UNCO_LE@RN Student guide: What group communication skills do I need to know?

Working in groups requires two distinct but interrelated sets of communication skills, social skills, and task skills. Social skills are what we use to get to know each other, become familiar with each other, build trust with each other, and build cohesion. When groups are cohesive, there is a sense of enjoying each other's company, wanting to work together, and sticking together even in challenging situations. Task skills are what we use to work together productively, doing quality, creative, and professional work in a timely fashion.

Before You Begin

Understanding and implementing the group communication skills provided here will decrease stress and facilitate better work in class-assigned groups and group projects. These are also foundational skills for working in groups in any and all professional settings. Some of these skills are often overlooked, especially in online classes, where we can take the stance that we are essentially "in the class alone," but we are not. In class, just like all work environments, we have colleagues and build work relationships. Engaging in the shared endeavor of the work adds meaning to our experience, increases the breadth and depth of our learning, and leads to higher quality work. However, these outcomes only occur when groups work. Doing groupwork is serious work, and it takes attention to detail. The suggestions provided here are designed to focus attention on the details that can make or break groups.

As you read through this page, you will notice the suggestions to use Canvas collaborations or create a discussion in your group environment. Go to the Student guide: What tools can I use to collaborate in groups? page to find helpful guides and descriptions.

Group Communication Social Skills

One of the main things that makes working in groups challenging is that before a group can work together productively, the group needs to build cohesion. Building cohesion takes time and attentive effort. We need to get to know our groupmates, learning what we have in common as well as coming to know the diversity in the group - getting to know our differences in skills, perspectives, and backgrounds. If a group tries to jump right into working on a task without taking time to build cohesion, the group will never accomplish as much as they could together.

Though it may not be feasible to enact all of these social communication skills in every online class, if an effort is made to get comfortable and build familiarity, write with language that builds a supportive climate, and participate in a celebration and reflection discussion (see "Group Cohesion" below), it is much more likely that your group experience will be a positive one.

Getting Comfortable and Building Familiarity

When we first start to work with a new group, we experience primary or interpersonal tension. This is similar to the tension we feel whenever we find ourselves in a situation where we are around new people, like when arriving at a party and having that sense of discomfort until we find people to talk to and hang out with. The key here is to remember that everyone is feeling this same tension, and if the group does not do any work to break through this tension, at least to some extent, members of the group will remain uncomfortable throughout the entirety of the time the members work together.

The first step to working through this tension is to "break the ice." Sometimes, your instructors will have you post in a discussion, replying to questions like:

"Do you prefer waffles or pancakes?"
"Are you a mountain on an ocean person?"
"Dogs or cats?"
"What is the best place you have ever visited?"

It may sound funny but take these questions seriously. This is how we start building familiarity with each other. In such discussions, reply more than is required, beginning to "chat" with your classmates. Start to put names to stories.

If your instructor does not have such a discussion and you need to work in groups, a good suggestion is to start an ice breaker discussion in your group with a couple dual option questions such as the one's listed above. These topics need to be light - no "truth or dare" here. If you are the one starting the discussion, think of a question where you would have a "fun" answer and another question where you would have an uncertain answer. The point of ice breakers is they should be serious fun!

Building a Supportive Climate

A communication climate is like an environmental climate - it generally feels different in a tropical or humid climate compared to an arid or desert climate. Communication climates can feel defensive/competitive or supportive/cooperative. The best groups work collaboratively with positive synergy, meaning that the group produces outcomes above and beyond what any member working individually could have done alone. The climate needs to be supportive if members are going to feel free to express their ideas and perspectives but also their concerns and constructive criticisms. In a defensive climate, there is a feeling of being threatened, which leads members to act to protect themselves from their groupmates. Climates are constructed through patterns of interaction. If a defensive climate gets going in a group, it is essential to do work to break that pattern and build a supportive one.

One technique that can be used to build a supportive climate is to use confirming messages. There are three kinds of confirming behavior: recognition, acknowledgement, and endorsement. To communicate respect, it is essential that you communicate at least one of these three. Often, we communicate all three simultaneously. Recognition is readily expressed nonverbally, but the key in an online course is that it can be expressed verbally. Writing things like:

"Thanks for that, John."
"Sally, I appreciate you sharing your perspective."

