INTERACTION WITH AUDIENCE – The class will be paired off for the exercise. Pairs will be within teams when possible, but odd numbers members will have to pair off with members of another group. The entire group will be told that they are partners in crime and they have thirty seconds to say anything they would like to the other partner. One half of the pair will leave the room and each group will be read the Prisoner exercise. When the exercise has been read the partners will have one minute to decide on their own what decision they will make. When they return to the same classroom they will share their results with the class and "jail time" will be revealed. The following list of interactive audience questions will then be presented:
* What trust issues did this exercise bring up?
* Would you have trusted your accomplice more if he or she had been from your group and why?
I was put in a situation all too similar to the prisoner’s dilemma a few years back. I was driving with my friend Shad to Toronto. We were pulled over shortly after entering Canada and after furnishing the Mounty with an expired insurance card, he proceeded to search my car. Little did I know that my friend Shad had brought along some marijuana in my glove compartment for himself. We were taken to a holding facility and thus I was put in prisoner’s dilemma. I had to trust my close friend to admit that the substance was his, since they assumed it was mine because it was my car. Luckily, my trust was not betrayed and we both got to go home safely. (Chris Josey Heart Story).
Now, it is hopefully clear that none of us are criminals and that this was obviously an exercise, but is there anything to be learned from this? Are their situations we encounter every day where trust is important? One thing that we have learned this semester is that trust is vitally important to a group accomplishing anything of value.
All of us up here are just like all of you. We thought our topic would be simple, not really relevant, and just another assignment in class, but we were wrong. By listening today we will show you ways to make your presentations in this class better, and more importantly we will help understand how trust can help make your life in small groups a better existence.
Today we will be talking about trust in small groups. We will explain what trust is, why trust is important, some obstacles that can stop trust from developing, and some ways that you can help to build trust in groups that you are a part of. If you pay attention here today you will benefit and from our semesters worth of work and hopefully apply some of the principles we will talk about in your everyday lives. If you remember only one thing today remember this … it’s all just a matter of trust.
Audience Interaction:
What are some synonyms for trust?
How would you define trust?
Trust is the bible of small groups.
"Assured reliance on the character, strength, or truth of someone or something."
"A basis of reliance, faith, or hope"
"To place confidence"
"To permit to stay or go or to do something without fear or misgiving"
(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
"Trust is a level of rapport that people build between one another that assures reliance." (Tucker)
"Trust is ‘a willingness of a party to be vulnerable to the action of another party based on the expectation that the other will perform a particular action important to the trustor, irrespective of the ability to monitor or control that party." (Mayer et al.)
"The way individuals communicate is frequently attributed to the presence or absence of trust between them, but the concept of trust remains a slippery one . . . Trust has been traditionally defined as a somewhat mystical and intangible factor defying careful definition." (Pearce and Barnett).
"Trust exists to the extent that a person believes another person to be benevolent and honest. Dyadic trust can be distinguished from generalized trust in that the former refers specifically to the benevolence and honesty of a significant other toward the individual making the judgement. Generalized trust, in contrast, refers to a person’s belief about the character of the people in the aggregate." (Larzelere and Huston)
Trust to successful group production of work is like lubricant to a car engine running. With no oil the car engine will run for a short time (if at all) and then grind to a screeching halt locking in place possibly to never move again. Group trust is much like this. Without essential trust development within a team its members cannot properly function and team progress and success will grind to a halt.
Consider a machine that is the most advanced of its kind. Now this can be a computer, an assembly line, a car, whatever you want it to be. It has many complex intricacies like a brain, circuitry, production arms, and power. It has the potential to produce some of the greatest work that man has ever seen, yet without connectors (trust), the brain cannot effectively communicate with circuitry, production arms, etc. So you see that the connectors are a vital part in the overall function the machine much like trust is a vital part in the production of any small group. It serves as the connectors between the parts (individuals) of the overall machine.
Privileges and freedom often result when we have demonstrated our trustworthiness, because trust must be built gradually over time, take every opportunity to prove your reliable even in minor matters. (Todd Craver)
Trust is shown in many ways. First, it is important to keep conversations confidential. Secondly, I feel it is important to value the family system. Support of the role of the parent is very important in building trust. Try to let parents know that I support them in their roles and also as people. I also let students know this. Lastly, but definitely not the least, it is important to value each other. By showing care and concern for one another you build trust. This care and concern not only needs to be genuine, but it should be frequent. (Todd Craver)
Ask the audience to volunteer answers to the following questions, rewarding the best answers to each question with a prize.
- Describe a time during your project this semester when trust became a real issue.
- How did that trust (or lack of trust) affect your group’s production?
- In your whole life, describe a time when trust was lacking? How did it affect you?
- Describe a time or relationship where there was a high level of trust. How did this effect your "productivity."
