problem solving group discussion topics

14 Best Team Building Problem Solving Group Activities For 2024

The best teams see solutions where others see problems. A great company culture is built around a collaborative spirit and the type of unity it takes to find answers to the big business questions.

So how can you get team members working together?

How can you develop a mentality that will help them overcome obstacles they have yet to encounter?

One of the best ways to improve your teams’ problem solving skills is through team building problem solving activities .

“86% of employees and executives cite lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures.” — Bit.AI

These activities can simulate true-to-life scenarios they’ll find themselves in, or the scenarios can call on your employees or coworkers to dig deep and get creative in a more general sense.

The truth is, on a day-to-day basis, you have to prepare for the unexpected. It just happens that team building activities help with that, but are so fun that they don’t have to feel like work ( consider how you don’t even feel like you’re working out when you’re playing your favorite sport or doing an exercise you actually enjoy! )

Team Building Problem Solving Group Activities

What are the benefits of group problem-solving activities?

The benefits of group problem-solving activities for team building include:

Better communication
Improved collaboration and teamwork
More flexible thinking
Faster problem-solving
Better proactivity and decision making

Without further ado, check out this list of the 14 best team-building problem-solving group activities for 2024!

Page Contents (Click To Jump)

2. Problem-Solving Templates

Problem-Solving Templates are popular problem-solving activities that involve a group of people working together to solve an issue. The challenge generally involves members of the team utilizing pre-made templates and creating solutions for a given problem with the help of visual aids.

This activity is great for teams that need assistance in getting started on their problem-solving journey.

Why this is a fun problem-solving activity: Problem-Solving Templates offer teams an easy and stress-free way to get the creative juices flowing. The visual aids that come with the templates help team members better understand the issue at hand and easily come up with solutions together.

This activity is great for teams that need assistance in getting started on their problem-solving journey, as it provides an easy and stress-free way to get the creative juices flowing.

Problem Solving Group Activities & Games For Team Building

3. coworker feud, “it’s all fun and games”.

Coworker Feud is a twist on the classic Family Feud game show! This multiple rapid round game keeps the action flowing and the questions going. You can choose from a variety of customizations, including picking the teams yourself, randomized teams, custom themes, and custom rounds.

Best for: Hybrid teams

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Coworker Feud comes with digital game materials, a digital buzzer, an expert host, and a zoom link to get the participants ready for action! Teams compete with each other to correctly answer the survey questions. At the end of the game, the team with the most competitive answers is declared the winner of the Feud.

How to get started:

Sign up for Coworker Feud
Break into teams of 4 to 10 people
Get the competitive juices flowing and let the games begin!

Learn more here: Coworker Feud

4. Crack The Case

“who’s a bad mamma jamma”.

Crack The Case is a classic WhoDoneIt game that forces employees to depend on their collective wit to stop a deadly murderer dead in his tracks! Remote employees and office commuters can join forces to end this crime spree.

Best for: Remote teams

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: The Virtual Clue Murder Mystery is an online problem solving activity that uses a proprietary videoconferencing platform to offer the chance for employees and coworkers to study case files, analyze clues, and race to find the motive, the method, and the individual behind the murder of Neil Davidson.

Get a custom quote here
Download the app
Let the mystery-solving collaboration begin!

Learn more here: Crack The Case

5. Catch Meme If You Can

“can’t touch this”.

Purposefully created to enhance leadership skills and team bonding , Catch Meme If You Can is a hybrid between a scavenger hunt and an escape room . Teammates join together to search for clues, solve riddles, and get out — just in time!

Best for: Small teams

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Catch Meme If You Can is an adventure with a backstory. Each team has to submit their answer to the puzzle in order to continue to the next part of the sequence. May the best team escape!

The teams will be given instructions and the full storyline
Teams will be split into a handful of people each
The moderator will kick off the action!

Learn more here: Catch Meme If You Can

6. Puzzle Games

“just something to puzzle over”.

Puzzle Games is the fresh trivia game to test your employees and blow their minds with puzzles, jokes , and fun facts!

Best for: In-person teams

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Eight mini brain teaser and trivia style games include word puzzles, name that nonsense, name that tune, and much more. Plus, the points each team earns will go towards planting trees in the precious ecosystems and forests of Uganda

Get a free consultation for your team
Get a custom designed invitation for your members
Use the game link
Dedicated support will help your team enjoy Puzzle Games to the fullest!

Learn more here: Puzzle Games

7. Virtual Code Break

“for virtual teams”.

Virtual Code Break is a virtual team building activity designed for remote participants around the globe. Using a smart video conferencing solution, virtual teams compete against each other to complete challenges, answer trivia questions, and solve brain-busters!

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Virtual Code Break can be played by groups as small as 4 people all the way up to more than 1,000 people at once. However, every team will improve their communication and problem-solving skills as they race against the clock and depend on each other’s strengths to win!

Reach out for a free consultation to align the needs of your team
An event facilitator will be assigned to handle all of the set-up and logistics
They will also provide you with logins and a play-by-play of what to expect
Sign into the Outback video conferencing platform and join your pre-assigned team
Lastly, let the games begin!

Learn more here: Virtual Code Break

8. Stranded

“survivor: office edition”.

Stranded is the perfect scenario-based problem solving group activity. The doors of the office are locked and obviously your team can’t just knock them down or break the windows.

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Your team has less than half an hour to choose 10 items around the office that will help them survive. They then rank the items in order of importance. It’s a bit like the classic game of being lost at sea without a lifeboat.

Get everyone together in the office
Lock the doors
Let them start working together to plan their survival

Learn more here: Stranded

9. Letting Go Game

“for conscious healing”.

The Letting Go Game is a game of meditation and mindfulness training for helping teammates thrive under pressure and reduce stress in the process. The tasks of the Letting Go Game boost resiliency, attentiveness, and collaboration.

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Expert-guided activities and awareness exercises encourage team members to think altruistically and demonstrate acts of kindness. Between yoga, face painting, and fun photography, your employees or coworkers will have more than enough to keep them laughing and growing together with this mindfulness activity!

Reach out for a free consultation
A guide will then help lead the exercises
Let the funny videos, pictures, and playing begin!

Learn more here: Letting Go Game

10. Wild Goose Chase

“city time”.

Wild Goose Chase is the creative problem solving activity that will take teams all around your city and bring them together as a group! This scavenger hunt works for teams as small as 10 up to groups of over 5000 people.

Best for: Large teams

Why this is an effective group problem solving activity: As employees and group members are coming back to the office, there are going to be times that they’re itching to get outside. Wild Goose Chase is the perfect excuse to satisfy the desire to go out-of-office every now and then. Plus, having things to look at and see around the city will get employees talking in ways they never have before.

Download the Outback app to access the Wild Goose Chase
Take photos and videos from around the city
The most successful team at completing challenges on time is the champ!

Learn more here: Wild Goose Chase

11. Human Knot

“for a knotty good time”.

The Human Knot is one of the best icebreaker team building activities! In fact, there’s a decent chance you played it in grade school. It’s fun, silly, and best of all — free!

Why this is an effective group problem solving activity: Participants start in a circle and connect hands with two other people in the group to form a human knot. The team then has to work together and focus on clear communication to unravel the human knot by maneuvering their way out of this hands-on conundrum. But there’s a catch — they can’t let go of each other’s hands in this team building exercise.

Form a circle
Tell each person to grab a random hand until all hands are holding another
They can’t hold anyone’s hand who is directly next to them
Now they have to get to untangling
If the chain breaks before everyone is untangled, they have to start over again

Learn more here: Human Knot

12. What Would You Do?

“because it’s fun to imagine”.

What Would You Do? Is the hypothetical question game that gets your team talking and brainstorming about what they’d do in a variety of fun, intriguing, and sometimes, whacky scenarios.

Best for: Distributed teams

Why this is an effective group problem solving activity: After employees or coworkers start talking about their What Would You Do? responses, they won’t be able to stop. That’s what makes this such an incredible team building activity . For example, you could ask questions like “If you could live forever, what would you do with your time?” or “If you never had to sleep, what would you do?”

In addition to hypothetical questions, you could also give teammates some optional answers to get them started
After that, let them do the talking — then they’ll be laughing and thinking and dreaming, too!

13. Crossing The River

“quite the conundrum”.

Crossing The River is a river-crossing challenge with one correct answer. Your team gets five essential elements — a chicken, a fox, a rowboat, a woman, and a bag of corn. You see, the woman has a bit of a problem, you tell them. She has to get the fox, the bag of corn, and the chicken to the other side of the river as efficiently as possible.

Why this is an effective group problem solving activity: She has a rowboat, but it can only carry her and one other item at a time. She cannot leave the chicken and the fox alone — for obvious reasons. And she can’t leave the chicken with the corn because it will gobble it right up. So the question for your team is how does the woman get all five elements to the other side of the river safely in this fun activity?

Form teams of 2 to 5 people
Each team has to solve the imaginary riddle
Just make sure that each group understands that the rowboat can only carry one animal and one item at a time; the fox and chicken can’t be alone; and the bag of corn and the chicken cannot be left alone
Give the verbal instructions for getting everything over to the other side

14. End-Hunger Games

“philanthropic fun”.

Does anything bond people quite like acts of kindness and compassion? The End-Hunger Games will get your team to rally around solving the serious problem of hunger.

Best for: Medium-sized teams

Why this is an effective problem solving group activity: Teams join forces to complete challenges based around non-perishable food items in the End-Hunger Games. Groups can range in size from 25 to more than 2000 people, who will all work together to collect food for the local food bank.

Split into teams and compete to earn boxes and cans of non-perishable food
Each team attempts to build the most impressive food item construction
Donate all of the non-perishable foods to a local food bank

Learn more here: End-Hunger Games

Q: What kind of skills do group problem solving activities & games improve?

A: Group problem solving activities and games improve collaboration, leadership, and communication skills.

Q: What are problem solving based team building activities & games?

A: Problem solving based team building activities and games are activities that challenge teams to work together in order to complete them.

Q: What are some fun free problem solving games for groups?

A: Some fun free problem solving games for groups are kinesthetic puzzles like the human knot game, which you can read more about in this article. You can also use all sorts of random items like whiteboards, straws, building blocks, sticky notes, blindfolds, rubber bands, and legos to invent a game that will get the whole team involved.

Q: How do I choose the most effective problem solving exercise for my team?

A: The most effective problem solving exercise for your team is one that will challenge them to be their best selves and expand their creative thinking.

Q: How do I know if my group problem solving activity was successful?

A: In the short-term, you’ll know if your group problem solving activity was successful because your team will bond over it; however, that should also translate to more productivity in the mid to long-term.

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1,400+ easy topics for group discussion with your students, share this article.

Get over 1,000 group discussion topic ideas, and understand the key ways to have productive discussions with your students.

Are you searching for new ways to keep your students on their toes? Sometimes it can feel overwhelming always looking for new, fun, and upbeat ways to keep your students engaged and entertained in your group discussions.

Helping your students feel compelled to participate in group discussions has proven to be beneficial in more ways than one – besides the fact that it can help strengthen the bonds of your community (whether it be online or in-person), group discussions are an important part of the learning process for students.

Group discussions facilitate student interactions, helping them learn how to communicate effectively with others. They promote a deeper understanding and help increase long-term information retention. Group discussions can also help increase students’ attention and help maintain their focus by involving them in the learning process.

In this article, we will discuss why group discussions are so beneficial to the learning environment. We’ve also included some templates with a ton of easy topics for group discussions that can help you build a strong learning environment for your students!

Related: What Are Learning Communities?

If you know what you are looking for right away, feel free to jump around and explore right away:

Skip ahead here:

Benefits of Group Discussion in Online Courses & Communities

Easy Topics for Group Discussion

Gd topics to avoid, how to have a successful group discussion.

1400 Group Discussion Topics Categorized

Benefits of Group Discussion in Online Courses & Learning Communities

While we already mentioned some of the major benefits of group discussions, we just want to highlight the importance of group discussions in online courses and communities.

The purpose of having interesting discussion topics in an online course is to provide opportunities for students to interact with each other, the content, and the instructor.

There are already certain barriers to learning in an online community – such as self-motivation, distractions, and isolation to name a few – which is why it is even more crucial to engage your students in a fun and meaningful way!

Sometimes it’s hard for more traditional classroom experiences to translate nicely to engaging online learning experiences. Introducing new topics to discuss in a group at the beginning of each class could be the key to making your online course effective. This is because social interactions (especially in the online learning community) foster meaningful connections and involvement between your students.

Social elements like incorporating interesting topics to discuss in a group complement online courses because they enable social learning , peer-to-peer support, and student-to-instructor support. They also enable students to hold each other accountable for learning goals while creating a sense of community and belonging.

Adding different topics for group discussion in online learning communities is another great and effective way for students to collaborate and connect with one another. A learning community is a shared place for discussion, so why not spice up your interactions by throwing in some thought-provoking and interesting topics to discuss in a group?

Online vs. in-person group discussion

Now that we’ve covered some of the benefits of group discussions in online courses and communities, let’s discuss whether it is better to have online or in-person group discussions.

We find purpose and accountability in learning communities, regardless if they are from online or in-person group discussions. The style of traditionally learning in a classroom is currently being sidelined as the online classroom learning style has gained popularity in recent years. However, there are some upsides and downsides to each option, which we will cover.

Online group discussion

27% said they have trust in the knowledge of their peers in an online community.
45% said they value diverse opinions. Online communities allow space for a respectful way to learn, and can change the way students see the world.
37% said they appreciate a non-intimidating/judgemental space in an online community.
37% said they value the shared collective experience/pursuit.
52% agree that it’s easier to find others who share interests and passions in a community online vs in-person.
People can participate from the comfort of their homes or offices – they don’t need to travel to a classroom, meaning there are also no travel costs or facility rental costs.
Students can join in no matter where they are in the world.
Participants need to have the correct technology – a computer with a webcam, and typically certain browser configurations. This can limit the population to only people who have this equipment, which narrows down the participant range.
It is sometimes difficult with the virtual format to capture the richness of people together in a room, reading each other’s body cues and participating in exercises that require more than just speaking back and forth.

In-person group discussion

Non-verbal cues are a rich data source and contribute to how others may respond when people are in the room together.
Can incorporate a wider variety of written and brainstorming exercises such as having students team up and sketch out concepts together.
The course instructor can pick up on non-verbal cues and facilitate the conversation more personally.
There may not be very diverse populations, as people are limited to which area and city the course is being held in.
Cost is a prohibitive factor to assembling a group – either because of moderator travel costs or facility rental costs.

Ultimately, the structure of the course – whether it is online or in-person – will depend on the nature of the course itself and the environment that the course instructor thinks will be the most beneficial for their students.

If you are looking for some easy topics, here are a few ideas to get you started.

Favorite Online Resources

The first topic on our list is “What are your favorite online resources?”. This is a great question to get people talking about the different websites and tools that they use on a daily basis. It can also be a great way to find new resources that people may not be aware of. It’s an easy conversation started that can lead to more in-depth topics along the way.

What is your favorite website or app for travel planning?
What is your favorite website or app for finding new recipes to try?
What is your favorite website or app for productivity and organization?
What is your favorite website for learning new skills or information?

Thoughts On The Internet

If you’re looking for a topic that will get people thinking, then you might want to try “What are your thoughts on the current state of the internet?”. This is a great way to get people to share their thoughts and opinions on the current state of the internet, and it can also be a great way to start a discussion about how the internet can be improved.

The role of the internet in promoting freedom of speech and censorship
The funniest memes and internet trends
How has the internet changed the music industry?
The role of the internet in creating and fostering online communities
The role of the internet in education and the future of traditional learning methods

The Impact of Social Media On Our Lives

This is another great topic that can get people thinking and talking. Social media has had a huge impact on our lives, and it’s definitely something worth discussing. It’s a topic that tends to have differing opinions, so the conversation may include many talking points with opportunities to share real-life examples of the impact. You can ask questions referring to what others may have seen on social media like Facebook groups . These groups often have a growing discussion board that can influence opinions.

The impact of social media on our communication skills and real-life relationships
The use of social media for cyberbullying and harassment
The impact of social media on the economy and job market
The most absurd social media and internet trends and phenomena

The Pros and Cons of Technology

This is a great topic for discussion, particularly because it’s something that we all use on a daily basis. We rely heavily on technology, so understanding how people view it, both the negative and positive sides, can be quite interesting. It’s also a great way to start a conversation about how we can use technology more effectively, and how we can avoid its negative effects.

The effects of technology on job security and employment opportunities
The impact of technology on our ability to communicate and form relationships
The role of technology in promoting and suppressing privacy and data security
The effects of technology on our attention spans and memory retention
The role of technology in promoting and suppressing entrepreneurship and innovation

The Changing Landscape of Education

This is a great topic for discussion, especially if you have an online community full of students or educators. Education is constantly changing, so it’s important to stay up-to-date on the latest trends. This discussion can help people learn about new changes in education, and it can also be a great way to get different perspectives on the issue.

The impact of technology on the education system and traditional learning methods
The impact of big data and personalization in education on student privacy and autonomy
The role of online education and distance learning in the future of education
The role of education in shaping the future
The future of virtual reality education

The Importance of Connection

This is a great topic for discussion, particularly in online communities. It can be easy to feel isolated when we’re spending so much time online, so it’s important to find ways to connect with others. This discussion can help people find ways to connect with others, and it can also be a great way to get different perspectives on the issue.

How can we create a sense of community in our neighborhood?
How can we support and connect with people who are going through difficult times?
How can we connect with people with different communication styles?
How do shared interests foster connections between people?

Things That Inspire Your Creativity

This is a great topic for discussion, particularly in online communities. It can be easy to feel uninspired when we’re spending so much time online, so it’s important to find ways to get our creative juices flowing. This discussion can help people find inspiration, and it can also be a great way to get different perspectives on the issue.

Whatever the context, it is helpful to structure the discussions in a way that defines boundaries for the process and provides some degree of closure within the classroom. Be sure the topics you choose are relevant to your community and that they will promote critical thinking and analysis among your members. With some thoughtful planning, you can use group discussion to build a strong online community .

The role of positive emotions and happiness in inspiring creativity
How does culture and diversity influence creativity?
What is the role of creativity in education?
What are some common myths about creativity?
How can creativity be used to solve real-world problems?

“Would you rather” questions

These always make for a great discussion, and sometimes the answers will surprise you.

Would you rather travel to the past or future?
Would you rather speak every language or communicate with animals?
Would you rather go on a beach vacation or a ski vacation?
Would you rather be invisible or be able to fly?

There are a few topics that you may decide to avoid when having a group discussion. These topics can be controversial, and they can often lead to arguments. Some examples of these topics include:

If you’re not sure whether or not a topic is appropriate for discussion, then it’s always best to err on the side of caution.

Before you start using these topics in your course, how you can approach the group discussion to ensure its success, whether online or in person. Here are a few tips:

Create an inclusive environment

The effective facilitation of a group discussion involves recognizing that there will be many different perspectives and different skills needed to create an inclusive environment.

In order to do so, it’s important to consider the components of effective group discussions and the conditions that promote small group interactions and engagement. Discussion is a powerful technique for active learning, and a well-facilitated discussion allows students to explore new ideas while recognizing and valuing the contributions of others.

To create an inclusive environment…

Allow participants to introduce themselves (you can even set up an ice breaker to have pairs of students introduce each other)
Be clear about group expectations and intentions
Use inclusive language
Don’t hesitate to ask for clarification if a question or comment is unclear
Treat every student with respect and consideration
Develop an awareness of barriers to learning (cultural, social, personal)
Provide sufficient time and space for students to gather their thoughts and contribute to group discussions
Provide opportunities for participants to get into pairs to share their ideas in a one-on-one setting (some students may be more comfortable with this initially)

Create a process to begin and end the group discussion

To ensure that your group discussion is off to a great start, it’s important to have a plan for the conversation. Think about possibly creating an introduction process. This can be as simple as having everyone introduce themselves and their thoughts on the topic at the beginning of class.

Have an idea of how you want to wrap up the discussion, especially if there are time constraints. It may be a good idea to summarize the solid points that were brought up throughout the discussion, and praise everyone for participating. This will help to keep the momentum going for the next group discussion, ensuring that your learning community continues to connect with each other.

Make sure everyone has a chance to speak

When leading a group discussion, the one thing you don’t want happening is for one student to monopolize the conversation completely – the benefit of having a group discussion is to listen and hear everyone’s unique perspective on the topic!

One of the most important aspects of a successful group discussion is making sure that everyone has a chance to share their thoughts and opinions. If certain parties are dominating the discussion, actively call on others as you moderate the discussion to give them the floor. You could even go alphabetically. This is especially useful to help engage students who are more shy and would rather not say anything at all.

Encourage people to ask questions

A great way to get people talking is to encourage student participation. This helps keep the flow of the conversation steady, as well as actively engaging people to listen and think critically.

Getting students to ask or write down follow-up questions to share allows them to voice their own thoughts and opinions. It may also be beneficial for the instructor to initiate some questions to help bring out their students’ ideas further.

Have an open mind

In good group discussions, conflicts will sometimes arise. It’s important to remember that not everyone is going to have the same exact opinion as you, and that’s okay. What’s important is that you’re able to listen to other people’s thoughts and perspectives, and have an open mind.

Keep discussions constructive and positive

At the beginning of each group discussion, clarify the goals of each discussion and establish some of the ground rules for the group.

This can include:

Allowing all students time to speak
Sharing personal experiences rather than making general statements about groups of people (stereotyping)
Encouraging others to add their reactions or ideas to build on someone’s comment
Keeping discussions on track by listing the questions to cover on the board or in the chat, and summarizing the discussion as it proceeds

Plan topics for group discussions that will resonate with your students

When you’re planning your group discussion, make sure to choose topics that will resonate with your community to ensure that the discussion will be engaging and beneficial for everyone involved.

Perhaps at the end of class, you can ask everyone to leave a question that they would like to discuss the next time you all meet together.

Identify potential problems in group discussions

It’s probable that not all group discussions will go smoothly, depending on the group and the nature of the topic.

Some potential problems in group discussions include:

Disengaged students. If you have members who are no longer active in your community, try to engage them by sending them private messages or starting a discussion on a topic that they’re interested in. Also provide opportunities for smaller group discussions.
Students who talk too much. Try redirecting the discussion to another person or another topic. Alternatively, you may wish to reframe their comments, making them viable additions to the discussion.
A discussion that turns into an argument. The course instructor may need to take a strong position as moderator, preventing students from interrupting each other or speaking simultaneously. Also, they could list both sides of the argument, allowing for respectful rebuttals.

Give students feedback

Let your students know how they did in the group discussion. Offering individual constructive feedback can help your students feel more included and motivated to participate even more during the next group discussion.

Create discussion forums

Discussion forums are essential to learning communities because they give students a place to keep the conversation going and generate more ideas on the topic. Discussion forums also help foster connection and engagement between your students.

Related: It’s Time to Tap Into Togetherness with Communities

Creating an Engaging Online Community with Group Discussions

Online communities can be a great way to bring your students together in one place where they can discuss course content, apply their learnings, and ask questions. This also helps you get a pulse check on what your audience wants to learn from you.

When building an online community, it’s important to outline community guidelines —helping to improve communication, avoid conflict, and prevent chaos in your community.

Group discussion can be a great way to build an online community if you can get students talking and thinking about different topics. Just remember to keep an open mind, be respectful, and make sure that everyone has a chance to speak. With these tips, you’ll be well on your way to having a successful group discussion.

If you’re still looking for more ideas for GD topics, keep scrolling! Or try one of our Group Discussion Topic Generators:

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1400+ Group Discussion Topics Categorized

Animal welfare, diversity and inclusion, easy topics.

Elementary school students (age-related)

English literature

Favorite online resources, fostering good relationships, funny group discussion ideas.

Health and Fitness
High school students (age-related)

Interesting

Kindergarten group discussion topics (age-related)

Personal hygiene

Solving disputes, the changing landscape of education, the impact of social media on our lives, the pros and cons of technology.

Thoughts on the Internet

Would you rather

Young adult discussion topics.

