Group Communication Pitfalls

John O. Burtis (Ph.D., University of Minnesota) is a Professor in the Communication Studies Department at the University of Northern Iowa. He has taught courses in leadership, management, group communication, argumentation, persuasion, and communication theory at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He has been a consultant, trainer, and speaker on related subjects in both the private and public sectors. He has been the director of the Concordia Leadership Center and of the West Central Minnesota Leadership Program and the head of the Communication Studies department at the University of Northern Iowa. He has been the Director of Forensics at Kansas State University and Concordia College, where students in the programs won numerous individual and team championships in speech or debate including more than twenty national championships. Paul D. Turman (PhD, University of Nebraska) is the Vice President for Research & Economic Development for the South Dakota Board of Regents. His scholarly research focuses on the role of communication in the coach-athlete and parent-child relationship within a sport context. Prior to his time with the Board of Regents, he taught courses in communication and sport at the University of Northern Iowa. His scholarly work has been published in journals such as Communication Education, the Journal of Applied Communication Research, the Journal of Family Communication, and Communication Studies.

• PrefaceUnit I: We Co-construct Our Groups by Communicating1. Why Study Group Communication Pitfalls?Overview of the BookWhy Do Groups Matter Enough to Make a Study of Them?Definitions of "Communication", "Group", and "Pitfalls"Casting a Wide Net to Include All Pitfalls and BreakdownGroup Communication Pitfalls by Commission or by OmissionThe Breakdown-Conducive Group FrameworkWhy Should We Focus Our Study of Groups on Group Communication Pitfalls?2. How Grouping and Group Direction Help Create Effective Group ExperiencesThe Universals of Grouping ActivityThe Framework for Grouping and Group DirectionRhetorical Situation and a Purgatory PuddleUnit II: We Struggle to Co-construct and Frame Our Circumstances and Processes3. Pitfalls in Task and Supragroup ExigenciesGroups as SystemsPurgatory Puddle PitfallsSupragroup PitfallsWrong Task for a GroupHow to Expect, Detect, and Correct These Pitfalls4. Personnel Pitfalls"Wrong Group for the Task" PitfallsTraitsOrientationStyleCircumstancesHow to Expect, Detect, and Correct These Pitfalls5. Pitfalls in Grouping Techniques, Tendencies, and Process PrizesGrouping TechniquesTechnique PitfallsGrouping Tendencies: Norms and RolesNorm PitfallsRole PitfallsProcess PrizesProcess Prize PitfallsDeliberation Outcome Pitfalls6. Pitfalls in Confusion, Conformity, Conflict, and Group Consciousness: Grouping ConcomitantsConfusion PitfallsConformity PitfallsConflict PitfallsConsciousness PitfallsHow to Expect, Detect, and Correct These Pitfalls7. Pitfalls in Vision and Direction GivingVision/Outcome PitfallsSavior Complex PitfallsAscension PitfallsTransitions PitfallsHow to Expect, Detect, and Correct These PitfallsUnit III: We Co-construct Our Exigencies for Grouping Into Our Group Outcomes8. (Un)Intended Group OutcomesDynamics Involved in Potential Group OutcomesA Set of Potential Group Outcomes9. To Group or Not to Group, That Is the QuestionGeneral Exigencies Against GroupingDistrust of GroupingDistrust of Self as a Grouping MemberDistrust of Any Aspect of This Particular Grouping EffortInertia and Specific Exigencies Against GroupingHow Exigencies Against Grouping May ManifestExpecting, Detecting, and Correcting These Pitfalls: General Orientational Advice10. Observing Groups WellObserving GroupsImproving Observational Focus and QualityObserving the Purgatory PuddleObserving The Way/ProcessObserving the Vision/Outcome and the Savior Complex

"They have done this with a rich, provocative, and creative conceptual vocabulary that will resonate for readers who practice, supervise others′ practice, teach about or do research in group life and group work."—Paul H. Ephross, MSW, PhD, Professor, University of Maryland School of Social Work