Now that you have some idea of what trust can be defined, as, a question should arise in your minds as to the overall importance of trust. Understanding why trust is important is just as crucial as understanding what trust is. During our next point we will explain what groups trust is important in and give you some specific insight as to why it is important.
"Trust is important on the small group level as well as interpersonal level. Any group that is together for a significant amount of time benefits from the development of trust between its members. This can easily be seen in non formal groups such as a family or in groups that have a more formal, task oriented role." (DeVito p.234)
"A Relational group, often referred to as an interpersonal group, is the most prevalent type of small group that most individuals are exposed to throughout the course of their life. It usually is made up of their friends and family" (Razor).
"Certainly a marriage by any standards would be a small group. Two individuals interacting on an interpersonal level would probably be the most basic and common small group we are all exposed to" (Flynn).
Think of your family as a small group. It has all of the roles that a work/task-oriented group has and it also has the characteristics of a relational group. The family must achieve certain tasks such as paying bills, saving money, cooking dinner, and rearing children. Yet, there is another dimension in which there is more intimate knowledge of the group than in work or task oriented groups.
"Trust is the biggest key to a family functioning the way it does. From the parent’s relationship to one another, to their interaction with the kids, trust has to be there for any good to come. The interesting thing about trust is that it’s easy to give someone right off the start, but much more difficult to earn back once it’s been lost. I don’t think there is any way a relationship, much less a marriage can exist—for any amount of time—without trust." (Roundtable interview with Janice and Greg Cheney—Parents and married couple for 27 years)
"Trust manifests itself in many ways within relational groups. Since there is a more self-disclosure in relational groups, members depend on each other no to divulge private information to outsiders. Emotional reliance is another attribute of relational groups with high levels of interpersonal trust" (Razor).
Think of the Cleaver family from Leave It To Beaver. In one episode, Wally has a big date and forgets his wallet at home. Ward, noticing that Wally has left his wallet behind calls ahead to the restaurant to take care of his bill so that Wally will not be embarrassed in front of his date. The point is that Wally trusted his dad to help him in a time of need and that Ward, without thinking sprung into action to help his son. That is what trust in relational groups is all about.
AUDIENCE INTERACTION
Can you think of a situation where you had to trust a family member?
"Task oriented groups are most commonly found in school or work environments. They are typically put together to achieve a set of goals within a certain timeframe. These groups are centered more on production than friendship and vary in the amount of history shared between group members" (Hall).
The most pertinent example of a student project team would be the P.I.G.’s. At some point every student has had to engage in some form of work group. These groups, including our COM 2zero7 group, have a set assignment and have a time limit to finish it in. These groups tend to have little history and a short lifespan. Trust is often difficult to achieve in these sorts of groups (that are unless you’re insanely great).
When I worked for Warehousing Inc. in Evansville, IN I was put into a group that was in charge of developing the companies Intranet structure. I was paired with four other individuals, all of whom had more formal education than I was. We worked for six months, July to December, and finally finished the companies new Intranet. Within this group we had certain deadlines and guidelines set by the company. We each got to know each other well and often worked on the site long into the hours of weekend mornings over a case of beer and some pizza. (Chris Josey War Story)
The 1999 Denver Bronco’s are an example of an athletic team that can be thought of as a work or task group. During the course of the 1998-1999 NFL season, each member had to get to know each other’s abilities and trust his teammates to do their job. They had a specific goal: win the Superbowl. They Bronco’s did win the Superbowl by effectively executing his role within the group.
During my senior year of high school, our football team was in the state finals. I was a member of that team. The week before the game, we were all very tense. So our coaches found a way to relieve the tension. They tried something unconventional. We did not practice but one time during the week previous to the game. We had to trust our coaches a lot in order to have faith that we would still be prepared. Our coaches new that we needed to get our minds off of football in order to perform effectively, while we knew the coaches might be right, we had to trust that they knew what they were doing in order to take our minds off of the game.
"Trust helps open up the lines of communication in a group. Often I try to break the ice in my classes by having students engage in self disclosure. I think this helps build a level of trust in the group." (Tucker)
STRATEGIC EXAMPLE:
We will bond together toy men with Denture Cream, the true "cohesion" of modern society.
"Trust among group members is essential to the formation of a productive group. Without the common bond of trust, a group will not be able to depend on each other to accomplish certain tasks. Through this common bond, a sensible cohesion is produced which allows each member of the group to communicate with another in a comfortable environment." (UW Web).
"Once a sense of cohesion is present among a small group, members become more adept at communicating their concerns without the fear negative criticism. This is essential to the overall productivity of a group considering that an effective group is one that communicates openly and freely."