What is animal welfare and why is it important?
How can we promote awareness about animal welfare issues in our communities?
What role should governments play in protecting animal welfare?
Should animals have legal rights and protections?
How can we reduce the environmental impact of animal agriculture while still ensuring animal welfare?
Should animal testing be banned?
What is the impact of animal entertainment, such as circuses and zoos, on animal welfare?
How can we reduce the number of animals used for food, clothing, and other products?
How can we ensure that animals in research labs are treated ethically and with respect?
Should we prioritize animal welfare over economic interests in industries such as agriculture and tourism?
How can we encourage responsible pet ownership and prevent animal neglect and abuse?
How can we ensure that animals used for human consumption are raised and slaughtered in humane conditions?
Should we prohibit the breeding of certain breeds of animals for cosmetic purposes?
How can we reduce the impact of human activity on wildlife habitats?
Should we restrict the use of animals in sports and other entertainment activities?
How can we prevent the spread of diseases between animals and humans?
What is the impact of climate change on animal welfare?
Should we prohibit the use of animals in military operations and experiments?
How can we ensure that animals used in educational and scientific exhibits are treated humanely?
Should we restrict the use of animals in fashion and beauty industries?
What is the impact of animal trafficking and poaching on animal welfare?
Should we restrict the use of animals in rodeos and other similar events?
How can we ensure that animals used for therapy and service purposes are treated ethically?
Should we ban the use of animals in circuses and other traveling shows?
How can we prevent animal cruelty and abuse in the food industry?
What is the impact of animal overpopulation on animal welfare?
Should we restrict the breeding and sale of exotic animals as pets?
How can we prevent animal cruelty in the entertainment industry, such as in films and television shows?
Should we prohibit the use of animals in product testing for cosmetics and personal care products?
How can we ensure that animals used for transportation are treated humanely?
Should we restrict the breeding and sale of animals for sport hunting?
How can we prevent animal cruelty in puppy mills and other large-scale breeding operations?
Should we restrict the use of animals in scientific research and testing?
How can we prevent animal cruelty in the fur and leather industries?
Should we restrict the use of animals in tourism and entertainment activities, such as elephant rides and swimming with dolphins?
How can we ensure that animals used for religious practices are treated humanely?
Should we restrict the use of animals in pest control?
How can we prevent animal cruelty and abuse in the entertainment industry, such as in theme parks and water parks?
Should we restrict the use of animals in hunting and fishing for sport?
How can we ensure that animals used for food are raised and slaughtered humanely in small-scale farming operations?
What is the impact of factory farming on animal welfare?
Should we restrict the breeding and sale of animals for use in laboratory testing?
How can we prevent animal cruelty and abuse in the pet industry, such as in pet stores and breeding operations?
Should we restrict the use of animals in traditional medicine practices?
How can we ensure that animals used for wool and silk production are treated humanely?
What is the impact of deforestation on animal welfare?
What is marketing and why is it important?
How can marketing help businesses connect with customers?
What are some common marketing strategies used by businesses today?
How can businesses effectively use social media for marketing?
Should businesses focus more on digital marketing or traditional marketing methods?
How can businesses effectively use email marketing to reach customers?
What is the role of customer research in marketing?
How can businesses effectively use influencer marketing?
Should businesses focus more on B2B or B2C marketing?
How can businesses effectively use content marketing to build their brand?
How can businesses effectively use search engine optimization (SEO) to improve their online visibility?
How can businesses measure the success of their marketing campaigns?
What is the impact of customer reviews on marketing?
How can businesses effectively use video marketing to engage with customers?
Should businesses focus more on inbound marketing or outbound marketing strategies?
How can businesses effectively use paid advertising, such as Google Ads and Facebook Ads?
What is the role of storytelling in marketing?
How can businesses effectively use mobile marketing to reach customers on-the-go?
How can businesses use gamification in their marketing strategies?
How can businesses effectively use location-based marketing?
Should businesses focus more on direct marketing or indirect marketing strategies?
How can businesses effectively use customer feedback to improve their marketing efforts?
What is the impact of influencer fraud on influencer marketing?
How can businesses effectively use affiliate marketing?
How can businesses effectively use customer segmentation in their marketing strategies?
How can businesses effectively use referral marketing to grow their customer base?
What is the role of experiential marketing in today’s business world?
How can businesses effectively use chatbots in their marketing strategies?
Should businesses focus more on global or local marketing strategies?
How can businesses effectively use customer retention strategies in their marketing efforts?
What is the impact of customer data privacy on marketing?
How can businesses effectively use loyalty programs in their marketing efforts?
How can businesses effectively use augmented reality in their marketing strategies?
What is the impact of customer experience on marketing?
How can businesses effectively use customer service as a marketing tool?
How can businesses use user-generated content in their marketing efforts?
What is the role of personalization in marketing?
How can businesses effectively use chat marketing in their strategies?
How can businesses effectively use artificial intelligence in their marketing efforts?
Should businesses focus more on brand awareness or lead generation in their marketing strategies?
How can businesses effectively use native advertising in their marketing strategies?
How can businesses effectively use retargeting in their marketing efforts?
What is the role of video ads in marketing?
How can businesses effectively use customer advocacy in their marketing strategies?
How can businesses use data analytics to improve their marketing efforts?
How can businesses effectively use social listening to improve their marketing strategies?
Should businesses focus more on emotional marketing or rational marketing strategies?
How can businesses effectively use chatbots for customer service and support?
What is the role of mobile apps in marketing?
How can businesses effectively use customer reviews in their marketing efforts?
How can businesses use memes and viral marketing in their strategies?
How can businesses effectively use podcast marketing to reach new audiences?
Should businesses focus more on omnichannel or multichannel marketing strategies?
How can businesses effectively use direct mail marketing in the digital age?
What is the impact of customer experience on brand loyalty?
What is sales and why is it important for businesses?
What are some common sales techniques used by sales professionals today?
How can businesses effectively train their sales teams?
What is the role of customer relationship management (CRM) in sales?
How can businesses effectively use data analytics to improve their sales efforts?
Should businesses focus more on inbound or outbound sales strategies?
What is the role of customer service in sales?
How can businesses effectively use sales automation tools?
How can businesses effectively use social selling to connect with customers?
What is the impact of customer retention on sales?
How can businesses effectively use referral selling to grow their customer base?
Should businesses focus more on product knowledge or customer knowledge in their sales efforts?
What is the role of storytelling in sales?
How can businesses effectively use video selling to engage with customers?
How can businesses effectively use sales forecasting to plan for the future?
How can businesses effectively use sales enablement tools?
Should businesses focus more on B2B or B2C sales strategies?
How can businesses effectively use account-based selling to target specific customers?
What is the impact of customer experience on sales?
How can businesses effectively use upselling and cross-selling techniques?
Should businesses focus more on inbound or outbound prospecting strategies?
How can businesses effectively use customer feedback to improve their sales efforts?
What is the role of emotional intelligence in sales?
How can businesses effectively use value-based selling techniques?
How can businesses effectively use objection handling techniques in their sales efforts?
Should businesses focus more on relationship selling or transactional selling?
How can businesses effectively use storytelling in their sales pitches?
What is the impact of social proof on sales?
How can businesses effectively use customer personas in their sales efforts?
Should businesses focus more on inside sales or outside sales strategies?
What is the role of empathy in sales?
How can businesses effectively use competitive analysis in their sales efforts?
How can businesses effectively use social media for sales?
Should businesses focus more on product selling or solution selling?
How can businesses effectively use customer advocacy in their sales strategies?
What is the role of sales coaching in developing sales professionals?
How can businesses effectively use customer success stories in their sales pitches?
Should businesses focus more on consultative selling or transactional selling?
What is the impact of sales process optimization on sales?
How can businesses effectively use customer segmentation in their sales efforts?
How can businesses effectively use persuasive language in their sales pitches?
Should businesses focus more on inbound or outbound lead generation strategies?
What is the role of social listening in sales?
How can businesses effectively use sales funnels to guide customers through the sales process?
How can businesses effectively use customer data to personalize their sales pitches?
Should businesses focus more on account management or new business development in their sales efforts?
What is the impact of sales productivity on overall business success?
How can businesses effectively use sales promotions to drive sales?
Should businesses focus more on online sales or offline sales strategies?
What is the role of customer experience in post-sales support?
How can businesses effectively use sales contests to motivate sales teams?
Should businesses focus more on sales specialization or generalization?
What is the impact of sales pipeline management on sales success?
How can businesses effectively use email marketing for sales?
How can businesses effectively use virtual selling in the digital age?
Should businesses focus more on lead qualification or lead generation in their sales efforts?
What is the role of market research in sales?
How can businesses effectively use account-based marketing to support their sales efforts?
How can businesses effectively use storytelling in their sales follow-up efforts?
Should businesses focus more on price-based selling or value-based selling?
What is the impact of sales forecasting accuracy on overall business success?
How can businesses effectively use customer surveys to improve their sales efforts?
Should businesses focus more on product differentiation or brand differentiation in their sales strategies?
What is the role of networking in sales?
How can businesses effectively use sales collateral to support their sales efforts?
Should businesses focus more on lead nurturing or lead conversion in their sales strategies?
What is the impact of sales culture on sales success?
How can businesses effectively use customer testimonials to support their sales efforts?
Should businesses focus more on sales specialization or cross-functional collaboration?
What is the role of sales performance metrics in sales management?
How can businesses effectively use online advertising for sales?
Should businesses focus more on inbound or outbound account-based marketing strategies?
What is the impact of product packaging on sales?
How can businesses effectively use sales incentives to motivate their sales teams?
Should businesses focus more on inside sales or field sales strategies?
What is the role of product demos in sales?
How can businesses effectively use content marketing for sales?
Should businesses focus more on product features or customer benefits in their sales pitches?
What is the impact of sales coaching on sales performance?
How can businesses effectively use lead scoring to prioritize their sales efforts?
Should businesses focus more on sales specialization or sales generalization?
What is the role of sales territories in sales management?
Should businesses focus more on referral selling or cold calling in their sales strategies?
What is the impact of sales technology on sales productivity?
How can businesses effectively use chatbots for sales?
Should businesses focus more on relationship building or closing techniques in their sales efforts?
What is the role of sales incentives in improving customer loyalty?
How can businesses effectively use sales gamification to engage their sales teams?
Should businesses focus more on customer acquisition or customer retention in their sales strategies?
What is the impact of sales training on sales performance?
How can businesses effectively use customer success stories to support their sales efforts?
The role of art in society
The impact of technology on contemporary art
The evolution of art throughout history
The future of art and technology
The Influence of culture on Art
The importance of art education
The impact of public art on communities
The power of public art in creating social change
The value of art in mental health and wellbeing
The role of Museums in preserving art history
The relationship between art and politics
The impact of globalization on art
The Influence of religion on Art
The role of the artist in society
The ethics of art censorship
The power of art to create empathy
The impact of art on social justice movements
The relationship between art and science
The role of art in personal expression
The evolution of street art and graffiti
The impact of art on urban spaces
The influence of art on popular culture
The role of art in healing trauma
The importance of art therapy
The role of art in preserving cultural heritage
The impact of art on the economy
The future of virtual reality art
The ethics of art forgery and plagiarism
The power of art to bring people together
The role of art in environmental activism
The impact of art on tourism
The influence of art on fashion
The role of art in education
The impact of art on advertising
The relationship between art and literature
The evolution of art movements throughout history
The impact of color theory on art
The power of art to convey emotions
The role of art in documenting history
The influence of art on interior design
The impact of art on cultural identity
The role of art in social media
The ethics of cultural appropriation in art
The role of art in protest movements
The power of art to promote diversity and inclusion
The impact of art on fashion photography
The role of art in community development
The influence of architecture on art
The impact of art on fashion design
The role of art in marketing and advertising
The ethics of graffiti art and vandalism
The power of art to tell personal stories
The influence of art on theater and performance
The role of art in the digital age
The impact of art on video game design
The future of augmented reality in art
The role of art in political propaganda
The ethics of art ownership and copyright
The power of art to challenge societal norms
The impact of art on fashion illustration
The role of art in branding and identity
The influence of music on art
The impact of art on graphic design
The role of art in public speaking and presentations
The ethics of public art and community engagement
The power of art to inspire creativity
The impact of art on product design
The role of art in the beauty industry
The influence of nature on art
The impact of art on animation and film
The role of art in spiritual and religious expression
The ethics of art as a commodity
The power of art to promote self-reflection
The influence of art on product packaging
The role of art in branding and marketing
The impact of art on fashion advertising
The future of art in artificial intelligence
The role of art in video production
The influence of art on industrial design
The impact of art on public relations
The role of art in visual storytelling
The ethics of street art and property rights
The power of art to promote cultural understanding
The impact of art on web design
The role of art in event planning
The influence of art on packaging design
The impact of art on interior decorating
The role of art in journalism and news reporting
The ethics of cultural heritage preservation and restoration
The power of art to convey social commentary
The influence of art on fashion accessories
The impact of art on architecture and building design
The role of art in fashion styling and image consulting
The future of art in virtual and augmented reality
The ethics of art and cultural sensitivity
The power of art to promote social change and activism
The impact of art on product branding and marketing
The role of art in international diplomacy and relations.
What are some ways to overcome shyness or social anxiety and connect with others?
How can we build stronger relationships with our family members?
What are some effective ways to communicate and connect with coworkers?
How can we create a sense of community in our neighborhoods?
What are some ways to connect with people who have different cultural backgrounds?
How can we use social media to connect with others in a meaningful way?
How can we deepen our friendships and maintain strong connections with people?
What are some ways to connect with people who share our interests or passions?
What are some ways to build trust and create a safe space for sharing with others?
How can we be more empathetic and understanding in our interactions with others?
What are some ways to connect with people who have different political views?
How can we create a sense of belonging in groups or organizations?
What are some ways to connect with people in our local community?
How can we be more vulnerable and open in our relationships with others?
What are some ways to connect with people in different age groups?
How can we create a supportive environment for sharing personal experiences?
What are some ways to connect with people in different professions or industries?
How can we connect with people who have different lifestyles or values?
How can we practice active listening and show genuine interest in others?
What are some ways to connect with people through volunteering or community service?
How can we connect with people through shared hobbies or activities?
How can we connect with people who are geographically distant?
What are some ways to build positive relationships with our coworkers?
How can we connect with people who have different communication styles?
What are some ways to connect with people from different socioeconomic backgrounds?
How can we connect with people who have different religious or spiritual beliefs?
How can we connect with people who are experiencing loneliness or isolation?
What are some ways to connect with people who speak a different language?
How can we connect with people who are part of marginalized communities?
What are some ways to connect with people through acts of kindness or generosity?
How can we connect with people who have different personality types?
How can we build stronger relationships with our romantic partners?
What are some ways to connect with people who have different learning styles?
How can we connect with people through shared goals or aspirations?
How can we connect with people who have different abilities or disabilities?
What are some ways to connect with people who have different life experiences?
How can we build stronger relationships with our children or parents?
How can we connect with people who have different communication barriers?
What are some ways to connect with people through shared values or beliefs?
How can we build stronger relationships with our friends?
How can we connect with people who have different senses of humor?
How can we connect with people who have different dietary preferences?
What are some ways to connect with people through shared music or art?
How can we connect with people who have different opinions on controversial issues?
How can we build stronger relationships with our mentors or mentees?
How can we connect with people who have different relationship styles?
How can we connect with people who have different career goals or aspirations?
What are some ways to connect with people through shared travel experiences?
The role of cooking in cultural identity and tradition
The impact of technology and innovation on cooking techniques and recipes
The importance of using fresh, whole ingredients in cooking and meal preparation
The benefits and challenges of cooking with different diets, such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc.
The role of cooking in building community and relationships
The history and evolution of cooking methods and cuisine
The benefits of cooking with family and friends, and the role of cooking in bringing people together
The impact of food waste and sustainability on cooking and meal planning
The importance of cooking skills and meal planning for healthy eating and living
The role of cooking in stress relief and self-care
The benefits and challenges of cooking with limited time and resources
The impact of social media and popular culture on cooking trends and styles
The importance of food presentation and plating in cooking and meal presentation
The benefits of cooking with seasonal and local ingredients
The role of cooking in economic and financial well-being, including meal planning and budgeting
The impact of cultural exchange and fusion in cooking and cuisine
The importance of knife skills and kitchen safety in cooking
The benefits and challenges of cooking for large groups and events
The role of cooking in exploring and understanding other cultures through food
The impact of food allergies and intolerances on cooking and meal planning
The importance of experimentation and creativity in cooking and recipe development
The benefits and challenges of cooking for one or cooking solo
The role of cooking in maintaining and improving mental and physical health
The impact of cooking and food education in schools and communities
The importance of cooking as a lifelong skill for personal and professional development.
The role of nature and the great outdoors in inspiring creativity
The impact of travel and new experiences on creativity and imagination
The effects of music, art, and literature on the imagination and creative expression
The impact of play and unstructured time on imaginative thinking and creative problem solving
The effects of mindfulness and meditation on creative thought and inspiration
The role of curiosity and exploration in stimulating creative ideas and solutions
The impact of social and cultural diversity on creative expression and innovation
The effects of collaboration and teamwork in inspiring creative solutions and ideas
The role of failure and setbacks in fostering creative growth and resilience
The impact of quiet time and solitude on the creative process and imaginative thinking
The effects of playfulness and humor on creative expression and problem solving
The role of storytelling and oral traditions in inspiring imaginative thinking and creative expression
The impact of physical activity and exercise on the imagination and creative thinking
The effects of mindfulness and being present in the moment on the imagination and creative thinking
The role of sleep and rest in fostering creative ideas and inspiration
The impact of surrounding oneself with positive and supportive people on creative expression and problem solving
The effects of taking breaks and allowing the mind to wander on the imagination and creative process
The role of creating a supportive and stimulating physical environment for creativity
The impact of taking on new challenges and learning new skills on imaginative thinking and creative expression
The effects of connecting with one’s passions and personal interests on creative expression and problem solving
The role of dreaming and the subconscious mind in inspiring creative ideas and solutions
The impact of overcoming obstacles and challenges on creative growth and resilience
The effects of nature and exposure to the elements on creative inspiration and problem solving
The role of experimentation and trying new things in fostering creative expression and innovative thinking.
What is creativity and how can we define it?
What are the benefits of creativity in our personal and professional lives?
How can we encourage creativity in the workplace or in school?
How can we overcome creative blocks and generate new ideas?
What role does environment play in fostering creativity?
How can technology be used to enhance creativity?
How can we balance structure and freedom to encourage creativity?
How can different forms of art inspire creativity in other areas of our lives?
How can collaboration lead to more creative ideas?
How can we measure creativity and its impact?
How can we use creativity to improve mental health and well-being?
What are some examples of innovative and creative companies?
How can we use creativity to promote sustainability and environmentalism?
How can we use creativity to improve communication and empathy?
How can we incorporate creativity into our daily routines?
What are some creative ways to approach problem-solving?
How can we overcome fear and take risks in our creative pursuits?
How can we use creativity to challenge and disrupt the status quo?
How can we use creativity to build community and bring people together?
What are some common obstacles to creativity and how can we overcome them?
How can we use creativity to express ourselves and our identities?
How can we use creativity to foster innovation and entrepreneurship?
How can we use creativity to improve our physical health and fitness?
How can we use creativity to bridge cultural and social divides?
How can we use creativity to explore and understand complex ideas?
What are some examples of successful creative projects or initiatives?
How can we use creativity to drive social and political change?
How can we use creativity to improve our relationships with others?
How can we use creativity to create memorable and impactful experiences?
How can we use creativity to inspire and motivate ourselves and others?
How can we use creativity to preserve and celebrate cultural traditions?
How can we use creativity to foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills?
How can we use creativity to create a better future for ourselves and others?
How can we use creativity to explore and express our emotions?
How can we use creativity to promote empathy and understanding?
How can we use creativity to create more inclusive and equitable societies?
How can we use creativity to improve our cognitive and intellectual abilities?
How can we use creativity to promote self-discovery and personal growth?
How can we use creativity to create more meaningful and fulfilling lives?
How can we use creativity to connect with nature and the environment?
How can we use creativity to promote positive social and cultural change?
How can we use creativity to promote innovation and progress in different fields?
How can we use creativity to improve our ability to adapt to change?
How can we use creativity to create new opportunities and possibilities?
How can we use creativity to overcome adversity and difficult circumstances?
How can we use creativity to promote healing and recovery from trauma?
The impact of implicit biases and stereotypes on diversity and inclusion
The importance of allyship and solidarity in promoting diversity and inclusion
The benefits and challenges of workplace diversity and inclusion initiatives
The role of education and awareness in promoting diversity and inclusion
The impact of historical and systemic discrimination on diversity and inclusion
The benefits and challenges of actively seeking out diverse perspectives and experiences
The importance of embracing and celebrating cultural differences in promoting diversity and inclusion
The role of diversity and inclusion in personal and professional development
The impact of media representation and media literacy on diversity and inclusion
The benefits and challenges of actively addressing privilege and power dynamics in promoting diversity and inclusion
The importance of open-mindedness and empathy in promoting diversity and inclusion
The role of language and communication in promoting diversity and inclusion
The impact of intersectionality on diversity and inclusion
The benefits and challenges of diversity and inclusion in community organizations and activism
The importance of actively promoting and advocating for diversity and inclusion in all areas of life
The role of technology and innovation in promoting diversity and inclusion
The impact of globalization and cultural exchange on diversity and inclusion
The benefits and challenges of promoting diversity and inclusion in education
The importance of encouraging diverse leadership and representation in all industries
The role of diverse representation in politics and government in promoting diversity and inclusion
The impact of personal experiences and narratives on diversity and inclusion
The benefits and challenges of creating inclusive and welcoming spaces for all individuals
The importance of examining and addressing personal biases in promoting diversity and inclusion
The role of diversity and inclusion in promoting overall equality and justice
The impact of individual actions and choices on promoting diversity and inclusion in communities and society.
The benefits of daily exercise
Ways to reduce stress
The importance of good sleep
The impact of social media on relationships
Budgeting and saving money
The benefits of volunteering
The effects of technology on work-life balance
Healthy eating habits
The benefits of traveling
The importance of hydration
The impact of the internet on communication
The benefits of mindfulness and meditation
Time management strategies
The importance of setting goals
The impact of technology on education
The benefits of reading
The importance of self-care
The effects of social media on self-esteem
The benefits of spending time in nature
The importance of emotional intelligence
The impact of social media on politics
The benefits of team sports
The importance of friendships
The effects of technology on personal relationships
The benefits of public speaking
The importance of positive thinking
The impact of social media on mental health
The benefits of community service
The importance of good leadership
The effects of technology on privacy
The benefits of networking
The importance of good communication skills
The impact of social media on body image
The benefits of continuous learning
The importance of time with family
The effects of technology on relationships with others
The benefits of having a support system
The importance of forgiveness
The impact of social media on personal branding
The benefits of creativity and innovation
The importance of public speaking skills
The effects of technology on productivity
The benefits of being organized
The importance of taking breaks
The impact of social media on personal relationships
The benefits of spending time alone
The importance of resilience
The effects of technology on memory retention
The benefits of public speaking and presentation skills
The importance of work-life balance

Elementary school students (age related)

The importance of kindness and empathy
The benefits of outdoor play
The role of imagination in creativity
The importance of eating healthy food
The benefits of having a positive attitude
The role of teamwork in solving problems
The importance of good hygiene
The benefits of physical activity
The role of honesty in building trust
The importance of helping others
The benefits of being grateful
The role of perseverance in achieving goals
The importance of being environmentally responsible
The benefits of creativity and self-expression
The role of cooperation in friendships
The importance of good manners and etiquette
The benefits of reading and learning
The role of positive self-talk in building confidence
The importance of empathy and understanding towards others
The benefits of kindness and compassion
The role of friendship in building strong relationships
The importance of being safe in daily life
The benefits of laughter and humor
The role of respect in building strong relationships
The importance of taking care of one’s body
The role of teamwork in group activities
The importance of being responsible and reliable
The benefits of practicing gratitude
The role of patience in achieving success
The importance of using one’s imagination
The benefits of creative problem solving
The role of resilience in overcoming challenges
The benefits of expressing oneself through art and music
The role of empathy in developing strong relationships
The importance of positive self-image
The benefits of practicing forgiveness
The role of trust in building strong relationships
The importance of healthy sleep habits
The benefits of teamwork and cooperation
The role of responsibility in daily life
The importance of positive role models
The benefits of physical activity and exercise
The role of goal setting in personal development
The importance of being environmentally conscious
The benefits of helping others and giving back
The role of good communication in resolving conflicts
The importance of healthy boundaries in relationships
The benefits of practicing empathy and compassion.
Who is your favorite English author and why?
Can literature influence society and culture?
How has English literature evolved over the years?
Is it necessary to have a degree in English literature to appreciate it?
Is the study of English literature relevant in today’s world?
Should English literature be taught in schools?
What is your favorite English novel and why?
Can literature be used as a form of escapism?
Is it important for authors to have personal experiences to write good literature?
Is it necessary for authors to write in a particular style?
Can literature be used to understand different cultures and perspectives?
Is it important for literature to have a moral message?
Is it necessary for literature to be entertaining?
Should literature be judged on its literary merit or popularity?
Can literature be used to promote social change?
Is it necessary for literature to reflect real-life issues?
Is the literary canon too focused on white male authors?
Can literature be considered a reflection of society?
Is it necessary for authors to have a particular writing process?
Can literature be used to improve empathy and emotional intelligence?
Should literature be used in therapy?
Is it important for literature to be historically accurate?
Is it necessary for literature to be timeless?
Is it important for literature to be relatable?
Is it necessary for literature to have a plot?
Can literature be considered a form of art?
Is it important for literature to be accessible to all?
Is the use of symbolism in literature important?
Can literature be used to improve language skills?
Should literature be free from censorship?
Is it important for literature to be culturally diverse?
Can literature be used to understand human nature?
Is it necessary for literature to have a moral lesson?
Is it important for literature to be optimistic?
Can literature be used to explore human emotions and relationships?
Is it necessary for literature to have a happy ending?
Should literature be used to inspire social activism?
Can literature be used to educate people about historical events?
Is it necessary for literature to have a protagonist and antagonist?
Should literature be used to teach critical thinking?
Is it necessary for literature to have a clear message?
Should authors be held responsible for the messages in their literature?
Can literature be used to explore political ideologies?
Is it necessary for literature to have a realistic portrayal of characters?
Can literature be used to explore the meaning of life?
Is it important for literature to be unique and original?
Can literature be used to explore the human psyche?
Is it necessary for literature to have a specific genre?
Should literature be used to explore controversial topics?
Can literature be used to understand the past and predict the future?
Can literature be used to promote tolerance and understanding?
Should literature be used to challenge societal norms?
Can literature be used to teach empathy and compassion?
Is it necessary for literature to have a specific structure?
Can literature be used to explore philosophical ideas?
Should literature be used to explore the supernatural?
Is it necessary for literature to have a resolution?
Can literature be used to explore the mysteries of the universe?
Should literature be used to explore the absurdities of life?
Can literature be used to explore the human condition?
Is it necessary for literature to have a hero’s journey?
The most useful online resources for students
The best online resources for learning a new skill
Online resources for remote work and collaboration
Online resources for mental health and wellness
The most helpful online resources for cooking and recipe ideas
The most informative online resources for current events and news
Online resources for budgeting and personal finance management
The most entertaining online resources for movies and TV shows
The best online resources for fitness and exercise inspiration
The most helpful online resources for travel and adventure planning
The most useful online resources for job search and career development
The most informative online resources for science and technology news
Online resources for self-improvement and personal growth
The most entertaining online resources for music and concerts
The most helpful online resources for shopping and fashion tips
The most informative online resources for sports news and analysis
The most useful online resources for language learning
The best online resources for art and design inspiration
The most helpful online resources for home improvement and DIY projects
The most informative online resources for political news and analysis
Online resources for spiritual growth and wellness
The most entertaining online resources for comedy and humor
The most useful online resources for car and vehicle maintenance
The best online resources for gardening and horticulture tips
The most helpful online resources for pet care and animal welfare
What is your go-to website for news and current events?
What is your favorite social media platform and why?
Do you have a favorite website or app for productivity or organization? If so, what is it?
What is your favorite website or app for entertainment?
Do you have a favorite website or app for staying healthy or fit? If so, what is it?
What is your favorite website or app for online shopping?
Do you have a favorite website or app for travel planning? If so, what is it?
What is your favorite website or app for booking events or activities?
Do you have a favorite website or app for language learning? If so, what is it?
What is your favorite website or app for music streaming?
Do you have a favorite website or app for discovering new books to read? If so, what is it?
What is your favorite website or app for watching movies or TV shows?
Do you have a favorite website or app for connecting with friends or family online? If so, what is it?
What is your favorite website or app for creating and sharing videos?
Do you have a favorite website or app for discovering new podcasts? If so, what is it?
What is your favorite website or app for finding and booking local services, such as haircuts or massages?
Do you have a favorite website or app for finding and booking travel accommodations? If so, what is it?
What is your favorite website or app for online banking?
Do you have a favorite website or app for finding and booking flights? If so, what is it?
What is your favorite website or app for finding and booking rental cars?
Do you have a favorite website or app for managing your finances or investments? If so, what is it?
What is your favorite website or app for job searching and career development?
Do you have a favorite website or app for learning about new technology or gadgets? If so, what is it?
What is your favorite website or app for discovering new podcasts? If so, what is it?
Do you have a favorite website or app for discovering and booking local events, such as concerts or festivals? If so, what is it?
What is your favorite website or app for finding and booking fitness classes or workouts?
Do you have a favorite website or app for finding and booking beauty services, such as manicures or facials? If so, what is it?
What is your favorite website or app for staying up-to-date on pop culture?
Do you have a favorite website or app for finding and booking outdoor activities, such as hiking or kayaking? If so, what is it?
What is your favorite website or app for learning about mental health and wellness?
Do you have a favorite website or app for finding and booking volunteer opportunities? If so, what is it?
What is your favorite website or app for discovering and booking travel experiences, such as tours or cultural activities?
Do you have a favorite website or app for finding and booking pet services, such as dog walking or pet grooming? If so, what is it?
What is your favorite website or app for finding and booking home services, such as cleaning or repairs?
Do you have a favorite website or app for finding and booking outdoor adventure experiences
The importance of effective communication in fostering good relationships
The benefits and challenges of setting and maintaining healthy boundaries in relationships
The role of trust and honesty in fostering good relationships
The impact of emotional intelligence on fostering good relationships
The benefits and challenges of active listening and empathy in relationships
The importance of mutual respect and understanding in fostering good relationships
The role of shared values and interests in fostering good relationships
The impact of past experiences and traumas on fostering good relationships
The benefits and challenges of overcoming conflicts and resolving disputes in relationships
The importance of maintaining individual autonomy and independence in relationships
The role of compromise and negotiation in fostering good relationships
The impact of effective time management and prioritization on fostering good relationships
The benefits and challenges of managing expectations and setting realistic goals in relationships
The importance of forgiveness and letting go in fostering good relationships
The role of self-awareness and self-reflection in fostering good relationships
The impact of social and cultural norms on fostering good relationships
The benefits and challenges of actively expressing gratitude and appreciation in relationships
The importance of physical and emotional intimacy in fostering good relationships
The role of transparency and open-mindedness in fostering good relationships
The impact of personal growth and development on fostering good relationships
The benefits and challenges of fostering good relationships with in-laws and extended family members
The importance of supporting and encouraging personal growth and success in relationships
The role of compromise and compromise in fostering good relationships
The impact of technology and social media on fostering good relationships
The benefits and challenges of promoting honesty, vulnerability, and authenticity in fostering good relationships.
The funniest movies and TV shows of all time
The most ridiculous fashion trends in history
The funniest jokes and puns you’ve ever heard
The most embarrassing moments you’ve experienced
The funniest pranks you’ve played or seen
The most ridiculous celebrity gossip and rumors
The funniest accents and impressions you can do
The most ridiculous names you’ve heard
The funniest autocorrect and typo fails
The most bizarre conspiracy theories you’ve heard
The most ridiculous superstitions and beliefs
The funniest quotes from comedians and celebrities
The most embarrassing personal habits you’ve noticed in others
The funniest animals and their antics
The most ridiculous trends and fads from your childhood
The funniest bloopers and outtakes from movies and TV shows
The most absurd laws and regulations you’ve heard of
The funniest jokes about different countries and cultures
The most ridiculous tech fails and glitches
The funniest nicknames and pet names you’ve heard
The most absurd celebrity interviews and appearances
The funniest parodies and mock commercials
The most ridiculous new year’s resolutions you’ve heard
The funniest pick-up lines and one-liners you’ve heard.
The most absurd internet challenges and trends
The funniest celebrity impressions and parodies
The most ridiculous product inventions and infomercials
The funniest jokes about different professions
The most absurd news headlines and articles
The funniest jokes about different languages and accents
The most ridiculous tourist attractions and roadside attractions
The funniest jokes about different cultures and customs
The most absurd fashion and beauty trends and products
The funniest jokes about different types of food
The most ridiculous wedding and baby shower trends
The funniest jokes about different types of sports
The most absurd reality TV shows and competitions
The funniest jokes about different types of hobbies and interests
The most ridiculous historical events and figures
The funniest jokes about different types of music and musicians
The most absurd TV and movie spin-off shows and sequels
The funniest jokes about different types of relationships and dating
The most ridiculous beauty and grooming products and rituals
The funniest jokes about different types of transportation
The most absurd urban legends and ghost stories
The funniest jokes about different types of weather and natural disasters
The most ridiculous fashion and beauty mishaps and fails
The funniest jokes about different types of pets and animals
The most absurd holiday and seasonal traditions and customs
The funniest jokes about different types of technology and gadgets
The most ridiculous business and marketing strategies and campaigns
The funniest jokes about different types of health and wellness practices
The most absurd historical and scientific discoveries and theories
The funniest jokes about different types of entertainment and media
The most ridiculous personal and lifestyle trends and fads
The funniest jokes about different types of fashion and beauty
The most absurd political and social movements and issues
The funniest jokes about different types of art and creativity
The most ridiculous environmental and sustainability efforts and causes
The funniest jokes about different types of travel and tourism
The funniest jokes about different types of education and learning
The most ridiculous personal and social norms and expectations
The funniest jokes about different types of work and careers
The most absurd philosophical and spiritual beliefs and practices
The funniest jokes about different types of history and heritage
The most ridiculous conspiracy theories and mysteries
The funniest jokes about different types of food and drink
The most absurd personal and social quirks and idiosyncrasies
The funniest jokes about different types of nature and the outdoors
The most ridiculous personal and social insecurities and anxieties

Health and fitness

The impact of technology and innovation on health and fitness practices
The importance of a balanced diet and nutrition for overall health and well-being
The benefits and challenges of incorporating physical activity into a busy lifestyle
The role of genetics and family history in health and fitness
The impact of stress and mental health on physical health and well-being
The benefits and challenges of mindfulness and meditation in promoting health and fitness
The importance of sleep for overall health and fitness
The role of community and social support in health and fitness practices
The impact of technology and screen time on physical and mental health
The benefits and challenges of outdoor and environmental fitness
The importance of injury prevention and recovery in fitness and physical activity
The role of fitness and physical activity in managing and preventing chronic conditions
The impact of cultural and societal influences on health and fitness practices and beliefs
The benefits and challenges of strength training and weightlifting for health and fitness
The importance of individualized and customized fitness plans for personal health goals
The role of health and fitness in personal and professional development
The impact of climate change and the environment on health and fitness
The benefits and challenges of group fitness classes and training programs
The importance of mental health and body image in overall health and fitness
The role of health and fitness in disease prevention and management
The impact of food culture and food industry on health and fitness
The benefits and challenges of performance-enhancing drugs and supplements in fitness
The importance of hydration and fluid intake for health and fitness
The role of health and fitness in promoting overall happiness and well-being
The impact of international travel and relocation on health and fitness practices and habits.

High school students (age related)

The impact of social media on society
The importance of diversity and inclusion
The benefits of college education
The role of technology in shaping the future
The impact of climate change
The importance of self-care and mental health
The benefits of volunteering and community service
The role of critical thinking in problem solving
The impact of politics on society
The importance of good time management
The role of teamwork in achieving success
The impact of fake news and misinformation
The importance of healthy relationships
The benefits of effective communication skills
The role of leadership in community development
The impact of social media on self-esteem
The importance of goal setting and personal development
The role of creativity and innovation in problem solving
The importance of stress management
The benefits of financial literacy and budgeting
The role of self-reflection in personal growth
The impact of technology on work-life balance
The importance of a healthy work-life balance
The benefits of civic engagement and community involvement
The role of perseverance in achieving success
The impact of the media on body image
The importance of a positive self-image
The benefits of community service and volunteerism
The impact of social media on privacy
The importance of self-expression and creativity
The role of positive thinking in personal development
The impact of technology on the environment
The importance of mental and emotional intelligence
The benefits of physical and mental well-being
The importance of setting and achieving personal goals
The benefits of continuous learning and self-improvement
The role of diversity and cultural understanding in a global society
The importance of strong personal relationships
The benefits of taking risks and stepping outside of one’s comfort zone
The role of accountability in personal development
The impact of the internet on privacy and security
The importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
What is your favorite historical era and why?
Can we learn from history and prevent past mistakes?
How has history been taught and remembered differently in different cultures and countries?
Should history be rewritten to correct past inaccuracies and injustices?
How has technology changed the way we study and understand history?
How has historical fiction influenced our understanding of history?
Can historical events and figures be seen in shades of gray rather than black and white?
How has globalization impacted the study and understanding of history?
Should controversial historical figures and events be celebrated or condemned?
What role does propaganda play in shaping our understanding of historical events?
How has imperialism impacted the world’s history and current state of affairs?
Can history be used to predict the future?
What is the importance of preserving historical artifacts and landmarks?
How has the interpretation of history changed over time?
What can we learn from the study of history that can be applied to the present day?
How have historical events impacted social and cultural movements?
Should history be used to justify present-day actions and policies?
Can history be a source of inspiration?
How has the history of colonization impacted indigenous cultures and communities?
Should the study of history be mandatory in schools?
How has historical revisionism impacted our understanding of events and figures?
Can history be used to challenge present-day prejudices and biases?
How have gender and race influenced our understanding of history?
Should history be taught in a more objective or subjective manner?
How have historical events influenced art, literature, and culture?
How has the study of history impacted scientific and technological advancements?
How have historical events shaped the current political landscape?
Should history be taught in a global or regional context?
How have wars and conflicts impacted the world’s history and current state of affairs?
Can we learn from the mistakes of past leaders and societies?
How have historical events impacted international relations and diplomacy?
Should historical figures who committed atrocities be remembered and celebrated?
How has the study of history impacted our understanding of human nature?
Can we ever truly understand the motives and actions of historical figures?
How has the study of history influenced our understanding of religion and spirituality?
Should history be used to inspire activism and social change?
How have historical events impacted the natural environment and conservation efforts?
Can we learn from the successes and achievements of historical figures?
How has the study of history influenced our understanding of economics and trade?
Should history be used to inform policy decisions?
How has the history of medicine and healthcare impacted our current understanding and practices?
How have historical events shaped our understanding and treatment of mental health?
Can we learn from the mistakes of past civilizations and prevent their downfall?
How has the history of education impacted current systems and practices?
Should we prioritize the study of global or national histories?
How have historical events impacted human migration and displacement?
Can we learn from the successes and failures of past social movements?
How has the history of science and technology impacted our current understanding and practices?
Should historical events and figures be judged by present-day standards and values?
How has the study of history impacted our understanding and treatment of human rights and social justice?
Artificial intelligence and its impact on society
Climate change and global warming
The future of space exploration
The effects of social media on human interaction
The history and evolution of the internet
Ethical issues in biotechnology
Alternative energy sources
The impact of technology on job market
Privacy concerns in the digital age
The role of government in education
The importance of mental health
The role of media in shaping public opinion
The impact of the gig economy
The history of civil rights movements
The impact of globalization on local cultures
The effects of income inequality
The role of technology in healthcare
The future of transportation
The influence of advertising on consumer behavior
The impact of COVID-19 on the global economy
The role of social media in politics
The history and future of virtual reality
The effects of climate change on wildlife
The ethics of animal testing
The impact of automation on employment
The history of the feminist movement
The effects of economic sanctions
The role of technology in agriculture
The influence of peer pressure on young people
The impact of the music industry on society
The history and future of renewable energy
The ethics of genetic engineering
The impact of the digital divide on society
The role of technology in urbanization
The effects of fast fashion on the environment
The history and future of cybersecurity
The impact of political correctness on free speech
The role of social media in activism
The influence of artificial intelligence on human creativity
The impact of economic globalization on local businesses
The ethics of drones and autonomous weapons
The history and future of space tourism
The effects of online education on traditional education
The role of technology in disaster response and recovery
The influence of technology on interpersonal communication
The impact of gentrification on urban communities
The ethics of surveillance in a digital age
The history and future of renewable energy storage
The effects of income tax policies on the economy
The role of technology in solving global problems.
The impact of technology on society and daily life
The changing landscape of education and its effects on students and society
The pros and cons of social media and its impact on communication and relationships
The ethics and moral implications of new advancements in science and technology
The role of government and politics in shaping society and individual freedoms
Environmental concerns and sustainability efforts in the face of global climate change
The meaning and purpose of life and personal fulfillment
The effects of globalization and cultural exchange on society and identity
Mental health and wellness in the modern world
The impact of media and pop culture on attitudes and beliefs.