The simple act of using a member's name begins to build a sense of respect through recognizing the value of the group member. One important aspect of confirming messages is that they do not involve stating agreement. Agreement language begins to set up a tone of judgement. Next time there could be a disagreement, which leads to a feeling of threat. Acknowledgement revolves around making it clear you want to hear from the group member. Ask a clarifying question, such as:

"Can you explain a little further."
"I am not sure I understood, could you say a little more?"
"Is this what you are saying... or am I not quite getting the point?"

Endorsement is how we talk to let someone know the way they are perceiving things or feel about things is OK, such as:

"I am not sure any of the rest of us would have offered that idea, and I am so glad you shared it."
"Please do share how this is making you feel."

To build and maintain a supportive climate involves being thoughtful in one's wording. This is actually something that is somewhat easier to do in an online environment where you are typing rather than talking live. Communicating respect is done through our word choice, we can still critique, such as:

"Sandy, I hear you, and we may all need to hear this, but if you could explain it a little differently, that might be helpful."

Being supportive does not mean anything goes. What it does mean is that we work to show respect though the language we choose to use with our groupmates.

Since communication climates are constructed through patterns, if you, as even a single member of the group, consistently use confirming messages, it is difficult for a defensive pattern to fully take hold. Also, confirming messages do not need to be only task related. Those things you learned about each other when getting comfortable and building familiarity, such as:

"Jack, I seem to remember you had an interest in sea creatures, I was just reading something...does that make sense to you?"

Referencing those is another way to confirm the value of the group member.

As well as showing respect, in a supportive climate when we add something to the conversation, we do so in a way that feels like an offering, rather than a command or a directive, such as:

"I'd like to suggest we consider this..."
"To me this seems worthy of our consideration."
"What do you all think of this?"
"This seems like a possible direction we could go with the project."

Using phrasing like this makes it feel like members are participating as equals in the group rather than competing with each other for power within the group. Supportive climates are constructed through treating each other as equals.

Brainstorming, Creativity, and Participation

To generate new ideas, creativity, and have fun participation, the group can try brainstorming. We use the term "brainstorming" all the time, but to really do group brainstorming necessitates utilizing at least a somewhat formal process. Though it might seem like it initially, as long as the group has access to the ability to start a group discussion, which can be done on the group's home page in Canvas, brainstorming can be accomplished relatively easily.

The basic "rules" of brainstorming are the following:

Don’t evaluate ideas during brainstorming
- This means positively or negatively – don’t say "bad idea" and don’t say "good idea," all ideas are just that: ideas – it is fine to "link" to an idea (see the "Expand on ideas" bullet point below) and also fine to say things like, "anyone got anything different" (see the "Encourage participation from all group members" bullet point below).
Don’t clarify or seek clarification of an idea
- Don't follow up an idea with a question. If something doesn't make sense to you, wait to ask for clarification until after the brainstorming session has been completed.
Encourage zany ideas
- Let your mind flow – throw ideas out – quantity is the goal. There is no “off-track” during brainstorming.
Expand on the ideas of other group members
- Link your ideas to others already offered - "this makes me think of..."
Record all ideas without reference to who contributed the idea
- This won't work in an online discussion - replace this with a time frame and an overlarge number of the ideas that the group needs to generate.
Encourage participation from all group members
- After you have posted your ideas, add into the post things like:
  - counting the number of posts made and how many more the group needs
  - thanking people for giving ideas
  - inviting people to give ideas
  - checking to see if people have more ideas
  - "Anybody got anything zany..."

One thing that is often difficult in "live" brainstorming is recording the flow of ideas as they emerge in conversation. This is easy on an online discussion. Brainstorming can be done at any time in a project. It is a great strategy to rejuvenate interest in the project. Open a discussion, make a starting prompt, set a time limit and a number of ideas that need to be generated by the group.

Brainstorming is often a process in which the diversity in the group starts to emerge as members share ideas that are of interest to them rather than trying to make sure their answers are, "correct." For a similar reason, along with the associated "fun" factor, brainstorming is a strategy that tends to increase participation in the group and it can, at times, alleviate group stress through a time dedicated to creativity and a free-flowing sharing of ideas.

Building Trust

Team-Building Activities/Exercises (TBA/E's) are traditional ways of building trust in group members. These are not feasible in an online asynchronous environment. However, what makes TBA/E's work is accomplishing goals together, which is still possible in an online course. In an online class, to work together in groups, you have to find ways to build trust with people you don't see everyday. You have to come to trust that your group members will come through, and that only happens if you see group members doing exactly that - coming through.