Trust is important in groups because if trust builds confidence, then groups can gain the confidence needed to meet their production goals if they are encouraged with trust.(Todd Craver)
An example of our group losing confidence and thus trust can be found in our former group member jennifer. At the beginning of class, she appeared to be the leader of the group. She tried to organize a schedule and seemed to be very prepared. However when she failed to show up to our group social activity, be lost confidence in her and would have had a hard time trusting her the next time she showed up.
"When everyone understands their roles, I think delegating those tasks becomes easier." (Tucker)
"The acceptance concern has to do with the formation of trust and acceptance of self and of others, the reduction of fear of self and of others, and the consequent growth of confidence." (Gibb)
We give you the quintesintial effective small group: the scooby doo gang. All of the group members have confidence in each other. As a result, delegation of tasks becomes easier because each group member trust the other to get their part of the job done.
"A member who is trustworthy regarding the task can be counted on complete assignments and produce excellent work for the group. The higher the quality of the individual work that members do for the group, the higher will be the quality of the group’s outputs." (Galanes and Brilhart 142)
"In high trust groups, motivation was transformed into joint efforts and hence higher performance. In low-trust groups, motivation was transformed into individual efforts . . . Researchers should consider trust as a concept that indirectly influences group trust by moderating the relationship between inputs (e.g., motivation) and group process and performance." (Dirks)
Once again, the scooby doo gang proves a powerful example. Near the end of every episode, before the gang solves the mystery, Velma and Fred delegate responsibility to the different members so that they can as a whole achieve more.
AUIDENCE INTERACTION:
How has trust influenced production in your group thus far?
"Once a bond has developed between members of a group, members begin to depend on others to fulfill their personal needs as well as the group goal" (Bender).
"The acceptance concern has to do with the formation of trust and acceptance of self and of others, the reduction of fear of self and of others, and the consequent growth of confidence." (Gibb)
It’s funny actually how you can pull example of small group behaviors from your own life. When my original group was disbanded because of a mass exodus from com 2zero7, I was thrust into a new group, which had already been meeting for a few weeks. I felt a need to become part of the group and hence a need for inclusion. For me, inclusion became a want of belonging. Eventually, through self-disclosure and a building of thematic devices, I became a proud P.I.G. (Chris Josey War Story).
"In any task group members have a need to either assume or submit to the leadership of other members. This need for control can be seen as a spectrum, ranging from the need to be leader to the need to be lead" (Watson)
"When I was at graduate school, I had to be a part of many small groups like committees or research teams. One thing that always seemed to happen was a natural sorting of roles from leader to follower. Usually there are people in the middle. People’s roles may not stay the same the entire time, but it seems to me that everyone knew where they wanted to be most of the time." (Kelley)
"Humans are extremely social beings. Along this line, we have a desire to seek emotional validation from others within our life. This need is often satisfied by the emotional leader of a group" (Bender).
In any group where people are contributing personal ideas to the group collective, there seems to be a desire for praise of one’s ideas. This can easily be seen when considering that almost every sport involving teams has a most valuable player award of some kind. In a sense, when players compete for this honor, they are seeking recognition and affection from their peers.
" . . . augment personal learning by instilling, in succession, four "moral concerns" (acceptance, data, goal, and control). Trusting others is one part of being able to accept them and is a necessary precondition for the other group objectives." (Pearce and Barnett)
"Trust among co-workers in project groups is essential to the formation of quality work. If members trust one another to stay on task and complete each individual objective on time, then they will form a more complete team. A sense of team pride and identity emerge once a rapport develops because each member feels that he is a part of something bigger than himself." (Watson)
"When examining the social behavior of people ages 16-35, it becomes apparent that there is a need to lead or be led within friendship circles. This is no different than any other age group, but is more pronounced due to their young age." (Foss).
"The need for control is crucial among work groups. A task leader must be able to divide tasks evenly in order to efficiently aid in the overall productivity of the group. Fortune 500 companies have all seen that in order for their task groups to be productive, a sense of unity must first be achieved. This unity, as noted by Stan Marsh, is founded in a sense of belonging and trust between members of the group." (Bender 148).
"Emotional needs are really important when it comes to building trust. Whether or not you’re there for someone in their time of need is so important to their trust building in you. It’s really easy to be there for people when times are good, but let some bad times roll around and you find out who’s really there for you – who you really trust." (Roundtable interview with Janice and Greg Cheney – Parents and married couple for 27 years)
The need for emotional connections is key to groups success. The existence of cliques, the degree of affectionate and personal relationships, and the frequency of pairing off that takes place outside group function, are all contributing factors to a feeling of affection and moreover a sense and functional application of group trust. (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p..135)
With your understanding that trust is the bible of small group and your knowledge of why it is important we will move into some common obstacles of trust development in small groups. We will talk about twelve of these obstacles – our "Dirty Dozen" list of behaviors that should be avoided in order to let trust develop. Of these we will spotlight the first four of the TEN COMMANDMENTS OF TRUST.
