If there is more than one person in the group, I feel that it is very important to give everyone an equal opportunity at sharing their questions and concerns. Never undermine anyone and always have a comfortable environment where everyone feels at ease to be themselves and share with one another.
Thacha,
Great suggestion. What else can you do?
Dr. Jean Norris
When more than one person is involved in a conversation its always best to take notes. Make sure to make notes key factors that each individual is speaking on. This way at the end of the conversation you have something to review and reflect on.
Portia,
Eye contact is so important, so I'm glad to hear you mention it. What are other ways you personally can communicate to, say, only three people?
Dr. Jean Norris
By making sure that I have eyecontact with the whole group by directing contact to whomever I may be speaking to or whomever is speaking to me. Just slightly turning attention to whoever is speaking shows that I am interested and concernned about what they are saying.
ROSAIDA,
That is very true! Cultural differences play a large role in communication. What are some other ways to communicate in groups?
Dr. Jean Norris
When talking to a group is a challenge when you have people from other cultures and that they probably have different manners that you can interpret as that they are not interested in what are you talking about. It is really helpful for me when I make them laugh and I repeat what I am talking about. I think these techniques make my audience feel more comfortable, open to participate and ask questions.
Asking questions is a great way to engage people in the conversation. How do you get the quieter folks to participate?
Dr. Jean Norris
Asking questions makes the converstion interesting and everyone involved in the decision making process.
The practice of doing a recap is such a great tool for delivering a consistent message and for making sure everyone is on the same page. What do you do if you find that you're not on the same page? How do you bring the group back on track?
I enjoy both small and large groups. I generally ask pose open ended questions to keep the flow of conversation and then retreat back to what was said earlier. I like to recap several times to make sure that the knowledge is consistant and that I am accurate in what is being discussed.
Making sure everyone has time to have their voice heard, using effective listening skills with each speaker, and responding appropriately to each person. Depending on the size of the group, making sure each person participates in the conversation. Finding common ground can be trickier in this situation and might need more time and input.
So it looks like you have a road map that helps both you and the group with which your communicating. How has this helped you engage the group in the presentation or conversation?
To focus my communication with more than one person I have a layout of topics, for example when doing orientation for new students I have all topics to be discussed on a lay out form. I state the the topic explain it then ask if anybody has questions.
Excellent approach, John. This approach also serves as a modeling technique and others may increase their eye contact during the group session as well. Thanks for your input!
I always try and make equal eye contact with everyone.
It sounds like you're doing something that works. Keep up the good work!
Using your body language can help to connect when communicating with groups. Ideally, if you can position yourself to have the ability to make eye contact with each individual you will have the most success with effectively communicating with the group. Thanks Maureen!
I agree with Antonio. Sometimes breaking the ice with high school students is a little tough, but I usually have them smiling and or laughing by end of our presentation. I usually try to catch the shy ones after sessions. Usually works for me.
If I can't move around the room I try to get to different vantage points to make eye contact with each member of the group. I use gestures, facial expressions, and non-verbal communication. Smiling, nodding, tilting my head a certain way, shrugging my shoulders etc. to each member to indicate that they are being addressed and that I'm relating individually to them on some level.
