Welcome to

APC100
Applied Professional
Communication

Lecture 10

Dr. Dagmar Berndorf

Overview of class

Presentation Group A
Administration
Finish Chapter 10 Solving Problems in Groups
I will post my lecture slides for Chapter 12
These are fairly limited
During the presentation

Think of questions
Feedback
What did you like?
What could have been improved?
Please be respectful in your feedback
 Presentation Group A
Can I have a volunteer to monitor the time?
 Administration
 Attendance
 Week Group Topic

11. Nov 14 Nov Professors

lecture Solving Problems in groups Chapter 10
18

Chapter 12
A Developing Presentations

Quiz 3 (Ch. 9 & 10)

12. Nov 21 Nov

25 B Understanding Chapter 6
Interpersonal Relationships

C Improving Interpersonal Chapter 7
Relationships
13. Nov 28 Dec 2
D Social Media & Chapter 8
Communication

E Persuasion Chapter 11

Quiz 4 (Ch. 6 & 7)

14. Dec 5 Dec 9 Exam Review

15. Dec 12 Dec ELS Exam: Tuesday, Dec 13th, 2016

16 Check Student Centre for exam schedule, time &
EXAM WEEK location.
No Scheduled
Week 11 Online Quiz 3

Chapters 9 and 10
Worth 5%
Due by November 22 at 11 pm
30 multiple choice questions.
50 minutes to complete
will be automatically submitted when your time is
up.
I have adjusted the time for students with
accommodations
Reminder: Presentation
Submission
Printed:
Presentation slides (e.g., PowerPoint, Prezi, etc.)
Ideally, 3 slides per page with room for me to make
notes
Electronic:
Go under Presentations in our course website
Click on Presentation Submission
Presentation Reflection Paper

You will be submitting a short reflection paper

(250 words)
Due one week after your presentation
Everyone submits one paper
It will be counted for one of your weekly online
class activities
Week 14
 Presentation Reflection Paper
Handout
To find the assignment online:
Click Online weekly classes
Under Individual Presentation Reflection Paper
Assignment - Due one week after your presentation
Click Presentation Reflection Paper Assignment
To submit the assignment
Click Individual Presentation Reflection Paper
Assignment - Due one week after your presentation
Midterm
Are reviewed
You must hand back all midterm materials
You may not record any of the midterm materials
 Getting back to Chapter 10 on Solving Problems in
Groups
Last week: Structured problem solving approach
 Approaches and stages in
problem-solving
We can also think of problem
solving in groups as
developing in stages
Research has shown many
successful groups follow a
four-stage process
 Approaches and stages in
problem-solving
Think about a group of
people who
may not know one another
May not have a clear sense
of the tasks necessary to
achieve a goal
The boss tells them to get
together and solve a
problem
4 Developmental stages in problem-
solving groups

1. Orientation stage:
members approach the problem and one another
tentatively.
sizing up the situation before making their positions
clear
4 Developmental stages in problem-
solving groups

2. Conflict stage:
members take strong positions
defend them against those who oppose their
viewpoint

.This conflict stage is useful. Why?

Good for testing quality of ideas
4 Developmental stages in problem-
solving groups

3. Emergence stage:
the group moves from conflict toward a single
solution.

4. Reinforcement stage:
members endorse the decision they have made
Even if an individual did not agree with the solution
initially
At this stage, they are more likely to find evidence to
support the solution
Group Cohesiveness

What does cohesiveness mean?

Forces that cause members to feel part of a group
Makes them want to remain in the group
Group Cohesiveness

What makes for groups to be:

cohesive (for members to feel strongly that they are
part of a group)?
not cohesive?

Hidden slide on factors contributing to group

cohesiveness
Group Cohesiveness

What are some strengths of cohesive groups?

Weaknesses?
Groupthink
If too cohesive, members may be more interested in getting
along than
Looking for problems within the solution they are developing
Important: assign members to search for problems,
alternatives
Leadership and power in groups

Power in groups
What does it mean to have power in a group?
the ability to influence others

This is a broad definition.

Although power comes in a number of forms,
the one obvious form or source is
Leadership and power in groups

Legitimate power:
the ability to influence a group
owing to ones position within it
E.g., premier of Ontario, chair of
the committee, coach, etc.

Official photo of Kathleen Wynne,

Premier of Ontario
Wikipedia
Photo: Libby Adder
Sources of power in groups

Not all power (influence) comes from being in

an official position of leadership
What other sources of power (influence) can
people within a group have?
 Sources of power in groups
Expert power:
influence others by virtue of ones
perceived expertise on a subject
E.g. paramedics

Photo: Michael Burns

Sources of power in groups

Coercive power:
influence others by the threat or
imposition of unpleasant
consequences

Image: NeetiR
Sources of power in groups

Reward power:
involves the grant or promise
of desirable consequences
Tangible
E.g., award, getting a good
grade on presentation,
Less tangible
praise from other group
members, having fun working
together
Image: Vanguard Films, Inc., for the
U.S. Public Health Service and the
U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps, 1944
Leadership and power in groups

Information power:
influence others by virtue of the otherwise
obscure information one possesses
E.g., my suggesting Stephen Lewis as a keynote
speaker
 Last few slides we were looking at informal
power within groups
Lets switch our thinking to nominal (official)
leadership
 Activity

Discuss leadership
What does it mean to be
a leader?
Examples of leaders?
What makes a leader
efective?
Image: nist6dh
Creative commons
Leadership and power in groups

Leadership style
Three basic approaches:
Authoritarian:
relies on legitimate, coercive, and reward power to
influence others.
Democratic:
invites other members to share in decision-making.
Laissez-faire:
the leader gives up the power to dictate, transforming
the group into a leaderless collection of equals.
Trait theory
What traits make for a good leader?