A. Aggressing
"An aggressor is an abrasive and overly dominant person in the group. Aggressors are outspoken and bold to the point of recklessness… too much of a good thing is detrimental to the group." (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.142)
"A great example of this is happening to me right now in another communication class small group project. We are on task to complete a project, but there is one group member who feels it necessary to be in charge of all the group does at all times. It’s really taking all the trust that ever existed out of the group and turning most of us against this pseudo-leader. Comments like "Here’s what were going to do" or "listen up now" are sounded off as orders, and frankly from absolutely no position of authority." (Brian Cheney – an example of group trust inhibited)
This action is an inhibitor of trust because the aggressor demeans the worth of the other group members to the point where those who are "beaten" don’t care about the identity or the task of the group any longer. Typically assertiveness is a good quality of a group member, but like anything else, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p..142)
"These people are too submissive for both their and their groups own good. These members constantly irritate the group because they are always kicking themselves before the group has a chance to do it. Consequently, the other group members are frustrated because the doormat will not take responsibility for group decisions." (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p. 142)
Consider the classic example of doormatting: The COM 103 project group. Here is a task-oriented group where no trust has been built because of the limited time frame for which group members will be required to work together. In this group, there is usually two, possible three people whose ideas are usually decent in nature, yet they constantly hedge their ideas with comments like "this is a stupid idea, but" These people are doormatting because they attack their ideas as inadequate before anyone else has had a chance to hear their ideas.
"Our entire group was guilty of this action during this semester at times. We were all too content that we had a "good group" and we all seemed to get along well enough. The only problem was that we neglected to make any real decisions about our project for the first month of class. We all talked about it briefly and then left the meeting feeling good about us, but deciding nothing. Boy does this come back to haunt you in the final weeks of the project." (Brian Cheney – war story about this semester)
Doormats tend to complain about their life around them as though they have no control over it. This coupled with the fact that decisions about group progress are not made creates an environment where trust cannot exist. This is true because work ceases to be assigned and meetings turn into gigantic wastes of time where group members blame their lack of production on their unfortunate life circumstances. (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.142)
"Eggheads parade their intelligence before the group and demand the deference be paid. The egghead selects a vocabulary that is beyond many group members… domination of a group by an egghead can often eliminate the potential synergistic nature of group decision making." (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.142)
Audience Interaction
What are we trying to say here:
"A condition characterized by tardiness in more desirable that one that is systematically marked by external absenteeism"
"Illegal transgression has no remuneration for its perpetrators"
Whose needs are really served when we use complex words and phrases in our everyday communication?
What are some bad consequences of trying to impress others with sophisticated vocabularies or technical jargon?
In any personal or work group there usually seems to be an Egg Head. The best example that comes to mind is my friend Casey Howard. When we were in highschool, we both were leaders on the debate team. At this time, we were not extremely close friends. Since he had won more tournaments and had been to more camps, Casey had no problem letting everyone know that he was the greatest thing since sliced bread. He would throw out too much jargon at freshmen that were at organizational meetings and thus drove away many potential recruits. As a matter of fact, it was not until he went to college and found out how little he really knew that we became friends and his egg heading stopped. (Chris Josey War Story).
Because the main function of eggheading is to pamper to the ego of the eggheador and create a feeling of inadequacy among the remaining group members, this behavior destroys trust by fostering feelings of resentment among the group as a whole. Trust cannot exist to its full potential while one members has this pseudointelectual disposition. (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.142)
"As an attorney I have always been offended by that fact that most of my colleagues carry on this kind of behavior. A law degree does not make you better than the man next to you without one, and a person who uses a vocabulary that isn’t appropriate for his audience is as foolish as he believes his audience to be." (Interview with attorney Greg Cheney)
"The airhead goes under a variety of names: dunce, dummy, Neanderthal, and group idiot. Group members always suspect the airhead of faking it – nobody can be that dumb. Airheads avoid doing a lot of the work for their group because they don’t appear intellectually fit." (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.142)
"As a parent I have seen this kind of action too many times to recall. My favorite example is having a child pretend not to understand how to do anything with a computer. They somehow got their older brother to do an entire statistics project for them just because he didn’t have the patience to sit there and explain how a computer worked. The funny part comes when a week later the offending sibling was happily pecking away at the keyboard writing email to all her friends. She was suddenly perfectly skilled at use of the computer, but she had played dumb just well enough to get out of the project." (Roundtable interview with Janice and Greg Cheney – Parents and married couple for 27 years)
Airheading inhibits trust by giving the other members of the group the sense that whatever work is assigned to the airhead will be of such poor quality that it will have to be redone. Without being able to trust the airhead to accomplish work they become a useless group member for as long as they continue these actions. (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.142)
Air heading, if I am a air head then no one is going to trust what I have to say, everyone will think that it is out there and not want to listen to me. Coming off as being lazy and not wanting to work hard at a certain task. (Todd Craver)
"Crybabies or whiners exhibit extreme social immaturity. Whiners avoid doing their fair share of the work simply because it’s so irritating to hear them whine when they are assigned a task. No matter what the group does the whiner still whines." (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.142)
"I work on the Baja car for my Senior Engineering Project. Always, there seems to be someone who is complaining about how much work we have to do or how much time it take out of their schedule… It make is difficult to trust people like that because they are always complaining and rarely working. Usually what happens is the rest of us pick up the slack and exclude the whiner from most social or work interactions" (Chaneske).
