© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 1 Working in Teams Technical Communication, 9/e John M. Lannon PowerPoint prepared by Jimidene Murphy (tinkered with by Ray Lacina

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 2 Warm up List 5 group/team projects you’ve had to work on, either at work or in school. Pick one that stands out – either the worst or the best. Freewrite: What do you remember about the experience? What made it great/terrible?

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 3 Managing a Collaborative Project  Appoint a group manager  Define a clear and definite goal  Decide on the type of document required  Decide how the group will be organized  Divide the task  Establish specific completion dates for each phase  Decide on a meeting schedule and format (continued on next slide)

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 4 Managing a Collaborative Project  Establish a procedure for responding to the work of other members  Establish procedures for dealing with problems  Select a group decision-making style  Appoint an “observer” for each meeting  Decide how to evaluate each member's contribution  Prepare a project management plan  Submit progress reports regularly

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 5 Guidelines for Active Listening  Don’t dictate  Be receptive  Keep an open mind  Be courteous  Show interest  Hear the speaker out  Focus on the message  Ask for clarification  Be agreeable  Observe the 90/10 rule

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 6 Question: What are some of the potential ethical abuses that can happen in team settings?

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 7 Ethical Abuses  Intimidating one’s peers  Not doing your share/Claiming credit for others’ work  Hoarding information

© 2003 Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman Publishers. 8 Group Roles  Facilitator — gets the group started and moderates discussion  Recorder — summarizes group discussions and records any assigned team activities  Reporter — serves as group spokesperson to the instructor or other groups  Timekeeper — keeps the group on task  Opposer — plays the “devil’s advocate” to make sure members are considering all options