Group Size and Communication

Group Size and Communication

Page 194

When you chat with an instructor in her office, you probably speak freely and informally. The two of you may exchange questions and comments rapidly, interrupt one another, and prompt each other for more information. But when you sit with that same professor in a classroom full of other students, the nature of your communication changes; you might be expected to raise your hand, defer to other students who are already speaking, or not ask questions at all.

What has changed? Why is the nature of your communication so different in the classroom compared to the way you converse in her office? In this section, we’ll take a look at how group communication grows more complex as the number of individuals increases.

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When you’re chatting with a professor during office hours, you are the focus of your professor’s attention. However, in the classroom, you have to respect the fact that other students want to speak as well!