"If someone complains too much about the amount of work he or she has to do then other members of the group perceive him or her as lazy. Usually this causes a breakdown in the cohesion of a group because the whiner is viewed as untrustworthy." (Watson).
"Sometimes a group member will show up for a task-group meeting and decide to turn the meeting into an encounter-group session – in effect, asking the group for its emotional support of his or her feelings. When this happens a task discussion group has unknowingly transformed itself into a therapy group." (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.142)
"I was working with a small task group over this summer. The purpose of the group was to set team goals, achieve those goals throughout the week, and meet to discuss what we accomplished and how we could perform better in the future. It became readily apparent in the first group meeting that Del would by using us as a support group. She felt compelled to tell us every event of her life that had prevented her from living up to her end of the bargain; unfortunately we were all listening to her because we had no idea how destructive this type of action could be. Needless to say, she reduced the efficiency of the group by huge margins as every session tuned into her personal venting time. She dropped out of the work group before the end of the sessions and subsequently quit perusing the business we were all involved in." (Brian Cheney- War Story)
"When group member’s attention is diverted from their primary task for a significant amount of time, then the purpose of the meeting is lost. If this behavior become common then members find themselves unable to rely on meetings as a source of productive time. Thus, they cannot trust other members to engage in meaningful discussion." (Bender)
Audience Interaction
Has your group had an experience of self confessing?
How did it obstruct trust?
"…help seeking behavior is usually a request on the part of a group member that the group testify to that particular member’s value to the group. All group members need "stroking", but if this behavior occurs too frequently in discussions, little work will be done because the group members will be too busy reassuring one another that they are capable of doing good work." (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.143)
In any group there is always someone who is seeking affirmation of their worth from other group members. At work there was a server who would constantly seek solace from other workers that she was doing her job correctly. It got to the point that she was distracting other servers from their tables and eventually had to be fired because she was being disruptive to the group as a whole. (Chris Josey War Story)
"Help seeking violates search for trust I guess because members eventually get fed up with having to constantly reassure the needy member. I have been in a group with help seekers before and from my experience it is hard to put your trust in them because they are more preoccupied with getting you to tell them how good they are than actually doing work." (Tucker)
"This behavior calls attention to itself by boasting … in the context of routine meetings, recognition seeking is a negative communication behavior." (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.143)
If one person in a group is bragging about his or her achievements, it inhibits the work group. Consider the typical college work group. At each meeting, one member brags about what he has done for the group or how great his work is. If this bragging persists, the other members perceive it as showboating and begin to dislike and even distrust the boasting member.
"Seeking recognition can be good for groups if it is bragging on the group, not the individual. If, however, an individual seeks individual recognition repeatedly within the group, the other members will see him as arrogant and will be less likely to trust him." (Watson)
"A group member is quickly labeled a self-centered follower if the member is engaging in special interest pleading. When a member speaks on the behalf of some outside group and not as a member of the group that is currently working together, the group thinks that the member is making a special-interest plea. If several members begin to engage in this behavior, it becomes extremely difficult for the group to reach consensus about its conclusions." (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.144)
"Assume that a member you trust says to you, "I think there are lots of problems with your idea." You are likely to ask that member for reasons and to pay careful attention to the reasons given. On the other hand, if the same statement comes from someone you don’t trust, you may wonder what’s behind the statement, ignore it, get into a shouting match, or try to find subtle ways of sabotaging that member’s suggestions. Others see members who appear to operate from hidden agenda motives as untrustworthy. So are ‘politicians,’ who always seem to have a personal angle for their behavior that has nothing to do with the group." (Galanes and Brilhart 142)
"When members promote interests not of the group, agreement tends to become more difficult to achieve. When members are seen as promoting outside goals, other members begin to question whether or not they can rely on them to help the group reach its goal." (Hall)
"…horseplay at inappropriate times by the tension releaser or by other group members is a form of negative communication behavior. Groups can easily be tempted to digress from their work, and clowning around is one of the favorite ways…most of the time excessive goofing off will hurt group productivity." (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.144)
Even with a deadline approaching, com 103 groups tend to engage in playing the clown . Since the group has no real future and no past for establishing a work schedule, often the groups meet to get work done and the clown diverts their attention to away from the task at hand and towards group flight. This is why many COM 103 projects do not achieve the synergy that COM 2zero7 projects do.
