In my opinion, for every person who is enthusiastic about group work, there is another who dreads it and I fall into a sub-category somewhat in between. With this mentality, I gained both positive and negative experiences doing the research project and through these experiences, I gained valuable knowledge on working as a group.
In general, group decisions are better than those made by a single person and group interaction can heighten creativity. However, it may also increase the time needed to reach decisions than individuals do or suppress individuality. Some ways to reduce the longer time needed to reach decisions that we have learned and utilized are to participate constructively and to conduct all meetings following an agenda. Minutes writing has also helped us to stay on track of our progress. I have also learnt that creating and maintaining a constructive environment encourages members to contribute freely, minimizing group think.
On a side note, I also saw the importance of building interpersonal relationship via small talks. Such light conversation helps to create an opening for further interaction. Through small talks, we can choose to disclose more information about ourselves, other than the image our appearance and posture portrays. It is due to small talks that I gain a better understanding of my group mates and come to develop friendship with them.
For the upcoming group oral presentation, I will definitely be watching my non-verbal communication which can be misleading when miscomprehended. During the presentation itself, I will also be extra careful about my choice of words and I will constantly assess how others might interpret the message that I am conveying to avoid misinterpretations of my points. I am really grateful for the wonderful group mates that I have who each have our distinct ability, allowing us to work like a team. Our discussions were all conductive and smooth sailing and hence, I believe by sticking to how we are communicating now, the group oral presentation will also be a breeze.