Kindergarden group discussion topics (age related)

The importance of sharing and taking turns
My favorite animals and why
The colors of the rainbow and how to mix them
My favorite foods and why
My family and where I live
The different seasons and what I like about each
My favorite toys and games
My favorite shapes and how to draw them
The different types of weather and how it affects us
My favorite books and stories
The importance of being polite and using kind words
My favorite numbers and how to count
The different types of transportation and how they work
My favorite fruits and vegetables and why they are good for us
My favorite things to do outside
My favorite songs and why
The importance of following rules and staying safe
My favorite animals and their habitats
My favorite art materials and how to use them
The different types of buildings and their functions
My favorite TV shows and movies
The importance of being active and moving our bodies
My favorite holidays and celebrations
The different types of plants and how they grow
The importance of good hygiene and keeping our bodies clean.
The role of math in everyday life and real-world applications
The challenges and benefits of learning and understanding higher-level math concepts
The impact of technology on the teaching and learning of math
The history and evolution of mathematical concepts and theories
The use of real-world problems and examples to enhance understanding of math
The importance of critical thinking and problem solving skills in mathematics
The role of math in fields such as science, engineering, finance, and economics
The benefits and limitations of using calculators and other technology in math education
The impact of cultural and societal attitudes on the perception and study of math
The relationship between math and creativity, including the use of visual and imaginative thinking in solving mathematical problems
The use of manipulatives and hands-on learning in math education
The role of group work and collaboration in enhancing understanding of math concepts
The impact of individual learning styles and preferences on the study and understanding of math
The benefits and challenges of teaching and learning math in a multilingual and multicultural classroom
The role of failure and persistence in enhancing math skills and understanding
The impact of math on society and advancements in areas such as medicine, transportation, and space exploration
The relationship between math and art, including the use of mathematical principles in artistic expression
The benefits of learning and using multiple methods and strategies in solving mathematical problems
The role of assessment and feedback in improving math skills and understanding
The impact of incorporating real-world data and statistics in math education
The importance of understanding the connections between math concepts and their applications
The role of prior knowledge and experiences in shaping math skills and understanding
The impact of parental and community involvement in math education and success
The benefits and challenges of integrating technology and digital resources in math education
The importance of ongoing professional development for math teachers to enhance their teaching practices and student outcomes.
Is music a universal language?
How has music evolved over the years?
Should music be considered an art form?
Can music influence your mood?
Is there a particular genre of music that you prefer?
How important is music in your life?
Is it possible for music to bring people together?
What role does music play in society?
Is it necessary to have a good voice to be a successful musician?
Is music becoming too commercialized?
Can music be used as a form of therapy?
Is the music industry too focused on looks and image?
Is it necessary for musicians to write their own songs?
Should music be taught in schools?
Is autotune ruining music?
Can music be used as a political tool?
Is the music industry inclusive enough?
Is it ethical to use samples in music?
Is streaming killing the music industry?
Should musicians be role models?
Is it important for a musician to be able to play an instrument?
Is classical music relevant in today’s world?
Should music be free?
Does music have a positive impact on mental health?
Should music be censored?
Is music becoming too explicit?
Is it necessary for a musician to have a gimmick?
Is music becoming too formulaic?
Can music be used to bring about social change?
Is it important for a musician to have formal training?
Is the Grammys the ultimate recognition of a musician’s talent?
Is it necessary for musicians to tour?
Is music becoming too digitized?
Is it necessary for a musician to have a good stage presence?
Can music be considered a form of self-expression?
Is it necessary for a musician to have a unique sound?
Should music videos be considered an art form?
Can music be used to promote peace?
Should musicians collaborate with artists from other genres?
Is it necessary for musicians to have a manager?
Is the music industry sexist?
Is it necessary for a musician to be a good performer?
Should musicians be involved in politics?
Is it necessary for musicians to be good songwriters?
Is it ethical for musicians to sell merchandise at their concerts?
Is it necessary for a musician to have a distinct look?
Should music critics be taken seriously?
Can music be used to bridge cultural divides?
Is it necessary for a musician to be able to read sheet music?
Should musicians be paid more for their work?
Is music becoming too repetitive?
Should musicians be judged on their personal lives?
Is it necessary for a musician to have a message in their music?
Is it necessary for a musician to have a good personality?
Should musicians be involved in charity work?
Is it necessary for a musician to have a strong social media presence?
Should music be used in advertising?
Is music becoming too focused on technology?
Should music festivals have more diverse lineups?
Is it necessary for a musician to have a brand?
Should musicians have a say in how their music is used?
Can music be used to raise awareness about social issues?
Is it necessary for a musician to have a certain image?
Should musicians be involved in fashion?
Is music becoming too political?
Should musicians have more control over their music?
The importance of hand washing in promoting personal hygiene
The benefits and challenges of maintaining a regular grooming routine
The role of dental hygiene in overall health and well-being
The impact of diet and nutrition on personal hygiene
The benefits and challenges of maintaining personal hygiene while traveling
The importance of showering and bathing in promoting personal hygiene
The role of hygiene in preventing the spread of illnesses and diseases
The impact of personal hygiene on social and professional interactions
The benefits and challenges of maintaining personal hygiene in communal living spaces
The importance of regular grooming of hair and nails in promoting personal hygiene
The role of personal hygiene in preventing body odor and bad breath
The impact of personal hygiene on self-esteem and confidence
The benefits and challenges of promoting personal hygiene for children and teenagers
The importance of personal hygiene in promoting mental and emotional well-being
The role of hygiene in preventing skin irritation and infections
The impact of environmental factors on personal hygiene
The benefits and challenges of promoting personal hygiene for individuals with disabilities
The importance of personal hygiene in promoting a healthy and clean living environment
The impact of hygiene habits on the longevity and health of personal items, such as clothing and bedding
The benefits and challenges of promoting personal hygiene in public spaces
The importance of personal hygiene in promoting a positive body image
The role of hygiene in maintaining a healthy vaginal and genital area for women
The impact of hygiene on overall hygiene and hygiene on the environment
The benefits and challenges of promoting personal hygiene for individuals with limited resources and access to personal care products.
The impact of scientific advancements on society and daily life
The ethics and morality of scientific research and experimentation
The role of science in understanding and solving global problems such as climate change and disease
The history and evolution of scientific theories and discoveries
The importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in scientific research
The role of technology and innovation in advancing scientific understanding
The benefits and challenges of science education and outreach to the public
The relationship between science and religion, and the perception of science in different cultures
The role of experimentation and observation in scientific inquiry
The impact of funding and resources on scientific research and discovery
The importance of critical thinking and skepticism in evaluating scientific claims
The benefits and limitations of computer modeling and simulation in scientific research
The role of science in shaping public policy and decision-making
The impact of science on industry and commerce, including the development of new products and technologies
The role of diversity and representation in science and scientific research
The relationship between science and art, including the use of scientific principles in artistic expression
The importance of communication and presentation skills in sharing and promoting scientific discoveries
The impact of science on global health and medicine, including the development of new treatments and vaccines
The role of science in exploring and understanding the natural world, including astronomy and geology
The benefits of cross-cultural exchange and collaboration in scientific research
The impact of science on energy and the environment, including alternative and sustainable energy sources
The role of science in understanding and exploring the human mind and behavior
The importance of science literacy and understanding among the general public
The impact of science on communication and information technology, including the development of the internet
The role of science in advancing our understanding of the universe and the origins of life.
The importance of effective communication in solving disputes
The benefits and challenges of using active listening and empathy in dispute resolution
The role of compromise and negotiation in solving disputes
The impact of emotions and biases on the resolution of disputes
The benefits and challenges of using mediation and alternative dispute resolution methods
The importance of understanding the root causes of disputes in finding a resolution
The role of power dynamics and fairness in solving disputes
The impact of cultural and social norms on resolving disputes
The benefits and challenges of using humor and levity in resolving disputes
The importance of identifying and managing expectations in solving disputes
The role of trust and transparency in solving disputes
The impact of past experiences and traumas on resolving disputes
The benefits and challenges of using data and facts in solving disputes
The importance of considering multiple perspectives in resolving disputes
The role of laws, regulations, and policies in resolving disputes
The impact of online and digital communication in resolving disputes
The benefits and challenges of seeking outside help and support in resolving disputes
The importance of taking responsibility and accountability in resolving disputes
The role of forgiveness and letting go in resolving disputes
The impact of personal beliefs and values on resolving disputes
The benefits and challenges of using positive reinforcement in resolving disputes
The importance of maintaining relationships and avoiding retaliation after resolving disputes
The role of patience and persistence in resolving disputes
The impact of personal growth and development on resolving disputes
The benefits and challenges of promoting long-term solutions and preventative measures in resolving disputes.
The impact of technology on traditional education methods and the classroom experience
The effects of standardized testing and high-stakes exams on student learning and motivation
The impact of budget cuts and decreased funding on the quality of education
The role of educators and schools in promoting diversity, inclusivity, and social justice
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the education system and students’ learning experiences
The impact of the achievement gap and educational inequities on student outcomes and opportunities
The role of parents and families in supporting and participating in their children’s education
The effects of the increasing cost of higher education on student debt and access to opportunities
The impact of the growing emphasis on STEM education and the devaluation of the arts and humanities
The role of schools and educators in addressing and preventing bullying and harassment
The effects of the political climate and political debates on the education system and curriculum
The impact of the use of big data and personalization in education on student privacy and autonomy
The role of schools and educators in fostering critical thinking, creativity, and independent learning
The effects of the growing use of technology in education on student attention spans and focus
The impact of the growing push for vocational and trade schools on traditional four-year colleges and universities
The role of schools and educators in promoting mental health and wellness in students
The effects of the achievement gap and education disparities on the workforce and economic opportunities
The impact of the changing job market and workforce demands on the education system and curriculum
The role of schools and educators in promoting and supporting student engagement and activism
The effects of the growing emphasis on high-stakes testing and data-driven decision making on teaching quality and creativity
The impact of the use of standardized assessments and national standards on local control and autonomy of schools
The role of schools and educators in addressing the digital divide and unequal access to technology
The effects of the growing use of online resources and digital materials on the preservation of traditional knowledge and skills
The impact of the changing political climate and immigration policies on access to education for all students.
The effects of social media on self-esteem and body image
The role of social media in promoting and suppressing diversity and inclusivity
The effects of social media on our political beliefs and activism
The impact of social media on privacy and personal data security
The role of social media in promoting and suppressing mental health and wellness
The effects of social media on the traditional news media and journalism
The impact of social media on our ability to focus and concentrate
The role of social media in fostering online communities and support groups
The effects of social media on our understanding of the world and current events
The role of social media in promoting and suppressing entrepreneurship and innovation
The effects of social media on our attention spans and memory retention
The impact of social media on the entertainment industry and the distribution of creative content
The role of social media in promoting and suppressing freedom of speech and censorship
The effects of social media on the education system and traditional learning methods
The impact of social media on advertising and consumer behavior
The role of social media in promoting and suppressing political discourse and activism
The effects of social media on our ability to form and maintain romantic relationships
The impact of social media on the healthcare industry and access to medical information
The role of social media in promoting and suppressing environmental sustainability and eco-consciousness
The effects of social media on our sense of humor and comedic taste
The impact of social media on the criminal justice system and law enforcement
The role of social media in promoting and suppressing democracy and human rights.
The impact of technology on our ability to communicate and form real-life relationships
The role of technology in promoting and suppressing privacy and personal data security
The effects of technology on mental health and well-being
The role of technology in promoting and suppressing freedom of speech and censorship
The impact of technology on the entertainment industry and the distribution of creative content
The effects of technology on our physical health and fitness
The impact of technology on the economy and job market
The role of technology in promoting and suppressing environmental sustainability and eco-consciousness
The effects of technology on our political beliefs and activism
The impact of technology on the healthcare industry and access to medical information
The role of technology in promoting and suppressing diversity and inclusivity
The effects of technology on self-esteem and body image
The impact of technology on advertising and consumer behavior
The role of technology in promoting and suppressing democracy and human rights
The effects of technology on the traditional news media and journalism
The impact of technology on our understanding of the world and current events
The role of technology in promoting and suppressing mental health and wellness
The effects of technology on our ability to form and maintain romantic relationships
The impact of technology on the criminal justice system and law enforcement
The role of technology in fostering online communities and support groups
The effects of technology on our sense of humor and comedic taste.

Thoughts on the internet

The impact of social media on society and relationships
The role of the internet in shaping political discourse and activism
The effects of internet addiction and technology overuse on mental health
The role of the internet in spreading false information and misinformation
The impact of e-commerce and online shopping on brick and mortar businesses
The use of the internet for privacy invasion and government surveillance
The impact of the internet on traditional forms of media, such as newspapers and television
The effects of the internet on employment and job opportunities
The impact of the internet on relationships and dating
The use of the internet for cybercrime and hacking
The impact of the internet on cultural exchange and global interconnectedness
The effects of the internet on language and communication
The role of the internet in promoting and suppressing diversity and inclusivity
The impact of the internet on the economy and job market
The use of the internet for virtual reality and augmented reality experiences
The role of the internet in promoting and suppressing entrepreneurship and innovation
The impact of the internet on healthcare and access to medical information
The effects of the internet on environmental sustainability and eco-consciousness
The role of the internet in promoting and suppressing democracy and human rights
The impact of the internet on the entertainment industry and the distribution of creative content
The use of the internet for telemedicine and remote healthcare services
The role of the internet in the future of work and the impact on job security.
The impact of technology on personal well-being
The importance of self-care and self-compassion in promoting well-being
The benefits and challenges of mindfulness and meditation practices
The role of social connections and community in promoting well-being
The impact of stress and anxiety on personal well-being
The benefits and challenges of exercise and physical activity for well-being
The importance of sleep for overall well-being
The role of nature and the environment in promoting well-being
The impact of work-life balance on personal well-being
The benefits and challenges of spiritual practices and beliefs for well-being
The importance of relationships and communication skills in promoting well-being
The role of creative expression in promoting well-being
The impact of financial stability and financial planning on personal well-being
The benefits and challenges of volunteering and giving back for well-being
The importance of play and leisure activities for overall well-being
The role of personal values and purpose in promoting well-being
The impact of cultural and societal norms on personal well-being
The benefits and challenges of therapy and mental health support for well-being
The importance of self-reflection and personal growth for overall well-being
The role of humor and laughter in promoting well-being
The impact of travel and new experiences on personal well-being
The benefits and challenges of community involvement and activism for well-being
The importance of healthy boundaries and personal space for overall well-being
The role of gratitude and positive thinking in promoting well-being
The impact of media consumption and social media on personal well-being.
Would you rather have a superpower that allows you to read minds or one that allows you to become invisible?
Would you rather have a guaranteed job offer after graduation or have the opportunity to travel for a year before starting your career?
Would you rather have a job where you work with your hands or one where you work with your mind?
Would you rather have a job where you work independently or one where you work closely with others?
Would you rather have a job that is physically demanding or one that is mentally demanding?
Would you rather have a job with a lot of responsibility or one where you have less responsibility?
Would you rather have a job that allows you to be creative or one that is more structured?
Would you rather have a job with a set schedule or one that is flexible?
Would you rather have a job that is fast-paced or one that is more relaxed?
Would you rather work in an environment that is quiet or one that is more lively and social?
Would you rather have a job where you have to learn new things constantly or one that is more routine?
Would you rather work for a small company or a large corporation?
Would you rather have a job with a set salary or one where you get paid based on performance?
Would you rather have a job where you can work from home or one where you have to go into the office?
Would you rather have a job that involves a lot of travel or one where you can stay close to home?
Would you rather work in a job that allows you to help others or one that primarily benefits yourself?
Would you rather have a job where you work outdoors or one where you are indoors all day?
Would you rather have a job where you have to use your creativity or one where you have to use your analytical skills?
Would you rather work in a job that involves a lot of public speaking or one where you can avoid it?
Would you rather have a job that involves a lot of physical activity or one where you can sit at a desk?
Would you rather work in a job that allows you to dress casually or one where you have to dress professionally?
Would you rather have a job where you work with children or one where you work with adults?
Would you rather work in a job that involves a lot of math or one where you don’t have to use math?
Would you rather have a job that is challenging but rewarding or one that is easy but less fulfilling?
Would you rather work in a job where you have a lot of autonomy or one where you have to follow strict guidelines?
Would you rather have a job that involves a lot of creativity or one that is more analytical?
Would you rather have a job where you have a lot of interactions with people or one where you work more independently?
Would you rather have a job where you work during traditional business hours or one where you work during non-traditional hours?
Would you rather work in a job where you have to make a lot of decisions or one where you don’t have to make many decisions?
Would you rather work in a job where you have a set schedule or one where the schedule is more flexible?
Would you rather have a job where you get to work with animals or one where you don’t?
Would you rather work in a job where you have a lot of physical contact with others or one where you have less physical contact?
Would you rather travel to the past or the future?
Would you rather live without internet or live without air conditioning/heating?
Would you rather be a superhero or a villain?
Would you rather have a pet dragon or a pet unicorn?
Would you rather have the power to read minds or the power to teleport?
Would you rather always be 10 minutes late or always be 20 minutes early?
Would you rather have a photographic memory or have the ability to forget anything you want?
Would you rather be a famous musician or a famous actor/actress?
Would you rather live in a world without music or a world without movies?
Would you rather have a personal chef or a personal assistant?
Would you rather have the ability to speak any language fluently or be a master of every musical instrument?
Would you rather have the power of super strength or the power of telekinesis?
Would you rather have a personal chauffeur or a personal trainer?
Would you rather have the ability to talk to animals or the ability to speak any human language fluently?
Would you rather be a professional athlete or a successful business owner?
Would you rather live in a world where everyone can read minds or a world where everyone can fly?
Would you rather always have to speak in rhyme or always have to sing everything you say?
Would you rather have the ability to breathe underwater or the ability to fly underwater?
Would you rather be a character in a romantic comedy or a horror movie?
Would you rather live in a world where it never stops raining or a world where it never stops snowing?
Would you rather have a job that pays well but you hate, or a job that pays poorly but you love?
Would you rather be able to time travel but never come back to the present or be stuck in the present forever?
Would you rather have the power to heal any illness or have the power to bring the dead back to life?
Would you rather have the power to control the weather or have the power to control time?
Would you rather be able to speak every language in the world or be able to communicate with animals?
Would you rather be able to teleport anywhere in the world or be able to create any object with your mind?
Would you rather have the power to fly or have the power to become invisible?
Would you rather be able to travel to any fictional world or be able to bring fictional characters to life?
Would you rather live in a world with no technology or a world with no nature?
Would you rather be able to breathe fire or be able to breathe ice?
Would you rather be a famous author or a famous painter?
Would you rather have the ability to turn invisible or have the ability to walk through walls?
Would you rather be able to communicate with the dead or have the ability to see the future?
Would you rather be able to transform into any animal or have the power to control any animal’s mind?
Would you rather have a photographic memory or be able to instantly learn anything?
Would you rather be able to talk to plants or be able to talk to machines?
Would you rather be a famous scientist or a famous musician?
Would you rather be able to travel to any point in history or be able to travel to any point in the future?
Would you rather have the ability to breathe underwater or have the ability to swim as fast as a dolphin?
Would you rather be able to understand and speak all languages or be able to read minds?
Would you rather be able to move objects with your mind or have the power of super speed?
Would you rather be able to create illusions or have the ability to shape shift?
Would you rather be able to control fire or control water?
Would you rather have a flying car or a submarine car?
Would you rather be able to see in the dark or have night vision?
Would you rather be a famous athlete or a famous chef?
Would you rather be able to control the internet or control the media?
Would you rather live in a world with no books or a world with no movies?
The impact of social media on modern communication
The importance of mental health awareness
The benefits and drawbacks of remote work
The ethics of genetic engineering and gene editing
The future of renewable energy
The impact of technology on personal relationships
The influence of pop culture on society
The rise of entrepreneurship and the gig economy
The effect of music on mental health
The challenges and benefits of multiculturalism
The impact of climate change on the world
The ethics of artificial intelligence
The benefits and drawbacks of virtual reality
The future of healthcare technology
The impact of immigration on society
The role of religion in modern society
The effect of the internet on democracy
The ethics of space exploration
The future of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology
The impact of video games on mental health
The benefits and drawbacks of social welfare programs
The role of the media in shaping public opinion
The impact of aging populations on society
The ethics of genetically modified foods
The future of artificial organs and transplants
The influence of fashion on culture
The role of the family in modern society
The impact of automation on the job market
The benefits and drawbacks of a cashless society
The future of augmented reality
The ethics of human cloning
The influence of celebrities on society
The role of sports in society
The impact of poverty on education
The benefits and drawbacks of nuclear power
The future of self-driving cars
The ethics of assisted suicide and euthanasia
The impact of urbanization on the environment
The influence of social class on opportunities
The role of government in shaping society
The impact of income inequality on society
The benefits and drawbacks of renewable energy subsidies
The future of 3D printing
The ethics of animal rights and animal welfare
The influence of social norms on behavior
The role of community service in society
The impact of cyberbullying on mental health
The benefits and drawbacks of universal basic income
The future of smart homes and the internet of things
The ethics of censorship and free speech
The influence of the beauty industry on self-esteem
The role of volunteerism in society
The impact of natural disasters on communities
The benefits and drawbacks of gun control
The future of space tourism
The ethics of organ donation
The influence of technology on physical fitness
The role of charity in society
The impact of sexual harassment on mental health
The benefits and drawbacks of mandatory voting
The future of sustainable agriculture
The ethics of privacy in the age of social media
The influence of stereotypes on behavior
The role of philanthropy in society
The impact of substance abuse on society
The benefits and drawbacks of open borders
The future of space colonization
The ethics of embryonic stem cell research
The influence of peer pressure on decision-making
The role of activism in society
The impact of human trafficking on communities
The benefits and drawbacks of mandatory military service
The ethics of animal captivity in zoos and aquariums
The influence of gender roles on society
The role of social support networks in mental health
The impact of addiction on families
The benefits and drawbacks of free college education
The future of renewable materials and sustainable fashion
The ethics of surrogacy and reproductive technology
The influence of cultural appropriation on society
The role of forgiveness in healing relationships
The impact of cyberstalking and online harassment
The benefits and drawbacks of renewable energy storage solutions
The future of space debris management
The ethics of animal research and testing
The influence of beauty standards on body image
The role of mindfulness and meditation in mental health
The impact of homelessness on communities
The benefits and drawbacks of mandatory vaccination policies
The future of smart cities and urban planning
The ethics of biohacking and DIY biology
The influence of language on culture and identity.

This article was originally written August 2022, and was updated July 2023 to be even more helpful.

Colin is a Content Marketer at Thinkific, writing about everything from online entrepreneurship & course creation to digital marketing strategy.

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14.3 Problem Solving and Decision Making in Groups

Learning objectives.

Discuss the common components and characteristics of problems.
Explain the five steps of the group problem-solving process.
Describe the brainstorming and discussion that should take place before the group makes a decision.
Compare and contrast the different decision-making techniques.
Discuss the various influences on decision making.

Although the steps of problem solving and decision making that we will discuss next may seem obvious, we often don’t think to or choose not to use them. Instead, we start working on a problem and later realize we are lost and have to backtrack. I’m sure we’ve all reached a point in a project or task and had the “OK, now what?” moment. I’ve recently taken up some carpentry projects as a functional hobby, and I have developed a great respect for the importance of advanced planning. It’s frustrating to get to a crucial point in building or fixing something only to realize that you have to unscrew a support board that you already screwed in, have to drive back to the hardware store to get something that you didn’t think to get earlier, or have to completely start over. In this section, we will discuss the group problem-solving process, methods of decision making, and influences on these processes.

Group Problem Solving

The problem-solving process involves thoughts, discussions, actions, and decisions that occur from the first consideration of a problematic situation to the goal. The problems that groups face are varied, but some common problems include budgeting funds, raising funds, planning events, addressing customer or citizen complaints, creating or adapting products or services to fit needs, supporting members, and raising awareness about issues or causes.

Problems of all sorts have three common components (Adams & Galanes, 2009):

An undesirable situation. When conditions are desirable, there isn’t a problem.
A desired situation. Even though it may only be a vague idea, there is a drive to better the undesirable situation. The vague idea may develop into a more precise goal that can be achieved, although solutions are not yet generated.
Obstacles between undesirable and desirable situation. These are things that stand in the way between the current situation and the group’s goal of addressing it. This component of a problem requires the most work, and it is the part where decision making occurs. Some examples of obstacles include limited funding, resources, personnel, time, or information. Obstacles can also take the form of people who are working against the group, including people resistant to change or people who disagree.

Discussion of these three elements of a problem helps the group tailor its problem-solving process, as each problem will vary. While these three general elements are present in each problem, the group should also address specific characteristics of the problem. Five common and important characteristics to consider are task difficulty, number of possible solutions, group member interest in problem, group member familiarity with problem, and the need for solution acceptance (Adams & Galanes, 2009).

Task difficulty. Difficult tasks are also typically more complex. Groups should be prepared to spend time researching and discussing a difficult and complex task in order to develop a shared foundational knowledge. This typically requires individual work outside of the group and frequent group meetings to share information.
Number of possible solutions. There are usually multiple ways to solve a problem or complete a task, but some problems have more potential solutions than others. Figuring out how to prepare a beach house for an approaching hurricane is fairly complex and difficult, but there are still a limited number of things to do—for example, taping and boarding up windows; turning off water, electricity, and gas; trimming trees; and securing loose outside objects. Other problems may be more creatively based. For example, designing a new restaurant may entail using some standard solutions but could also entail many different types of innovation with layout and design.
Group member interest in problem. When group members are interested in the problem, they will be more engaged with the problem-solving process and invested in finding a quality solution. Groups with high interest in and knowledge about the problem may want more freedom to develop and implement solutions, while groups with low interest may prefer a leader who provides structure and direction.
Group familiarity with problem. Some groups encounter a problem regularly, while other problems are more unique or unexpected. A family who has lived in hurricane alley for decades probably has a better idea of how to prepare its house for a hurricane than does a family that just recently moved from the Midwest. Many groups that rely on funding have to revisit a budget every year, and in recent years, groups have had to get more creative with budgets as funding has been cut in nearly every sector. When group members aren’t familiar with a problem, they will need to do background research on what similar groups have done and may also need to bring in outside experts.
Need for solution acceptance. In this step, groups must consider how many people the decision will affect and how much “buy-in” from others the group needs in order for their solution to be successfully implemented. Some small groups have many stakeholders on whom the success of a solution depends. Other groups are answerable only to themselves. When a small group is planning on building a new park in a crowded neighborhood or implementing a new policy in a large business, it can be very difficult to develop solutions that will be accepted by all. In such cases, groups will want to poll those who will be affected by the solution and may want to do a pilot implementation to see how people react. Imposing an excellent solution that doesn’t have buy-in from stakeholders can still lead to failure.

Group problem solving can be a confusing puzzle unless it is approached systematically.

Muness Castle – Problem Solving – CC BY-SA 2.0.

Group Problem-Solving Process

There are several variations of similar problem-solving models based on US American scholar John Dewey’s reflective thinking process (Bormann & Bormann, 1988). As you read through the steps in the process, think about how you can apply what we learned regarding the general and specific elements of problems. Some of the following steps are straightforward, and they are things we would logically do when faced with a problem. However, taking a deliberate and systematic approach to problem solving has been shown to benefit group functioning and performance. A deliberate approach is especially beneficial for groups that do not have an established history of working together and will only be able to meet occasionally. Although a group should attend to each step of the process, group leaders or other group members who facilitate problem solving should be cautious not to dogmatically follow each element of the process or force a group along. Such a lack of flexibility could limit group member input and negatively affect the group’s cohesion and climate.

Step 1: Define the Problem

Define the problem by considering the three elements shared by every problem: the current undesirable situation, the goal or more desirable situation, and obstacles in the way (Adams & Galanes, 2009). At this stage, group members share what they know about the current situation, without proposing solutions or evaluating the information. Here are some good questions to ask during this stage: What is the current difficulty? How did we come to know that the difficulty exists? Who/what is involved? Why is it meaningful/urgent/important? What have the effects been so far? What, if any, elements of the difficulty require clarification? At the end of this stage, the group should be able to compose a single sentence that summarizes the problem called a problem statement . Avoid wording in the problem statement or question that hints at potential solutions. A small group formed to investigate ethical violations of city officials could use the following problem statement: “Our state does not currently have a mechanism for citizens to report suspected ethical violations by city officials.”

Step 2: Analyze the Problem

During this step a group should analyze the problem and the group’s relationship to the problem. Whereas the first step involved exploring the “what” related to the problem, this step focuses on the “why.” At this stage, group members can discuss the potential causes of the difficulty. Group members may also want to begin setting out an agenda or timeline for the group’s problem-solving process, looking forward to the other steps. To fully analyze the problem, the group can discuss the five common problem variables discussed before. Here are two examples of questions that the group formed to address ethics violations might ask: Why doesn’t our city have an ethics reporting mechanism? Do cities of similar size have such a mechanism? Once the problem has been analyzed, the group can pose a problem question that will guide the group as it generates possible solutions. “How can citizens report suspected ethical violations of city officials and how will such reports be processed and addressed?” As you can see, the problem question is more complex than the problem statement, since the group has moved on to more in-depth discussion of the problem during step 2.

Step 3: Generate Possible Solutions

During this step, group members generate possible solutions to the problem. Again, solutions should not be evaluated at this point, only proposed and clarified. The question should be what could we do to address this problem, not what should we do to address it. It is perfectly OK for a group member to question another person’s idea by asking something like “What do you mean?” or “Could you explain your reasoning more?” Discussions at this stage may reveal a need to return to previous steps to better define or more fully analyze a problem. Since many problems are multifaceted, it is necessary for group members to generate solutions for each part of the problem separately, making sure to have multiple solutions for each part. Stopping the solution-generating process prematurely can lead to groupthink. For the problem question previously posed, the group would need to generate solutions for all three parts of the problem included in the question. Possible solutions for the first part of the problem (How can citizens report ethical violations?) may include “online reporting system, e-mail, in-person, anonymously, on-the-record,” and so on. Possible solutions for the second part of the problem (How will reports be processed?) may include “daily by a newly appointed ethics officer, weekly by a nonpartisan nongovernment employee,” and so on. Possible solutions for the third part of the problem (How will reports be addressed?) may include “by a newly appointed ethics commission, by the accused’s supervisor, by the city manager,” and so on.

Step 4: Evaluate Solutions

During this step, solutions can be critically evaluated based on their credibility, completeness, and worth. Once the potential solutions have been narrowed based on more obvious differences in relevance and/or merit, the group should analyze each solution based on its potential effects—especially negative effects. Groups that are required to report the rationale for their decision or whose decisions may be subject to public scrutiny would be wise to make a set list of criteria for evaluating each solution. Additionally, solutions can be evaluated based on how well they fit with the group’s charge and the abilities of the group. To do this, group members may ask, “Does this solution live up to the original purpose or mission of the group?” and “Can the solution actually be implemented with our current resources and connections?” and “How will this solution be supported, funded, enforced, and assessed?” Secondary tensions and substantive conflict, two concepts discussed earlier, emerge during this step of problem solving, and group members will need to employ effective critical thinking and listening skills.

Decision making is part of the larger process of problem solving and it plays a prominent role in this step. While there are several fairly similar models for problem solving, there are many varied decision-making techniques that groups can use. For example, to narrow the list of proposed solutions, group members may decide by majority vote, by weighing the pros and cons, or by discussing them until a consensus is reached. There are also more complex decision-making models like the “six hats method,” which we will discuss later. Once the final decision is reached, the group leader or facilitator should confirm that the group is in agreement. It may be beneficial to let the group break for a while or even to delay the final decision until a later meeting to allow people time to evaluate it outside of the group context.

Step 5: Implement and Assess the Solution

Implementing the solution requires some advanced planning, and it should not be rushed unless the group is operating under strict time restraints or delay may lead to some kind of harm. Although some solutions can be implemented immediately, others may take days, months, or years. As was noted earlier, it may be beneficial for groups to poll those who will be affected by the solution as to their opinion of it or even to do a pilot test to observe the effectiveness of the solution and how people react to it. Before implementation, groups should also determine how and when they would assess the effectiveness of the solution by asking, “How will we know if the solution is working or not?” Since solution assessment will vary based on whether or not the group is disbanded, groups should also consider the following questions: If the group disbands after implementation, who will be responsible for assessing the solution? If the solution fails, will the same group reconvene or will a new group be formed?

Once a solution has been reached and the group has the “green light” to implement it, it should proceed deliberately and cautiously, making sure to consider possible consequences and address them as needed.

Jocko Benoit – Prodigal Light – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Certain elements of the solution may need to be delegated out to various people inside and outside the group. Group members may also be assigned to implement a particular part of the solution based on their role in the decision making or because it connects to their area of expertise. Likewise, group members may be tasked with publicizing the solution or “selling” it to a particular group of stakeholders. Last, the group should consider its future. In some cases, the group will get to decide if it will stay together and continue working on other tasks or if it will disband. In other cases, outside forces determine the group’s fate.

“Getting Competent”

Problem Solving and Group Presentations

Giving a group presentation requires that individual group members and the group as a whole solve many problems and make many decisions. Although having more people involved in a presentation increases logistical difficulties and has the potential to create more conflict, a well-prepared and well-delivered group presentation can be more engaging and effective than a typical presentation. The main problems facing a group giving a presentation are (1) dividing responsibilities, (2) coordinating schedules and time management, and (3) working out the logistics of the presentation delivery.

In terms of dividing responsibilities, assigning individual work at the first meeting and then trying to fit it all together before the presentation (which is what many college students do when faced with a group project) is not the recommended method. Integrating content and visual aids created by several different people into a seamless final product takes time and effort, and the person “stuck” with this job at the end usually ends up developing some resentment toward his or her group members. While it’s OK for group members to do work independently outside of group meetings, spend time working together to help set up some standards for content and formatting expectations that will help make later integration of work easier. Taking the time to complete one part of the presentation together can help set those standards for later individual work. Discuss the roles that various group members will play openly so there isn’t role confusion. There could be one point person for keeping track of the group’s progress and schedule, one point person for communication, one point person for content integration, one point person for visual aids, and so on. Each person shouldn’t do all that work on his or her own but help focus the group’s attention on his or her specific area during group meetings (Stanton, 2009).

Scheduling group meetings is one of the most challenging problems groups face, given people’s busy lives. From the beginning, it should be clearly communicated that the group needs to spend considerable time in face-to-face meetings, and group members should know that they may have to make an occasional sacrifice to attend. Especially important is the commitment to scheduling time to rehearse the presentation. Consider creating a contract of group guidelines that includes expectations for meeting attendance to increase group members’ commitment.

Group presentations require members to navigate many logistics of their presentation. While it may be easier for a group to assign each member to create a five-minute segment and then transition from one person to the next, this is definitely not the most engaging method. Creating a master presentation and then assigning individual speakers creates a more fluid and dynamic presentation and allows everyone to become familiar with the content, which can help if a person doesn’t show up to present and during the question-and-answer section. Once the content of the presentation is complete, figure out introductions, transitions, visual aids, and the use of time and space (Stanton, 2012). In terms of introductions, figure out if one person will introduce all the speakers at the beginning, if speakers will introduce themselves at the beginning, or if introductions will occur as the presentation progresses. In terms of transitions, make sure each person has included in his or her speaking notes when presentation duties switch from one person to the next. Visual aids have the potential to cause hiccups in a group presentation if they aren’t fluidly integrated. Practicing with visual aids and having one person control them may help prevent this. Know how long your presentation is and know how you’re going to use the space. Presenters should know how long the whole presentation should be and how long each of their segments should be so that everyone can share the responsibility of keeping time. Also consider the size and layout of the presentation space. You don’t want presenters huddled in a corner until it’s their turn to speak or trapped behind furniture when their turn comes around.

