Example of a First Reader
I found an important point while reading Dialogue about having a balance between advocacy
and inquiry while proposing ideas or suggestions. It states, "balancing advocacy and inquiry
means stating clearly and confidently what one thinks and why one thinks it, while at the same
time being open to being wrong. It means encouraging others to challenge our views, and to
explore what might stop them from doing so" (188). This is an important aspect to note and to
learn from. It's important to have confidence in your own ideas, but it is also important to be
willing to listen to your group members and their opinions of your idea. This sort of thing
comes up in my small group often, where one person has an idea and the rest of the group is
able to relate their feelings and reactions to that idea. If the person is confident in their idea,
it's easier for the group to take hold of that idea and make it work and make it into something
that the whole group agrees with. There are many times when someone will suggest a good
idea, but their belief and excitement behind the idea is small or even non existent and it leads
the group to believe that the idea isn't worth thinking more deeply about and the idea that
could have potential is completely left to dry.
I also liked the idea of the "four kinds of action" (talked about in Dialogue on pages 192-3) that
people partake in within a small group communication setting. With the person who makes a
move, the follower, the one who opposes the first two, and the bystander who gives more of a
perspective than taking a stand. Having all of these components makes for a well rounded
discussion.
In Communicating in Small Groups, Beebe and Masterson talk about avoidance of conflicts that
arise in discussion. The reasons for avoiding conflict are to "avoid directly addressing the
conflict, the cause of the conflict may remain and emotions may escalate, making the conflict
worse. Avoiding conflict may also signal to others that you simply don't care about the needs
and interests of others in your group" (182). I am very open about my feelings usually so this
"avoiding conflict" doesn't really work for me, but it's good for me to know that other people
might think this way and I can make sure that they are satisfied with our group and not just
"avoiding conflict."
Example of a Responder
I found all of [name of student] insights and commentary to be interesting. She
accurately conveyed the similar themes of the readings while noting the theses of all. I believe
it was particularly relevant to note the collaborative themes, but also note the difficulty of
nominating a specific “oppose”. The opposer plays the devil’s advocate and aims to poke holes
in the collaborative product.
In a formal setting, this is straight forward, but in our small groups this is more difficult.
Social norms prevent group members from blatantly shooting down what may be a poor idea
out of respect for their group members. The group wants everyone to have a distinct role, and
even if one person’s product is sub-par, it is not polite to criticize them. This can potentially
become a problem if the performance of one group member is not acceptable, but socially they
fit in well. While it would have been nice for the authors to address this subject, I understand
the inherent difficulties of analyzing such an issue. Communicating in Small Groups attempts to
analyze socially motivated difficulties, and provides a basic outline of Conflict-Management
styles and types of disagreements. While each collaborative project is unique, they can be
broken down in a similar fashion with similarly assigned roles. When social issues come into
play, the definite solutions are more difficult to come by.
Example of a Synthesizer:
I think it’s worth exploring what [name of student]and [name of student] note regarding
interpersonal interactions; “I am very open about my feelings usually so this "avoiding conflict"
doesn't really work for me, but it's good for me to know that other people might think this way
and I can make sure that they are satisfied with our group and not just "avoiding conflict."
(First Reader)” and “Social norms prevent group members from blatantly shooting down what
may be a poor idea out of respect for their group members. The group wants everyone to have
a distinct role, and even if one persons product is sub-par, it is not polite to criticize them.
Responder)”
The First Reader explains that she shares her ideas and opinions willingly, and the Responder
observes that people in group situations with her may not want to challenge her out of respect
for her feelings. I think the way for people in this type of situation to become more
collaborative in their approach is to acknowledge what Beebe and Masterson, in Communicating
in Small Groups, say on page 191; “No one can change the behavior of another person.” With
that in mind, they also explain “Being sensitive and thoughtful about how others may respond
to your messages can help you express your ideas in ways that are more likely to be heard
rather than immediately rejected. … But competent communicators have the knowledge, skill,
and motivation to respond appropriately and effectively to others behavior, even when that
behavior is difficult, self-serving, or unethical (pg 191).”
To suspend our own beliefs and judgments, to truly listen and try to understand another’s
feelings, can be the key that unlocks the conflict and provides an open door to the solution.