 Take a moment to think about what it's like when you're hanging out with your best friend. It's just the two of you You're hanging out. What do you talk about? What's that conversation like? What's the style of conversation? How do you talk to each other in what kinds of tones and what are you wearing? What kind of facial expressions using what kind of inside jokes? Do you have just all those things that you know? Those are unique when you have just you and your best friend and there's just this kind of vibe happening between you right and then that vibe is still there and it's still a special relationship But when you add in other people to that mix even friends of yours your close friends your good friends as a group of friends But that dynamic changes slightly right what you talk about how you talk about it and the inside jokes You have it changes when you get in that group dynamic. There are other people to consider and think about Think about some of our most famous friends, right? Well from the show friends exponentially Joey and Chandler were dumber when it was just the two of them I did more stupid things when they were together and acted differently when it was just the two of them Then they did when it was the larger group of friends when they were all together and the same is true for any other pair You look at them and most of the shenanigans They got into had to do with two people because they were acting differently When it was just a two of them then they were in the larger group There are different considerations and different dynamics that exist when we're in a group situation And so that's why we think of group communication as different than other types of communication It's different than interpersonal communication or interpersonal communication or public speaking or mass communication It has different rules different considerations and different things We need to be aware of if we're going to be effective in a group environment and communicating in that environment So in this video, we're going to start our series by talking about the characteristics of small groups What is it that makes them unique and what is it that sets them apart from other types of communication? scenarios and communication forms So let's start off by defining what it is we mean when we say small group a small group Involves interactions among three or more people who are connected through a common purpose a mutual influence and a shared identity All of these elements are important If you don't have all of these elements together them We're not really talking about a small group in the sense that we're talking about it We're gonna be focusing mostly on task-oriented problem-solving groups and things these things certainly apply to friendship groups and situations like that as well, but Our focus is going to be mostly on Work-related problem-solving type groups task-oriented groups So we're talking though at a minimum you got to have three people's we'll talk about and that you can have more We'll kind of establish those guidelines, but those are you know It's got to be between three and something amount of people they're connected though between this common purpose mutual influence and shared identity We'll talk about each of these things here in a second So again the characteristics of a small group that we want to talk about first involve size Let's establish some things about size first of all for a small group You have to have at least three people if there's less than that It's not what we would consider a group again two people would be interpersonal one person will be Intrapersonal and there are different dynamics for public speaking and mass communication Three people at least three people are involved in a group now you can have more than that Of course you can have a larger group than three people you can go all the way up to some people would say you know 10 12 15 20 people But and that would be that would be fine. There's no agreed upon maximum size It can grow though beyond three people obviously Now when you get too many people though Too big a group is a problem It exponentially adds more connections that you have to be concerned about between group members members can then in too large a group can feel overwhelmed or Disconnected from the group individual members can feel that and and and you start to see groups form within a group And that's when we that's what we would call an organization then an organization as groups within a group really and And they these groups though start to develop Different a sense of purpose and different identities and so forth, and they're not really one cohesive group as much when you get too big So too big is a problem really the ideal group size is Considered what is necessary and what is functional? So when you get too big You may add more people than you need to get the job done You really for the ideal group size involves However, many people you need in order to do the job that you're trying to do or solve the test and solve the problem Or complete the task that you're trying to complete That's how many people you need that group and then what is functional if the group gets so big that you can't really communicate with one Another or that it's that it's veering off in different directions within these subgroups Then that's not functional anymore You can't really control that so then the group starts to lose effect of so the ideal group size There's no exact number other than it has to be at least three And you don't want to get so big that you that you had on what is unnecessary and what is not functional anymore? Another element or characteristic of small groups that we need to consider is Structure and the way the groups are affected by the structure and the elements that go into that So we look at a couple of different things in terms of structure first. We look at internal versus external Influences and factors and functions and so the structure of group is affected by the internal dynamics of that group So you have a leader that emerges or you have you know a group a block of people That's influential and but within the group that are working within the group or some different Dynamics within the group that really influence the way that group operates. That's that's those are internal Influences and factors that we need to consider but then there are also external ones Maybe if your group is part of a larger organization if you're at a if you're part of a group at work You're part of that larger company Or you're at a nonprofit. You're part of that larger Organization you're a group working within that structure see if those external factors to consider things that are going on there or maybe you have Clients or a public or customers or