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Student Resource
Gamble, The Public Speaking Playbook, 2nd Edition
SAGE Publishing, 2018
Lecture Notes
Chapter 21: Planning and Presenting in Groups
Learning Objectives
1-1 Define and identify characteristics of a small group
1-2 Compare and contrast speaking individually with speaking and presenting in groups
1-3 Demonstrate how group leaders and members contribute to or detract from a group’s
effectiveness
1-4 Use the Reflective Thinking Sequence
1-5 Use brainstorming to facilitate group problem solving
1-6 Participate in a group presentation
Outline
I. At school, at work and in your personal life, groups are omnipresent.
A. A small group is defined as a limited number of people who communicate
over a period of time, face to face or online in order to make decisions and
achieve specific goals.
1. The size of the group may vary but all members must have the ability to
influence each other and communicate as listeners and speakers.
2. Group members also share common objectives.
3. In healthy groups, the member support one another, decisions are made
collectively, members trust each other, communication is open and candid
and the group aims to excel.
II. Effective leadership and membership are essential for group success.
A. To work effectively as a group, members must spend time disclosing
information about themselves.
1. During this process, groups may designate a leader who is responsible
for keeping the group focused and providing an agenda for the meetings.
B. Positive group roles accomplish the group’s goal and secure positive social
relationships between the members.
1. Task- oriented and maintenance-oriented roles help advance the group’s
goals.
Student Resource
Gamble, The Public Speaking Playbook, 2nd Edition
SAGE Publishing, 2018
2. Negative group goals limit the group’s ability to realize the group’s
goals.
3. Self-serving roles encourage individuals to behave selfishly.
C. Successful groups demonstrate effective leadership.
1. Task leadership behaviors include establishing an agenda, giving and
soliciting information and opinions, offering internal summaries that
describe the group’s progress, keeping the group on track, and helping the
group to analyze and evaluate issues to reach a consensus.
2. Maintenance leadership behaviors include the expression of
agreement and support, reduce and release group tensions, resolve
differences of opinion, and enhance the morale and increase satisfaction
among group members.
3. Leaders do not have to be elected, but they must have a clear vision to
enable the group to achieve its goals while establishing a climate that
encourages and stimulates quality interactions between members.
III. The dynamics of a group’s interactions affect the outcomes the group is able to achieve.
A. There are many advantages of working in a group.
1. Working in a group encourages the pooling of resources.
2. Groups filter out costly errors because more people can focus on the
problem or solution.
3. Different information and contrasting viewpoints can influence the
decision-making process which may lead to a more effective solution.
4. Participating in a group can strengthen the commitment of individuals
which leads to a willingness to openly explore different options and/or
compromises.
5. Reaching a decision as a member of a group can be more fulfilling and
reinforcing than a decision made alone.
B. There are many disadvantages of working in a group.
1. Individual or personal objectives can compete with the goals of the
group.
a. This may result in sacrificing or sabotaging the group’s goals to
satisfy our personal needs.
2. The group members may get too comfortable and this can encourage
slacking.
3. Forceful or powerful members can dominate the group by preventing
others from exerting their fair share of influence.
4. One member may be unwilling to listen to other members making it
difficult to reach a compromise.
Student Resource
Gamble, The Public Speaking Playbook, 2nd Edition
SAGE Publishing, 2018
5. The group may experience a risky shift where it makes a decision that
is riskier than what an individual would make working alone.
6. The decision making process often takes far longer than when
individuals are working alone.
C. John Dewey’s Reflective Thinking Framework is thought to be effective in
improving a group’s problem-solving success.
1. The group must first define the problem in a manner that is clear and
will allow a wide variety of answers than a simple yes or no.
2. The group will analyze the problem to determine what are the causes,
the history of the problem, the severity of the situation, and who is
affected.
3. The group will then establish criteria for evaluating subsequent
solutions.
4. Once the criteria have been established, the group will generate possible
solutions to remedy the problem and evaluate each solution on the basis of
the criteria previously generated.
5. Step five involves selecting the best solution that offers the greatest
number of advantages and fewest disadvantages.
6. The final step involves implementing the solution.
7. Dewey’s system can help group members stay on track while avoiding
the disadvantages of working in a group.
a. Dewey’s Reflective Thinking Framework helps members avoid
early occurrence or the tendency to conclude the discussion
prematurely.
b. This method also helps guard groups against groupthink or the
tendency to privilege group cohesiveness and consensus over
careful analysis and reasoned decision making.
8. When utilizing Dewey’s model, a group must consider
a. If the resources of all group members are being used
appropriately.
b. If the group is utilizing its time wisely
c. If the group emphasizes fact-finding and inquiry.
d. If the members are listening and respecting the ideas of other
members.
e. If there is a pressure to conform to a decision or viewpoint.
f. If the group’s culture is supportive, trusting, and cooperative.
D. When focusing on the problem and its solutions, groups should brainstorm to
flush out new and old ideas.
Student Resource
Gamble, The Public Speaking Playbook, 2nd Edition
SAGE Publishing, 2018
1. Brainstorming allows all members of a group to spontaneously provide
ideas.
2. Successful brainstorming requires that members:
a. Suspend judgment.
b. Encourage freewheeling.
c. Aim for a quantity of ideas.
d. Record all ideas.
e. Evaluate ideas.
IV. The group will present its findings or recommendations to the audience through an oral
report, panel discussion, symposium or forum.
A. The oral group report has a similar organizational structure comparable to
other speeches.
1. All oral group reports contain an introduction that orients the audience
to the speaker’s purpose and establishes the audience’s engagement or
interest, and previews the main points, a body where the problem is
identified, the criteria for evaluating the solutions are established, and the
rationale for selecting a particular solution is presented, and a conclusion
that summarizes the main points and encourages the audience to support
the proposed solution.
2. Oral group reports should also adapt to the target audience and contain
varied supporting materials.
B. The panel discussion requires members to conduct a discussion in front of an
audience.
1. The positive and negative aspects of an issue are debated for the
audience’s benefit despite the fact that the audience doesn’t have much
direct involvement in the discussion.
2. The panel discussion has a moderator who introduces the topic and
panelists.
C. The symposium is a discussion in which a number of individuals present
individual speeches on a central topic before an audience.
1. Symposia are designed to:
a. Uncover different aspects of a problem
b. Provide material for later discussion
c. Review different steps covered during problem solving
D. The forum is designed to provide a medium for open and interactive discussion
between the group and an audience on a range of broad topics.
Student Resource
Gamble, The Public Speaking Playbook, 2nd Edition
SAGE Publishing, 2018
1. The forum requires full participation from the audience after the
moderator makes a brief opening statement.
2. This type of group presentation works best when there is a moderator to
introduce and when members are aware of the issues prior to the forum so
that they can adequately prepare quick responses to potential questions.
V. The final step is to assess the grouo’s development.
A. Groups generally move through five sequential stages
1.The forming stage occurs when the group experiences confusion about
their roles and how the group might function.
2.The storming stage occurs when task and relational conflicts begin to
arise.
3.The norming stage occurs when the groups structure begins to emerge.
4. The performing stage occurs when the group members begin to
accomplish their task.
5. The adjourning stage occurs when group members reflect and decide
whether or not to disband the group.
