Page 39 - Effective group discussion theory and practice by Adams, Katherine H. Brilhart, John K. Galanes, Gloria J

22 Chapter 2

am, Tamika, Ryan, Tyler, and Kelli were students in a small group communica-
tion course. Their semester assignment was a service learning project in their
L community. They all shared an interest in the animal overpopulation of their
city. For five weeks, they studied this problem and were looking forward to their first
class presentation. They were eager to share the work they had accomplished so that
they could actually begin to work for a local animal shelter as part of their solution to
this problem. Their spirits were high because, for the most part, they had bonded and
were working well together. Lately, though, Tyler had missed some meetings but
seemed to have good excuses. The first sign of major trouble happened when they met
to discuss their plan for the presentation. Tyler had not arrived and, after 20 minutes,
Tamika, usually laid back, seemed on edge. She asked as she pulled away from the
table, “Man, what time is it already? Tyler is so late. We’re 20 minutes into this meet-
ing and need his stuff. I’m tired of this. And while I’m at it, I’m tired of meeting in this
old stuffy room.” Kelli, in frustration, declared, “I’m tired of waiting for this jerk, too,”
and started to pick up her things. Ryan defended Tyler by reminding everyone that he
had sick parents and tried to come to meetings. Kelli shot back, “I have things I have
to deal with, too, and this is getting old. We’re down to the wire and need his stuff. He
didn’t even notify us this time, and I’m out of here!” Lam, sensing everyone was going
to leave, switched directions with, “Let’s just go ahead and get started and try to finish
tonight. If we need another meeting, we can meet at my place to give us more room.
Is that okay, Tamika? Ryan, did you bring the visual aids we all need?” Tamika and
Kelli then unpacked their things and pulled their chairs back into the circle. The meet-
ing proceeded without Tyler.
Chapter 1 made the case for recognizing small groups as our most important
social formation and emphasized that interaction is central to the life of a group.
While psychologists direct their attention to the effects of factors such as personality
on group dynamics and sociologists focus on groups’ social organization by studying
such things as status and norms, communication scholars explore members’ message
behavior. As our student group shows, what and how we communicate with each
other in groups create the nature of the small groups we participate in. Communica-
tion is like the nerve network of the small group; it is the verbal and nonverbal mes-
sage processes by which members forge themselves into a group, maintain the group,
and coordinate their efforts. “Communication is the lifeblood that flows through the
veins of the group. Communication is not just a tool that group members use; groups
are best regarded as a phenomenon that emerges from communication.” No commu-
1
nication, no group!
Small group communication refers both to the study of interaction among group
members and to the large body of communication theory yielded by such study. We
examine this body of theory and principles in detail, and communicative behavior of
group members will be our focus. Early communication researchers, extending their
interest in public speaking, began to explore whether communication within groups
influences group outcomes like decision making and group climate. As our field has
matured, researchers have extended their interests into how ideas are developed, how
communication creates and sustains group structure, how leadership is enacted by
what people say and do, and how groups can best be studied. These trends, all

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