To build trust in an online asynchronous course, the best strategy is to set up a handful of small, doable goals that individual members of the group are asked to accomplish. As we experience group members complete these goals, we begin to build trust. The group can also have small goals to accomplish together, such as completing a brainstorming task. It is in accomplishing goals that we learn we can rely on each other - this is trust.

At times, your instructor will provide you with an assignment to facilitate this process:

asking groups to build a calendar,
asking groups to identify team leads on projects,
having groups divide up work in specific ways, or
having the group set deadlines.

If you do have such assignments, take these seriously.

If you do not have assignments like this in class, but are asked to work in groups, as group members, work together to build some small goals. A good strategy here is to have three to four mini-discussions. One could be a "getting to know each other" discussion. Others could be a deadline setting discussion (see "Deadlines, Goals, and a Group Calendar" below), a small brainstorming discussion, or a work division discussion (see "Group Roles" below). Though this may seem like "extra" work, it will pay off as group members learn they can trust each other.

Group Cohesion

Cohesion is the result of skilled social talk in groups. Often, when we are given a group project, we want to get working on it right away, make headway, and get things done. However, when we do this, we skip building the fundamental foundation necessary for not only doing good work but enjoying doing that work in groups. Groupwork can be frustrating and challenging in many ways, but we can counter this when we "do the work" of becoming a group through getting to know each other and learning our commonalities and differences. By using our talk, we construct a working environment where we feel valued, respected, supported, and encouraged in our participation, where we have time to generate interesting things, and build trust through working together to accomplish goals.

One additional place that groups can work to build cohesion is in celebrating accomplishments and reflecting. If your instructor gives you small assignments, celebrate when finished and share your reflections with each about why things went as they did and what could be done differently next time, regardless of whether your instructor gives you a set of assignments or just one group assignment in the course.

A good suggestion to build cohesion is to set up a "celebration and reflection" discussion in your Canvas group environment. Use at least two of these prompts in this discussion:

What should we celebrate and how?
Why did things go as they did?
What were some things that we learned?
What went well?
What could we do differently?

Group Communication Task Skills

While social communication skills are what we use to build a sense of groupness, task communication skills are what we use to keep the group moving towards completing required projects. Through utilizing shared documents and group discussions, task talk in asynchronous online courses can lead to group productivity just as it can in face-to-face classes.

As you will see, the included task skills work best when integrated with each other. As, again, it may not be feasible to implement all these strategies in a single online course, if at minimum the group has a planning discussion, a shared group calendar, considers performing the roles mentioned in the descriptions and stays informed via a communications plan, the group increases the likelihood that it will have the connectivity needed to work be productive.

Organizational Talk and Planning Discussion

One mistake that groups often make is to jump right into working on the assigned task. The number one thing that increases group productivity is organizational talk, which is to talk about how the group will go about doing the task, such as:

Will the group use a scheduling tool like Doodle to try to find time when all, most, or some of the group could meet via Zoom?
Will the group assign different parts of the task to individual members of the group?
Will members pair up to assist each other to complete parts of the assignment?

The basic way to have organizational talk in an online asynchronous environment is to have a "planning discussion," in which the group answers the general question, what is our plan for working together in this class? If your instructor has an assignment, where you need to have such a discussion, take it very seriously. If your instructor does not have such an assignment, the suggestion is to do the following:

Set up a planning discussion in your Canvas group environment
Answer a set of questions such as:
- Will we try to find a time to meet virtually (via Zoom or other)?
- How will we use Canvas collaborations or other tools to do shared work?
- Will we divide work though designated roles (see "Group Roles" below)?
- Will we make group goals and deadlines (see "Group Calendar" below)?
- What will our comms plan be (see "Communications Plan" below)?
- Do we want to use any additional advanced organizational techniques (see "Advanced Organizational Techniques" below)?

Advanced Organizational Techniques

In face-to-face groupwork, agendas, to-do lists and meeting minutes are key elements to getting work done together. An agenda provides a plan of action, a to-do list provides a checklist, and meeting minutes provide a documented shared group history. These three techniques provide the scaffold around which all group work takes place. Though it may seem that agendas are only appropriate for face-to-face meetings, using Canvas collaborations and constructing a shared document is a way for a group in an asynchronous class to use an agenda.

Agenda Templates

The following are two standard forms of agendas.

