Your self-concept shapes how you communicate in small groups. Everything from your personality to your gender and cultural background affects your communication choices and other group members’ perceptions of you. By enhancing your self-awareness, you can communicate more competently in small groups and teams.

In the movie Moneyball, Peter Brand (played by Jonah Hill) is a young, newly hired assistant general manager for the Oakland A’s. A Yale-educated economist, Peter uses obscure game-performance statistics to evaluate players’ talent. His unconventional approach contrasts with the established baseball scouting practice of judging a player’s potential by running speed, game techniques, and gut impressions. When he attends his first draft planning meeting, Peter is treated with resentment and hostility by the other (and older) Oakland A’s scouts.

Visibly intimidated by the more seasoned scouts sitting around the table, Peter is afraid to speak up about how he determines a player’s value. Only after general manager Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) uses his overpowering personality to silence the grumbling scouts does Peter try to take part in the meeting. But he’s unsure of himself and speaks haltingly. As a result, he fails to convince the stubborn scouts that his statistic-based methods will work. Much to the scouts’ disbelief and despite their protests, Billy follows Peter’s recommendations.

Although all small group members work toward a common goal, each person brings his or her own unique self, experiences, and communication preferences to the group. In the preceding example, Peter’s youth, inexperience, and communication style set him apart from the more experienced scouts. These differences initially made it difficult for them to take his ideas seriously. Fortunately for Peter, and for the Oakland A’s, Billy Beane was willing to push for Peter’s new way of selecting players.

Knowing how certain factors—such as your own communication traits, gender, and culture—influence small group behavior will help you communicate more competently within groups.