"Engaging in group flight at the wrong time is disastrous for many groups. Distracting the group focus away from the task at hand can place a group in peril and cause the pilot of the flight to be perceived as uncommitted." (DeVito)
Trying to be the jokester at in appropriate times is a real concept to a certain student in our own com 207 class. "Earlier in the semester he sent out: I'm kind of sick of getting these e-mails, so I'm responding to the entire class. Sorry to bother, but I'm just curious if everyone else is as lost as I am. On the off chance that someone on this list understands anything Kasch wrote in that huge e-mail, please tell me and the rest of the class. It's a shame this class is required because i'd be the first to drop...How is that for modivation?" Fortunately for our anonamous author, he felt the spirit and power of 2zero7 and is now a productive member of he group. . .we assume.
"This foot dragging behavior is normally used to stop decisions from taking place. People who become blockers of group decision making seem to adopt an attitude that things should be "my way, or no way" (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.144)
Consider a group that has definite goals and a plan to achieve them, yet the group can never achieve these goals because they are constantly engaging in behaviors that are antiproductive to the group goal. A work group will illustrate this point. At work if one member fails to attend group work session outside of the confines of work or fails to go to work, the group then cannot achieve its goals because they are missing the input and work that the slacking member cannot supply due to his or her absence.
Strategic video clip. We will play the filibuster scene from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington so show how someone can reduce the likelihood of trust development by engaging in antiproductive measures such as Mr. Smith with his filibuster.
"By avoiding listening to the other peoples arguments or ideas, essentially driving at your point and nothing else, you will "steamroll" the other parties you are dealing with. This action prohibits the development of relationships and creates negative conflict and would contribute to overall lack of trust." (DeVito, Joseph A. Messages – Building Interpersonal Communication Skills, Longman, New York, NY. 1999. p340)
"Foddering is so devastating that it can make an otherwise good group dysfunctional. They commit excessive amounts of time in over involving themselves in group life. They use hallway gossip, half truths, and innuendo to create group crises. Everything they do is all-important, and what other group members do is trivial." (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.144)
AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Who hasn’t had the busybody friend, or the person who is always in everyone’s business but their own. From time to time, most of us have experienced this type of behavior. [The following questions will be asked of the audience]
* How many of you know someone, who is like this, they are so caught up in the "group" that it consumes them?
* Who will an experience with someone like this?
* Who will share a time when they might have fallen into this behavior?
Foddering within groups creates a lack of trust because it creates a lack of task oriented talk and leads a group toward overinvolvement in social aspects of the group life. (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.144)
Having gained a basic knowledge of trust, why it is important, and some behaviors to avoid, we will move along to some skills and strategies designed to help trust build within groups that you are a part of. Also, we will enumerate the final six COMMANDMENTS OF TRUST. We will talk about a variety of methods to build trust, ranging from self-disclosure to reducing the apprehension of a new member, and by the end of this point you will have an understanding of how trust can be affected in a positive way by your actions.
"Every group needs a level of self-disclosure such that members know on whom they can depend. A work group can err in either direction; the group can be either underdisclosed or overdisclosed. The goal is to find the level of self-disclosure that is fitting to get the job done." (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.159)
"Trust requires a willingness to place oneself in a position of risk and that trust is not likely to appear early in a relationship because there would be little basis in past experience for its development." (Rempel, Holmes, and Zanna 95)
Strategic Video Integration
We will play a video from Up Close and Personal where Michelle Pheiffer self discloses to Robert Redford that she is not really a seasoned reporter. It shows that from that moment on, their trust can begin to be built.
AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Reward the best responses to these questions with prizes.
- Who in the audience has ever had a romantic relationship?
- Now that you understand what disclosure is all about, how many of you can recognize disclosure in you past relationships?
- Describe a time when disclosure made you feel especially close to another person?
- Do you think the relationship could have progressed to the point that it did without this disclosure? Why or why not?
Audience interaction
We will play a game of truth or dare to illustrate how the risk of self disclosure helps build trust.