Business Meeting:

Call to Order
Approval of Minutes from last meeting including discussion of any revisions/changes
Reports

Committees
Officers
Individual Members

Old Business (things to decide/take a vote on)

Should have specific items listed here

New Business (things to discuss)

Should have specific items listed here

Make an agenda for next meeting
Adjournment

Discussion Meeting:

Discussion Items:

Make a list of specific questions that should be discussed

Action Items

Make a list of specific questions that should be discussed

Though we usually think of having one agenda per meeting, in an online class, the agenda can be a "standing" or static agenda. The agenda is essentially a shared document, that members update as appropriate (e.g. can make a report, add a new business item, add comments to a discussion item or post a vote on an action item).

To-Do Lists

The group can also make a to-do list and assign members or have members sign-up for items on the to-do list. Members can update what they have accomplished on the to-do list. To determine who is doing what on the project, the suggestion is to have a "things to do" discussion. In this discussion, group members can propose and accept or adjust what each member is expected to do. A second suggestion is to have someone perform the role of assignment guru, and for this person to build the initial to-do list through breaking down the course assignments into pieces that need to be done.

Determining what each member will focus on for the group, constructing a shared document to-do list or agenda, and having members keep each other updated on what is being accomplished is a way for asynchronous groups to utilize the organizing format of an agenda to keep the group "on the same page" about what headway is being made on the project.

Meeting Minutes Template

Of course, another way to use an agenda is more like the standard approach. If the group can find time to meet, having an agenda to guide a meeting on Zoom will likely heighten group productivity. If a group does have an actual meeting, the group should construct minutes so there is a shared record of what took place at the meeting. Here is a general template for meeting minutes:

Header Info:

Meeting Date:
Meeting Time:
Meeting Place: (Zoom or other)
Members present:
Members absent: (consider adding reason for absence if known or unknown)

Social Talk:

Take a little time to "chat" or do something fun together.

Agenda Items:

There should be notes made for each agenda item. Make sure if tasks are assigned, decisions, are made, deadlines are determined, that all of these things are noted. Members present and absent are responsible to read the minutes and act in ways that are informed by the minutes. Anything the group wants members to know following the meeting needs to be recorded in the meeting minutes. If the group does any brainstorming, make sure to note that as Creative Talk.

Critical Talk:

Talk through question such as the following to make sure the group can have the most productive meetings possible. (Notate a summary of reflections in minutes.)
- How does everyone feel about the meeting the group just had? Does anyone have any suggestions for anything that could be done differently next time?
- Does anyone feel like their input was not valued in this meeting? Is there something the group can do to make sure everyone’s participation is encouraged and supported?
- Does anyone think the group moved too quickly in their decision-making? Were actual decisions made or did members just conform to the norms of the group in order to get through the meeting?

Meeting Wrap-Up and Organizational Talk:

Schedule next meeting
- Out-of-meeting work: Note what everyone needs to do to follow-up after this meeting or prior to the next meeting, presentation etc.
- Agenda for next meeting. When will it be made? Who will make it?
- Communications: What messaging should be expected between now and next meeting?

Comments for the good of the order:

Anything any group member wants to share with the group?

Adjourn:

Note time of adjournment

Deadlines, Goals, and a Group Calendar

While organizational talk in all its forms is highly useful for a group, to further facilitate keeping the group on the same page, the group can use Canvas collaborations to construct a shared calendar. This calendar can/should include:

All required deadlines in the course visually noted by date
All group goals visually noted by date
Note any known conflicts (such as times members are traveling, have other deadlines)

For instance, if an assignment is due Week #9 in the course, a group goal could be to have individual project assignments or a group draft due on Tuesday of Week #8.

The basic calendar should be constructed from the course syllabus, and the suggestion would be for the group to have a "deadline" discussion in which group members suggest and the group decides if they will have additional goals and deadlines other than those provided by the instructor. A second suggestion is to have a group member perform the role of deadline reminder who refers to the calendar to remind group members of upcoming deadlines. A third suggestion is to have a group member perform the role of document specialist and be the one who is in charge of constructing the shared document that is the calendar.

Though it may seem redundant to have a separate calendar from the one course calendar provided through Canvas Syllabus, it is through accomplishing the doable goal of building a calendar together that group members begin to build shared work habits and expectations. Constructing this shared document is also good practice for the process the group will use if they need to produce such for a group project.

Group Roles

In face-to-face groups, roles emerge over time as members interact with each other. Once members have roles that everyone in the group understands, this facilitates all group members feeling confident in what each group member is doing for the group. In an asynchronous online environment, roles need to be formed somewhat differently. In a planning or other group discussion, members can propose roles that they think they can perform well for the group.

