Group Skills Development Pledge
© copyright 1997, Middendorf and Dormant.
To help students assess their development of the skills listed below, have them use our Group Skills Self–Assessment Worksheet.
To communicate my ideas better, I will…
- present reasons behind my opinions.
- suggest a new idea or course of action.
- never let a meeting go by without speaking several times.
- take my turn at speaking (and listen to what the others are saying!)
To participate and do my share, I will…
- offer to do my share of group tasks between meetings.
- take my turn at different group roles (spokesperson, recorder, chair or facilitator).
- try to help the group to redefine the task or problem when things get confused.
To help set goals and keep to timetables, I will…
- suggest a direction to work toward.
- remind the group of specific deadlines.
- suggest a method for the group to organize the task.
- help get the discussion on task when we get side tracked.
To help quiet members participate, I will…
- unobtrusively attempt to get quiet members to speak.
- reinforce their attempts to participate.
- say things like “Pat, what is your opinion of…?”
To keep from dominating meetings, I will…
- listen attentively to others’ ideas and suggestions.
- focus on issues, not personalities.
- not talk more than my share of the time.
- encourage all members to do their share of the work.
To help keep others from dominating the group, I will…
- ask for comments from someone whose opinion has not yet been heard.
- ask someone who speaks at length to summarize their remarks so others can be heard.
- politely break in and ask “;Does anyone have a comment on the point that was just made?”
- avoid eye contact with those who dominate the discussion.
To summarize the progress the group has made, I will…
- relate my comments to previous comments.
- pull together and restate the different ideas presented.
- check that everyone understood the issue or proposed solution.
To encourage constructive disagreements, I will…
- actively support others when I think they have an important view.
- try to find areas of agreement in conflicting positions (“;I think we agree on A, B, and C.”;).
To defuse destructive conflicts, I will…
- use humor appropriately to reduce tensions of group members.
- try to address the problem (“How could we change our solution so you could support it?”).