Trait theory
Research found mixed results
Some categories:
Talk more and more fluently
Regarded as popular, co-operative, socially skilled
Goal-related skills
Intelligent
Dependable
Want the role
Trait theory

But its not so easy to identify leadership traits

Much research has been done
No definitive traits for leadership
Leadership and power in groups

Some researchers argue that not one type of

leader is good in all circumstances
Situational approaches
Situational leadership:
leaders style should change with the circumstances
Diferent traits are valuable depending on
circumstances
Leadership and power in groups

Can you think of some examples of when it

might be better to have the following styles of
leadership:
Authoritative
Democratic
Laissez-faire
 Situational
Leadership

Hersey and Blanchards

Leadership Model
Leadership style needs
to respond to followers
Readiness
Willingness and
confidence levels
Ablility
 Overcoming dangers in group
discussions
Information underload and overload
Information underload:
occurs when a group lacks information it needs to
operate efectively
Information overload:
occurs when the flow or complexity of material is too
great to manage
 Overcoming dangers in group
discussions
Unequal participation
The key to efective participation is balance
Find ways to make sure that even the quiet individuals
participate
E.g., introverts can make some very good contributions
 Overcoming dangers in group
discussions
Pressure to conform
Often results in bad decisions

Groupthink:
collective striving for agreement
Can happen when a group is highly cohesive
discourages realistic appraisals of alternatives to its
chosen decision
Chapter 12

Writing and Delivering

Speeches
Choosing a topic

Look for a topic early

Choose a topic as soon as possible and stick with it.
Allows you to have adequate practice time, as well
as time for ideas to baste in your mind.

Choose a topic that interests you.

Your interest in a topic will:
improve your ability to create the speech.
increase your confidence when it comes to
presentation time.
Defining purpose

General purpose
To inform
To persuade
Specific purpose
Criteria for a good purpose statement:
Receiver-oriented
Specific
Realistic
The thesis statement
The central idea of your speech.
Structuring the speech

Basic speech structure:

Tell what youre going to say, say it, and then tell
what you said.

Working outlines, formal outlines, and speaking

notes
Standard symbols
Standard format
The rule of division
The rule of parallel wording
Structuring the speech, contd
Organizing your points in a
logical order
The organizing pattern you choose should be the
one that best develops your thesis.
Time patterns
Space patterns
Topic patterns
Problemsolution patterns
Causeefect patterns
Motivated sequence
The body of the speech

The introduction
Capturing attention
Refer to:
audience
occasion
relationship between the audience and the subject
something familiar to the audience
Cite a startling fact or opinion
Ask a question
Tell an anecdote
Use a quotation
Tell a joke
 The body of the speech, contd
Previewing main points
Setting the mood and tone of your speech
Demonstrating the importance of your topic to
your audience
Demonstrating the importance of your topic to
others
 The body of the speech, contd
The conclusion
Restates your thesis
Reviews your main points
Provides a memorable final remark
 The body of the speech, contd
Four simple guidelines to ensure your closing
remarks will be efective:

Dont:
1. end abruptly
2. ramble
3. introduce new points
4. apologize
 The body of the speech, contd
Using transitions
Tell how:
the introduction relates to the body of the speech.
one main point relates to the next main point.
your subpoints relate to the points they are part of.
your supporting points relate to the points they support.
 Supporting material
Four functions of supporting material:
1. To clarify
2. To make interesting
3. To make memorable
4. To prove
 Supporting material, contd
Types of supporting material:
Definitions
Examples
Statistics
Comparison and contrast
Anecdotes
Quotation/testimony
 Supporting material, contd
Styles of support:
Narration:
presentation of supporting material as a story with a
beginning, middle, and end within a speech
Citation:
a simple statement of the facts
 Supporting material, contd
Using visual aids
Types of visual aids:
Objects and models
Diagrams
Word and number charts
Pie charts
Bar and column charts
Line charts
Supporting material, contd
Media for the presentation of visual aids:
Flip pads and poster board
Handouts
Projectors
Other electronic media
Holding the audiences
attention
Make it easy to listen
Limit the amount of information you present
Use familiar information to increase understanding
of the unfamiliar
Use simple information to build understanding of
complex information
Holding the audiences
attention
Emphasize important points
Repetition
Signposts
Use clear, simple language
Holding the audiences
attention, contd
Generate audience involvement
Personalize your speech
Use audience participation
Use volunteers
Have a question-and-answer period
Listen to the substance of the question
Paraphrase confusing questions
Avoid defensive reactions to questions
Answer the question as briefly as possible
 Analyzing the audience
Audience analysis:
a consideration of characteristics of your audience
What are some of these characteristics?
Audience type
Audience purpose
Demographics
Number of people
Gender
Age
Group membership
Analyzing the audience, contd

Attitudes, beliefs, and values

Attitude:
a predisposition to respond to something in a
favourable or unfavourable way
Belief:
an underlying conviction about the truth of
something, which is often based on cultural training
Value:
a deeply rooted belief about a concepts inherent
worth
Analyzing the audience, contd
Analyzing the occasion

The occasion of a speech is determined by three

circumstances surrounding it:
1. Time
2. Place
3. Audience expectations
Building credibility as a
communicator
Credibility: the believability of a communicator.

Three Cs of credibility:
1. Competence
2. Character
3. Charisma
 Have a great day