Of the three main problems facing group presenters, which do you think is the most challenging and why?
Why do you think people tasked with a group presentation (especially students) prefer to divide the parts up and have members work on them independently before coming back together and integrating each part? What problems emerge from this method? In what ways might developing a master presentation and then assigning parts to different speakers be better than the more divided method? What are the drawbacks to the master presentation method?

Decision Making in Groups

We all engage in personal decision making daily, and we all know that some decisions are more difficult than others. When we make decisions in groups, we face some challenges that we do not face in our personal decision making, but we also stand to benefit from some advantages of group decision making (Napier & Gershenfeld, 2004). Group decision making can appear fair and democratic but really only be a gesture that covers up the fact that certain group members or the group leader have already decided. Group decision making also takes more time than individual decisions and can be burdensome if some group members do not do their assigned work, divert the group with self-centered or unproductive role behaviors, or miss meetings. Conversely, though, group decisions are often more informed, since all group members develop a shared understanding of a problem through discussion and debate. The shared understanding may also be more complex and deep than what an individual would develop, because the group members are exposed to a variety of viewpoints that can broaden their own perspectives. Group decisions also benefit from synergy, one of the key advantages of group communication that we discussed earlier. Most groups do not use a specific method of decision making, perhaps thinking that they’ll work things out as they go. This can lead to unequal participation, social loafing, premature decisions, prolonged discussion, and a host of other negative consequences. So in this section we will learn some practices that will prepare us for good decision making and some specific techniques we can use to help us reach a final decision.

Brainstorming before Decision Making

Before groups can make a decision, they need to generate possible solutions to their problem. The most commonly used method is brainstorming, although most people don’t follow the recommended steps of brainstorming. As you’ll recall, brainstorming refers to the quick generation of ideas free of evaluation. The originator of the term brainstorming said the following four rules must be followed for the technique to be effective (Osborn, 1959):

Evaluation of ideas is forbidden.
Wild and crazy ideas are encouraged.
Quantity of ideas, not quality, is the goal.
New combinations of ideas presented are encouraged.

To make brainstorming more of a decision-making method rather than an idea-generating method, group communication scholars have suggested additional steps that precede and follow brainstorming (Cragan & Wright, 1991).

Do a warm-up brainstorming session. Some people are more apprehensive about publicly communicating their ideas than others are, and a warm-up session can help ease apprehension and prime group members for task-related idea generation. The warm-up can be initiated by anyone in the group and should only go on for a few minutes. To get things started, a person could ask, “If our group formed a band, what would we be called?” or “What other purposes could a mailbox serve?” In the previous examples, the first warm up gets the group’s more abstract creative juices flowing, while the second focuses more on practical and concrete ideas.
Do the actual brainstorming session. This session shouldn’t last more than thirty minutes and should follow the four rules of brainstorming mentioned previously. To ensure that the fourth rule is realized, the facilitator could encourage people to piggyback off each other’s ideas.
Eliminate duplicate ideas. After the brainstorming session is over, group members can eliminate (without evaluating) ideas that are the same or very similar.
Clarify, organize, and evaluate ideas. Before evaluation, see if any ideas need clarification. Then try to theme or group ideas together in some orderly fashion. Since “wild and crazy” ideas are encouraged, some suggestions may need clarification. If it becomes clear that there isn’t really a foundation to an idea and that it is too vague or abstract and can’t be clarified, it may be eliminated. As a caution though, it may be wise to not throw out off-the-wall ideas that are hard to categorize and to instead put them in a miscellaneous or “wild and crazy” category.

Discussion before Decision Making

The nominal group technique guides decision making through a four-step process that includes idea generation and evaluation and seeks to elicit equal contributions from all group members (Delbecq & Ven de Ven, 1971). This method is useful because the procedure involves all group members systematically, which fixes the problem of uneven participation during discussions. Since everyone contributes to the discussion, this method can also help reduce instances of social loafing. To use the nominal group technique, do the following:

Silently and individually list ideas.
Create a master list of ideas.
Clarify ideas as needed.
Take a secret vote to rank group members’ acceptance of ideas.

During the first step, have group members work quietly, in the same space, to write down every idea they have to address the task or problem they face. This shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes. Whoever is facilitating the discussion should remind group members to use brainstorming techniques, which means they shouldn’t evaluate ideas as they are generated. Ask group members to remain silent once they’ve finished their list so they do not distract others.

During the second step, the facilitator goes around the group in a consistent order asking each person to share one idea at a time. As the idea is shared, the facilitator records it on a master list that everyone can see. Keep track of how many times each idea comes up, as that could be an idea that warrants more discussion. Continue this process until all the ideas have been shared. As a note to facilitators, some group members may begin to edit their list or self-censor when asked to provide one of their ideas. To limit a person’s apprehension with sharing his or her ideas and to ensure that each idea is shared, I have asked group members to exchange lists with someone else so they can share ideas from the list they receive without fear of being personally judged.

During step three, the facilitator should note that group members can now ask for clarification on ideas on the master list. Do not let this discussion stray into evaluation of ideas. To help avoid an unnecessarily long discussion, it may be useful to go from one person to the next to ask which ideas need clarifying and then go to the originator(s) of the idea in question for clarification.

During the fourth step, members use a voting ballot to rank the acceptability of the ideas on the master list. If the list is long, you may ask group members to rank only their top five or so choices. The facilitator then takes up the secret ballots and reviews them in a random order, noting the rankings of each idea. Ideally, the highest ranked idea can then be discussed and decided on. The nominal group technique does not carry a group all the way through to the point of decision; rather, it sets the group up for a roundtable discussion or use of some other method to evaluate the merits of the top ideas.

Specific Decision-Making Techniques

Some decision-making techniques involve determining a course of action based on the level of agreement among the group members. These methods include majority, expert, authority, and consensus rule. Table 14.1 “Pros and Cons of Agreement-Based Decision-Making Techniques” reviews the pros and cons of each of these methods.

Majority rule is a simple method of decision making based on voting. In most cases a majority is considered half plus one.

Becky McCray – Voting – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Majority rule is a commonly used decision-making technique in which a majority (one-half plus one) must agree before a decision is made. A show-of-hands vote, a paper ballot, or an electronic voting system can determine the majority choice. Many decision-making bodies, including the US House of Representatives, Senate, and Supreme Court, use majority rule to make decisions, which shows that it is often associated with democratic decision making, since each person gets one vote and each vote counts equally. Of course, other individuals and mediated messages can influence a person’s vote, but since the voting power is spread out over all group members, it is not easy for one person or party to take control of the decision-making process. In some cases—for example, to override a presidential veto or to amend the constitution—a super majority of two-thirds may be required to make a decision.

Minority rule is a decision-making technique in which a designated authority or expert has final say over a decision and may or may not consider the input of other group members. When a designated expert makes a decision by minority rule, there may be buy-in from others in the group, especially if the members of the group didn’t have relevant knowledge or expertise. When a designated authority makes decisions, buy-in will vary based on group members’ level of respect for the authority. For example, decisions made by an elected authority may be more accepted by those who elected him or her than by those who didn’t. As with majority rule, this technique can be time saving. Unlike majority rule, one person or party can have control over the decision-making process. This type of decision making is more similar to that used by monarchs and dictators. An obvious negative consequence of this method is that the needs or wants of one person can override the needs and wants of the majority. A minority deciding for the majority has led to negative consequences throughout history. The white Afrikaner minority that ruled South Africa for decades instituted apartheid, which was a system of racial segregation that disenfranchised and oppressed the majority population. The quality of the decision and its fairness really depends on the designated expert or authority.

Consensus rule is a decision-making technique in which all members of the group must agree on the same decision. On rare occasions, a decision may be ideal for all group members, which can lead to unanimous agreement without further debate and discussion. Although this can be positive, be cautious that this isn’t a sign of groupthink. More typically, consensus is reached only after lengthy discussion. On the plus side, consensus often leads to high-quality decisions due to the time and effort it takes to get everyone in agreement. Group members are also more likely to be committed to the decision because of their investment in reaching it. On the negative side, the ultimate decision is often one that all group members can live with but not one that’s ideal for all members. Additionally, the process of arriving at consensus also includes conflict, as people debate ideas and negotiate the interpersonal tensions that may result.

Table 14.1 Pros and Cons of Agreement-Based Decision-Making Techniques

“Getting Critical”

Six Hats Method of Decision Making

Edward de Bono developed the Six Hats method of thinking in the late 1980s, and it has since become a regular feature in decision-making training in business and professional contexts (de Bono, 1985). The method’s popularity lies in its ability to help people get out of habitual ways of thinking and to allow group members to play different roles and see a problem or decision from multiple points of view. The basic idea is that each of the six hats represents a different way of thinking, and when we figuratively switch hats, we switch the way we think. The hats and their style of thinking are as follows:

White hat. Objective—focuses on seeking information such as data and facts and then processes that information in a neutral way.
Red hat. Emotional—uses intuition, gut reactions, and feelings to judge information and suggestions.
Black hat. Negative—focuses on potential risks, points out possibilities for failure, and evaluates information cautiously and defensively.
Yellow hat. Positive—is optimistic about suggestions and future outcomes, gives constructive and positive feedback, points out benefits and advantages.
Green hat. Creative—tries to generate new ideas and solutions, thinks “outside the box.”
Blue hat. Philosophical—uses metacommunication to organize and reflect on the thinking and communication taking place in the group, facilitates who wears what hat and when group members change hats.

Specific sequences or combinations of hats can be used to encourage strategic thinking. For example, the group leader may start off wearing the Blue Hat and suggest that the group start their decision-making process with some “White Hat thinking” in order to process through facts and other available information. During this stage, the group could also process through what other groups have done when faced with a similar problem. Then the leader could begin an evaluation sequence starting with two minutes of “Yellow Hat thinking” to identify potential positive outcomes, then “Black Hat thinking” to allow group members to express reservations about ideas and point out potential problems, then “Red Hat thinking” to get people’s gut reactions to the previous discussion, then “Green Hat thinking” to identify other possible solutions that are more tailored to the group’s situation or completely new approaches. At the end of a sequence, the Blue Hat would want to summarize what was said and begin a new sequence. To successfully use this method, the person wearing the Blue Hat should be familiar with different sequences and plan some of the thinking patterns ahead of time based on the problem and the group members. Each round of thinking should be limited to a certain time frame (two to five minutes) to keep the discussion moving.

This decision-making method has been praised because it allows group members to “switch gears” in their thinking and allows for role playing, which lets people express ideas more freely. How can this help enhance critical thinking? Which combination of hats do you think would be best for a critical thinking sequence?
What combinations of hats might be useful if the leader wanted to break the larger group up into pairs and why? For example, what kind of thinking would result from putting Yellow and Red together, Black and White together, or Red and White together, and so on?
Based on your preferred ways of thinking and your personality, which hat would be the best fit for you? Which would be the most challenging? Why?

Influences on Decision Making

Many factors influence the decision-making process. For example, how might a group’s independence or access to resources affect the decisions they make? What potential advantages and disadvantages come with decisions made by groups that are more or less similar in terms of personality and cultural identities? In this section, we will explore how situational, personality, and cultural influences affect decision making in groups.

Situational Influences on Decision Making

A group’s situational context affects decision making. One key situational element is the degree of freedom that the group has to make its own decisions, secure its own resources, and initiate its own actions. Some groups have to go through multiple approval processes before they can do anything, while others are self-directed, self-governing, and self-sustaining. Another situational influence is uncertainty. In general, groups deal with more uncertainty in decision making than do individuals because of the increased number of variables that comes with adding more people to a situation. Individual group members can’t know what other group members are thinking, whether or not they are doing their work, and how committed they are to the group. So the size of a group is a powerful situational influence, as it adds to uncertainty and complicates communication.

Access to information also influences a group. First, the nature of the group’s task or problem affects its ability to get information. Group members can more easily make decisions about a problem when other groups have similarly experienced it. Even if the problem is complex and serious, the group can learn from other situations and apply what it learns. Second, the group must have access to flows of information. Access to archives, electronic databases, and individuals with relevant experience is necessary to obtain any relevant information about similar problems or to do research on a new or unique problem. In this regard, group members’ formal and information network connections also become important situational influences.

The urgency of a decision can have a major influence on the decision-making process. As a situation becomes more urgent, it requires more specific decision-making methods and types of communication.

Judith E. Bell – Urgent – CC BY-SA 2.0.

The origin and urgency of a problem are also situational factors that influence decision making. In terms of origin, problems usually occur in one of four ways:

Something goes wrong. Group members must decide how to fix or stop something. Example—a firehouse crew finds out that half of the building is contaminated with mold and must be closed down.
Expectations change or increase. Group members must innovate more efficient or effective ways of doing something. Example—a firehouse crew finds out that the district they are responsible for is being expanded.
Something goes wrong and expectations change or increase. Group members must fix/stop and become more efficient/effective. Example—the firehouse crew has to close half the building and must start responding to more calls due to the expanding district.
The problem existed from the beginning. Group members must go back to the origins of the situation and walk through and analyze the steps again to decide what can be done differently. Example—a firehouse crew has consistently had to work with minimal resources in terms of building space and firefighting tools.

In each of the cases, the need for a decision may be more or less urgent depending on how badly something is going wrong, how high the expectations have been raised, or the degree to which people are fed up with a broken system. Decisions must be made in situations ranging from crisis level to mundane.

Personality Influences on Decision Making

A long-studied typology of value orientations that affect decision making consists of the following types of decision maker: the economic, the aesthetic, the theoretical, the social, the political, and the religious (Spranger, 1928).

The economic decision maker makes decisions based on what is practical and useful.
The aesthetic decision maker makes decisions based on form and harmony, desiring a solution that is elegant and in sync with the surroundings.
The theoretical decision maker wants to discover the truth through rationality.
The social decision maker emphasizes the personal impact of a decision and sympathizes with those who may be affected by it.
The political decision maker is interested in power and influence and views people and/or property as divided into groups that have different value.
The religious decision maker seeks to identify with a larger purpose, works to unify others under that goal, and commits to a viewpoint, often denying one side and being dedicated to the other.

In the United States, economic, political, and theoretical decision making tend to be more prevalent decision-making orientations, which likely corresponds to the individualistic cultural orientation with its emphasis on competition and efficiency. But situational context, as we discussed before, can also influence our decision making.

Personality affects decision making. For example, “economic” decision makers decide based on what is practical and useful.

One Way Stock – Tough Decisions Ahead – CC BY-ND 2.0.

The personalities of group members, especially leaders and other active members, affect the climate of the group. Group member personalities can be categorized based on where they fall on a continuum anchored by the following descriptors: dominant/submissive, friendly/unfriendly, and instrumental/emotional (Cragan & Wright, 1999). The more group members there are in any extreme of these categories, the more likely that the group climate will also shift to resemble those characteristics.

Dominant versus submissive. Group members that are more dominant act more independently and directly, initiate conversations, take up more space, make more direct eye contact, seek leadership positions, and take control over decision-making processes. More submissive members are reserved, contribute to the group only when asked to, avoid eye contact, and leave their personal needs and thoughts unvoiced or give into the suggestions of others.
Friendly versus unfriendly. Group members on the friendly side of the continuum find a balance between talking and listening, don’t try to win at the expense of other group members, are flexible but not weak, and value democratic decision making. Unfriendly group members are disagreeable, indifferent, withdrawn, and selfish, which leads them to either not invest in decision making or direct it in their own interest rather than in the interest of the group.
Instrumental versus emotional. Instrumental group members are emotionally neutral, objective, analytical, task-oriented, and committed followers, which leads them to work hard and contribute to the group’s decision making as long as it is orderly and follows agreed-on rules. Emotional group members are creative, playful, independent, unpredictable, and expressive, which leads them to make rash decisions, resist group norms or decision-making structures, and switch often from relational to task focus.

Cultural Context and Decision Making

Just like neighborhoods, schools, and countries, small groups vary in terms of their degree of similarity and difference. Demographic changes in the United States and increases in technology that can bring different people together make it more likely that we will be interacting in more and more heterogeneous groups (Allen, 2011). Some small groups are more homogenous, meaning the members are more similar, and some are more heterogeneous, meaning the members are more different. Diversity and difference within groups has advantages and disadvantages. In terms of advantages, research finds that, in general, groups that are culturally heterogeneous have better overall performance than more homogenous groups (Haslett & Ruebush, 1999). Additionally, when group members have time to get to know each other and competently communicate across their differences, the advantages of diversity include better decision making due to different perspectives (Thomas, 1999). Unfortunately, groups often operate under time constraints and other pressures that make the possibility for intercultural dialogue and understanding difficult. The main disadvantage of heterogeneous groups is the possibility for conflict, but given that all groups experience conflict, this isn’t solely due to the presence of diversity. We will now look more specifically at how some of the cultural value orientations we’ve learned about already in this book can play out in groups with international diversity and how domestic diversity in terms of demographics can also influence group decision making.

International Diversity in Group Interactions

Cultural value orientations such as individualism/collectivism, power distance, and high-/low-context communication styles all manifest on a continuum of communication behaviors and can influence group decision making. Group members from individualistic cultures are more likely to value task-oriented, efficient, and direct communication. This could manifest in behaviors such as dividing up tasks into individual projects before collaboration begins and then openly debating ideas during discussion and decision making. Additionally, people from cultures that value individualism are more likely to openly express dissent from a decision, essentially expressing their disagreement with the group. Group members from collectivistic cultures are more likely to value relationships over the task at hand. Because of this, they also tend to value conformity and face-saving (often indirect) communication. This could manifest in behaviors such as establishing norms that include periods of socializing to build relationships before task-oriented communication like negotiations begin or norms that limit public disagreement in favor of more indirect communication that doesn’t challenge the face of other group members or the group’s leader. In a group composed of people from a collectivistic culture, each member would likely play harmonizing roles, looking for signs of conflict and resolving them before they become public.

Power distance can also affect group interactions. Some cultures rank higher on power-distance scales, meaning they value hierarchy, make decisions based on status, and believe that people have a set place in society that is fairly unchangeable. Group members from high-power-distance cultures would likely appreciate a strong designated leader who exhibits a more directive leadership style and prefer groups in which members have clear and assigned roles. In a group that is homogenous in terms of having a high-power-distance orientation, members with higher status would be able to openly provide information, and those with lower status may not provide information unless a higher status member explicitly seeks it from them. Low-power-distance cultures do not place as much value and meaning on status and believe that all group members can participate in decision making. Group members from low-power-distance cultures would likely freely speak their mind during a group meeting and prefer a participative leadership style.

How much meaning is conveyed through the context surrounding verbal communication can also affect group communication. Some cultures have a high-context communication style in which much of the meaning in an interaction is conveyed through context such as nonverbal cues and silence. Group members from high-context cultures may avoid saying something directly, assuming that other group members will understand the intended meaning even if the message is indirect. So if someone disagrees with a proposed course of action, he or she may say, “Let’s discuss this tomorrow,” and mean, “I don’t think we should do this.” Such indirect communication is also a face-saving strategy that is common in collectivistic cultures. Other cultures have a low-context communication style that places more importance on the meaning conveyed through words than through context or nonverbal cues. Group members from low-context cultures often say what they mean and mean what they say. For example, if someone doesn’t like an idea, they might say, “I think we should consider more options. This one doesn’t seem like the best we can do.”

In any of these cases, an individual from one culture operating in a group with people of a different cultural orientation could adapt to the expectations of the host culture, especially if that person possesses a high degree of intercultural communication competence (ICC). Additionally, people with high ICC can also adapt to a group member with a different cultural orientation than the host culture. Even though these cultural orientations connect to values that affect our communication in fairly consistent ways, individuals may exhibit different communication behaviors depending on their own individual communication style and the situation.

Domestic Diversity and Group Communication

While it is becoming more likely that we will interact in small groups with international diversity, we are guaranteed to interact in groups that are diverse in terms of the cultural identities found within a single country or the subcultures found within a larger cultural group.

Gender stereotypes sometimes influence the roles that people play within a group. For example, the stereotype that women are more nurturing than men may lead group members (both male and female) to expect that women will play the role of supporters or harmonizers within the group. Since women have primarily performed secretarial work since the 1900s, it may also be expected that women will play the role of recorder. In both of these cases, stereotypical notions of gender place women in roles that are typically not as valued in group communication. The opposite is true for men. In terms of leadership, despite notable exceptions, research shows that men fill an overwhelmingly disproportionate amount of leadership positions. We are socialized to see certain behaviors by men as indicative of leadership abilities, even though they may not be. For example, men are often perceived to contribute more to a group because they tend to speak first when asked a question or to fill a silence and are perceived to talk more about task-related matters than relationally oriented matters. Both of these tendencies create a perception that men are more engaged with the task. Men are also socialized to be more competitive and self-congratulatory, meaning that their communication may be seen as dedicated and their behaviors seen as powerful, and that when their work isn’t noticed they will be more likely to make it known to the group rather than take silent credit. Even though we know that the relational elements of a group are crucial for success, even in high-performance teams, that work is not as valued in our society as the task-related work.

Despite the fact that some communication patterns and behaviors related to our typical (and stereotypical) gender socialization affect how we interact in and form perceptions of others in groups, the differences in group communication that used to be attributed to gender in early group communication research seem to be diminishing. This is likely due to the changing organizational cultures from which much group work emerges, which have now had more than sixty years to adjust to women in the workplace. It is also due to a more nuanced understanding of gender-based research, which doesn’t take a stereotypical view from the beginning as many of the early male researchers did. Now, instead of biological sex being assumed as a factor that creates inherent communication differences, group communication scholars see that men and women both exhibit a range of behaviors that are more or less feminine or masculine. It is these gendered behaviors, and not a person’s gender, that seem to have more of an influence on perceptions of group communication. Interestingly, group interactions are still masculinist in that male and female group members prefer a more masculine communication style for task leaders and that both males and females in this role are more likely to adapt to a more masculine communication style. Conversely, men who take on social-emotional leadership behaviors adopt a more feminine communication style. In short, it seems that although masculine communication traits are more often associated with high status positions in groups, both men and women adapt to this expectation and are evaluated similarly (Haslett & Ruebush, 1999).

Other demographic categories are also influential in group communication and decision making. In general, group members have an easier time communicating when they are more similar than different in terms of race and age. This ease of communication can make group work more efficient, but the homogeneity may sacrifice some creativity. As we learned earlier, groups that are diverse (e.g., they have members of different races and generations) benefit from the diversity of perspectives in terms of the quality of decision making and creativity of output.

In terms of age, for the first time since industrialization began, it is common to have three generations of people (and sometimes four) working side by side in an organizational setting. Although four generations often worked together in early factories, they were segregated based on their age group, and a hierarchy existed with older workers at the top and younger workers at the bottom. Today, however, generations interact regularly, and it is not uncommon for an older person to have a leader or supervisor who is younger than him or her (Allen, 2011). The current generations in the US workplace and consequently in work-based groups include the following:

The Silent Generation. Born between 1925 and 1942, currently in their midsixties to mideighties, this is the smallest generation in the workforce right now, as many have retired or left for other reasons. This generation includes people who were born during the Great Depression or the early part of World War II, many of whom later fought in the Korean War (Clarke, 1970).
The Baby Boomers. Born between 1946 and 1964, currently in their late forties to midsixties, this is the largest generation in the workforce right now. Baby boomers are the most populous generation born in US history, and they are working longer than previous generations, which means they will remain the predominant force in organizations for ten to twenty more years.
Generation X. Born between 1965 and 1981, currently in their early thirties to midforties, this generation was the first to see technology like cell phones and the Internet make its way into classrooms and our daily lives. Compared to previous generations, “Gen-Xers” are more diverse in terms of race, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation and also have a greater appreciation for and understanding of diversity.
Generation Y. Born between 1982 and 2000, “Millennials” as they are also called are currently in their late teens up to about thirty years old. This generation is not as likely to remember a time without technology such as computers and cell phones. They are just starting to enter into the workforce and have been greatly affected by the economic crisis of the late 2000s, experiencing significantly high unemployment rates.

The benefits and challenges that come with diversity of group members are important to consider. Since we will all work in diverse groups, we should be prepared to address potential challenges in order to reap the benefits. Diverse groups may be wise to coordinate social interactions outside of group time in order to find common ground that can help facilitate interaction and increase group cohesion. We should be sensitive but not let sensitivity create fear of “doing something wrong” that then prevents us from having meaningful interactions. Reviewing Chapter 8 “Culture and Communication” will give you useful knowledge to help you navigate both international and domestic diversity and increase your communication competence in small groups and elsewhere.

Key Takeaways

Every problem has common components: an undesirable situation, a desired situation, and obstacles between the undesirable and desirable situations. Every problem also has a set of characteristics that vary among problems, including task difficulty, number of possible solutions, group member interest in the problem, group familiarity with the problem, and the need for solution acceptance.

The group problem-solving process has five steps:

Define the problem by creating a problem statement that summarizes it.
Analyze the problem and create a problem question that can guide solution generation.
Generate possible solutions. Possible solutions should be offered and listed without stopping to evaluate each one.
Evaluate the solutions based on their credibility, completeness, and worth. Groups should also assess the potential effects of the narrowed list of solutions.
Implement and assess the solution. Aside from enacting the solution, groups should determine how they will know the solution is working or not.
Before a group makes a decision, it should brainstorm possible solutions. Group communication scholars suggest that groups (1) do a warm-up brainstorming session; (2) do an actual brainstorming session in which ideas are not evaluated, wild ideas are encouraged, quantity not quality of ideas is the goal, and new combinations of ideas are encouraged; (3) eliminate duplicate ideas; and (4) clarify, organize, and evaluate ideas. In order to guide the idea-generation process and invite equal participation from group members, the group may also elect to use the nominal group technique.
Common decision-making techniques include majority rule, minority rule, and consensus rule. With majority rule, only a majority, usually one-half plus one, must agree before a decision is made. With minority rule, a designated authority or expert has final say over a decision, and the input of group members may or may not be invited or considered. With consensus rule, all members of the group must agree on the same decision.

Several factors influence the decision-making process:

Situational factors include the degree of freedom a group has to make its own decisions, the level of uncertainty facing the group and its task, the size of the group, the group’s access to information, and the origin and urgency of the problem.
Personality influences on decision making include a person’s value orientation (economic, aesthetic, theoretical, political, or religious), and personality traits (dominant/submissive, friendly/unfriendly, and instrumental/emotional).
Cultural influences on decision making include the heterogeneity or homogeneity of the group makeup; cultural values and characteristics such as individualism/collectivism, power distance, and high-/low-context communication styles; and gender and age differences.
Scenario 1. Task difficulty is high, number of possible solutions is high, group interest in problem is high, group familiarity with problem is low, and need for solution acceptance is high.
Scenario 2. Task difficulty is low, number of possible solutions is low, group interest in problem is low, group familiarity with problem is high, and need for solution acceptance is low.
Scenario 1: Academic. A professor asks his or her class to decide whether the final exam should be an in-class or take-home exam.
Scenario 2: Professional. A group of coworkers must decide which person from their department to nominate for a company-wide award.
Scenario 3: Personal. A family needs to decide how to divide the belongings and estate of a deceased family member who did not leave a will.
Scenario 4: Civic. A local branch of a political party needs to decide what five key issues it wants to include in the national party’s platform.
Group communication researchers have found that heterogeneous groups (composed of diverse members) have advantages over homogenous (more similar) groups. Discuss a group situation you have been in where diversity enhanced your and/or the group’s experience.

Adams, K., and Gloria G. Galanes, Communicating in Groups: Applications and Skills , 7th ed. (Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2009), 220–21.

Allen, B. J., Difference Matters: Communicating Social Identity , 2nd ed. (Long Grove, IL: Waveland, 2011), 5.

Bormann, E. G., and Nancy C. Bormann, Effective Small Group Communication , 4th ed. (Santa Rosa, CA: Burgess CA, 1988), 112–13.

Clarke, G., “The Silent Generation Revisited,” Time, June 29, 1970, 46.

Cragan, J. F., and David W. Wright, Communication in Small Group Discussions: An Integrated Approach , 3rd ed. (St. Paul, MN: West Publishing, 1991), 77–78.

de Bono, E., Six Thinking Hats (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1985).

Delbecq, A. L., and Andrew H. Ven de Ven, “A Group Process Model for Problem Identification and Program Planning,” The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 7, no. 4 (1971): 466–92.

Haslett, B. B., and Jenn Ruebush, “What Differences Do Individual Differences in Groups Make?: The Effects of Individuals, Culture, and Group Composition,” in The Handbook of Group Communication Theory and Research , ed. Lawrence R. Frey (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1999), 133.

Napier, R. W., and Matti K. Gershenfeld, Groups: Theory and Experience , 7th ed. (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2004), 292.

Osborn, A. F., Applied Imagination (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1959).

Spranger, E., Types of Men (New York: Steckert, 1928).

Stanton, C., “How to Deliver Group Presentations: The Unified Team Approach,” Six Minutes Speaking and Presentation Skills , November 3, 2009, accessed August 28, 2012, http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/group-presentations-unified-team-approach .

Thomas, D. C., “Cultural Diversity and Work Group Effectiveness: An Experimental Study,” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 30, no. 2 (1999): 242–63.

Communication in the Real World Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Team Building Exercises – Problem Solving and Decision Making

Fun ways to turn problems into opportunities.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Whether there's a complex project looming or your team members just want to get better at dealing with day-to-day issues, your people can achieve much more when they solve problems and make decisions together.

By developing their problem-solving skills, you can improve their ability to get to the bottom of complex situations. And by refining their decision-making skills, you can help them work together maturely, use different thinking styles, and commit collectively to decisions.

In this article, we'll look at three team-building exercises that you can use to improve problem solving and decision making in a new or established team.

Exercises to Build Decision-Making and Problem-Solving Skills

Use the following exercises to help your team members solve problems and make decisions together more effectively.

Exercise 1: Lost at Sea*

In this activity, participants must pretend that they've been shipwrecked and are stranded in a lifeboat. Each team has a box of matches, and a number of items that they've salvaged from the sinking ship. Members must agree which items are most important for their survival.

Download and print our team-building exercises worksheet to help you with this exercise.

This activity builds problem-solving skills as team members analyze information, negotiate and cooperate with one another. It also encourages them to listen and to think about the way they make decisions.

What You'll Need

Up to five people in each group.
A large, private room.
A "lost at sea" ranking chart for each team member. This should comprise six columns. The first simply lists each item (see below). The second is empty so that each team member can rank the items. The third is for group rankings. The fourth is for the "correct" rankings, which are revealed at the end of the exercise. And the fifth and sixth are for the team to enter the difference between their individual and correct score, and the team and correct rankings, respectively.
The items to be ranked are: a mosquito net, a can of petrol, a water container, a shaving mirror, a sextant, emergency rations, a sea chart, a floating seat or cushion, a rope, some chocolate bars, a waterproof sheet, a fishing rod, shark repellent, a bottle of rum, and a VHF radio. These can be listed in the ranking chart or displayed on a whiteboard, or both.
The experience can be made more fun by having some lost-at-sea props in the room.

Flexible, but normally between 25 and 40 minutes.

Instructions

Divide participants into their teams, and provide everyone with a ranking sheet.
Ask team members to take 10 minutes on their own to rank the items in order of importance. They should do this in the second column of their sheet.
Give the teams a further 10 minutes to confer and decide on their group rankings. Once agreed, they should list them in the third column of their sheets.
Ask each group to compare their individual rankings with their collective ones, and consider why any scores differ. Did anyone change their mind about their own rankings during the team discussions? How much were people influenced by the group conversation?
Now read out the "correct" order, collated by the experts at the US Coast Guard (from most to least important): - Shaving mirror. (One of your most powerful tools, because you can use it to signal your location by reflecting the sun.) - Can of petrol. (Again, potentially vital for signaling as petrol floats on water and can be lit by your matches.) - Water container. (Essential for collecting water to restore your lost fluids.) -Emergency rations. (Valuable for basic food intake.) - Plastic sheet. (Could be used for shelter, or to collect rainwater.) -Chocolate bars. (A handy food supply.) - Fishing rod. (Potentially useful, but there is no guarantee that you're able to catch fish. Could also feasibly double as a tent pole.) - Rope. (Handy for tying equipment together, but not necessarily vital for survival.) - Floating seat or cushion. (Useful as a life preserver.) - Shark repellent. (Potentially important when in the water.) - Bottle of rum. (Could be useful as an antiseptic for treating injuries, but will only dehydrate you if you drink it.) - Radio. (Chances are that you're out of range of any signal, anyway.) - Sea chart. (Worthless without navigational equipment.) - Mosquito net. (Assuming that you've been shipwrecked in the Atlantic, where there are no mosquitoes, this is pretty much useless.) - Sextant. (Impractical without relevant tables or a chronometer.)

Advice for the Facilitator

The ideal scenario is for teams to arrive at a consensus decision where everyone's opinion is heard. However, that doesn't always happen naturally: assertive people tend to get the most attention. Less forthright team members can often feel intimidated and don't always speak up, particularly when their ideas are different from the popular view. Where discussions are one-sided, draw quieter people in so that everyone is involved, but explain why you're doing this, so that people learn from it.

You can use the Stepladder Technique when team discussion is unbalanced. Here, ask each team member to think about the problem individually and, one at a time, introduce new ideas to an appointed group leader – without knowing what ideas have already been discussed. After the first two people present their ideas, they discuss them together. Then the leader adds a third person, who presents his or her ideas before hearing the previous input. This cycle of presentation and discussion continues until the whole team has had a chance to voice their opinions.

After everyone has finished the exercise, invite your teams to evaluate the process to draw out their experiences. For example, ask them what the main differences between individual, team and official rankings were, and why. This will provoke discussion about how teams arrive at decisions, which will make people think about the skills they must use in future team scenarios, such as listening , negotiating and decision-making skills, as well as creativity skills for thinking "outside the box."

A common issue that arises in team decision making is groupthink . This can happen when a group places a desire for mutual harmony above a desire to reach the right decision, which prevents people from fully exploring alternative solutions.