"Relational groups especially feel the need to have a certain level of personal knowledge of the other members lives. Self-disclosure then becomes a requirement to feel a sense of belonging to a group. Often times group members will have intimate knowledge of other member’s lives. This strengthens the cohesion between individual group members because they feel that they can trust each other because they have each disclosed personal information." (Bender 163)
"The key to establishing a trusting relationship with this person is to be trustworthy—communicating to the sender that you will not take advantage of his or her vulnerability in self-disclosing to you." (Wolvin and Coakley 115)
"It is true that self-disclosure is risky, but so are all strategies for improving relationships. Research indicates that positive disclosures are associated with highly cohesive and successful groups. In task-oriented groups within classrooms or organizations, disclosure can help maintain relationships. Disclosure in task-oriented groups requires some skill." (Ellis and Fisher 32)
"Self-disclosure theorists in particular have emphasized the notion that trust is built gradually through repeated encounters involving the potential for rejection or ridicule. Of course, the social scripts derived from the demands . . .and the rules or reciprocal exchange act to protect partners and minimize risk in the earlier stages of a relationship." (Rempel, Holmes, and Zanna)
"…disclosing things is the way relationships develop. I know those are the moments that tend to mark a relationship – at least the relationship that we’ve had. When you tell someone something that others don’t necessarily know or understand about you, it creates a new level of deepness to the relationship. It’s almost like nobody in the world shares that bond but the two of you. Almost always the disclosure then goes the other way as well. You feel closer to that person, who disclosed to you, so you want to share something with them. " (Roundtable interview with Janice and Greg Cheney – Parents and married couple for 27 years)
"The party that manifests trust, or wants to demonstrate trust makes a move first and in effect places his own fate, to the extent that he trusts, squarely in the hands of the other." (Kee and Knox)
If groupmembers allow themselves to be open and honest with each other then a bond will begin to form. The group can "Gel" together best in this type of open setting. If the group continues to share and keep things shared in confidence, the group’s ability to trust increases greatly. The group gains a new ability to work together through these trusting relationships, which begins a very healthy sharing circle. Sharing builds trust, which allows for more sharing, which builds more trust. (Todd Craver)
"When people first meet, there is a propensity for stereotyping to occur. Effective groups will overcome the rush to categorize and stereotype members by self-disclosing with other members." (Razor)
[Chris Kasch: "I need a volunteer to work that thing up there. Hey you. (Gesturing to Luis) Senior. Go work that computer."]
You have met in a small group for a class twice now. You and most of the members of the group are all 20-22 years old. The other member of your group is a middle-aged mother of two who is going back to school for her degree. In the first two meetings she has been an incredible group member. She is chatty, interested in others lives, and already has some great ideas for directions the group project could go. At the third meeting she does not attend as planned. You hear other group members asking where the older lady is or where the old chatterbox might be today. Would you fit into this category as well?
Avoiding stereotyped judgments helps to build trust by making each group member an individual rather than a demographic representation. Understanding that each person is an individual and not a perfect fit to your idea of what they should be helps to create group cohesion and foster group trust. (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p..60)
"It is important to acknowledge but not dwell upon the differences among group members. It is necessary to acknowledge differences in order to communicate effectively, yet they should not become a cleavage that divides the group." (Foss).
Now that I have been away from home for a while, I have changed in ways my friends are only beginning to recognize. When we meet on holidays or breaks back home, we see that each of us has changed drastically from who we once were. We try to acknowledge that people change and we cannot ignore the new hang-ups our clothing styles. However, we try (sometimes unsuccessfully) not to let our diverging lifestyles interfere with our relationships as friends. (Chris Josey War Story).
"I guess I would have to say that by recognizing individual differences among the group and not letting them interfere with you overall goals, you are setting a tone that each member can be trusted to respect the others’ lifestyles. Like any activity of this nature, it helps build cohesion and trust." (Tucker).
"Like I said to your first question, each member comes into a group with a certain level of expectations. These expectations and needs should be addressed if you are going to have a cohesive group. If you support the affection, inclusion, control needs of the group you are helping to raise the overall level of trust within that group." (Tucker).
Consider a family in which each member’s inclusion, affection, and control needs are met: The Cleaver Family. Ward always makes the Beaver feel included in family discussions, yet he is not afraid to discipline him when necessary. Ward also gives his son the good old black and white T.V. love that needs. As a result, the family unit never really comes into any danger of failing to achieve its primary task: functioning as a loving, caring, and productive family.
"Trust increases security in a relationship, reduces inhibitions and defensiveness, and frees people to share feelings and dreams. Trust is seen as a prerequisite for marital partners to open their marriage to their to their full potential for personal and interpersonal growth." (Larzelere and Huston 595)
"The scheduling of group meetings is crucial for group trust because everyone jealously guards his or her own time. The meetings need to be at a time when everyone can meet, and they should start and end on time." (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.158)
A group will be better able to trust one another if they feel that each person will show up on time and if the meetings are held in a consistent fashion. When a group is disorganized and fails to make appropriate use of the time provided, the result is a lack of output. A lack of output creates a perception of failure. The perception of failure hence, causes a sense of distrust among group members.
