Raikmel Morales Blog #1

For our first presentation, we were assigned chapters from the book, each pertaining to a different topic. Each group was in charge of providing the class with a brief overlook at the chapter that was assigned without the class having to read them.

For the first group that presented, they were in charge of chapter 3 which was Intercultural Communication. This chapter focused on how communication tends to work in between different cultures. It talked heavily about how differences in small things such as beliefs and traditions can make communicating just that much more difficult, but not impossible by any means. The chapter also spoke about how anxiety might arise when communicating interculturally, but is completely normal and nothing to fear. It mentioned other barries such as the belief that one's culture is superior to others, or not understanding how life is for them, etc. Our classmates did a great job of presenting the chapter to us and made sure we understood what was talked about as communicating with those of other cultures can be tricky due to all the possible differences either party involved can face. When beginning the presentation, they seemed a little nervous perhaps, but quickly settled in and gave a great presentation which I enjoyed and I'm sure my classmates did too.

For the second group that presented, they were in charge of chapter nine which was Communicating in Groups. This chapter focused more on what a group is composed of and how communication can work amongst those involved. Group 2 explained the different groups that could possibly arise such as work groups, support groups, etc. They explained what allows each group to work versus what would make one crash, and the characteristics behind a "healthy group". They also went on and described how the groups develop and push forward, giving meaning to what they are assigned to do. As for the quality of the presentation, I feel group 2 did great. The presentation was brief and met its goal without a doubt and that is to teach the class briefly without them having previously read the content. Their presentation was not too lengthy and I felt like it got the job done,

For the third group, which was the group that I was assigned to, we were in charge of chapter ten which was Leadership. Our chapter focused heavily on how the role of a leader functions and helps in a team. It also touched on problem solving and how those that undertake the role of a leader are the ones looked at when it comes time to solve a problem. When it comes time to elect a leader, you want to make sure the individual thats up to play is patient and able to communicate as this role depends heavily on these two factors for it to work properly. For this presentation, I unfortunately could not make it to class so I could not personally present my part, but I was told my teammates did a fantastic job at conveying the message to the class.

I personally feel like this assignment was a great way to commence the class seeing as how the big theme of the course is communication. All the chapters that were chosen can be related to one's own personal life and experiences and this was a great opportunity to talk about them. For example, the first topic that was spoken on, Intercultural Communication, hits very close to home for many of the students in our class. As a large majority of my classmates, like myself, are Hispanic, we find ourselves often communicating with someone who might hold different cultural values than the ones we might know. This can happen anywhere, whether it be right at your doorstep or traveling to another city. Although you may hold some differences, you as a person have to know that those differences do not actually define anything and cannot allow them to deter your motivation to communicate outside of your culture. The second topic, communicating in groups, is something we come across more often than not. We work in groups consistently throughout or lives, whether it be at school, at work, or amongst friends to complete a task. Knowing this, the presentation that was given was very useful as we know it is something that we will surely be applying potentially for the rest of our lives. The third topic, leadership, is also something that we come across often. We usually have some form of leadership to follow in life, and it is important to know what that role consists of. Knowing what a leader should and should not do allows you to distinguish the difference between a good and a poor leader. Overall, I wish I could have presented as presenting is not really one of my strong suits and I am looking to improve that and I know this would have been a great opportunity, but nonetheless I got a lot out of this assignment. I feel as if everyone involved did a great job and put forward lots of effort to ensure that our classmates got the best information possible out of the presentations.