If there are frequent unanimous decisions in any of your exercises, groupthink may be an issue. Suggest that teams investigate new ways to encourage members to discuss their views, or to share them anonymously.

Exercise 2: The Great Egg Drop*

In this classic (though sometimes messy!) game, teams must work together to build a container to protect an egg, which is dropped from a height. Before the egg drop, groups must deliver presentations on their solutions, how they arrived at them, and why they believe they will succeed.

This fun game develops problem-solving and decision-making skills. Team members have to choose the best course of action through negotiation and creative thinking.

Ideally at least six people in each team.
Raw eggs – one for each group, plus some reserves in case of accidents!
Materials for creating the packaging, such as cardboard, tape, elastic bands, plastic bottles, plastic bags, straws, and scissors.
Aprons to protect clothes, paper towels for cleaning up, and paper table cloths, if necessary.
Somewhere – ideally outside – that you can drop the eggs from. (If there is nowhere appropriate, you could use a step ladder or equivalent.)
Around 15 to 30 minutes to create the packages.
Approximately 15 minutes to prepare a one-minute presentation.
Enough time for the presentations and feedback (this will depend on the number of teams).
Time to demonstrate the egg "flight."
Put people into teams, and ask each to build a package that can protect an egg dropped from a specified height (say, two-and-a-half meters) with the provided materials.
Each team must agree on a nominated speaker, or speakers, for their presentation.
Once all teams have presented, they must drop their eggs, assess whether the eggs have survived intact, and discuss what they have learned.

When teams are making their decisions, the more good options they consider, the more effective their final decision is likely to be. Encourage your groups to look at the situation from different angles, so that they make the best decision possible. If people are struggling, get them to brainstorm – this is probably the most popular method of generating ideas within a team.

Ask the teams to explore how they arrived at their decisions, to get them thinking about how to improve this process in the future. You can ask them questions such as:

Did the groups take a vote, or were members swayed by one dominant individual?
How did the teams decide to divide up responsibilities? Was it based on people's expertise or experience?
Did everyone do the job they volunteered for?
Was there a person who assumed the role of "leader"?
How did team members create and deliver the presentation, and was this an individual or group effort?

Exercise 3: Create Your Own*

In this exercise, teams must create their own, brand new, problem-solving activity.

This game encourages participants to think about the problem-solving process. It builds skills such as creativity, negotiation and decision making, as well as communication and time management. After the activity, teams should be better equipped to work together, and to think on their feet.

Ideally four or five people in each team.
Paper, pens and flip charts.

Around one hour.

As the participants arrive, you announce that, rather than spending an hour on a problem-solving team-building activity, they must design an original one of their own.
Divide participants into teams and tell them that they have to create a new problem-solving team-building activity that will work well in their organization. The activity must not be one that they have already participated in or heard of.
After an hour, each team must present their new activity to everyone else, and outline its key benefits.

There are four basic steps in problem solving : defining the problem, generating solutions, evaluating and selecting solutions, and implementing solutions. Help your team to think creatively at each stage by getting them to consider a wide range of options. If ideas run dry, introduce an alternative brainstorming technique, such as brainwriting . This allows your people to develop one others' ideas, while everyone has an equal chance to contribute.

After the presentations, encourage teams to discuss the different decision-making processes they followed. You might ask them how they communicated and managed their time . Another question could be about how they kept their discussion focused. And to round up, you might ask them whether they would have changed their approach after hearing the other teams' presentations.

Successful decision making and problem solving are at the heart of all effective teams. While teams are ultimately led by their managers, the most effective ones foster these skills at all levels.

The exercises in this article show how you can encourage teams to develop their creative thinking, leadership , and communication skills , while building group cooperation and consensus.

* Original source unknown. Please let us know if you know the original source.

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Lead an Effective Problem-Solving Meeting

There’s nothing worse than getting a group of smart people together to solve a problem and having the discussion devolve into chaos. This usually happens when people are at different stages of the problem-solving process. To get everyone on the same page, take a methodical approach and conquer one step at a time. First, ask: Does the team genuinely understand the problem it’s trying to solve? If you can’t clearly articulate it, draft a succinct problem statement. If the group understands the problem, but hasn’t yet produced a set of potential solutions, concentrate on generating as many quality options as possible. If you already have solutions, assess their strengths and weaknesses, and develop a list of pros and cons. Then you can use your time together to do the often difficult work of choosing a solution — and make sure that the final decision is in writing. The last stage, once you’ve selected the solution, is to develop an implementation plan. While conquering just one problem-solving stage at a time may feel a bit underwhelming at first, this methodical approach will often help the group leapfrog ahead, sometimes to the end of the problem-solving cycle.

Source: This tip is adapted from “Why Groups Struggle to Solve Problems Together,” by Al Pittampalli

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Unleashing Creativity: 23 Group Activities Ideas For Problem Solving

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The use of group activities to include everyone in problem-solving is growing in popularity. Individuals can get together to work on an issue that impacts their team, company, or even community by participating in a group activity.

Group activities may be a terrific approach to improve communication, leadership, and creative abilities in addition to teaching people how to cooperate towards a shared objective. This blog article aims to offer suggestions for group activities that might improve problem-solving skills and a sense of cohesion among group members.

In this article, we will discuss 23 group activities ideas for problem-solving, including virtual team-building problem-solving activities.

Read More: 15 Group Activities For Social Work Students That Are Fun And Engaging!

Why Problem-solving Activities Are Good For A Group?

Team-building activities that involve problem-solving are quite effective. They not only enhance communication, but they also foster creativity and raise output.

People learn to trust one another and depend on each other’s abilities when they cooperate to solve challenges.

As a result, people are better able to grasp one another’s skills and how to collaborate. Additionally, problem-solving exercises inspire individuals to think creatively and beyond the box.

16 In-Person Group Activities Ideas For Problem-Solving

Word Association: Word association is a game in which groups must collaborate to come up with a list of words that are connected in a given amount of time.
Picture Association: Teams must cooperate in order to connect a collection of images to create a narrative.
Mystery Case: By assembling information and drawing conclusions, teams must work together to solve a mystery case.
The marshmallow Tower Challenge: Requires groups to construct the tallest tower using just marshmallows and toothpicks.
Wild Goose Chase: To finish first, teams must race through a variety of chores, locate buildings, and solve riddles in the great outdoors.
Trivia Challenge: Teams must cooperate to respond to as many trivia questions as they can in the allotted amount of time.
The Price is Right: Teams must collaborate to estimate the cost of various things.
The Blindfolded Obstacle Course: Teams must lead a blindfolded participant through an obstacle course.
The Tower of Hanoi: Teams must cooperate in order to tackle the Tower of Hanoi Puzzle.
The Sponge Race: Teams must move a sponge from one bucket to another using just their bodies.
The Balloon Race: The balloon race requires teams to race while using just their bodies to propel a balloon from one end of the room to the other.
Domino Effect Challenge: Teams are given a set of dominoes and instructed to start a chain reaction that will eventually fall every domino.
Reverse Pyramid: Teams are required to construct a pyramid construction, but there is a catch: they must do so backward, beginning at the top and moving downward.
Crime Investigators : Teams are assigned a crime to investigate, and they must cooperate to obtain information and identify the offender.
Egg Drop: Teams are given materials to create an apparatus that will keep an egg from cracking when dropped from a specific height in the Egg Drop competition. The goal is to determine which team’s invention is the most successful.
Cardboard Boat Building Challenge: During this exercise, groups are entrusted with constructing a cardboard boat. The goal is to see which team’s boat can hold the most weight without sinking.

7 Virtual Team Building Problem-Solving Activities

If your team is working remotely or is compelled to do so, virtual group activities for problem-solving could prove to be a tremendous boon for the communion and engagement of the team members, all while they work from the comfort of their own homes.

Virtual Trivia: Teams can participate in a virtual trivia tournament and respond to inquiries about a variety of topics. Preparation : You’ll need a platform like Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams to host the game in order to prepare for a virtual trivia contest. You’ll also require a database of trivia questions and answers or a website that offers such information. Virtual trivia is frequently played on websites like Kahoot, Quizlet, and TriviaMaker.
Virtual Scavenger Hunt: Teams can take part in a virtual scavenger hunt, deciphering clues to locate the next one. Preparation : To hold a virtual scavenger hunt, you’ll need a platform, such as a video conferencing application or a platform for virtual events. You’ll also need to make a list of things or assignments that participants must locate or do. Using a website like GooseChase, Scavify, or Adventure Hunt, you may design a scavenger hunt.
Virtual Murder Mystery: Teams can participate in a virtual murder mystery game where they must collect evidence and solve the case. Preparation : You’ll need a platform to host the game, such as Zoom or Google Meet, in order to host a virtual murder mystery. Additionally, you’ll want a murder mystery script or kit that contains the tale, the characters, and the clues. Virtual murder mystery kits are sold by a variety of businesses, including Murder Mystery Games , Virtual Murder Mystery, and Mystery Escape Rooms.
Virtual Escape Room: Teams can cooperate to solve riddles and make their way out of a virtual escape room using this game. Preparation : You’ll need a platform to host the game, such as Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams, in order to host a virtual escape room. A platform that offers a virtual escape room experience, such as Puzzlomatic, Escapologic, or Unlock, is also required.
Virtual Jeopardy: Teams can take part in a virtual Jeopardy tournament by responding to questions about a variety of topics. Preparation: You’ll need a platform to host the game, such as Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams, in order to host a virtual Jeopardy game. Using a website like Kahoot, Quizlet, or TriviaMaker, you may make your own Jeopardy game.
Virtual Minefield: Without verbal contact, teams must follow directions to move through a virtual minefield. Preparation: You’ll need a platform to host the game, such as Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams, in order to host a virtual minefield. Using a website like Kahoot, Quizlet, or TriviaMaker, you may design your own digital minefield.
Virtual Jigsaw Puzzle: To finish a virtual jigsaw puzzle as rapidly as feasible, teams must cooperate. Preparation: A platform to host the game, such as Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams, is required in order to host a virtual jigsaw puzzle. A virtual jigsaw puzzles platform like Jigsaw Planet, Jigsaw Explorer, or JigZone is also required.

Things To Consider When Making Problem-Solving Activities For A Team

When creating problem-solving activities for a team, it’s essential to consider the following:

Goals : What is the goal of the activity? Is it to improve communication, boost creativity, or increase productivity?
Team Size : How many people will be participating in the activity? This will impact the type of activity that can be done.
Time : How much time do you have for the activity? Some activities may require more time than others.
Equipment : What equipment do you have available for the activity? Some activities may require special equipment.
Budget : What is your budget for the activity? Some activities may require a larger budget than others.
Virtual Platform : What virtual platform will you use for the activity? Some activities may require specific virtual platforms.

Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]

What are some benefits of problem-solving activities for a group.

Answer: Problem-solving activities improve communication, boost creativity, increase productivity, and strengthen bonds between team members.

Can Problem-solving Activities Be Done Virtually?

Answer: Yes, problem-solving activities can be done virtually. Many virtual team-building problem-solving activities exist, such as virtual trivia, virtual scavenger hunts, and virtual escape rooms.

How Do Problem-Solving Activities Help Improve Team Communication?

Answer: Problem-solving activities encourage team members to work together, listen to each other’s ideas, and express their thoughts and opinions. This leads to improved communication and better collaboration among team members.

What Are Some Advantages Of Virtual Team-building Problem-Solving Activities?

Answer: Virtual team-building problem-solving activities offer the convenience of being able to participate from anywhere with an internet connection, and they allow teams to participate in activities that may not be possible in person, such as virtual escape rooms or virtual murder mysteries.

How Do I Choose The Right Problem-Solving Activity For My Team?

Answer: Consider the goals of the activity, team size, available time, necessary equipment, budget, and virtual platform when choosing a problem-solving activity for your team. It’s also a good idea to take into account the interests and preferences of your team members.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, problem-solving activities are an excellent way to build strong, effective teams. They promote creativity, communication, and collaboration, and can be done both in-person and virtually.

When creating problem-solving activities for a team, it’s essential to consider the goals, team size, time, equipment, budget, and virtual platform.

With these 20 group activities ideas for problem-solving, virtual team building problem-solving activities , and things to consider, you’re well on your way to creating engaging and productive problem-solving activities for your team.

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Group Discussion Topics: 100+ Interesting Ideas

A group discussion is a team or group of several individuals who sit together to discuss a topic or exchange viewpoints regarding a particular topic. Professors usually conduct GDs as part of their speaking assignments. The topic is either provided by a moderator or by the professors themselves. On the contrary, in some cases, moderators ask the students to develop their group discussion topics independently. In such a case, you need to decide the most appropriate topic that the entire group can work on. Thus the group should choose a topic that can enhance the entire group’s viewpoints, knowledge, and experiences.

This blog post will share a list of 100+ enticing group discussion topics. However, before jumping to the topic lists, we will share some expert tips to help you choose the topic. These will help you choose an ideal topic to discuss in a group. So, continue reading this blog post to boost your confidence, communication, analytical, and logical skills.

Table of Contents

What is a Group Discussion?

Group discussion is a learning method where individuals and students share their viewpoints, experiences, opinions, knowledge, etc. It is generally a screening test that a college admissions panel conducts to analyze the general abilities of the candidates.

In most cases, admission panels for MBA admissions use this technique to screen various candidates and choose the most qualified of them. Group discussion is an influential group activity that helps students boosts their critical thinking, problem-solving, analytical, confidence, and, most importantly, knowledge. As a result, many businesses and educational institutions view GD as one of the most efficient techniques for assessing and short-listing suitable applicants.

If want higher grades pay someone to write your paper.

How to Select a Good Topic?

Group discussions tend to be more specific and formal, and a top-notch group discussion can significantly impact your academic grades. In this context, students must choose a topic that is appropriate and in which all participants are enthusiastic about participating.

As a group activity, it is critical that whatever topic you select be suitable for all the members and be able to engage them equally. You should choose a topic that all of your teammates would enjoy. The topic should stimulate their ideas and opinions.
The subject matter for the group discussion should allow the participants to draw on prior knowledge they have acquired. It will guarantee that all members are on the same page and working toward the same goal.
After asking a question, give your team members a few minutes to think about the question. It will give them time to articulate their thoughts and suggestions and provide relevant answers.
Choose a group discussion topic based on the past few events. It will help you spice up the discussion, as the event must have happened in the recent past. It ensures equal engagement of all the members throughout the discussion.
Group discussions indeed promote in-dependency among all participants. Nevertheless, one should remember that this is also a group activity. Thus, along with promoting individualism, you should also help your teammates develop solutions to the issue.

Top 100 +Group Discussion Topics

Suitable discussion topics are essential for delivering an engaging group discussion. Below we are sharing some exciting and relevant group discussion topics in various subjects, including science, politics, and sports. Depending on your needs, you’re free to choose any subject per your wish and deliver a quality paper. So, have a look at the following lists and pick the most appropriate for your GD:

Group Discussion Topics in Business and Economics

Business and economics are two of the most popular adult group discussion topics that can elicit lively participation from all participants. Have a look at these topics to discuss in a group:

Economic discounts: are they beneficiary in the long run?
Global Hunger Index 2022
Circular economy as the key to sustainable development
The fourth industrial revolution
The global economic impact of COVID-19
Cryptocurrency is a worthwhile investment option
High fuel prices in the US
Merits and demerits of a cashless economy
Fair Digital Finance
Artificial intelligence for everyone
IPO Part 2: Initial Public Offerings Are Back
The US trade policy
The US-China trade war and talks
Modern business and its surroundings
Work from home after the COVID-19 breakdown
Controversy as a marketing strategy
Can nonperforming banks resolve India’s NPA problems?
The impact of the cashless economy: the challenges and the opportunities
Is democracy a hindrance to economic development?
Privatization of public sectors

Read Also – A List of 100+ Research Topics in Education

Group Discussion Topics for MBA Students

Group discussions are one of the crucial elements of the admission of MBA students. Thus, to clear your entrance, it is highly beneficial for students to select a topic that can help them attain exceptional scores in their entrances. Examine the following topics and select the one that best meets your needs.

The future of artificial intelligence
Emerging challenges in the Indian banking system
Green economy: incremental or transformational change?
The prospects of work-life balance
Recession in the US by 2022
Corruption is a necessary evil to earn success
Work-life balance and working from home
Globalization: has it transformed the globe into a borderless world?
What will happen if bitcoin crashes to zero?
Promoting gender equality in the workplace: a global perspective

Interesting Topics for Group Discussions on Sports

As sports involvement is increasing worldwide, it can be a fascinating topic for your group discussion. Here are some excellent group discussion topics for students who want to choose sports-related topics for their group discussions:

Legalization and regulation of sports betting
Steroids in sports
The psychology of sports
The politics of sports facilities
Understanding cricket as an overrated game
Test matches: should the government abolish these?
Should the government legalize performance-enhancing drugs?
The economics of the Olympics
Test matches should be abolished.
Gender equality in sports
MMA vs. Boxing
Match fixing: the biggest threat to sports
The economic impact of hosting the Olympic games
The tragic international sports marketing

Read Also – Top 100 Position Paper Topics

Interesting Topics for Group Discussion on Case Studies

Just like group discussions, case studies are conducted to analyze an individual’s viewpoint, experience, performance, and behavior at a certain event. Here you will find a list of a few case studies you can use as your group discussion topic. So, if you’re interested in case studies, here are a few case study group discussion topics for you:

Integrity as a part of human life
The case of Albert Ayala vs. the State of Texas
Recycling for Profits: How to Profit from Recycling
The decline in productivity in the Japanese workforce
The coal crisis in The World
The minimum wage legislation in the United States
The Chevron case
Ban on a Cryptocurrency
The China and Taiwan conflicts
Plastic bans in the United States
The world after the post-cold war
Market capitalization: pre- and post-COVID-19 fractal contagion effects
Nakamura Lacquer Company
The global consequences of lockdown on the world
India’s soft power: India’s greatest asset in this century
The US-China trade war
The tragic fate of women in Afghanistan
The economic consequences of the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Indian illiteracy and unemployment

Read Also – 200+ Exciting Psychology Research Topic Ideas

Social Issues-Related Group Discussion Topics

Group discussion topics on social issues emphasize social issues that affect society. These issues include a variety of topics, including ethics, gender inequality, the environment, employment, education, politics, and beyond. Below are the latest social issue topics for group discussion:

The long history of feminism
Nepotism in the workplace and its adverse impacts on professionalism
Pseudo-feminism vs. feminism
Marital rape
Analyzing behavioral differences between Gen Z and Millennial
Youth and politics
Gender inequalities in the workplace
The safe school policy for LGTBQ students
The rampant use of substances and drugs among adults
The gay marriage generation: valuing everyone under the law
The law on abortion in the United States
Is women’s empowerment an effective solution to ending violence against women?
Communalism and its effect on social cohesion
Child beauty pageants: the killing of innocence
Work from home vs. work from the office
Lessons we learned as a society from the COVID-19 outbreak
A critical analysis of legal organ transplant scams across the world
Crime and unemployment: what is the relationship between the two?
Road rage is a serious issue in modern society.
Borderless world: a myth or reality?
The economic crisis in Sri Lanka: what led to bankruptcy?

Final Words

There’s a saying that rings true for all of us that there is a significant difference between an argument and a discussion. . Remember that this is a group discussion, not an argument. It will be the group discussion that will help you score high in front of your admission panels. Thus, instead of disparaging one another, try to discuss the issues. A structured schedule will ensure that all members are focused and punctual in their responsibilities to achieve their goals.

These were some of the trending group discussion topics of 2022. The above-given topics should benefit moderators and participants for their upcoming group discussion session. Practicing articulating your thoughts in a disciplined and creative manner will help you to stand out of the curve. Hopefully, this blog has helped you get a better insight into group discussion topics.

By Alex Brown

I'm an ambitious, seasoned, and versatile author. I am experienced in proposing, outlining, and writing engaging assignments. Developing contagious academic work is always my top priority. I have a keen eye for detail and diligence in producing exceptional academic writing work. I work hard daily to help students with their assignments and projects. Experimenting with creative writing styles while maintaining a solid and informative voice is what I enjoy the most.

35 problem-solving techniques and methods for solving complex problems

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How do you identify problems?

How do you identify the right solution.

Tips for more effective problem-solving

Complete problem-solving methods

Problem-solving techniques to identify and analyze problems
Problem-solving techniques for developing solutions

Problem-solving warm-up activities

Closing activities for a problem-solving process.

Before you can move towards finding the right solution for a given problem, you first need to identify and define the problem you wish to solve.

Here, you want to clearly articulate what the problem is and allow your group to do the same. Remember that everyone in a group is likely to have differing perspectives and alignment is necessary in order to help the group move forward.

Identifying a problem accurately also requires that all members of a group are able to contribute their views in an open and safe manner. It can be scary for people to stand up and contribute, especially if the problems or challenges are emotive or personal in nature. Be sure to try and create a psychologically safe space for these kinds of discussions.

Remember that problem analysis and further discussion are also important. Not taking the time to fully analyze and discuss a challenge can result in the development of solutions that are not fit for purpose or do not address the underlying issue.

Successfully identifying and then analyzing a problem means facilitating a group through activities designed to help them clearly and honestly articulate their thoughts and produce usable insight.

With this data, you might then produce a problem statement that clearly describes the problem you wish to be addressed and also state the goal of any process you undertake to tackle this issue.

Finding solutions is the end goal of any process. Complex organizational challenges can only be solved with an appropriate solution but discovering them requires using the right problem-solving tool.

After you’ve explored a problem and discussed ideas, you need to help a team discuss and choose the right solution. Consensus tools and methods such as those below help a group explore possible solutions before then voting for the best. They’re a great way to tap into the collective intelligence of the group for great results!

Remember that the process is often iterative. Great problem solvers often roadtest a viable solution in a measured way to see what works too. While you might not get the right solution on your first try, the methods below help teams land on the most likely to succeed solution while also holding space for improvement.

Every effective problem solving process begins with an agenda . A well-structured workshop is one of the best methods for successfully guiding a group from exploring a problem to implementing a solution.

In SessionLab, it’s easy to go from an idea to a complete agenda . Start by dragging and dropping your core problem solving activities into place . Add timings, breaks and necessary materials before sharing your agenda with your colleagues.

The resulting agenda will be your guide to an effective and productive problem solving session that will also help you stay organized on the day!

Tips for more effective problem solving

Problem-solving activities are only one part of the puzzle. While a great method can help unlock your team’s ability to solve problems, without a thoughtful approach and strong facilitation the solutions may not be fit for purpose.

Let’s take a look at some problem-solving tips you can apply to any process to help it be a success!

Clearly define the problem

Jumping straight to solutions can be tempting, though without first clearly articulating a problem, the solution might not be the right one. Many of the problem-solving activities below include sections where the problem is explored and clearly defined before moving on.

This is a vital part of the problem-solving process and taking the time to fully define an issue can save time and effort later. A clear definition helps identify irrelevant information and it also ensures that your team sets off on the right track.

Don’t jump to conclusions

It’s easy for groups to exhibit cognitive bias or have preconceived ideas about both problems and potential solutions. Be sure to back up any problem statements or potential solutions with facts, research, and adequate forethought.

The best techniques ask participants to be methodical and challenge preconceived notions. Make sure you give the group enough time and space to collect relevant information and consider the problem in a new way. By approaching the process with a clear, rational mindset, you’ll often find that better solutions are more forthcoming.

Try different approaches

Problems come in all shapes and sizes and so too should the methods you use to solve them. If you find that one approach isn’t yielding results and your team isn’t finding different solutions, try mixing it up. You’ll be surprised at how using a new creative activity can unblock your team and generate great solutions.

Don’t take it personally

Depending on the nature of your team or organizational problems, it’s easy for conversations to get heated. While it’s good for participants to be engaged in the discussions, ensure that emotions don’t run too high and that blame isn’t thrown around while finding solutions.

You’re all in it together, and even if your team or area is seeing problems, that isn’t necessarily a disparagement of you personally. Using facilitation skills to manage group dynamics is one effective method of helping conversations be more constructive.

Get the right people in the room

Your problem-solving method is often only as effective as the group using it. Getting the right people on the job and managing the number of people present is important too!

If the group is too small, you may not get enough different perspectives to effectively solve a problem. If the group is too large, you can go round and round during the ideation stages.

Creating the right group makeup is also important in ensuring you have the necessary expertise and skillset to both identify and follow up on potential solutions. Carefully consider who to include at each stage to help ensure your problem-solving method is followed and positioned for success.

Document everything

The best solutions can take refinement, iteration, and reflection to come out. Get into a habit of documenting your process in order to keep all the learnings from the session and to allow ideas to mature and develop. Many of the methods below involve the creation of documents or shared resources. Be sure to keep and share these so everyone can benefit from the work done!

Bring a facilitator

Facilitation is all about making group processes easier. With a subject as potentially emotive and important as problem-solving, having an impartial third party in the form of a facilitator can make all the difference in finding great solutions and keeping the process moving. Consider bringing a facilitator to your problem-solving session to get better results and generate meaningful solutions!

Develop your problem-solving skills

It takes time and practice to be an effective problem solver. While some roles or participants might more naturally gravitate towards problem-solving, it can take development and planning to help everyone create better solutions.

You might develop a training program, run a problem-solving workshop or simply ask your team to practice using the techniques below. Check out our post on problem-solving skills to see how you and your group can develop the right mental process and be more resilient to issues too!

Design a great agenda

Workshops are a great format for solving problems. With the right approach, you can focus a group and help them find the solutions to their own problems. But designing a process can be time-consuming and finding the right activities can be difficult.

Check out our workshop planning guide to level-up your agenda design and start running more effective workshops. Need inspiration? Check out templates designed by expert facilitators to help you kickstart your process!

In this section, we’ll look at in-depth problem-solving methods that provide a complete end-to-end process for developing effective solutions. These will help guide your team from the discovery and definition of a problem through to delivering the right solution.

If you’re looking for an all-encompassing method or problem-solving model, these processes are a great place to start. They’ll ask your team to challenge preconceived ideas and adopt a mindset for solving problems more effectively.

Six Thinking Hats
Lightning Decision Jam
Problem Definition Process
Discovery & Action Dialogue

Design Sprint 2.0

Open Space Technology

1. Six Thinking Hats

Individual approaches to solving a problem can be very different based on what team or role an individual holds. It can be easy for existing biases or perspectives to find their way into the mix, or for internal politics to direct a conversation.

Six Thinking Hats is a classic method for identifying the problems that need to be solved and enables your team to consider them from different angles, whether that is by focusing on facts and data, creative solutions, or by considering why a particular solution might not work.

Like all problem-solving frameworks, Six Thinking Hats is effective at helping teams remove roadblocks from a conversation or discussion and come to terms with all the aspects necessary to solve complex problems.

2. Lightning Decision Jam

Featured courtesy of Jonathan Courtney of AJ&Smart Berlin, Lightning Decision Jam is one of those strategies that should be in every facilitation toolbox. Exploring problems and finding solutions is often creative in nature, though as with any creative process, there is the potential to lose focus and get lost.

Unstructured discussions might get you there in the end, but it’s much more effective to use a method that creates a clear process and team focus.

In Lightning Decision Jam, participants are invited to begin by writing challenges, concerns, or mistakes on post-its without discussing them before then being invited by the moderator to present them to the group.

From there, the team vote on which problems to solve and are guided through steps that will allow them to reframe those problems, create solutions and then decide what to execute on.

By deciding the problems that need to be solved as a team before moving on, this group process is great for ensuring the whole team is aligned and can take ownership over the next stages.

Lightning Decision Jam (LDJ) #action #decision making #problem solving #issue analysis #innovation #design #remote-friendly The problem with anything that requires creative thinking is that it’s easy to get lost—lose focus and fall into the trap of having useless, open-ended, unstructured discussions. Here’s the most effective solution I’ve found: Replace all open, unstructured discussion with a clear process. What to use this exercise for: Anything which requires a group of people to make decisions, solve problems or discuss challenges. It’s always good to frame an LDJ session with a broad topic, here are some examples: The conversion flow of our checkout Our internal design process How we organise events Keeping up with our competition Improving sales flow

3. Problem Definition Process

While problems can be complex, the problem-solving methods you use to identify and solve those problems can often be simple in design.

By taking the time to truly identify and define a problem before asking the group to reframe the challenge as an opportunity, this method is a great way to enable change.

Begin by identifying a focus question and exploring the ways in which it manifests before splitting into five teams who will each consider the problem using a different method: escape, reversal, exaggeration, distortion or wishful. Teams develop a problem objective and create ideas in line with their method before then feeding them back to the group.

This method is great for enabling in-depth discussions while also creating space for finding creative solutions too!

Problem Definition #problem solving #idea generation #creativity #online #remote-friendly A problem solving technique to define a problem, challenge or opportunity and to generate ideas.

4. The 5 Whys

Sometimes, a group needs to go further with their strategies and analyze the root cause at the heart of organizational issues. An RCA or root cause analysis is the process of identifying what is at the heart of business problems or recurring challenges.

The 5 Whys is a simple and effective method of helping a group go find the root cause of any problem or challenge and conduct analysis that will deliver results.

By beginning with the creation of a problem statement and going through five stages to refine it, The 5 Whys provides everything you need to truly discover the cause of an issue.

The 5 Whys #hyperisland #innovation This simple and powerful method is useful for getting to the core of a problem or challenge. As the title suggests, the group defines a problems, then asks the question “why” five times, often using the resulting explanation as a starting point for creative problem solving.

5. World Cafe

World Cafe is a simple but powerful facilitation technique to help bigger groups to focus their energy and attention on solving complex problems.

World Cafe enables this approach by creating a relaxed atmosphere where participants are able to self-organize and explore topics relevant and important to them which are themed around a central problem-solving purpose. Create the right atmosphere by modeling your space after a cafe and after guiding the group through the method, let them take the lead!

Making problem-solving a part of your organization’s culture in the long term can be a difficult undertaking. More approachable formats like World Cafe can be especially effective in bringing people unfamiliar with workshops into the fold.

World Cafe #hyperisland #innovation #issue analysis World Café is a simple yet powerful method, originated by Juanita Brown, for enabling meaningful conversations driven completely by participants and the topics that are relevant and important to them. Facilitators create a cafe-style space and provide simple guidelines. Participants then self-organize and explore a set of relevant topics or questions for conversation.

6. Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD)

One of the best approaches is to create a safe space for a group to share and discover practices and behaviors that can help them find their own solutions.

With DAD, you can help a group choose which problems they wish to solve and which approaches they will take to do so. It’s great at helping remove resistance to change and can help get buy-in at every level too!

This process of enabling frontline ownership is great in ensuring follow-through and is one of the methods you will want in your toolbox as a facilitator.

Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD) #idea generation #liberating structures #action #issue analysis #remote-friendly DADs make it easy for a group or community to discover practices and behaviors that enable some individuals (without access to special resources and facing the same constraints) to find better solutions than their peers to common problems. These are called positive deviant (PD) behaviors and practices. DADs make it possible for people in the group, unit, or community to discover by themselves these PD practices. DADs also create favorable conditions for stimulating participants’ creativity in spaces where they can feel safe to invent new and more effective practices. Resistance to change evaporates as participants are unleashed to choose freely which practices they will adopt or try and which problems they will tackle. DADs make it possible to achieve frontline ownership of solutions.

7. Design Sprint 2.0

Want to see how a team can solve big problems and move forward with prototyping and testing solutions in a few days? The Design Sprint 2.0 template from Jake Knapp, author of Sprint, is a complete agenda for a with proven results.

Developing the right agenda can involve difficult but necessary planning. Ensuring all the correct steps are followed can also be stressful or time-consuming depending on your level of experience.

Use this complete 4-day workshop template if you are finding there is no obvious solution to your challenge and want to focus your team around a specific problem that might require a shortcut to launching a minimum viable product or waiting for the organization-wide implementation of a solution.

8. Open space technology

Open space technology- developed by Harrison Owen – creates a space where large groups are invited to take ownership of their problem solving and lead individual sessions. Open space technology is a great format when you have a great deal of expertise and insight in the room and want to allow for different takes and approaches on a particular theme or problem you need to be solved.

Start by bringing your participants together to align around a central theme and focus their efforts. Explain the ground rules to help guide the problem-solving process and then invite members to identify any issue connecting to the central theme that they are interested in and are prepared to take responsibility for.

Once participants have decided on their approach to the core theme, they write their issue on a piece of paper, announce it to the group, pick a session time and place, and post the paper on the wall. As the wall fills up with sessions, the group is then invited to join the sessions that interest them the most and which they can contribute to, then you’re ready to begin!

Everyone joins the problem-solving group they’ve signed up to, record the discussion and if appropriate, findings can then be shared with the rest of the group afterward.

Open Space Technology #action plan #idea generation #problem solving #issue analysis #large group #online #remote-friendly Open Space is a methodology for large groups to create their agenda discerning important topics for discussion, suitable for conferences, community gatherings and whole system facilitation

Techniques to identify and analyze problems

Using a problem-solving method to help a team identify and analyze a problem can be a quick and effective addition to any workshop or meeting.

While further actions are always necessary, you can generate momentum and alignment easily, and these activities are a great place to get started.

We’ve put together this list of techniques to help you and your team with problem identification, analysis, and discussion that sets the foundation for developing effective solutions.

Let’s take a look!

The Creativity Dice
Fishbone Analysis
Problem Tree
SWOT Analysis
Agreement-Certainty Matrix
The Journalistic Six
LEGO Challenge
What, So What, Now What?
Journalists

Individual and group perspectives are incredibly important, but what happens if people are set in their minds and need a change of perspective in order to approach a problem more effectively?

Flip It is a method we love because it is both simple to understand and run, and allows groups to understand how their perspectives and biases are formed.

Participants in Flip It are first invited to consider concerns, issues, or problems from a perspective of fear and write them on a flip chart. Then, the group is asked to consider those same issues from a perspective of hope and flip their understanding.