One idea is to have a different project lead for each of the projects (if there are multiple group projects in the course) or for specific aspects of a single project. The lead does not complete the project for the group. What the lead does is work to make sure all group members are in communication around the project and works to get/keep the group motivated for each project.
A second idea is to have a set of formals roles for project team members. Some of these might be: submitter, editor, assignment requirements guru, creativity specialist, communications monitor, document specialist, questions asker, questions go-to, communicator with the instructor, friendly ear, devil’s advocate (one who brings up contrasting ideas in a constructive way), deadline reminder, group issues resolver.

When group members have clear roles that facilitate completing the group tasks in the course, this is a useful way to distribute workload across the group and increases confidence that the group has what it needs to produce quality work. Clear roles also clarify what communications group members should expect from each other.

If your instructor does not have assignments that facilitate group members taking on roles and you would like to increase the productivity of your group, the suggestion is for you as a group member to:

Set up a work distribution discussion in your Canvas group environment
List a set of possible roles in the discussion prompt
Identify one or two roles you think you could/would be willing to do
Explain what others can expect from you in this role/these roles
Ask others to do that same

As you can see, this discussion is not about breaking down the assignment into parts and deciding who will do what part. The goal rather is to identify and distribute the kinds of work members will do for the group.

Communications Plan

A communications (comms) plan is essential for productive group work in asynchronous online learning environments. Groups should have two different plans for how they will message each other.

The suggestion is to use Canvas tools for one of these comms channels. Shared documents via Canvas collaborations as well as group discussions serve as a way to keep the group on the same page. Since they are on Canvas, the instructor can also access these, and so you can invite the instructor into the communications circle. This shared discussion may be a "planning" discussion and/or a "celebration and reflection" discussion (see the "Group Cohesion" tab above). The shared document may be the calendar, to-do list, and/or working draft of a project.

There should also be a secondary comms channel that is something group members "check" when they are not on the course Canvas page. A comms plan is not only what channels the group will use to stay in touch, but it should also include when members should expect to "hear" from each other and from which members they should expect to hear at those times.

A complete comms plan includes:

A Canvas-based shared document(s) and/or discussion(s)
A secondary comms channel that is not Canvas-based
A set of shared expectations for what members should expect to hear from each other
A set of shared expectations for when members should expect to hear from each other
Someone performing the communications monitor role, helping establish the listed expectations, and being the "regular" group messenger
A standard format for acknowledging the "regular" messages
An expectation that if the "regular" message is unclear, members will reply to seek clarity

As can be seen, a comms plan is designed to keep group members on the same page. This is not to say that members cannot use the comms channels to let members know they are not feeling well, they have an unavoidable issue that requires their attention, they are not going to meet a deadline, they need help with something, or they have a great idea or news to share with the group. Those things need to be communicated. The point of a comms plan, though, is to keep communication flowing throughout the time the group is working together. A comms plan binds the group together through ongoing messaging and the accompanying meeting of expectations for messaging.

Group Productivity

Group Productivity is the end result of group task talk. Integrating:

organizational talk,
the group calendar,
member roles,
and the communications plan

provides a solid foundation for group productivity in an asynchronous online course. Using shared documents and discussions provides a connective web between group members who may never see or even hear each other. The information that is exchanged is different, the flow can be as consistent, and potentially even more so in an online asynchronous environment than it can be in a live face-to-face environment.

Using these four elements well can keep a group on the same page throughout the course. To do this though requires group commitment to work division and planning discussions. Commitment to doing this work will be higher if the group is concurrently building cohesion. What any online group needs to do is PLAN: talk about what their plan should be, make a plan, and stick to that plan. The plan can change over time, as long as the group is on the same page about making a change to the plan and is purposeful and clear about the change.

An additional strategy to use to increase productivity is to have a "where are we now" discussion. This discussion could be one where everyone checks in each week, or on a regularly scheduled basis, to "check-off" on whether or not things are going well. When things are going well, share compliments all around, and if they are not, share suggestions all around.

Without a plan, groupwork can readily devolve into interpersonal, personality, and individual work-habit dynamics. By building a plan, the group can develop an approach to work that works for all group members; and through enacting that plan, the group will be productive, completing tasks with quality. Individual learning in the course will be enhanced thorough collective learning.