Exemplify with Group Activity
******Secret Activity********
"If a group manages its time effectively, then member can depend on one another to get things done in a timely manner. This is especially true for groups that are under considerable time constraints. Meetings must be held at precise time and members must depend on others to show up to meetings." (Hall)
"We should strive to optimize our group personalities. We can work on becoming better group member (by) . . .being friendly, intelligent, socially mature, assertive, self-assured, creative, rational, communicatively competent, empathetic, and tactful." (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.159)
A group such as a football team will become more productive when it optimizes its group personality. Take for example the Los Angeles Lakers of late. It has many young talented members and should be front runner every year to win the NBA title. However, because the members have not created an optimized or ideal sense of team (in other words group personality) they often look like a bunch of players rather than a cohesive group working together. Thus, they have not been able to win against teams who may not have as much talent, yet have a more optimized sense of group personality.
"In effect, by trying to become a better group member, you are showing the other members that you are committed to the project. By optimizing group personality, members are creating trust." (Bender)
"Attempt to reduce a new member’s anxieties regarding ho he or she will be treated by the group. It is important to tell stories about the group’s past successes and failures, especially failures." (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.160)
"I have actually lived this particular idea this semester. As a new member of a fraternity I am very much a new member to a previously organized group. Like any other new addition, I began searching for the accepted norms of that group and practicing the acceptable behaviors of the group. Easing the whole transition were all the current members of the group. They were more than willing to tell stories about their first few months as a member of the fraternity and how they had blooped and blundered their way through things. It made me feel more at ease knowing that I was expected to make some mistakes along the way and this nobody was perfect. (Brian Cheney)
Reduction of apprehension helps to build trust within small groups because it allows new group members to feel as though they can immediately identify with current group members. Since one of the major fears of small group members is acceptance on a performance basis, stories about others making "rookie" mistakes will help to ease the fear of failure and foster the increasing development of group trust. (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p..160)
"Strive to avoid them (the dirty dozen). At one time or another, we have all committed these group errors. . .by trying to avoid them you will become more sensitized to your weaknesses." (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p.160)
A small group that tries to avoid the dirty dozen and promote the group good will achieve synergy and enlightenment. Such is the case with the Bradley University Speech Team. Dan Smith tries to motivate his competitors by cooperation and positive behavior. In avoiding the dirty dozen for the most part, Smith’s team is able to achieve victories every year over other teams.
Avoiding negative group behavior will build trust by decreasing anger and resentment among group members and furthering group cohesion through task-related successes and relationship development within the group. As detrimental as committing these behaviors is, avoidance of them is constructive to the teams identity and accomplishments. (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p..160)
"It is important to keep the atmosphere within the group as open and cooperative as possible. This is because the best work is the work that is a collaboration of group members who are able to speak freely and evaluate without fear of negative consequences." (Razor)
"One behavior that can destroy trust quickly is failure to complete assignments for the group. A member who does not come through for the group forces the other members to pick up the slack. This one of the most common sources of conflict and can poison a group’s climate." (Galanes and Brilhart 142)
Work groups have to cooperate to accomplish goals all the time. A team working for a company must be tolerant of each other’s ideas in order to achieve the best possible product. Consider a group of engineers trying to build a new type of space shuttle. Each member must perform his or her role within the group. Within these roles a certain level of trust must be achieved and an effective central negative must be in place in order to foster a cooperative climate. The group will never achieve their goal of creating a revolutionary space shuttle if it does not become tolerant of group member’s ideas.
Trust is built in a cooperative climate by the progressive realization of a common a worth goal. When a team realizes that they all share one common goal and not individual achievements then they can grow to trust one another and create better group work that they could on an individual level. (Cragan and Wright; Communication in Small Groups p. 160)
Audience Interaction
What are some examples of a cooperative group climate in your group?
How did this produce a higher level of trust within your group?
VI. Conclusion
Today we have discussed the important topic of trust. We analyzed the meaning of trust in many different forms. We talked about why trust is important in-group and some examples of what those types of groups might be. We gave you some insight into obstacles that inhibit the development of trust, and touched on some of our "Dirty Dozen" in great detail. Then we visited the positive side of trust and showed you some ways to apply behaviors in your life that help trust to build. After all of us talking up here, we would like to see what some of you have to say.
AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
* What is the most important thing that you took away form today’s presentation?
* Can you see times when you have committed one of the "Dirty Dozen"? If so when?
* What specific action do you see yourself taking to help improve trust in your groups?
* Have you had any moments of great trust or lack of trust this semester? If so describe.
Lets all stand up and recite the Ten Commandments of trust together!
From all of your stories it’s easy to see that our group experiences were more similar than we might have thought. The fact is that trust exists in all relationships and is important in-groups of all types. Dare to be one of those people who make changes in their life rather then complaining about their life. A wise man once said that one definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Change your trust-habits, make a change in your productivity as a group member. Remember that if you want to be successful as an individual, you have to be a success as a group, and trust is a crucial part to that success. Now, all together, please stand…
IT’S ALL JUST A MATTER OF TRUST