No problem and solution is free from existing bias and by changing perspectives with Flip It, you can then develop a problem solving model quickly and effectively.

Flip It! #gamestorming #problem solving #action Often, a change in a problem or situation comes simply from a change in our perspectives. Flip It! is a quick game designed to show players that perspectives are made, not born.

10. The Creativity Dice

One of the most useful problem solving skills you can teach your team is of approaching challenges with creativity, flexibility, and openness. Games like The Creativity Dice allow teams to overcome the potential hurdle of too much linear thinking and approach the process with a sense of fun and speed.

In The Creativity Dice, participants are organized around a topic and roll a dice to determine what they will work on for a period of 3 minutes at a time. They might roll a 3 and work on investigating factual information on the chosen topic. They might roll a 1 and work on identifying the specific goals, standards, or criteria for the session.

Encouraging rapid work and iteration while asking participants to be flexible are great skills to cultivate. Having a stage for idea incubation in this game is also important. Moments of pause can help ensure the ideas that are put forward are the most suitable.

The Creativity Dice #creativity #problem solving #thiagi #issue analysis Too much linear thinking is hazardous to creative problem solving. To be creative, you should approach the problem (or the opportunity) from different points of view. You should leave a thought hanging in mid-air and move to another. This skipping around prevents premature closure and lets your brain incubate one line of thought while you consciously pursue another.

11. Fishbone Analysis

Organizational or team challenges are rarely simple, and it’s important to remember that one problem can be an indication of something that goes deeper and may require further consideration to be solved.

Fishbone Analysis helps groups to dig deeper and understand the origins of a problem. It’s a great example of a root cause analysis method that is simple for everyone on a team to get their head around.

Participants in this activity are asked to annotate a diagram of a fish, first adding the problem or issue to be worked on at the head of a fish before then brainstorming the root causes of the problem and adding them as bones on the fish.

Using abstractions such as a diagram of a fish can really help a team break out of their regular thinking and develop a creative approach.

Fishbone Analysis #problem solving ##root cause analysis #decision making #online facilitation A process to help identify and understand the origins of problems, issues or observations.

12. Problem Tree

Encouraging visual thinking can be an essential part of many strategies. By simply reframing and clarifying problems, a group can move towards developing a problem solving model that works for them.

In Problem Tree, groups are asked to first brainstorm a list of problems – these can be design problems, team problems or larger business problems – and then organize them into a hierarchy. The hierarchy could be from most important to least important or abstract to practical, though the key thing with problem solving games that involve this aspect is that your group has some way of managing and sorting all the issues that are raised.

Once you have a list of problems that need to be solved and have organized them accordingly, you’re then well-positioned for the next problem solving steps.

Problem tree #define intentions #create #design #issue analysis A problem tree is a tool to clarify the hierarchy of problems addressed by the team within a design project; it represents high level problems or related sublevel problems.

13. SWOT Analysis

Chances are you’ve heard of the SWOT Analysis before. This problem-solving method focuses on identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats is a tried and tested method for both individuals and teams.

Start by creating a desired end state or outcome and bare this in mind – any process solving model is made more effective by knowing what you are moving towards. Create a quadrant made up of the four categories of a SWOT analysis and ask participants to generate ideas based on each of those quadrants.

Once you have those ideas assembled in their quadrants, cluster them together based on their affinity with other ideas. These clusters are then used to facilitate group conversations and move things forward.

SWOT analysis #gamestorming #problem solving #action #meeting facilitation The SWOT Analysis is a long-standing technique of looking at what we have, with respect to the desired end state, as well as what we could improve on. It gives us an opportunity to gauge approaching opportunities and dangers, and assess the seriousness of the conditions that affect our future. When we understand those conditions, we can influence what comes next.

14. Agreement-Certainty Matrix

Not every problem-solving approach is right for every challenge, and deciding on the right method for the challenge at hand is a key part of being an effective team.

The Agreement Certainty matrix helps teams align on the nature of the challenges facing them. By sorting problems from simple to chaotic, your team can understand what methods are suitable for each problem and what they can do to ensure effective results.

If you are already using Liberating Structures techniques as part of your problem-solving strategy, the Agreement-Certainty Matrix can be an invaluable addition to your process. We’ve found it particularly if you are having issues with recurring problems in your organization and want to go deeper in understanding the root cause.

Agreement-Certainty Matrix #issue analysis #liberating structures #problem solving You can help individuals or groups avoid the frequent mistake of trying to solve a problem with methods that are not adapted to the nature of their challenge. The combination of two questions makes it possible to easily sort challenges into four categories: simple, complicated, complex , and chaotic . A problem is simple when it can be solved reliably with practices that are easy to duplicate. It is complicated when experts are required to devise a sophisticated solution that will yield the desired results predictably. A problem is complex when there are several valid ways to proceed but outcomes are not predictable in detail. Chaotic is when the context is too turbulent to identify a path forward. A loose analogy may be used to describe these differences: simple is like following a recipe, complicated like sending a rocket to the moon, complex like raising a child, and chaotic is like the game “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.” The Liberating Structures Matching Matrix in Chapter 5 can be used as the first step to clarify the nature of a challenge and avoid the mismatches between problems and solutions that are frequently at the root of chronic, recurring problems.

Organizing and charting a team’s progress can be important in ensuring its success. SQUID (Sequential Question and Insight Diagram) is a great model that allows a team to effectively switch between giving questions and answers and develop the skills they need to stay on track throughout the process.

Begin with two different colored sticky notes – one for questions and one for answers – and with your central topic (the head of the squid) on the board. Ask the group to first come up with a series of questions connected to their best guess of how to approach the topic. Ask the group to come up with answers to those questions, fix them to the board and connect them with a line. After some discussion, go back to question mode by responding to the generated answers or other points on the board.

It’s rewarding to see a diagram grow throughout the exercise, and a completed SQUID can provide a visual resource for future effort and as an example for other teams.

SQUID #gamestorming #project planning #issue analysis #problem solving When exploring an information space, it’s important for a group to know where they are at any given time. By using SQUID, a group charts out the territory as they go and can navigate accordingly. SQUID stands for Sequential Question and Insight Diagram.

16. Speed Boat

To continue with our nautical theme, Speed Boat is a short and sweet activity that can help a team quickly identify what employees, clients or service users might have a problem with and analyze what might be standing in the way of achieving a solution.

Methods that allow for a group to make observations, have insights and obtain those eureka moments quickly are invaluable when trying to solve complex problems.

In Speed Boat, the approach is to first consider what anchors and challenges might be holding an organization (or boat) back. Bonus points if you are able to identify any sharks in the water and develop ideas that can also deal with competitors!

Speed Boat #gamestorming #problem solving #action Speedboat is a short and sweet way to identify what your employees or clients don’t like about your product/service or what’s standing in the way of a desired goal.

17. The Journalistic Six

Some of the most effective ways of solving problems is by encouraging teams to be more inclusive and diverse in their thinking.

Based on the six key questions journalism students are taught to answer in articles and news stories, The Journalistic Six helps create teams to see the whole picture. By using who, what, when, where, why, and how to facilitate the conversation and encourage creative thinking, your team can make sure that the problem identification and problem analysis stages of the are covered exhaustively and thoughtfully. Reporter’s notebook and dictaphone optional.

The Journalistic Six – Who What When Where Why How #idea generation #issue analysis #problem solving #online #creative thinking #remote-friendly A questioning method for generating, explaining, investigating ideas.

18. LEGO Challenge

Now for an activity that is a little out of the (toy) box. LEGO Serious Play is a facilitation methodology that can be used to improve creative thinking and problem-solving skills.

The LEGO Challenge includes giving each member of the team an assignment that is hidden from the rest of the group while they create a structure without speaking.

What the LEGO challenge brings to the table is a fun working example of working with stakeholders who might not be on the same page to solve problems. Also, it’s LEGO! Who doesn’t love LEGO!

LEGO Challenge #hyperisland #team A team-building activity in which groups must work together to build a structure out of LEGO, but each individual has a secret “assignment” which makes the collaborative process more challenging. It emphasizes group communication, leadership dynamics, conflict, cooperation, patience and problem solving strategy.

19. What, So What, Now What?

If not carefully managed, the problem identification and problem analysis stages of the problem-solving process can actually create more problems and misunderstandings.

The What, So What, Now What? problem-solving activity is designed to help collect insights and move forward while also eliminating the possibility of disagreement when it comes to identifying, clarifying, and analyzing organizational or work problems.

Facilitation is all about bringing groups together so that might work on a shared goal and the best problem-solving strategies ensure that teams are aligned in purpose, if not initially in opinion or insight.

Throughout the three steps of this game, you give everyone on a team to reflect on a problem by asking what happened, why it is important, and what actions should then be taken.

This can be a great activity for bringing our individual perceptions about a problem or challenge and contextualizing it in a larger group setting. This is one of the most important problem-solving skills you can bring to your organization.

W³ – What, So What, Now What? #issue analysis #innovation #liberating structures You can help groups reflect on a shared experience in a way that builds understanding and spurs coordinated action while avoiding unproductive conflict. It is possible for every voice to be heard while simultaneously sifting for insights and shaping new direction. Progressing in stages makes this practical—from collecting facts about What Happened to making sense of these facts with So What and finally to what actions logically follow with Now What . The shared progression eliminates most of the misunderstandings that otherwise fuel disagreements about what to do. Voila!

20. Journalists

Problem analysis can be one of the most important and decisive stages of all problem-solving tools. Sometimes, a team can become bogged down in the details and are unable to move forward.

Journalists is an activity that can avoid a group from getting stuck in the problem identification or problem analysis stages of the process.

In Journalists, the group is invited to draft the front page of a fictional newspaper and figure out what stories deserve to be on the cover and what headlines those stories will have. By reframing how your problems and challenges are approached, you can help a team move productively through the process and be better prepared for the steps to follow.

Journalists #vision #big picture #issue analysis #remote-friendly This is an exercise to use when the group gets stuck in details and struggles to see the big picture. Also good for defining a vision.

Problem-solving techniques for developing solutions

The success of any problem-solving process can be measured by the solutions it produces. After you’ve defined the issue, explored existing ideas, and ideated, it’s time to narrow down to the correct solution.

Use these problem-solving techniques when you want to help your team find consensus, compare possible solutions, and move towards taking action on a particular problem.

Improved Solutions
Four-Step Sketch
15% Solutions
How-Now-Wow matrix
Impact Effort Matrix

21. Mindspin

Brainstorming is part of the bread and butter of the problem-solving process and all problem-solving strategies benefit from getting ideas out and challenging a team to generate solutions quickly.

With Mindspin, participants are encouraged not only to generate ideas but to do so under time constraints and by slamming down cards and passing them on. By doing multiple rounds, your team can begin with a free generation of possible solutions before moving on to developing those solutions and encouraging further ideation.

This is one of our favorite problem-solving activities and can be great for keeping the energy up throughout the workshop. Remember the importance of helping people become engaged in the process – energizing problem-solving techniques like Mindspin can help ensure your team stays engaged and happy, even when the problems they’re coming together to solve are complex.

MindSpin #teampedia #idea generation #problem solving #action A fast and loud method to enhance brainstorming within a team. Since this activity has more than round ideas that are repetitive can be ruled out leaving more creative and innovative answers to the challenge.

22. Improved Solutions

After a team has successfully identified a problem and come up with a few solutions, it can be tempting to call the work of the problem-solving process complete. That said, the first solution is not necessarily the best, and by including a further review and reflection activity into your problem-solving model, you can ensure your group reaches the best possible result.

One of a number of problem-solving games from Thiagi Group, Improved Solutions helps you go the extra mile and develop suggested solutions with close consideration and peer review. By supporting the discussion of several problems at once and by shifting team roles throughout, this problem-solving technique is a dynamic way of finding the best solution.

Improved Solutions #creativity #thiagi #problem solving #action #team You can improve any solution by objectively reviewing its strengths and weaknesses and making suitable adjustments. In this creativity framegame, you improve the solutions to several problems. To maintain objective detachment, you deal with a different problem during each of six rounds and assume different roles (problem owner, consultant, basher, booster, enhancer, and evaluator) during each round. At the conclusion of the activity, each player ends up with two solutions to her problem.

23. Four Step Sketch

Creative thinking and visual ideation does not need to be confined to the opening stages of your problem-solving strategies. Exercises that include sketching and prototyping on paper can be effective at the solution finding and development stage of the process, and can be great for keeping a team engaged.

By going from simple notes to a crazy 8s round that involves rapidly sketching 8 variations on their ideas before then producing a final solution sketch, the group is able to iterate quickly and visually. Problem-solving techniques like Four-Step Sketch are great if you have a group of different thinkers and want to change things up from a more textual or discussion-based approach.

Four-Step Sketch #design sprint #innovation #idea generation #remote-friendly The four-step sketch is an exercise that helps people to create well-formed concepts through a structured process that includes: Review key information Start design work on paper, Consider multiple variations , Create a detailed solution . This exercise is preceded by a set of other activities allowing the group to clarify the challenge they want to solve. See how the Four Step Sketch exercise fits into a Design Sprint

24. 15% Solutions

Some problems are simpler than others and with the right problem-solving activities, you can empower people to take immediate actions that can help create organizational change.

Part of the liberating structures toolkit, 15% solutions is a problem-solving technique that focuses on finding and implementing solutions quickly. A process of iterating and making small changes quickly can help generate momentum and an appetite for solving complex problems.

Problem-solving strategies can live and die on whether people are onboard. Getting some quick wins is a great way of getting people behind the process.

It can be extremely empowering for a team to realize that problem-solving techniques can be deployed quickly and easily and delineate between things they can positively impact and those things they cannot change.

15% Solutions #action #liberating structures #remote-friendly You can reveal the actions, however small, that everyone can do immediately. At a minimum, these will create momentum, and that may make a BIG difference. 15% Solutions show that there is no reason to wait around, feel powerless, or fearful. They help people pick it up a level. They get individuals and the group to focus on what is within their discretion instead of what they cannot change. With a very simple question, you can flip the conversation to what can be done and find solutions to big problems that are often distributed widely in places not known in advance. Shifting a few grains of sand may trigger a landslide and change the whole landscape.

25. How-Now-Wow Matrix

The problem-solving process is often creative, as complex problems usually require a change of thinking and creative response in order to find the best solutions. While it’s common for the first stages to encourage creative thinking, groups can often gravitate to familiar solutions when it comes to the end of the process.

When selecting solutions, you don’t want to lose your creative energy! The How-Now-Wow Matrix from Gamestorming is a great problem-solving activity that enables a group to stay creative and think out of the box when it comes to selecting the right solution for a given problem.

Problem-solving techniques that encourage creative thinking and the ideation and selection of new solutions can be the most effective in organisational change. Give the How-Now-Wow Matrix a go, and not just for how pleasant it is to say out loud.

How-Now-Wow Matrix #gamestorming #idea generation #remote-friendly When people want to develop new ideas, they most often think out of the box in the brainstorming or divergent phase. However, when it comes to convergence, people often end up picking ideas that are most familiar to them. This is called a ‘creative paradox’ or a ‘creadox’. The How-Now-Wow matrix is an idea selection tool that breaks the creadox by forcing people to weigh each idea on 2 parameters.

26. Impact and Effort Matrix

All problem-solving techniques hope to not only find solutions to a given problem or challenge but to find the best solution. When it comes to finding a solution, groups are invited to put on their decision-making hats and really think about how a proposed idea would work in practice.

The Impact and Effort Matrix is one of the problem-solving techniques that fall into this camp, empowering participants to first generate ideas and then categorize them into a 2×2 matrix based on impact and effort.

Activities that invite critical thinking while remaining simple are invaluable. Use the Impact and Effort Matrix to move from ideation and towards evaluating potential solutions before then committing to them.

Impact and Effort Matrix #gamestorming #decision making #action #remote-friendly In this decision-making exercise, possible actions are mapped based on two factors: effort required to implement and potential impact. Categorizing ideas along these lines is a useful technique in decision making, as it obliges contributors to balance and evaluate suggested actions before committing to them.

27. Dotmocracy

If you’ve followed each of the problem-solving steps with your group successfully, you should move towards the end of your process with heaps of possible solutions developed with a specific problem in mind. But how do you help a group go from ideation to putting a solution into action?

Dotmocracy – or Dot Voting -is a tried and tested method of helping a team in the problem-solving process make decisions and put actions in place with a degree of oversight and consensus.

One of the problem-solving techniques that should be in every facilitator’s toolbox, Dot Voting is fast and effective and can help identify the most popular and best solutions and help bring a group to a decision effectively.

Dotmocracy #action #decision making #group prioritization #hyperisland #remote-friendly Dotmocracy is a simple method for group prioritization or decision-making. It is not an activity on its own, but a method to use in processes where prioritization or decision-making is the aim. The method supports a group to quickly see which options are most popular or relevant. The options or ideas are written on post-its and stuck up on a wall for the whole group to see. Each person votes for the options they think are the strongest, and that information is used to inform a decision.

All facilitators know that warm-ups and icebreakers are useful for any workshop or group process. Problem-solving workshops are no different.

Use these problem-solving techniques to warm up a group and prepare them for the rest of the process. Activating your group by tapping into some of the top problem-solving skills can be one of the best ways to see great outcomes from your session.

Check-in/Check-out
Doodling Together
Show and Tell
Constellations
Draw a Tree

28. Check-in / Check-out

Solid processes are planned from beginning to end, and the best facilitators know that setting the tone and establishing a safe, open environment can be integral to a successful problem-solving process.

Check-in / Check-out is a great way to begin and/or bookend a problem-solving workshop. Checking in to a session emphasizes that everyone will be seen, heard, and expected to contribute.

If you are running a series of meetings, setting a consistent pattern of checking in and checking out can really help your team get into a groove. We recommend this opening-closing activity for small to medium-sized groups though it can work with large groups if they’re disciplined!

Check-in / Check-out #team #opening #closing #hyperisland #remote-friendly Either checking-in or checking-out is a simple way for a team to open or close a process, symbolically and in a collaborative way. Checking-in/out invites each member in a group to be present, seen and heard, and to express a reflection or a feeling. Checking-in emphasizes presence, focus and group commitment; checking-out emphasizes reflection and symbolic closure.

29. Doodling Together

Thinking creatively and not being afraid to make suggestions are important problem-solving skills for any group or team, and warming up by encouraging these behaviors is a great way to start.

Doodling Together is one of our favorite creative ice breaker games – it’s quick, effective, and fun and can make all following problem-solving steps easier by encouraging a group to collaborate visually. By passing cards and adding additional items as they go, the workshop group gets into a groove of co-creation and idea development that is crucial to finding solutions to problems.

Doodling Together #collaboration #creativity #teamwork #fun #team #visual methods #energiser #icebreaker #remote-friendly Create wild, weird and often funny postcards together & establish a group’s creative confidence.

30. Show and Tell

You might remember some version of Show and Tell from being a kid in school and it’s a great problem-solving activity to kick off a session.

Asking participants to prepare a little something before a workshop by bringing an object for show and tell can help them warm up before the session has even begun! Games that include a physical object can also help encourage early engagement before moving onto more big-picture thinking.

By asking your participants to tell stories about why they chose to bring a particular item to the group, you can help teams see things from new perspectives and see both differences and similarities in the way they approach a topic. Great groundwork for approaching a problem-solving process as a team!

Show and Tell #gamestorming #action #opening #meeting facilitation Show and Tell taps into the power of metaphors to reveal players’ underlying assumptions and associations around a topic The aim of the game is to get a deeper understanding of stakeholders’ perspectives on anything—a new project, an organizational restructuring, a shift in the company’s vision or team dynamic.

31. Constellations

Who doesn’t love stars? Constellations is a great warm-up activity for any workshop as it gets people up off their feet, energized, and ready to engage in new ways with established topics. It’s also great for showing existing beliefs, biases, and patterns that can come into play as part of your session.

Using warm-up games that help build trust and connection while also allowing for non-verbal responses can be great for easing people into the problem-solving process and encouraging engagement from everyone in the group. Constellations is great in large spaces that allow for movement and is definitely a practical exercise to allow the group to see patterns that are otherwise invisible.

Constellations #trust #connection #opening #coaching #patterns #system Individuals express their response to a statement or idea by standing closer or further from a central object. Used with teams to reveal system, hidden patterns, perspectives.

32. Draw a Tree

Problem-solving games that help raise group awareness through a central, unifying metaphor can be effective ways to warm-up a group in any problem-solving model.

Draw a Tree is a simple warm-up activity you can use in any group and which can provide a quick jolt of energy. Start by asking your participants to draw a tree in just 45 seconds – they can choose whether it will be abstract or realistic.

Once the timer is up, ask the group how many people included the roots of the tree and use this as a means to discuss how we can ignore important parts of any system simply because they are not visible.

All problem-solving strategies are made more effective by thinking of problems critically and by exposing things that may not normally come to light. Warm-up games like Draw a Tree are great in that they quickly demonstrate some key problem-solving skills in an accessible and effective way.

Draw a Tree #thiagi #opening #perspectives #remote-friendly With this game you can raise awarness about being more mindful, and aware of the environment we live in.

Each step of the problem-solving workshop benefits from an intelligent deployment of activities, games, and techniques. Bringing your session to an effective close helps ensure that solutions are followed through on and that you also celebrate what has been achieved.

Here are some problem-solving activities you can use to effectively close a workshop or meeting and ensure the great work you’ve done can continue afterward.

One Breath Feedback
Who What When Matrix
Response Cards

How do I conclude a problem-solving process?

All good things must come to an end. With the bulk of the work done, it can be tempting to conclude your workshop swiftly and without a moment to debrief and align. This can be problematic in that it doesn’t allow your team to fully process the results or reflect on the process.

At the end of an effective session, your team will have gone through a process that, while productive, can be exhausting. It’s important to give your group a moment to take a breath, ensure that they are clear on future actions, and provide short feedback before leaving the space.

The primary purpose of any problem-solving method is to generate solutions and then implement them. Be sure to take the opportunity to ensure everyone is aligned and ready to effectively implement the solutions you produced in the workshop.

Remember that every process can be improved and by giving a short moment to collect feedback in the session, you can further refine your problem-solving methods and see further success in the future too.

33. One Breath Feedback

Maintaining attention and focus during the closing stages of a problem-solving workshop can be tricky and so being concise when giving feedback can be important. It’s easy to incur “death by feedback” should some team members go on for too long sharing their perspectives in a quick feedback round.

One Breath Feedback is a great closing activity for workshops. You give everyone an opportunity to provide feedback on what they’ve done but only in the space of a single breath. This keeps feedback short and to the point and means that everyone is encouraged to provide the most important piece of feedback to them.

One breath feedback #closing #feedback #action This is a feedback round in just one breath that excels in maintaining attention: each participants is able to speak during just one breath … for most people that’s around 20 to 25 seconds … unless of course you’ve been a deep sea diver in which case you’ll be able to do it for longer.

34. Who What When Matrix

Matrices feature as part of many effective problem-solving strategies and with good reason. They are easily recognizable, simple to use, and generate results.

The Who What When Matrix is a great tool to use when closing your problem-solving session by attributing a who, what and when to the actions and solutions you have decided upon. The resulting matrix is a simple, easy-to-follow way of ensuring your team can move forward.

Great solutions can’t be enacted without action and ownership. Your problem-solving process should include a stage for allocating tasks to individuals or teams and creating a realistic timeframe for those solutions to be implemented or checked out. Use this method to keep the solution implementation process clear and simple for all involved.

Who/What/When Matrix #gamestorming #action #project planning With Who/What/When matrix, you can connect people with clear actions they have defined and have committed to.

35. Response cards

Group discussion can comprise the bulk of most problem-solving activities and by the end of the process, you might find that your team is talked out!

Providing a means for your team to give feedback with short written notes can ensure everyone is head and can contribute without the need to stand up and talk. Depending on the needs of the group, giving an alternative can help ensure everyone can contribute to your problem-solving model in the way that makes the most sense for them.

Response Cards is a great way to close a workshop if you are looking for a gentle warm-down and want to get some swift discussion around some of the feedback that is raised.

Response Cards #debriefing #closing #structured sharing #questions and answers #thiagi #action It can be hard to involve everyone during a closing of a session. Some might stay in the background or get unheard because of louder participants. However, with the use of Response Cards, everyone will be involved in providing feedback or clarify questions at the end of a session.

Save time and effort discovering the right solutions

A structured problem solving process is a surefire way of solving tough problems, discovering creative solutions and driving organizational change. But how can you design for successful outcomes?

With SessionLab, it’s easy to design engaging workshops that deliver results. Drag, drop and reorder blocks to build your agenda. When you make changes or update your agenda, your session timing adjusts automatically , saving you time on manual adjustments.

Collaborating with stakeholders or clients? Share your agenda with a single click and collaborate in real-time. No more sending documents back and forth over email.

Explore how to use SessionLab to design effective problem solving workshops or watch this five minute video to see the planner in action!

Over to you

The problem-solving process can often be as complicated and multifaceted as the problems they are set-up to solve. With the right problem-solving techniques and a mix of creative exercises designed to guide discussion and generate purposeful ideas, we hope we’ve given you the tools to find the best solutions as simply and easily as possible.

Is there a problem-solving technique that you are missing here? Do you have a favorite activity or method you use when facilitating? Let us know in the comments below, we’d love to hear from you!

thank you very much for these excellent techniques

Certainly wonderful article, very detailed. Shared!

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BUS403: Negotiations and Conflict Management (2016.A.01)

Problem-solving and decision-making in groups.

Read this section to learn about common components/characteristics of problems and the five steps in group problem-solving. This article also describes the brainstorming and discussion that should occur before group decision-making, compares and contrasts decision-making techniques, and discusses various influences on decision-making.

Discussion before Decision Making

The nominal group technique guides decision making through a four-step process that includes idea generation and evaluation and seeks to elicit equal contributions from all group members. This method is useful because the procedure involves all group members systematically, which fixes the problem of uneven participation during discussions. Since everyone contributes to the discussion, this method can also help reduce instances of social loafing. To use the nominal group technique, do the following:

Silently and individually list ideas.
Create a master list of ideas.
Clarify ideas as needed.
Take a secret vote to rank group members' acceptance of ideas.

During the first step, have group members work quietly, in the same space, to write down every idea they have to address the task or problem they face. This shouldn't take more than twenty minutes. Whoever is facilitating the discussion should remind group members to use brainstorming techniques, which means they shouldn't evaluate ideas as they are generated. Ask group members to remain silent once they've finished their list so they do not distract others. During the second step, the facilitator goes around the group in a consistent order asking each person to share one idea at a time. As the idea is shared, the facilitator records it on a master list that everyone can see. Keep track of how many times each idea comes up, as that could be an idea that warrants more discussion. Continue this process until all the ideas have been shared. As a note to facilitators, some group members may begin to edit their list or self-censor when asked to provide one of their ideas. To limit a person's apprehension with sharing his or her ideas and to ensure that each idea is shared, I have asked group members to exchange lists with someone else so they can share ideas from the list they receive without fear of being personally judged. During step three, the facilitator should note that group members can now ask for clarification on ideas on the master list. Do not let this discussion stray into evaluation of ideas. To help avoid an unnecessarily long discussion, it may be useful to go from one person to the next to ask which ideas need clarifying and then go to the originator(s) of the idea in question for clarification. During the fourth step, members use a voting ballot to rank the acceptability of the ideas on the master list. If the list is long, you may ask group members to rank only their top five or so choices. The facilitator then takes up the secret ballots and reviews them in a random order, noting the rankings of each idea. Ideally, the highest ranked idea can then be discussed and decided on. The nominal group technique does not carry a group all the way through to the point of decision; rather, it sets the group up for a roundtable discussion or use of some other method to evaluate the merits of the top ideas.

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8.1: Problem Solving and Decision Making in Groups

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Kerry Osborne
College of the Canyons

Learning Objectives

Discuss the common components and characteristics of problems.
Explain the five steps of the group problem-solving process.
Describe the brainstorming and discussion that should take place before the group makes a decision.
Compare and contrast the different decision-making techniques.
Discuss the various influences on decision making.

Group Problem Solving

Problems of all sorts have three common components :

An undesirable situation . When conditions are desirable, there isn’t a problem.
A desired situation . Even though it may only be a vague idea, there is a drive to better the undesirable situation. The vague idea may develop into a more precise goal that can be achieved, although solutions are not yet generated.
Obstacles between undesirable and desirable situation . These are things that stand in the way between the current situation and the group’s goal of addressing it. This component of a problem requires the most work, and it is the part where decision making occurs. Some examples of obstacles include limited funding, resources, personnel, time, or information. Obstacles can also take the form of people who are working against the group, including people resistant to change or people who disagree.

Task difficulty . Difficult tasks are also typically more complex. Groups should be prepared to spend time researching and discussing a difficult and complex task in order to develop a shared foundational knowledge. This typically requires individual work outside of the group and frequent group meetings to share information.
Number of possible solutions . There are usually multiple ways to solve a problem or complete a task, but some problems have more potential solutions than others. Figuring out how to prepare a beach house for an approaching hurricane is fairly complex and difficult, but there are still a limited number of things to do—for example, taping and boarding up windows; turning off water, electricity, and gas; trimming trees; and securing loose outside objects. Other problems may be more creatively based. For example, designing a new restaurant may entail using some standard solutions but could also entail many different types of innovation with layout and design.
Group member interest in problem . When group members are interested in the problem, they will be more engaged with the problem-solving process and invested in finding a quality solution. Groups with high interest in and knowledge about the problem may want more freedom to develop and implement solutions, while groups with low interest may prefer a leader who provides structure and direction.
Group familiarity with problem . Some groups encounter a problem regularly, while other problems are more unique or unexpected. A family who has lived in hurricane alley for decades probably has a better idea of how to prepare its house for a hurricane than does a family that just recently moved from the Midwest. Many groups that rely on funding have to revisit a budget every year, and in recent years, groups have had to get more creative with budgets as funding has been cut in nearly every sector. When group members aren’t familiar with a problem, they will need to do background research on what similar groups have done and may also need to bring in outside experts.
Need for solution acceptance . In this step, groups must consider how many people the decision will affect and how much “buy-in” from others the group needs in order for their solution to be successfully implemented. Some small groups have many stakeholders on whom the success of a solution depends. Other groups are answerable only to themselves. When a small group is planning on building a new park in a crowded neighborhood or implementing a new policy in a large business, it can be very difficult to develop solutions that will be accepted by all. In such cases, groups will want to poll those who will be affected by the solution and may want to do a pilot implementation to see how people react. Imposing an excellent solution that doesn’t have buy-in from stakeholders can still lead to failure.

Group Problem-Solving Process

There are several variations of similar problem-solving models based on US American scholar John Dewey’s reflective thinking process. Ernest G. Bormann and Nancy C. Bormann, Effective Small Group Communication, 4th ed. (Santa Rosa, CA: Burgess CA, 1988), 112–13. As you read through the steps in the process, think about how you can apply what we learned regarding the general and specific elements of problems. Some of the following steps are straightforward, and they are things we would logically do when faced with a problem. However, taking a deliberate and systematic approach to problem solving has been shown to benefit group functioning and performance. A deliberate approach is especially beneficial for groups that do not have an established history of working together and will only be able to meet occasionally. Although a group should attend to each step of the process, group leaders or other group members who facilitate problem solving should be cautious not to dogmatically follow each element of the process or force a group along. Such a lack of flexibility could limit group member input and negatively affect the group’s cohesion and climate.

Step 1: Define the Problem

Define the problem by considering the three elements shared by every problem: the current undesirable situation, the goal or more desirable situation, and obstacles in the way. Katherine Adams and Gloria G. Galanes, Communicating in Groups: Applications and Skills, 7th ed. (Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2009), 229. At this stage, group members share what they know about the current situation, without proposing solutions or evaluating the information. Here are some good questions to ask during this stage: What is the current difficulty? How did we come to know that the difficulty exists? Who/what is involved? Why is it meaningful/urgent/important? What have the effects been so far? What, if any, elements of the difficulty require clarification? At the end of this stage, the group should be able to compose a single sentence that summarizes the problem called a problem statement. Avoid wording in the problem statement or question that hints at potential solutions. A small group formed to investigate ethical violations of city officials could use the following problem statement: “Our state does not currently have a mechanism for citizens to report suspected ethical violations by city officials.”

Step 2: Analyze the Problem

During this step a group should analyze the problem and the group’s relationship to the problem. Whereas the first step involved exploring the “what” related to the problem, this step focuses on the “why.” At this stage, group members can discuss the potential causes of the difficulty. Group members may also want to begin setting out an agenda or timeline for the group’s problem-solving process, looking forward to the other steps. To fully analyze the problem, the group can discuss the five common problem variables discussed before. Here are two examples of questions that the group formed to address ethics violations might ask: Why doesn’t our city have an ethics reporting mechanism? Do cities of similar size have such a mechanism? Once the problem has been analyzed, the group can pose a problem question that will guide the group as it generates possible solutions. “How can citizens report suspected ethical violations of city officials and how will such reports be processed and addressed?” As you can see, the problem question is more complex than the problem statement, since the group has moved on to more in-depth discussion of the problem during step 2.

Step 3: Generate Possible Solutions

During this step, group members generate possible solutions to the problem. Again, solutions should not be evaluated at this point, only proposed and clarified. The question should be what could we do to address this problem, not what should we do to address it. It is perfectly OK for a group member to question another person’s idea by asking something like “What do you mean?” or “Could you explain your reasoning more?” Discussions at this stage may reveal a need to return to previous steps to better define or more fully analyze a problem. Since many problems are multifaceted, it is necessary for group members to generate solutions for each part of the problem separately, making sure to have multiple solutions for each part. Stopping the solution-generating process prematurely can lead to groupthink. For the problem question previously posed, the group would need to generate solutions for all three parts of the problem included in the question. Possible solutions for the first part of the problem (How can citizens report ethical violations?) may include “online reporting system, e-mail, in-person, anonymously, on-the-record,” and so on. Possible solutions for the second part of the problem (How will reports be processed?) may include “daily by a newly appointed ethics officer, weekly by a nonpartisan nongovernment employee,” and so on. Possible solutions for the third part of the problem (How will reports be addressed?) may include “by a newly appointed ethics commission, by the accused’s supervisor, by the city manager,” and so on.

