens in our community coming together to solve problems, develop new ideas, advance political initiatives, and improve our society. In contrast to professional groups, civic groups emphasize stakeholder representation and public deliberation. Involvement is voluntary, and authority is complicated. If you are involved in some sort of community improvement initiative, it is important that your groups represent the people who have a stake in that issue. And enables the broader public to participate in the deliberation process in a meaningful way. Plus, since people are involved voluntarily, you have to interact with them in certain ways or they'll just leave. And it can be difficult to know exactly who's in charge of such groups, because not everybody is necessarily on the same team. They have different interests, they answer to different constituents, and they have no bureaucratic or legal authority over each other. So who gets to make the final decision? And who has the authority to hold people accountable to ensure that various group members actually follow through on those commitments? These are some of the key contextual factors of civic groups. And if you fail to recognize this, and interact with people as you would in a professional group, you might be in big trouble. But if you appreciate the unique aspects of the civic context, your group can be very successful. And some of the groups your involved with are going to be hybrid groups, a combination of both professional and civic context. For example, we volunteer to be part of a neighborhood association task force. But that association may also be managed by a professional company. So group meetings involve both professionals and volunteers. People who are accountable to organizational superiors and responsible for organizational results. But also people who are not subject to any of these constraints, who want their voices adequately represented in the decision-making process and who can simply leave if they don't like how things are going. Therefore, to be successful in any group situation, you have to have a keen understanding of the context in which that group is operating. Context will influence what you say, how you say it, whom you say it to, and the overall impact of your communication. What might be effective in a professional group could be detrimental to a civic group. Like a single leader acting decisively by making a quick decision and expecting compliance, or vice versa. It could be very important for a civic group to have multiple meetings over an extended period of time to ensure that relevant stakeholders have the opportunity for meaningful participation in the deliberation process. Whereas, this approach could be very ineffective for a professional group that requires timely action to achieve a specific goal. And as important as context is, we often don't acknowledge context explicitly. Context is understood implicitly by members of the group. Context is a hidden force of group communication. Resulting in a set of unspoken norms, values, and expectations that influence our interactions. So if we want to have effective group communication, we always need to ask ourselves a series of questions to help us understand and appreciate the context of the group. What kind of group is this? A professional group, a civic group, or some combination of the two? Why has our group been convened? Are we meeting out of necessity or opportunity? What is our end goal? How and why are people involved in our group? Are they here voluntarily, or are they required to be here? And how can their involvement be sustained or lost? Who's in charge of our group? And where does their authority come from? Who does this group answer to? To whom are they accountable? Answering these questions will give you a much better understanding of the context of your group. And how you answer these questions, should have a direct impact on the ways in which you communicate with people in your group. In our next video, we'll look at another hidden force of group interaction, the notion of interaction design. And how our communication with each other is shaped by a certain architecture of norms, rules, and expectations which guide our choices and our interpretation of the choices of others. Until then.
