Module 17 and 18

     Module 17 discusses the importance of listening.  Listening is something that we are constantly doing; yet many of us are poor listeners.  Good listeners: pay attention, focus on the speaker in a positive light, avoid making assumptions, and listen for feelings as well as facts.  There are constant distractions that could cause a listener to misunderstand what the speaker is saying.  A good listener focuses all of his/her attention on the speaker.  A good way to stay involved in the conversation is to create a list of important questions to address.  It is also important to focus on the speaker in a generous way.  When listening, one should not allow negative assumptions and beliefs to discredit what the speaker is saying.  For example, you should not wait until a statement that you disagree with to give reason to ignore all information given by the speaker.  It is important to verify what you heard and to never make assumptions.  Finally, listen for emotion as well as facts.  Body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions are all forms of communication.  The book talked about being an active listener by demonstrating that you have heard and understand a speaker.  Strategies for active responses include: paraphrase the content, mirror the speaker's feelings, state your own feelings, ask for information and clarification, and offer to help fix the problem.

     Module 18 deals with working and writing in teams.  Ground rules established before group meetings will help to ensure that every team member knows what is expected of them.  Group messages are either informational, procedural, or interpersonal.  The type of message will be more dominant depending on the stage of the group development.  Negative actions that hurt the group include: blocking, dominating, clowning, and withdrawing.  Clowning is the act of making unproductive jokes and diverting the group from the task.  Humor is a good tool to create good relationships, however there is a limit.  Conflict will more than likely arise due to the differences in beliefs and ideas.  Ensuring that everyone's information is correct and that the individual isn't just venting is an important step in conflict resolution.  A term I found interesting in the chapter was the word "groupthink."  Groupthink is the tendency for groups to "go along with the crowd."  Members that do not create alternatives hurt the effectiveness of the groups decisions.