Step 4: Evaluate Solutions

Step 5: Implement and Assess the Solution

“Getting Competent” - Problem Solving and Group Presentations

Group presentations require members to navigate many logistics of their presentation. While it may be easier for a group to assign each member to create a five-minute segment and then transition from one person to the next, this is definitely not the most engaging method. Creating a master presentation and then assigning individual speakers creates a more fluid and dynamic presentation and allows everyone to become familiar with the content, which can help if a person doesn’t show up to present and during the question-and-answer section. Once the content of the presentation is complete, figure out introductions, transitions, visual aids, and the use of time and space. Chaunce Stanton, “How to Deliver Group Presentations: The Unified Team Approach,” Six Minutes Speaking and Presentation Skills, November 3, 2009, accessed August 28, 2012,  http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/group-presentations-unified-team-approach . In terms of introductions, figure out if one person will introduce all the speakers at the beginning, if speakers will introduce themselves at the beginning, or if introductions will occur as the presentation progresses. In terms of transitions, make sure each person has included in his or her speaking notes when presentation duties switch from one person to the next. Visual aids have the potential to cause hiccups in a group presentation if they aren’t fluidly integrated. Practicing with visual aids and having one person control them may help prevent this. Know how long your presentation is and know how you’re going to use the space. Presenters should know how long the whole presentation should be and how long each of their segments should be so that everyone can share the responsibility of keeping time. Also consider the size and layout of the presentation space. You don’t want presenters huddled in a corner until it’s their turn to speak or trapped behind furniture when their turn comes around.

Of the three main problems facing group presenters, which do you think is the most challenging and why?
Why do you think people tasked with a group presentation (especially students) prefer to divide the parts up and have members work on them independently before coming back together and integrating each part? What problems emerge from this method? In what ways might developing a master presentation and then assigning parts to different speakers be better than the more divided method? What are the drawbacks to the master presentation method?

Decision Making in Groups

We all engage in personal decision making daily, and we all know that some decisions are more difficult than others. When we make decisions in groups, we face some challenges that we do not face in our personal decision making, but we also stand to benefit from some advantages of group decision making. Rodney W. Napier and Matti K. Gershenfeld, Groups: Theory and Experience, 7th ed. (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 2004), 292. Group decision making can appear fair and democratic but really only be a gesture that covers up the fact that certain group members or the group leader have already decided. Group decision making also takes more time than individual decisions and can be burdensome if some group members do not do their assigned work, divert the group with self-centered or unproductive role behaviors, or miss meetings. Conversely, though, group decisions are often more informed, since all group members develop a shared understanding of a problem through discussion and debate. The shared understanding may also be more complex and deep than what an individual would develop, because the group members are exposed to a variety of viewpoints that can broaden their own perspectives. Group decisions also benefit from synergy, one of the key advantages of group communication that we discussed earlier. Most groups do not use a specific method of decision making, perhaps thinking that they’ll work things out as they go. This can lead to unequal participation, social loafing, premature decisions, prolonged discussion, and a host of other negative consequences. So in this section we will learn some practices that will prepare us for good decision making and some specific techniques we can use to help us reach a final decision.

Brainstorming before Decision Making

Before groups can make a decision, they need to generate possible solutions to their problem. The most commonly used method is brainstorming, although most people don’t follow the recommended steps of brainstorming. As you’ll recall, brainstorming refers to the quick generation of ideas free of evaluation. The originator of the term brainstorming said the following four rules must be followed for the technique to be effective:

Evaluation of ideas is forbidden.
Wild and crazy ideas are encouraged.
Quantity of ideas, not quality, is the goal.
New combinations of ideas presented are encouraged.

To make brainstorming more of a decision-making method rather than an idea-generating method, group communication scholars have suggested additional steps that precede and follow brainstorming.

Do a warm-up brainstorming session . Some people are more apprehensive about publicly communicating their ideas than others are, and a warm-up session can help ease apprehension and prime group members for task-related idea generation. The warm-up can be initiated by anyone in the group and should only go on for a few minutes. To get things started, a person could ask, “If our group formed a band, what would we be called?” or “What other purposes could a mailbox serve?” In the previous examples, the first warm up gets the group’s more abstract creative juices flowing, while the second focuses more on practical and concrete ideas.
Do the actual brainstorming session . This session shouldn’t last more than thirty minutes and should follow the four rules of brainstorming mentioned previously. To ensure that the fourth rule is realized, the facilitator could encourage people to piggyback off each other’s ideas.
Eliminate duplicate ideas . After the brainstorming session is over, group members can eliminate (without evaluating) ideas that are the same or very similar.
Clarify, organize, and evaluate ideas . Before evaluation, see if any ideas need clarification. Then try to theme or group ideas together in some orderly fashion. Since “wild and crazy” ideas are encouraged, some suggestions may need clarification. If it becomes clear that there isn’t really a foundation to an idea and that it is too vague or abstract and can’t be clarified, it may be eliminated. As a caution though, it may be wise to not throw out off-the-wall ideas that are hard to categorize and to instead put them in a miscellaneous or “wild and crazy” category.

Discussion before Decision Making

The nominal group technique guides decision making through a four-step process that includes idea generation and evaluation and seeks to elicit equal contributions from all group members. Andre L. Delbecq and Andrew H. Ven de Ven, “A Group Process Model for Problem Identification and Program Planning,” The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science 7, no. 4 (1971): 466–92. This method is useful because the procedure involves all group members systematically, which fixes the problem of uneven participation during discussions. Since everyone contributes to the discussion, this method can also help reduce instances of social loafing. To use the nominal group technique, do the following:

Silently and individually list ideas.
Create a master list of ideas.
Clarify ideas as needed.
Take a secret vote to rank group members’ acceptance of ideas.

Specific Decision-Making Techniques

Some decision-making techniques involve determining a course of action based on the level of agreement among the group members. These methods include majority, expert, authority, and consensus rule. Table 8.1 "Pros and Cons of Agreement-Based Decision-Making Techniques" reviews the pros and cons of each of these methods.

Majority rule is a commonly used decision-making technique in which a majority (one-half plus one) must agree before a decision is made. A show-of-hands vote, a paper ballot, or an electronic voting system can determine the majority choice. Many decision-making bodies, including the US House of Representatives, Senate, and Supreme Court, use majority rule to make decisions, which shows that it is often associated with democratic decision making, since each person gets one vote and each vote counts equally. Of course, other individuals and mediated messages can influence a person’s vote, but since the voting power is spread out over all group members, it is not easy for one person or party to take control of the decision-making process. In some cases—for example, to override a presidential veto or to amend the constitution—a super majority of two-thirds may be required to make a decision.

Minority rule is a decision-making technique in which a designated authority or expert has final say over a decision and may or may not consider the input of other group members. When a designated expert makes a decision by minority rule, there may be buy-in from others in the group, especially if the members of the group didn’t have relevant knowledge or expertise. When a designated authority makes decisions, buy-in will vary based on group members’ level of respect for the authority. For example, decisions made by an elected authority may be more accepted by those who elected him or her than by those who didn’t. As with majority rule, this technique can be time saving. Unlike majority rule, one person or party can have control over the decision-making process. This type of decision making is more similar to that used by monarchs and dictators. An obvious negative consequence of this method is that the needs or wants of one person can override the needs and wants of the majority. A minority deciding for the majority has led to negative consequences throughout history. The white Afrikaner minority that ruled South Africa for decades instituted apartheid, which was a system of racial segregation that disenfranchised and oppressed the majority population. The quality of the decision and its fairness really depends on the designated expert or authority.

Consensus rule is a decision-making technique in which all members of the group must agree on the same decision. On rare occasions, a decision may be ideal for all group members, which can lead to unanimous agreement without further debate and discussion. Although this can be positive, be cautious that this isn’t a sign of groupthink. More typically, consensus is reached only after lengthy discussion. On the plus side, consensus often leads to high-quality decisions due to the time and effort it takes to get everyone in agreement. Group members are also more likely to be committed to the decision because of their investment in reaching it. On the negative side, the ultimate decision is often one that all group members can live with but not one that’s ideal for all members. Additionally, the process of arriving at consensus also includes conflict, as people debate ideas and negotiate the interpersonal tensions that may result.

“Getting Critical” - Six Hats Method of Decision Making

Edward de Bono developed the Six Hats method of thinking in the late 1980s, and it has since become a regular feature in decision-making training in business and professional contexts. Edward de Bono, Six Thinking Hats (Boston, MA: Little, Brown, 1985). The method’s popularity lies in its ability to help people get out of habitual ways of thinking and to allow group members to play different roles and see a problem or decision from multiple points of view. The basic idea is that each of the six hats represents a different way of thinking, and when we figuratively switch hats, we switch the way we think. The hats and their style of thinking are as follows:

White hat . Objective—focuses on seeking information such as data and facts and then processes that information in a neutral way.
Red hat . Emotional—uses intuition, gut reactions, and feelings to judge information and suggestions.
Black hat . Negative—focuses on potential risks, points out possibilities for failure, and evaluates information cautiously and defensively.
Yellow hat . Positive—is optimistic about suggestions and future outcomes, gives constructive and positive feedback, points out benefits and advantages.
Green hat . Creative—tries to generate new ideas and solutions, thinks “outside the box.”
Blue hat . Philosophical—uses meta-communication to organize and reflect on the thinking and communication taking place in the group, facilitates who wears what hat and when group members change hats.

This decision-making method has been praised because it allows group members to “switch gears” in their thinking and allows for role playing, which lets people express ideas more freely. How can this help enhance critical thinking? Which combination of hats do you think would be best for a critical thinking sequence?
What combinations of hats might be useful if the leader wanted to break the larger group up into pairs and why? For example, what kind of thinking would result from putting Yellow and Red together, Black and White together, or Red and White together, and so on?
Based on your preferred ways of thinking and your personality, which hat would be the best fit for you? Which would be the most challenging? Why?

Influences on Decision Making

Situational Influences on Decision Making

The origin and urgency of a problem are also situational factors that influence decision making. In terms of origin, problems usually occur in one of four ways:

Something goes wrong . Group members must decide how to fix or stop something. Example—a firehouse crew finds out that half of the building is contaminated with mold and must be closed down.
Expectations change or increase . Group members must innovate more efficient or effective ways of doing something. Example—a firehouse crew finds out that the district they are responsible for is being expanded.
Something goes wrong and expectations change or increase . Group members must fix/stop and become more efficient/effective. Example—the firehouse crew has to close half the building and must start responding to more calls due to the expanding district.
The problem existed from the beginning . Group members must go back to the origins of the situation and walk through and analyze the steps again to decide what can be done differently. Example—a firehouse crew has consistently had to work with minimal resources in terms of building space and firefighting tools.

Personality Influences on Decision Making

The economic decision maker makes decisions based on what is practical and useful.
The aesthetic decision maker makes decisions based on form and harmony, desiring a solution that is elegant and in sync with the surroundings.
The theoretical decision maker wants to discover the truth through rationality.
The social decision maker emphasizes the personal impact of a decision and sympathizes with those who may be affected by it.
The political decision maker is interested in power and influence and views people and/or property as divided into groups that have different value.
The religious decision maker seeks to identify with a larger purpose, works to unify others under that goal, and commits to a viewpoint, often denying one side and being dedicated to the other.

The personalities of group members, especially leaders and other active members, affect the climate of the group. Group member personalities can be categorized based on where they fall on a continuum anchored by the following descriptors: dominant/submissive, friendly/unfriendly, and instrumental/emotional. John F. Cragan and David W. Wright, Communication in Small Groups: Theory, Practice, Skills, 5th ed. (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1999), 139. The more group members there are in any extreme of these categories, the more likely that the group climate will also shift to resemble those characteristics.

Dominant versus submissive . Group members that are more dominant act more independently and directly, initiate conversations, take up more space, make more direct eye contact, seek leadership positions, and take control over decision-making processes. More submissive members are reserved, contribute to the group only when asked to, avoid eye contact, and leave their personal needs and thoughts unvoiced or give into the suggestions of others.
Friendly versus unfriendly . Group members on the friendly side of the continuum find a balance between talking and listening, don’t try to win at the expense of other group members, are flexible but not weak, and value democratic decision making. Unfriendly group members are disagreeable, indifferent, withdrawn, and selfish, which leads them to either not invest in decision making or direct it in their own interest rather than in the interest of the group.
Instrumental versus emotional . Instrumental group members are emotionally neutral, objective, analytical, task-oriented, and committed followers, which leads them to work hard and contribute to the group’s decision making as long as it is orderly and follows agreed-on rules. Emotional group members are creative, playful, independent, unpredictable, and expressive, which leads them to make rash decisions, resist group norms or decision-making structures, and switch often from relational to task focus.

Cultural Context and Decision Making

Just like neighborhoods, schools, and countries, small groups vary in terms of their degree of similarity and difference. Demographic changes in the United States and increases in technology that can bring different people together make it more likely that we will be interacting in more and more heterogeneous groups. Brenda J. Allen, Difference Matters: Communicating Social Identity, 2nd ed. (Long Grove, IL: Waveland, 2011), 5. Some small groups are more homogenous, meaning the members are more similar, and some are more heterogeneous, meaning the members are more different. Diversity and difference within groups has advantages and disadvantages. In terms of advantages, research finds that, in general, groups that are culturally heterogeneous have better overall performance than more homogenous groups. Beth Bonniwell Haslett and Jenn Ruebush, “What Differences Do Individual Differences in Groups Make?: The Effects of Individuals, Culture, and Group Composition,” in The Handbook of Group Communication Theory and Research, ed. Lawrence R. Frey (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1999), 133. Additionally, when group members have time to get to know each other and competently communicate across their differences, the advantages of diversity include better decision making due to different perspectives. David C. Thomas, “Cultural Diversity and Work Group Effectiveness: An Experimental Study,” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 30, no. 2 (1999): 242–63. Unfortunately, groups often operate under time constraints and other pressures that make the possibility for intercultural dialogue and understanding difficult. The main disadvantage of heterogeneous groups is the possibility for conflict, but given that all groups experience conflict, this isn’t solely due to the presence of diversity. We will now look more specifically at how some of the cultural value orientations we’ve learned about already in this book can play out in groups with international diversity and how domestic diversity in terms of demographics can also influence group decision making.

International Diversity in Group Interactions

Domestic Diversity and Group Communication

In terms of age, for the first time since industrialization began, it is common to have three generations of people (and sometimes four) working side by side in an organizational setting. Although four generations often worked together in early factories, they were segregated based on their age group, and a hierarchy existed with older workers at the top and younger workers at the bottom. Today, however, generations interact regularly, and it is not uncommon for an older person to have a leader or supervisor who is younger than him or her.Brenda J. Allen, Difference Matters: Communicating Social Identity, 2nd ed. (Long Grove, IL: Waveland, 2011), 176. The current generations in the US workplace and consequently in work-based groups include the following:

The Silent Generation . Born between 1925 and 1942, currently in their mid-sixties to mid-eighties, this is the smallest generation in the workforce right now, as many have retired or left for other reasons. This generation includes people who were born during the Great Depression or the early part of World War II, many of whom later fought in the Korean War. Gerald Clarke, “The Silent Generation Revisited,” Time, June 29, 1970, 46.
The Baby Boomers . Born between 1946 and 1964, currently in their late forties to mid-sixties, this is the largest generation in the workforce right now. Baby boomers are the most populous generation born in US history, and they are working longer than previous generations, which means they will remain the predominant force in organizations for ten to twenty more years.
Generation X . Born between 1965 and 1981, currently in their early thirties to mid-forties, this generation was the first to see technology like cell phones and the Internet make its way into classrooms and our daily lives. Compared to previous generations, “Gen-Xers” are more diverse in terms of race, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation and also have a greater appreciation for and understanding of diversity.
Generation Y . Born between 1982 and 2000, “Millennials” as they are also called are currently in their late teens up to about thirty years old. This generation is not as likely to remember a time without technology such as computers and cell phones. They are just starting to enter into the workforce and have been greatly affected by the economic crisis of the late 2000s, experiencing significantly high unemployment rates.

Key Takeaways

Every problem has common components: an undesirable situation, a desired situation, and obstacles between the undesirable and desirable situations. Every problem also has a set of characteristics that vary among problems, including task difficulty, number of possible solutions, group member interest in the problem, group familiarity with the problem, and the need for solution acceptance.
The group problem-solving process has five steps:
Define the problem by creating a problem statement that summarizes it.
Analyze the problem and create a problem question that can guide solution generation.
Generate possible solutions. Possible solutions should be offered and listed without stopping to evaluate each one.
Evaluate the solutions based on their credibility, completeness, and worth. Groups should also assess the potential effects of the narrowed list of solutions.
Implement and assess the solution. Aside from enacting the solution, groups should determine how they will know the solution is working or not.
Before a group makes a decision, it should brainstorm possible solutions. Group communication scholars suggest that groups (1) do a warm-up brainstorming session; (2) do an actual brainstorming session in which ideas are not evaluated, wild ideas are encouraged, quantity not quality of ideas is the goal, and new combinations of ideas are encouraged; (3) eliminate duplicate ideas; and (4) clarify, organize, and evaluate ideas. In order to guide the idea-generation process and invite equal participation from group members, the group may also elect to use the nominal group technique.
Common decision-making techniques include majority rule, minority rule, and consensus rule. With majority rule, only a majority, usually one-half plus one, must agree before a decision is made. With minority rule, a designated authority or expert has final say over a decision, and the input of group members may or may not be invited or considered. With consensus rule, all members of the group must agree on the same decision.
Situational factors include the degree of freedom a group has to make its own decisions, the level of uncertainty facing the group and its task, the size of the group, the group’s access to information, and the origin and urgency of the problem.
Personality influences on decision making include a person’s value orientation (economic, aesthetic, theoretical, political, or religious), and personality traits (dominant/submissive, friendly/unfriendly, and instrumental/emotional).
Cultural influences on decision making include the heterogeneity or homogeneity of the group makeup; cultural values and characteristics such as individualism/collectivism, power distance, and high-/low-context communication styles; and gender and age differences.
Scenario 1 . Task difficulty is high, number of possible solutions is high, group interest in problem is high, group familiarity with problem is low, and need for solution acceptance is high.
Scenario 2 . Task difficulty is low, number of possible solutions is low, group interest in problem is low, group familiarity with problem is high, and need for solution acceptance is low.
Scenario 1 : Academic. A professor asks his or her class to decide whether the final exam should be an in-class or take-home exam.
Scenario 2 : Professional. A group of coworkers must decide which person from their department to nominate for a company-wide award.
Scenario 3 : Personal. A family needs to decide how to divide the belongings and estate of a deceased family member who did not leave a will.
Scenario 4 : Civic. A local branch of a political party needs to decide what five key issues it wants to include in the national party’s platform.
Group communication researchers have found that heterogeneous groups (composed of diverse members) have advantages over homogenous (more similar) groups. Discuss a group situation you have been in where diversity enhanced your and/or the group’s experience.

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Section 4. Techniques for Leading Group Discussions

Chapter 16 Sections

Section 1. Conducting Effective Meetings
Section 2. Developing Facilitation Skills
Section 3. Capturing What People Say: Tips for Recording a Meeting
Main Section

What is an effective group discussion?

___An effective group discussion is one in which the group is able to accomplish its purpose or to establish a basis either for ongoing discussion or for further contact and collaboration among its members.

You understand the elements of an effective group discussion:

___All members of the group have a chance to speak, expressing their own ideas and feelings freely, and to pursue and finish out their thoughts

___All members of the group can hear others’ ideas and feelings stated openly

___Group members can safely test out ideas that are not yet fully formed

___Group members can receive and respond to respectful but honest and constructive feedback

___A variety of points of view are put forward and discussed

___The discussion is not dominated by any one person

___Arguments, while they may be spirited, are based on the content of ideas and opinions, not on personalities

___Even in disagreement, there’s an understanding that the group is working together to resolve a dispute, solve a problem, create a plan, make a decision, find a precept or set of precepts all can agree on, or come to a conclusion

You understand the possible uses for a group discussion:

___Create a new situation – form a coalition, start an initiative, etc.

___Explore cooperative or collaborative arrangements among groups or organizations

___Discuss and/or analyze an issue

___Create a strategic plan – for an initiative, an advocacy campaign, an intervention, etc.

___Discuss policy and policy change

___Air concerns and differences among individuals or groups

___Hold public hearings on proposed laws or regulations, development, etc.

___Decide on an action

___Provide mutual support

___Solve a problem

___Resolve a conflict

___Plan the work or an event

Why would you lead a group discussion?

___A group discussion gives everyone involved a voice

___A group discussion allows for a variety of ideas to be expressed and discussed

___Group discussion is generally a democratic, egalitarian process

___A group discussion leads to group ownership of whatever conclusions, plans, or action the group decides upon

___An effective group discussion encourages those who might normally be reluctant to speak their minds

___Group discussions can often open communication channels among people who might not communicate in any other way

___In some cases, a group discussion is simply the obvious, or even the only, way to proceed

You might lead a group discussion because:

___It’s part of your job

___You’ve been asked to

___A discussion is necessary, and you have the skills to lead it

___It was your idea in the first place

Some people who might find themselves leading a group discussion:

___Directors of organizations

___Public officials

___Coalition coordinators

___Professionals with group-leading skills

___Teachers

___Health professionals and health educators

___Respected community members

___Community activists

When might you lead a group discussion?

___At the start of something new

___When an issue can no longer be ignored

___When groups need to be brought together

___When an existing group is considering its next step or seeking to address an issue of importance to it

How do you lead a group discussion?

___Choose the space

___Provide food and drink

___Bring materials to help the discussion along

___Become familiar with the purpose and content of the discussion

___Make sure everyone gets any necessary information, readings, or other material in plenty of time to study it well beforehand

General guidelines:

___Think about leadership style

___Put people at ease

___Help the group develop ground rules

___Generate an agenda or goals for the discussion

___Lead the discussion

Set the topic
Foster the open process
Involve all participants
Ask questions or provide information to move the discussion
Summarize and/or clarify important points and conclusions
Wrap up the session

___Follow up if necessary.

Do’s for discussion leaders:

___Model the behavior and attitudes you want group members to employ

___Use encouraging body language and tone of voice, as well as words

___Give positive feedback for joining the discussion

___Be aware of people’s reactions and feelings, and try to respond appropriately

___Ask open-ended questions

___Control your own biases

___Encourage disagreement, and help the group use it creatively

___Be a recorder if necessary

___Keep your mouth shut as much as possible

Don’ts for discussion leaders:

___Don’t let one or a small group of individuals dominate the discussion

___Don’t let one point of view override others

___Don’t assume that anyone holds particular opinions or positions because of his culture, background, race, personal style, etc.

___By the same token, don’t assume that someone from a particular culture, race, or background speaks for everyone else from that situation

___Don’t be the font of all wisdom

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13 Leadership, Roles, and Problem Solving in Groups

Introduction

13.1 Group Member Roles

Task-related roles and behaviors.

Task roles and their related behaviors contribute directly to the group’s completion of a task or achievement of its goal or purpose. Task-related roles typically serve leadership, informational, or procedural functions. In this section, we will discuss the following roles and behaviors: task leader, expediter, information provider, information seeker, gatekeeper, and recorder.

Task Leader

Within any group, there may be a task leader. This person may have a high group status because of his or her maturity, problem-solving abilities, knowledge, and/or leadership experience and skills. This person acts to help the group complete its task (Cragan & Wright, 1991). This person may be a designated or emergent leader, but in either case, task leaders tend to talk more during group interactions than other group members and also tend to do more work in the group. Depending on the number of tasks a group has, there may be more than one task leader, especially if the tasks require different sets of skills or knowledge. Because of the added responsibilities of being a task leader, people in these roles may experience higher levels of stress. A task leader could lessen these stresses, however, through some of the maintenance role behaviors that will be discussed later.

We can divide task-leader behaviors two types: substantive and procedural (Pavitt, 1999). The substantive leader is the “idea person” who communicates “big picture” thoughts and suggestions that feed group discussion. The procedural leader is the person who gives the most guidance, perhaps following up on the ideas generated by the substantive leader. A skilled and experienced task leader may be able to perform both of these roles, but when the roles are filled by two different people, the person considered the procedural leader is more likely than the substantive leader to be viewed by members as the overall group leader. This indicates that task-focused groups assign more status to the person who actually guides the group toward the completion of the task (a “doer”) than the person who comes up with ideas (the “thinker”).

The expediter is a task-related role that functions to keep the group on track toward completing its task by managing the agenda and setting and assessing goals in order to monitor the group’s progress (Burke, Georganta, & Marlow, 2019). An expediter doesn’t push group members mindlessly along toward the completion of their task; an expediter must have a good sense of when a topic has been sufficiently discussed or when a group’s extended focus on one area has led to diminishing returns. In such cases, the expediter may say, “Now that we’ve had a thorough discussion of the pros and cons of switching the office from PCs to Macs, which side do you think has more support?” or “We’ve spent half of this meeting looking for examples of what other libraries have done and haven’t found anything useful. Maybe we should switch gears so we can get something concrete done tonight.”

To avoid the perception that group members are being rushed, a skilled expediter can demonstrate good active-listening skills by paraphrasing what has been discussed and summarizing what has been accomplished in such a way that makes it easier for group members to see the need to move on.

Information Provider

The information provider role includes behaviors that are more evenly shared compared to other roles, as ideally, all group members present new ideas, initiate discussions of new topics, and contribute their own relevant knowledge and experiences Burke, Georganta, & Marlow, 2019). When group members meet, they each possess different types of information. Early group meetings may consist of group members taking turns briefing each other on their area of expertise. In other situations, one group member may be chosen because of his or her specialized knowledge. This person may be the primary information provider for all other group members. For example, one of our colleagues was selected to serve on a university committee reviewing our undergraduate learning goals. Since her official role was to serve as the “faculty expert” on the subcommittee related to speaking, she played a more central information-provider function for the group during most of the initial meetings. Since other people on the subcommittee were not as familiar with speaking and its place within higher education curriculum, it made sense that information-providing behaviors were not as evenly distributed.

Information Seeker

The information seeker asks for more information, elaboration, or clarification on items relevant to the group’s task Burke, Georganta, & Marlow, 2019). The information sought may include facts or group member opinions. In general, information seekers ask questions for clarification, but they can also ask questions that help provide an important evaluative function. Most groups could benefit from more critically oriented information-seeking behaviors. As our discussion of groupthink notes, critical questioning helps increase the quality of ideas and group outcomes and helps avoid groupthink. By asking for more information, people have to defend (in a non-adversarial way) and/or support their claims, which can help ensure that the information is credible, relevant, and thoroughly considered. When information seeking or questioning occurs because of poor listening skills, it risks negatively affecting the group. Skilled information providers and seekers are also good active listeners. They increase all group members’ knowledge when they paraphrase and ask clarifying questions about the information presented.

The gatekeeper manages the flow of conversation in a group in order to achieve an appropriate balance so that all group members get to participate in a meaningful way Burke, Georganta, & Marlow, 2019). The gatekeeper may prompt others to provide information by saying something like “Let’s each share one idea we have for a movie to show during Black History Month.” He or she may also help correct an imbalance between members who have provided much information already and members who have been quiet by saying something like “Aretha, we’ve heard a lot from you today. Let us hear from someone else. Beau, what are your thoughts on Aretha’s suggestion?” Gatekeepers should be cautious about “calling people out” or at least making them feel that way. Instead of scolding someone for not participating, the gatekeeper should be ask a member to contribute something specific instead of just asking if that person has anything to add. Since gatekeepers make group members feel included, they also service the relational aspects of the group.

The recorder takes notes on the discussion and activities that occur during a group meeting. The recorder is the only role that is essentially limited to one person at a time since in most cases it would not be necessary or beneficial to have more than one person recording. At less formal meetings, there may be no recorder, while at formal meetings there is usually a person who records meeting minutes, which are an overview of what occurred at the meeting. Each committee will have different rules or norms regarding the level of detail within and availability of the minutes.

Maintenance Roles and Behaviors

Maintenance roles and their corresponding behaviors function to create and maintain social cohesion and fulfill the interpersonal needs of group members. All these role behaviors require strong and sensitive interpersonal skills. The maintenance roles we will discuss in this section include social-emotional leader, supporter, tension releaser, harmonizer, and interpreter.

Social-Emotional Leader

Photograph from behind of 4 people with their arms around each other, standing in a field.

The social-emotional leader within a group may perform a variety of maintenance roles and is generally someone who is well liked by the other group members and whose role behaviors complement but do not compete with the task leader. The social-emotional leader may also reassure and support the task leader when he or she is stressed (Koch, 2013). In general, the social-emotional leader is a reflective thinker who has good perception skills that he or she uses to analyze the group dynamics and climate and then initiate the appropriate role behaviors to maintain a positive climate. This is not a role that shifts from person to person. While all members of the group perform some maintenance role behaviors at various times, the socioemotional leader reliably functions to support group members and maintain a positive relational climate. Social-emotional leadership functions can actually become detrimental to the group and lead to less satisfaction among members when they view maintenance behaviors as redundant or as too distracting from the task (Pavitt, 1999).

The role of supporter is characterized by communication behaviors that encourage other group members and provide emotional support as needed (Koch, 2013). The supporter’s work primarily occurs in one-on-one exchanges that are more intimate and in-depth than the exchanges that take place during full group meetings. While many group members may make supporting comments publicly at group meetings, these comments are typically superficial and/or brief. A supporter uses active empathetic listening skills to connect with group members who may seem down or frustrated by saying something like “Tayesha, you seemed kind of down today. Is there anything you’d like to talk about?” Supporters also follow up on previous conversations with group members to maintain the connections they have already established by saying things like “Alan, I remember you said your mom is having surgery this weekend. I hope it goes well. Let me know if you need anything.”

Tension Releaser

The tension releaser is someone who is naturally funny and sensitive to the personalities of the group and the dynamics of any given situation and who uses these qualities to manage the frustration level of the group (Koch, 2013). Being funny is not enough to fulfill this role, as jokes or comments could indeed be humorous to other group members but are delivered at an inopportune time, which ultimately creates rather than releases tension. The healthy use of humor by the tension releaser performs the same maintenance function as the empathy employed by the harmonizer or the social-emotional leader, but it is less intimate and is typically directed toward the whole group instead of just one person.

Group members who help manage the various types of group conflict that emerge during group communication plays the harmonizer role (Koch, 2013). They keep their eyes and ears open for signs of conflict among group members and ideally intervene before it escalates. For example, the harmonizer may sense that one group member’s critique of another member’s idea was not received positively, and he or she may be able to rephrase the critique in a more constructive way, which can help diminish the other group member’s defensiveness. Harmonizers also deescalate conflict once it has already started—for example, by suggesting that the group take a break and then mediating between group members in a side conversation.

These actions can help prevent conflict from spilling over into other group interactions. In cases where the whole group experiences conflict, the harmonizer may help lead the group in perception-checking discussions that help members see an issue from multiple perspectives. For a harmonizer to be effective, he or she must be viewed as impartial and committed to the group as a whole rather than to one side, person, or faction within the larger group. A special kind of harmonizer that helps manage cultural differences within the group is the interpreter.

Interpreter

An interpreter helps manage the diversity within a group by mediating intercultural conflict, articulating common ground between different people, and generally creating a climate where difference is seen as an opportunity rather than as something to be feared (Koch, 2013). Just as an interpreter at the United Nations acts as a bridge between two different languages, the interpreter can bridge identity differences between group members. Interpreters can help perform the other maintenance roles discussed with a special awareness of and sensitivity toward cultural differences. Interpreters, because of their cultural sensitivity, may also take a proactive role to help address conflict before it emerges—for example, by taking a group member aside and explaining why his or her behavior or comments may be perceived as offensive.

Negative Roles and Behaviors

Group communication scholars began exploring the negative side of group member roles more than sixty years ago (Benne & Sheats, 1948). Studying these negative roles can help us analyze group interactions and potentially better understand why some groups are more successful than others are. It is important to acknowledge that we all perform some negative behaviors within groups but that those behaviors do not necessarily constitute a role. A person may temporarily monopolize a discussion to bring attention to his or her idea. If that behavior gets the attention of the group members and makes them realize they were misinformed or headed in a negative direction, then that behavior may have been warranted. Group members may enact negative behaviors with varying degrees of intensity and regularity, and their effects may range from mild annoyance to group failure. In general, the effects grow increasingly negative as they increase in intensity and frequency.

Self-Centered Roles Central Negative

The central negative argues against most of the ideas and proposals discussed in the group and often emerges because of a leadership challenge during group formation. The failed attempt to lead the group can lead to feelings of resentment toward the leader and/or the purpose of the group, which then manifest in negative behaviors that delay, divert, or block the group’s progress toward achieving its goal. This scenario is unfortunate because the central negative is typically a motivated and intelligent group member who can benefit the group if properly handled by the group leader or other members. Group communication scholars suggest that the group leader or leaders actively incorporate central negatives into group tasks and responsibilities to make them feel valued and to help diminish any residual anger, disappointment, or hurt feelings from the leadership conflict (Bormann & Bormann, 1988). Otherwise, the central negative will continue to argue against the proposals and decisions of the group, even when they may agree. In some cases, the central negative may unintentionally serve a beneficial function if his or her criticisms prevent groupthink.