whatever You're trying to consider. So those are external factors as well. So we are the group is affected both structurally internally and externally by these these factors and influences We also have to think about formal and informal networks and the role that they can play in group structure So, you know formal and networks are those that are that are firmly established either, you know Written or unwritten but but firmly established again if you're part of a larger organization There may be a hierarchy within that organization There may be even a hierarchy within the group if it's a formal type of group like that Where you have these very clear lines of communication and report and power structures and things those are formal Those are identified. Those are recognized, but then there are also maybe these Informal networks of communication where somebody knows somebody, you know You're trying to do something as a group and and you're putting on this event And you you have a buddy who has a PA system who has a sound system and does some DJing So you you know, it's not part of your formal network as part of this group But you say look I can get a PA system for cheap or for free because my buddy has one and I can Ask him to do me a favor and those are informal networks So you have those that work as well You have the and within a group formal and informal networks that are part of that structure and things that we've got to Keep tabs on and be aware of Another characteristic of small groups is that there exists what we call interdependence So this interconnectedness among the different aspects of the group We think of it like when you when you throw a stone in a pond or something falls in a in a calm body of water And it makes those ripples extend from there, right? Everything in that pond is connected and affected by those ripples then that ecosystem is affected by what's going on in one Part of it and even though it's not directly involved It's going to affect other things another way to look at or to think about an independence Interdependence is if you're playing Jenga, you know, this is the huge size Jenga with the blocks So but he was playing big gen big Jenga regular Jenga, whatever When you move one of those blocks it affects obviously that tower it affects you it affects what you're doing and And you know, you're trying to be careful not to knock that tower over but it also affects everybody else, right? That impacts the the the block that I pull out affects Which block you're going to pull out and how you're going to play the game and and and you know The chances that you have of success and the way you do your work So there's this interconnectedness in a group as well that what one person does in that group affects everybody else When one person is late to a meeting that affects everybody else it holds everybody else up When one person's not doing their work effectively It affects everybody else when one person is going gangbusters and really Knocking it out of the park that affects everybody else in a positive way. So it works all together, right? But what happens with one person affects those others in the group. That's interdependence You don't have that outside of that group if I'm walking down the sidewalk and I trip and fall It doesn't affect about unless I fall into somebody, right? But if you're just walking along the other side of the street, it doesn't really affect you We're not intermittent in that way But when something happens to someone within a group or some, you know Any action you take within a group is going to have an effect on everybody else In that group and we need to be aware of that and as a characteristic of a small group Small groups as we as we mentioned in our definition also have the shared identity They develop a shared identity You know something that connects them and and pushes them forward as well and draws them closer together So I happen to be a huge fan of the university of michigan. I love the university of michigan Sports I did not attend the university of michigan people always ask that. No, I didn't go to michigan But I grew up a huge fan And go blue right and all that so and those are things that I have a shared identity when I see a stranger I'm I'm frequently walking around with a michigan sweatshirt or hat or something on and it drives my wife That's because she's not a michigan fan But because almost everywhere we go somebody's gonna holler out just out of the blue go blue And I'm gonna holler back go blue right go blue That's a shared identity that we have as michigan fans and and people with different sports affiliations will have that You'll you'll see somebody wearing Sweatshirt or hat of your team or whatever and and you'll holler out something to them And let me because you have that shared identity complete strangers You have that shared identity With them and and fans of a particular group will have that Groups will develop that as well that not necessarily slogans or whatever Although it could take that but these shared histories and shared stories and shared goals and and they just developed a shared Identity with one another ineffective groups. That's a characteristic of a small group that happens I'm really divides us into what we call in groups and out groups right in groups Are just people who are within that group who anybody who's within you know, michigan fans are in my in group We're all in an in group together Other fans are you know fans of different teams are in are the in the out group They're in their own in group if they have another team, but for my perspective, they're in the out group and groups throughout that as well you have this shorthand and these inside references and jokes and whatever These connections that you have within your group when you're in group That won't make sense to people or or affect people in the same way If they are part of the out group because groups develop these shared identities So now we have a better idea of what we're talking about when we say What is a small group right? What is a small group? Well now we've defined it a little bit We've got to have three or more people We've got to have that shared purpose that mutual identity and you know just be driving forward together So in future videos, then we're going to take a look at some of the other elements and considerations for small group And how we can be more effective within those groups If you have questions about any of those small groups or anything related to to working in small groups and communication within small groups Please feel free to email me be happy to chat with you there in the meantime I hope this has given us a solid foundation to start from as we begin our exploration of communicating effectively in small groups