Reflections - Ajah Yearwood

 

        During speech class these past few weeks, we had to read three chapters and make a powerpoint on theme. Each group had their own chapter who then split it up into smaller parts! I personally did race and gender roles, your race being biological characteristics and gender roles being what you identify as despite your sex. During these presentations, we mostly learned about communication in groups, physical and mental characteristics, and leadership.

        In one half of group one’s presentation, we learned about characteristics. Characteristics are features of you that determine what you act like and look like. Even though this is what they are, many people have issues with mixing up visual characteristics with trait characteristics. An example of this, is your sex being male but your gender being female! Many people from older generations or specific cultures are not as used to this idea, a lot of them being transphobic or homophobic. Of course this is not the case for everyone, especially with younger generations, but it is more common with older people.

        In the another half of group one’s presentation, we learned about culture. I was able to learn about how different cultures view and interact with each other and religion. A religion is a like minded belief of worshipping a higher being. Many cultures similar to each other have like minded views on things like religion or traditional roles. I also learned that many people in the word today are bi-cultural, which means their views on specific things are based on experience rather than what they’re taught.

        While working on this power point, I found it to be an enjoyable experience due to it being hands on and creative. Everyone in my group was able to collaborate, help each other, and get along. I think my favorite part of doing this project was because of that and the decorating! Our presentations were all clear and there were not many interruptions.

        In group two’s presentation, I learned about communication in groups. There were parts of the presentation that taught me you should “listen carefully to the conversation, know your audience, incorporate feedback, show respect through your conversation, know what everyone’s task is, and treat one another with respect.” The powerpoint showed me how these rules can apply to many different kinds of groups, from families to meetings, service, and social groups. The main theme of this power point was to showcase different kinds of groups by showing how they work together and how to make them work.

        We were able to learn that leadership is a process of guiding groups of people to create the strongest team possible. Several roles are necessary for a successful group though! You will need to assign people to do certain tasks so the job gets done thoroughly, and some expeditors to make sure it does in harmony. Sometimes, generation gaps conflict with this because sometime elders think they have superiority over younger generations. Leadership basically just depends on your group dynamic, so it could be easier for everyone to work as one.

        I feel like group two’s presentation was pretty good, especially since I can be bossy sometimes! The powerpoint helped me find ways how to be more open to other opinions and help. It was nice to read along with the speakers as they presented their slides. Though I think this, i do believe they might’ve taken a while due to technical difficulties and people being absent.

        I was also taught in both group two’s power point and group three’s power point, that before and after a meeting you should make sure to have everything prepared and review and take notes to be prepared for your next meeting, especially if you have any questions. Virtual meeting teams are necessary when there are conflicts in meeting in person. Because of this, generation gaps are more intense because it may be harder to merge ideas. Work groups may be necessary to help the generations collaborate with each other better by expressing their concerns and feelings to make their work the best it can be. These groups are healthy and help with synergy and productivity.

        Overall, in the second and third power points I learned about about the ways humans communicate to work together through life and business. Because of the most recent difficulties in this world, virtual communication has become a lot more common. People have had to use new methods and smart strategies to make these issues work. Many have had to use platforms such as Zoom or Google Meet to keep communication face to face and clear. Impersonal, personal, and group communication are different kinds of communication used to describe what is necessary for the current situation. Impersonal communication is a formal type of communication used to share information or share a group message, personal communication is a more hands on type of communication, creating friendships with your colleagues, and group communication is a type of communication for well, groups!

        I really liked group three’s presentation! I think they spoke clear and concisely, and their information was understandable and neat. Their slides looked nice and they seem like they work well together. I also liked how the vibe of their power point was more of a business and team type of communication.

        In my opinion my group, which was group one, had the best presentation. I found it very entertaining to read about the characteristics that one could have and the effect of culture on everyday life. Group two and three were also very good, helping me put things into a perspective I didn’t see before and teaching me new things that I can use in the future. I think all power points were special in their own way and most people were able to go off the script, actually knowing what they’re talking about. I want to be an organizational psychologist so these power points definitely connected to me on a personal level and I was happy to be able to learn about these things during our presentations.