Monopolizer

The monopolizer is a group member who makes excessive verbal contributions, preventing equal participation by other group members. In short, monopolizers like to hear the sound of their own voice and do not follow typical norms for conversational turn taking. Some people who are well-informed, charismatic, and competent communicators can get away with impromptu lectures and long stories, but monopolizers do not possess the magnetic qualities of such people. A group member’s excessive verbal contributions are more likely to be labeled as monopolizing when they are not related to the task or when they provide unnecessary or redundant elaboration. Some monopolizers do not intentionally speak for longer than they should. Instead, they think they are making a genuine contribution to the group. These folks likely lack sensitivity to nonverbal cues, or they would see that other group members are tired of listening or annoyed. Other monopolizers just like to talk and do not care what others think. Some may be trying to make up for a lack of knowledge or experience. This type of monopolizer is best described as a dilettante, or an amateur who tries to pass himself or herself off as an expert.

Several subgroups of behaviors fall under the monopolizer’s role. The “stage hog” monopolizes discussion with excessive verbal contributions and engages in one-upping and narcissistic listening. Gaining an advantage over is a spotlight-stealing strategy in which people try to verbally “out-do” others by saying something like “You think that’s bad? Listen to what happened to me!” They also listen to others in order to find something they can connect back to themselves, not to understand the message. The stage hog is like the diva that refuses to leave the stage to let the next performer begin. Unlike a monopolizer, who may engage in his or her behaviors unknowingly, stage hogs are usually aware of what they are doing.

The “egghead” monopolizes the discussion with excessive contributions based in actual knowledge. However, those contributions exceed the level of understanding of other group members or the needs of the group (Cragan & Wright, 1999). The egghead is different from the dilettante monopolizer discussed earlier because this person has genuine knowledge and expertise on a subject, which may be useful to the group. Nevertheless, like the monopolizer and stage hog, the egghead’s excessive contributions draw attention away from the task, slow the group down, and may contribute to a negative group climate. The egghead may be like an absentminded professor who is smart but lacks the social sensitivity to tell when he or she has said enough and is now starting to annoy other group members. This type of egghead naively believes that other group members care as much about the subject as he or she does.

The second type of egghead is more pompous and monopolizes the discussion to flaunt his or her intellectual superiority. While the group may tolerate the first type of egghead to a point, the group may perceive the second type of egghead more negatively and as one who will hurt the group. In general, the egghead’s advanced subject knowledge and excessive contributions can hurt the group’s potential for synergy, since other group members may defer to the egghead expert, which can diminish the creativity that comes from outside and non-expert perspectives.

13.2 Problem Solving and Decision Making in Groups

Group problem solving.

Common components of group problems: an undesirable situation, a desired situation, obstacles between undesirable and desirable situation.

An undesirable situation. When conditions are desirable, there is not a problem.
A desired situation. Even though it may only be a vague idea, there is a drive to better the undesirable situation. The vague idea may develop into a more precise goal that can be achieved, although solutions are not yet generated.
Obstacles between undesirable and desirable situation. These things stand in the way between the current situation and the group’s goal of addressing it. This component of a problem requires the most work, and it is the part where decision-making occurs. Some examples of obstacles include limited funding, resources, personnel, time, or information. Obstacles can also take the form of people who are working against the group, including people resistant to change or people who disagree.

Task difficulty. Difficult tasks are also typically more complex. Groups should be prepared to spend time researching and discussing a difficult and complex task in order to develop a shared foundational knowledge. This typically requires individual work outside of the group and frequent group meetings to share information.
Number of possible solutions. There are usually multiple ways to solve a problem or complete a task, but some problems have more potential solutions than others do. Figuring out how to prepare a beach house for an approaching hurricane is fairly complex and difficult, but there are still a limited number of things to do—for example, taping and boarding up windows; turning off water, electricity, and gas; trimming trees; and securing loose outside objects. Other problems may require more creativity. For example, designing a new restaurant may entail using some standard solutions but could also entail many different types of innovation with layout and design.
Group member interest in problem. When group members are interested in the problem, they will be more engaged with the problem-solving process and invested in finding a quality solution. Groups with high interest in and knowledge about the problem may want more freedom to develop and implement solutions, while groups with low interest may prefer a leader who provides structure and direction.
Group familiarity with problem. Some groups encounter a problem regularly, while other problems are unique or unexpected. A family who has lived in hurricane alley for decades probably has a better idea of how to prepare its house for a hurricane than does a family that just recently moved from the Midwest. Many groups that rely on funding have to revisit a budget every year, and in recent years, groups have had to get more creative with budgets due to funding cuts in nearly every sector. When group members are not familiar with a problem, they will need to do background research on what similar groups have done. They may want to bring in outside experts.
Need for solution acceptance. In this step, groups must consider how many people the decision will affect and how much “buy-in” from others the group needs in order implement their solution successfully. Some small groups have many stakeholders on whom the success of a solution depends. Other groups are answerable only to themselves. In such cases, groups will want to poll those who will be affected by the solution. They may want to do a pilot implementation to see how people react. Imposing an excellent solution that does not have buy-in from stakeholders can still lead to failure.

Group Problem-Solving Process

There are several variations of similar problem-solving models based on scholar John Dewey’s reflective thinking process (Bormann & Bormann, 1988). As you read the steps in the process, think about how you can apply what we learned regarding the general and specific elements of problems.

Arrow pointing right connecting 5 boxes: define the problem, analyze the problem, generate possible solutions, evaluate solutions, implement and assess the solution

Step 1: Define the Problem

At the end of this stage, the group should be able to compose a single sentence that summarizes the problem called a problem statement . Avoid wording in the problem statement or question that hints at potential solutions. A small group formed to investigate ethical violations of city officials could use the following problem statement: “Our state does not currently have a mechanism for citizens to report suspected ethical violations by city officials.”

Step 2: Analyze the Problem

During this step, a group should analyze the problem and the group’s relationship to the problem. Whereas the first step involved exploring the “what” related to the problem, this step focuses on the “why.” At this stage, group members can discuss the potential causes of the difficulty. Group members may also want to begin setting out an agenda or timeline for the group’s problem-solving process, looking forward to the other steps. To analyze the problem, the group can discuss the five common problem variables discussed before. Here are two examples of questions that the group formed to address ethics violations might ask: Why doesn’t our city have an ethics reporting mechanism? Do cities of similar size have such a mechanism? Once the problem has been analyzed, the group can pose a problem question that will guide the group as it generates possible solutions. “How can citizens report suspected ethical violations of city officials and how will such reports be processed and addressed?” As you can see, the problem question is more complex than the problem statement, since the group has moved on to more in-depth discussion of the problem during step 2.

Step 3: Generate Possible Solutions

During this step, group members generate possible solutions to the problem. Again, do not evaluate solutions at this point, only propose and clarify. The question should be what could we do to address this problem, not what should we do to address it? It is perfectly OK for a group member to question another person’s idea by asking something like “What do you mean?” or “Could you explain your reasoning more?” Discussions at this stage may reveal a need to return to previous steps to better define or more fully analyze a problem. Since many problems are multifaceted, it is necessary for group members to generate solutions for each part of the problem separately, making sure to have multiple solutions for each part. Stopping the solution-generating process prematurely can lead to groupthink.

Step 4: Evaluate Solutions

During this step, solutions can be critically evaluated based on their credibility, completeness, and worth. Once the potential solutions have been narrowed based on differences in relevance and/or merit, the group should analyze each solution based on its potential effects—especially negative effects. Groups that are required to report the rationale for their decision or whose decisions may be subject to public scrutiny would be wise to make a set list of criteria for evaluating each solution.

Additionally, solutions can be evaluated based on how well they fit with the group’s charge and the abilities of the group. To do this, group members may ask, “Does this solution live up to the original purpose or mission of the group?” “Can the solution actually be implemented with our current resources and connections?” “How will this solution be supported, funded, enforced, and assessed?” Secondary tensions and substantive conflict, two concepts discussed earlier, emerge during this step of problem solving, and group members will need to employ effective critical thinking and listening skills.

Decision-making is part of the larger process of problem solving and it plays a prominent role in this step. While there are several similar models for problem solving, groups can use many varied decision-making techniques. For example, to narrow the list of proposed solutions, group members may decide by majority vote, by weighing the pros and cons, or by discussing them until they reach a consensus. There are also more complex decision-making models like the “six hats method,” which we will discuss later. Once the group reaches a final decision, the group leader or facilitator should confirm that the group agrees. It may be beneficial to let the group break for a while or even to delay the final decision until a later meeting to allow people time to evaluate it outside of the group context.

Step 5: Implement and Assess the Solution

Implementing the solution requires some advanced planning, and it should not be rushed unless the group is operating under strict time restraints or a delay may lead to some kind of harm. Although some solutions can be implemented immediately, others may take days, months, or years. As was noted earlier, it may be beneficial for groups to poll those who will be affected by the solution as to their opinion of it or even to do a pilot test to observe the effectiveness of the solution and how people react to it. Before implementation, groups should also determine how and when they would assess the effectiveness of the solution by asking, “How will we know if the solution is working or not?” Since solution assessment will vary based on whether or not the group is disbanded, groups should also consider the following questions: If the group disbands after implementation, who will be responsible for assessing the solution? If the solution fails, will the same group reconvene? Will a new group be formed?

Certain elements of the solution may need to be delegated to various people inside and outside the group. Group members may also be assigned to implement a particular part of the solution based on their role or because it connects to their area of expertise. Likewise, group members may be tasked with publicizing the solution or “selling” it to a particular group of stakeholders. Last, the group should consider its future. In some cases, the group will get to decide if it will stay together and continue working on other tasks or if it will disband. In other cases, outside forces determine the group’s fate.

Decision Making in Groups

We all engage in personal decision making daily, and we all know that some decisions are more difficult than others are. When we make decisions in groups, we face some challenges that we do not face in our personal decision-making, but we also stand to benefit from some advantages of group decision-making (Napier & Gershenfeld, 2004). Group decision making can appear fair and democratic but really only be a gesture that covers up the fact that certain group members or the group leader have already decided. Group decision making also takes more time than individual decisions and can be burdensome if some group members do not do their assigned work, divert the group with self-centered or unproductive role behaviors, or miss meetings.

Conversely, though, group decisions are often more informed, since all group members develop a shared understanding of a problem through discussion and debate. The shared understanding may also be more complex and deep than what an individual would develop, because group members expose themselves to a variety of viewpoints that can broaden their own perspectives. Group decisions also benefit from synergy, one of the key advantages of group communication that we discussed earlier. Most groups do not use a specific method of decision-making, perhaps thinking that they will work things out as they go. This can lead to unequal participation, social loafing, premature decisions, prolonged discussion, and a host of other negative consequences. Therefore, in this section we will learn some practices that will prepare us for good decision-making and some specific techniques we can use to help us reach a final decision.

Brainstorming Before Decision Making

Photo of a woman sitting at her laptop drinking coffee. Her finger is pointed up, eyebrows raised, mouth in an O shape, eyes widened, as if she has a good idea.

Before groups can make a decision, they need to generate possible solutions to their problem. The most commonly used method is brainstorming, although most people do not follow the recommended steps of brainstorming. As you will recall, brainstorming refers to the quick generation of ideas free of evaluation. The originator of the term brainstorming said the following four rules must be followed for the technique to be effective (Osborn, 1959):

Evaluation of ideas is forbidden.
Wild and crazy ideas are encouraged.
Quantity of ideas, not quality, is the goal.
New combinations of ideas presented are encouraged.

Do a warm-up brainstorming session. Some people are more apprehensive about publicly communicating their ideas than others are, and a warm-up session can help ease apprehension and prime group members for task-related idea generation. Anyone in the group can initiate the short warm-up. To get things started, a person could ask, “If our group formed a band, what would we be called?” or “What other purposes could a mailbox serve?” In the previous examples, the first warm up gets the group’s creative juices flowing, while the second focuses more on practical and concrete ideas.
Do the actual brainstorming session. This session should not last more than thirty minutes and should follow the four rules of brainstorming mentioned previously. In order to realize the fourth rule, the facilitator could encourage people to piggyback off each other’s ideas.
Eliminate duplicate ideas. After the brainstorming session is over, group members can eliminate (without evaluating) ideas that are the same or very similar.
Clarify, organize, and evaluate ideas. Before evaluation, see if any ideas need clarification. Then try to theme or group ideas together in some orderly fashion. Since “wild and crazy” ideas are encouraged, some suggestions may need clarification. If it becomes clear that there is not really a foundation to an idea and that it is too vague or abstract, it may be eliminated. As a caution, though, it may be wise not to throw out off-the-wall ideas that are hard to categorize and instead put them in a miscellaneous or “wild and crazy” category.

Discussion Before Decision Making

The nominal group technique guides decision making through a four-step process that includes idea generation and evaluation and seeks to elicit equal contributions from all group members (Delbecq & Van de Ven, 1971). This method is useful because the procedure involves all group members systematically, which fixes the problem of uneven participation during discussions. Since everyone contributes to the discussion, this method can also help reduce instances of social loafing. To use the nominal group technique, do the following:

Silently and individually, list ideas.
Create a master list of ideas.
Clarify ideas as needed.
Take a secret vote to rank group members’ acceptance of ideas.

During the first step, have group members work quietly, in the same space, to write down every idea they have to address the task or problem they face. This should not take more than twenty minutes. Whoever is facilitating the discussion should remind group members to use brainstorming techniques, which means they should not evaluate ideas as they are generated. Ask group members to remain silent once they have finished their list so they do not distract others.

During step three, the facilitator should note that group members could now ask for clarification on ideas on the master list. Do not let this discussion stray into evaluation of ideas. To help avoid an unnecessarily long discussion, it may be useful to go from one person to the next to ask which ideas need clarifying and then go to the originator(s) of the idea in question for clarification.

Specific Decision-Making Techniques

Majority rule is a commonly used decision-making technique in which a majority (one-half plus one) must agree before making a decision (Schippers & Rus, 2021). A show-of-hands vote, a paper ballot, or an electronic voting system can determine the majority choice. Many decision-making bodies, including the US House of Representatives, Senate, and Supreme Court, use majority rule to make decisions, which shows that it is often associated with democratic decision making, since each person gets one vote and each vote counts equally. Of course, other individuals and mediated messages can influence a person’s vote, but since the voting power is spread among all group members, it is not easy for one person or party to take control of the decision-making process. In some cases—for example, to override a presidential veto or to amend the constitution—a super majority of two-thirds may be required to make a decision.

This type of decision-making is more similar to that used by monarchs and dictators. An obvious negative consequence of this method is that the needs or wants of one person can override the needs and wants of the majority. A minority deciding for the majority has led to negative consequences throughout history. The white Afrikaner minority that ruled South Africa for decades instituted apartheid, which was a system of racial segregation that disenfranchised and oppressed the majority population. The quality of the decision and its fairness really depends on the designated expert or authority.

Consensus rule is a decision-making technique in which all members of the group must agree on the same decision. On rare occasions, a decision may be ideal for all group members, which can lead to unanimous agreement without further debate and discussion. Although this can be positive, be cautious that this is not a sign of groupthink. More typically, groups reach consensus only after lengthy discussion. On the plus side, consensus often leads to high-quality decisions due to the time and effort it takes to get everyone in agreement. Group members are also more likely to be committed to the decision because of their investment in reaching it. On the negative side, the ultimate decision is often one that all group members can live with but not one that is ideal for all members. Additionally, the process of arriving at consensus also includes conflict, as people debate ideas and negotiate the interpersonal tensions that may result.

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Influences on Decision Making

Situational Influences on Decision-Making

A group’s situational context affects decision-making (Franken & Muris, 2005). One key situational element is the degree of freedom that the group has to make its own decisions, secure its own resources, and initiate its own actions. Some groups have to go through multiple approval processes before they can do anything, while others are self-directed, self-governing, and self-sustaining. Another situational influence is uncertainty. In general, groups deal with more uncertainty in decision-making than do individuals because of the increased number of variables that comes with adding more people to a situation. Individual group members cannot know what other group members are thinking, whether they are doing their work, and how committed they are to the group. Therefore, the size of a group is a powerful situational influence, as it adds to uncertainty and complicates communication.

The origin and urgency of a problem are also situational factors that influence decision-making. In terms of origin, problems usually occur in one of four ways:

Something goes wrong. Group members must decide how to fix or stop something. Example—a firehouse crew finds out that half of the building is contaminated with mold and must be closed down.
Expectations change or increase. Group members must innovate more efficient or effective ways of doing something. Example—a firehouse crew finds out that the district they are responsible for is being expanded.
Something goes wrong and expectations change or increase. Group members must fix/stop and become more efficient/effective. Example—the firehouse crew has to close half the building and must start responding to more calls due to the expanding district.
The problem existed from the beginning. Group members must go back to the origins of the situation, walk through and analyze the steps again to decide what can be done differently. Example—a firehouse crew has consistently had to work with minimal resources in terms of building space and firefighting tools.

Cultural Context and Decision-Making

Photo of 6 different hands on top of each other in a circle. Below the hands are papers and laptops on a table.

Additionally, when group members have time to get to know each other and competently communicate across their differences, the advantages of diversity include better decision making due to different perspectives (Thomas, 1999). Unfortunately, groups often operate under time constraints and other pressures that make the possibility for intercultural dialogue and understanding difficult. The main disadvantage of heterogeneous groups is the possibility for conflict, but since all groups experience conflict, this is not solely due to the presence of diversity. We will now look more specifically at how some of the cultural value orientations we have learned about already in this text can play out in groups with international diversity and how domestic diversity in terms of demographics can influence group decision making.

International Diversity in Group Interactions

Cultural value orientations such as individualism/collectivism, power distance, and high-/low-context communication styles all manifest on a continuum of communication behaviors and can influence group decision making (Yates & de Oliveira, 2016). Group members from individualistic cultures are more likely to value task-oriented, efficient, and direct communication. This could manifest in behaviors such as dividing tasks into individual projects before collaboration begins and then openly debating ideas during discussion and decision-making. Additionally, people from cultures that value individualism are more likely to express dissent from a decision, essentially expressing their disagreement with the group. Group members from collectivistic cultures are more likely to value relationships over the task. Because of this, they also tend to value conformity and face-saving (i.e., indirect) communication. This could manifest in behaviors such as establishing norms that include periods of socializing to build relationships before task-oriented communication (like negotiations) begins or norms that limit public disagreement in favor of more indirect communication that doesn’t challenge the face of other group members or the group’s leader. In a group composed of people from a collectivistic culture, each member would likely play harmonizing roles, looking for signs of conflict and resolving them before they become public.

Power distance can also affect group interactions. Some cultures rank higher on power-distance scales, meaning they value hierarchy, make decisions based on status, and believe that people have a set place in society that is unchangeable. Group members from high-power-distance cultures would likely appreciate a strong designated leader who exhibits a more directive leadership style and prefer groups in which members have clear and assigned roles. In a group that is homogenous in terms of having a high-power-distance orientation, members with higher status would be able to openly provide information, and those with lower status may not provide information unless a higher status member explicitly seeks it from them. Low-power-distance cultures do not place as much value and meaning on status and believe that all group members can participate in decision-making. Group members from low-power-distance cultures would likely freely speak their mind during a group meeting and prefer a participative leadership style.

How much meaning is conveyed through the context surrounding verbal communication can also affect group communication. Some cultures have a high-context communication style in which much of the meaning in an interaction is conveyed through context such as nonverbal cues and silence. Group members from high-context cultures may avoid saying something directly, assuming that other group members will understand the intended meaning even if the message is indirect. Therefore, if someone disagrees with a proposed course of action, he or she may say, “Let’s discuss this tomorrow,” and mean, “I don’t think we should do this.” Such indirect communication is also a face-saving strategy that is common in collectivistic cultures. Other cultures have a low-context communication style that places more importance on the meaning conveyed through words than through context or nonverbal cues. Group members from low-context cultures often say what they mean and mean what they say. For example, if someone does not like an idea, they might say, “I think we should consider more options. This one doesn’t seem like the best we can do.”

In any of these cases, an individual from one culture operating in a group with people of a different cultural orientation could adapt to the expectations of the host culture, especially if that person possesses a high degree of intercultural communication competence (ICC). Additionally, people with high ICC can also adapt to a group member with a different cultural orientation than the host culture. Even though these cultural orientations connect to values that affect our communication in consistent ways, individuals may exhibit different communication behaviors depending on their own individual communication style and the situation.

Domestic Diversity and Group Communication

Both of these tendencies create a perception that men are more engaged with the task. Men are also socialized to be more competitive and self-congratulatory, meaning that their communication may be seen as dedicated and their behaviors seen as powerful, and that when their work isn’t noticed they will be more likely to make it known to the group rather than take silent credit. Even though we know that the relational elements of a group are crucial for success, even in high-performance teams, that work is not as valued in our society as the task-related work.

Now, instead of assuming biological sex is a factor that creates inherent communication differences, group communication scholars see that men and women both exhibit a range of behaviors that are more or less feminine or masculine. It is these gendered behaviors, and not a person’s gender, that seem to have more of an influence on perceptions of group communication. Interestingly, group interactions are still masculinist in that male and female group members prefer a more masculine communication style for task leaders and that both males and females in this role are more likely to adapt to a more masculine communication style. Conversely, men who take on social-emotional leadership behaviors adopt a more feminine communication style. In short, it seems that although masculine communication traits are more often associated with high status positions in groups, both men and women adapt to this expectation and are evaluated similarly (Haslett & Ruebush, 1999).

An older man with a mask on using machinery in a workshop.

In terms of age, for the first time since industrialization began, it is common to have three generations of people (and sometimes four) working side by side in an organizational setting. Although four generations often worked together in early factories, they were segregated based on their age group, and a hierarchy existed with older workers at the top and younger workers at the bottom. Today, however, generations interact regularly, and it is common for an older person to have a leader or supervisor who is younger than him or her (Allen, 2011). The current generations in the US workplace and consequently in work-based groups include the following:

The Silent Generation. Born between 1925 and 1942, currently in their mid-60s to mid-80s, this is the smallest generation in the workforce right now, as many have retired or left for other reasons. This generation includes people who were born during the Great Depression or the early part of World War II, many of whom later fought in the Korean War (Clarke, 1970).
The Baby Boomers. Born between 1946 and 1964, currently in their late forties to mid-60s, this is the largest generation in the workforce right now. Baby boomers are the most populous generation born in US history, and they are working longer than previous generations, which means they will remain the predominant force in organizations for ten to twenty more years.
Generation X. Born between 1965 and 1981, currently in their early thirties to mid-40s, this generation was the first to see technology like cell phones and the Internet make its way into classrooms and our daily lives. Compared to previous generations, “Gen-Xers” are more diverse in terms of race, religious beliefs, and sexual orientation and have a greater appreciation for and understanding of diversity.
Generation Y. Born between 1982 and 2000, “Millennials” as they are also called are currently in their late teens up to about thirty years old. This generation is not as likely to remember a time without technology such as computers and cell phones. They are just entering into the workforce and have been greatly affected by recent economic crises. They are experiencing significantly high unemployment rates.

Figure 13.1: Social-emotional leaders are reflective thinkers who use their perception skills to analyze group dynamics and maintain a positive climate. Dim Hou. 2019. Unsplash license . https://unsplash.com/photos/2P6Q7_uiDr0

Figure 13.2: Common components of group problems. Kindred Grey. 2022. CC BY 4.0 .

Figure 13.3: The group problem-solving process. Kindred Grey. 2022. CC BY 4.0 .

Figure 13.4: Brainstorming is a good way to generate possible solutions to a problem. Below are some suggestions to make brainstorming more of a decision-making method. Monstera. 2021. Pexels license . https://www.pexels.com/photo/excited-black-woman-using-laptop-9429552/

Figure 13.5: Culturally heterogeneous groups perform better than more homogenous groups. fauxels. 2019. Pexels license . https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-people-near-wooden-table-3184418/

Figure 13.6: It is common to have different generations working together in an organizational setting. Rendy Novantino. 2021. Unsplash license . https://unsplash.com/photos/wJoRe38l8fc

Section 13.1

Benne, K. D., & Sheats, P. (1948). Functional roles of group members. Journal of Social Issues 4(2), 41–49. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1948.tb01783.x

Bormann, E. G., & Bormann, N.C., (1988). Effective small group communication ( 4th ed.). Burgess International Group.

Burke, C. S., Georganta, E., & Marlow, S. (2019). A bottom up perspective to understanding the dynamics of team roles in mission critical teams. Frontiers in psychology , 10 , 1322. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01322

Cragan, J. F., & Wright, D. W. (1991). Communication in small group discussions: An integrated approach (3rd ed.). West Publishing.

Koch, A. (2013, October 24). Individual roles in groups . https://prezi.com/gmbfihtzyjg4/individual-roles-in-groups/

Pavitt, C. (1999). Theorizing about the group communication-leadership relationship. In L. R. Frey (Ed.), The handbook of group communication Theory and research (pp. 313-334). Sage.

Section 13.2

Adams, K., and Galanes, G. (2009). Communicating in groups: Applications and skills (7th ed.). McGraw Hill.

Allen, B. J. (2011). Difference matters: Communicating social identity (2nd ed.). Waveland Press.

Clarke, G. (1970, June 29). The silent generation revisited. Time, 95 (26), 38-40.

Delbecq, A. L., & Van de Ven, A. H. (1971). A group process model for problem identification and program planning. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science , 7 (4), 466–492. https://doi.org/10.1177/002188637100700404

Franken, I. H. A., and Muris, P. (2005). Individual differences in decision-making. Personality and Individual Differences, 39 (5), 991–998. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.04.004

Haslett, B.B., Ruebush, J. (1999). What differences do individual differences in groups make? The effects of individuals, culture, and group composition. In L. R. Frey, D. S. Gouran, & M. S. Poole (Eds.), The handbook of group communication theory and research (pp. 115–138). Sage.

Hentschel, T., Heilman, M. E., & Peus, C. V. (2019). The multiple dimensions of gender stereotypes: A current look at men’s and women’s characterizations of others and themselves. Frontiers in Psychology , 10 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00011

Napier, R. W., & Gershenfeld, M. K. (2004). Groups: Theory and experience (7th ed.). Houghton Mifflin.

Osborn, A. F. (1959). Applied imagination. Charles Scribner’s Sons.

Schippers, M. C., & Rus, D. C. (2021). Majority decision-making works best under conditions of leadership ambiguity and shared task representations. Frontiers in Psychology , 12 , 519295. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.519295

Stanton, C. (2009, November 3). How to deliver group presentations: The unified team approach . http://sixminutes.dlugan.com/group-presentations-unified-team-approach/

Thomas, D. C. (1999). Cultural diversity and work group effectiveness: An experimental study. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 30(2), 242–263. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022022199030002006

Yates, J. F., & de Oliveira, S. (2016). Culture and decision making. Organizational behavior and human decision processes , 136 , 106–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2016.05.003

A task-related role that functions to keep the group on track toward completing its task by managing the agenda and setting and assessing goals in order to monitor the group’s progress

This role includes behaviors that are more evenly shared compared to other roles, as ideally, all group members present new ideas, initiate discussions of new topics, and contribute their own relevant knowledge and experiences

The person who has this task-related role asks for more information, elaboration, or clarification on items relevant to the group’s task

This person manages the flow of conversation in a group in order to achieve an appropriate balance so that all group members get to participate in a meaningful way

The person who takes notes on the discussion and activities that occur during a group meeting. This role is the only role that is limited to one person at a time

A maintenance role that is characterized by communication behaviors that encourage other group members and provide emotional support as needed

Group members who help manage the various types of group conflict that emerge during group communication, they keep their eyes and ears open for signs of conflict among group members and ideally intervene before it escalates

This person helps manage the diversity within a group by mediating intercultural conflict, articulating common ground between different people, and generally creating a climate where difference is seen as an opportunity rather than as something to be feared

A group member who makes excessive verbal contributions preventing equal participation by other group members. Can include the “egghead” and the “stage hog.”

This technique guides decision making through a four-step process that includes idea generation and evaluation and seeks to elicit equal contributions from all group members

A commonly used decision-making technique in which a majority (one-half plus one) must agree before making the decision

A decision making technique in which a designated authority or expert has final say over a decision and may or may not consider the input of other group members

A decision-making technique in which all members of the group must agree on the same decision

Communication in the Real World Copyright © by Faculty members in the School of Communication Studies, James Madison University is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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12 Groups and Problem Solving

Introductory Exercises

Contact two people who work in different parts of your college or university and ask them what problems they consider to be most significant in their immediate office or work area. What similarities and differences do you see between the two groups of problems?
Ask a family member to describe a problem he or she has solved recently. Describe the steps the person took in reaching the solution and identify the one(s) that you feel were most important in contributing to the solution. Which of the steps would you be most likely to take in a similar situation?
Identify two or three aspects of a course you’re taking or have recently taken that you feel could be improved (e.g., grading, course policies, nature of reading materials, etc.). Describe the steps you might take with a group of fellow students to respond to those elements of the course.
What decision have you made in the last 2–3 years that you’re proudest of? What lessons or advice do you think someone else could draw from the way you reached that decision?

12.1 Group Problem Solving

Learning Objectives

Identify and describe how to implement seven steps for group problem- solving.

No matter who you are or where you live, problems are an inevitable part of life. This is true for groups as well as for individuals. Some groups—especially work teams—are formed specifically to solve problems. Other groups encounter problems for a wide variety of reasons. Within a family group, a problem might be that a daughter or son wants to get married and the parents do not approve of the marriage partner. In a work group, a problem might be that some workers are putting in more effort than others, yet achieving poorer results. Regardless of the problem, having the resources of a group can be an advantage, as different people can contribute different ideas for how to reach a satisfactory solution.

Once a group encounters a problem, the questions that come up range from “Where do we start?” to “How do we solve it?” While there are many ways to approach a problem, the American educational philosopher John Dewey’s reflective thinking sequence has stood the test of time. This seven step process [1] has produced positive results and serves as a handy organizational structure. If you are member of a group that needs to solve a problem and don’t know where to start, consider these seven simple steps [2] :

Define the problem.
Analyze the problem.
Establish criteria.
Consider possible solutions.
Decide on a solution.
Implement the solution.
Follow up on the solution.

Define the Problem

If you don’t know what the problem is, how can you know you’ve solved it? Defining the problem allows the group to set boundaries of what the problem is and what it is not; and begin to formalize a description or definition of the scope, size, or extent of the challenge the group will address. A problem that is too broadly defined can overwhelm the group. If the problem is too narrowly defined, important information will be missed or ignored.

In the following example, we have a web-based company called Favorites which needs to increase its customer base and ultimately sales. A problem-solving group has been formed, and they start by formulating a working definition of the problem.

Too Broad: “Sales are off, our numbers are down, and we need more customers.”
More Precise: “Sales have been slipping incrementally for 6 of the past 9 months and are significantly lower than a seasonally adjusted comparison to last year. Overall this loss represents a 4.5% reduction in sales from the same time last year. However, when we break it down by product category, sales of our non-edible products have seen a modest but steady increase, while sales of edibles account for the drop off and we need to halt the decline.”

Analyze the Problem

Now the group analyzes the problem, trying to gather information and learn more. The problem is complex and requires more than one area of expertise. Why do non- edible products continue selling well? What is it about the edibles that is turning customers off? Let’s meet our problem-solvers at Favorites.

Kevin is responsible for customer resource management. He is involved with the customer from the point of initial contact through purchase and delivery. Most of the interface is automated in the form of an online “basket model,” where photographs and product descriptions are accompanied by “Buy It” buttons. He is available during normal working business hours for live chat and voice interface if needed, and customers are invited to request additional information. Most Favorites customers do not access this service, but Kevin is kept quite busy, as he also handles returns and complaints. Because Kevin believes that superior service retains customers while attracting new ones, he is always interested in better ways to serve the customer. Looking at edibles and non-edibles, he will study the cycle of customer service and see if there are any common points, from the main webpage through the catalog to the purchase process to returns, at which customers abandon the sale. He has existing customer feedback loops with end-of-sale surveys, but most customers decline to take the survey and there is currently no incentive to participate.

Mariah is responsible for products and purchasing. She wants to offer the best products at the lowest price, and to offer new products that are unusual, rare, or exotic. She regularly adds new products to the Favorites catalog and culls underperformers. Right now she has the data on every product and its sales history, but it is a challenge to represent it. She will analyze current sales data and produce a report that specifically identifies how each product, edible and non-edible, is performing. She wants to highlight “winners” and “losers” but also recognizes that today’s “losers” may be the hit of tomorrow. It is hard to predict constantly changing tastes and preferences, but that is part of her job. It’s not all science, and it’s not all art. She has to have an eye for what will catch on tomorrow while continuing to provide what is hot today.

Suri is responsible for data management at Favorites. She gathers, analyzes, and presents information gathered from the supply chain, sales, and marketing. She works with vendors to make sure products are available when needed, makes sales predictions based on past sales history, and assesses the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

The problem-solving group members already have certain information on hand. They know that customer retention is one contributing factor. Attracting new customers is a constant goal, but they are aware of the well-known principle that it takes more effort to attract new customers than to keep existing ones. Thus, it is important to insure a quality customer service experience for existing customers and encourage them to refer friends. The group needs to determine how to promote this favorable customer behavior.

Another contributing factor seems to be that customers often abandon the shopping cart before completing a purchase, especially when purchasing edibles. The group members need to learn more about why this is happening.

Establish Criteria

Establishing the criteria for a solution is the next step. At this point, information is coming in from diverse perspectives, and each group member has contributed information from their perspective, even though there may be several points of overlap.

Kevin: Customers who complete the post-sale survey indicate that they want to know 1) what is the estimated time of delivery, 2) why a specific item was not in stock and when it will be, and 3) why their order sometimes arrives with less than a complete order, with some items back-ordered, without prior notification.

He notes that a very small percentage of customers complete the post-sale survey, and the results are far from scientific. He also notes that it appears the interface is not capable of cross-checking inventory to provide immediate information concerning back orders, so that the customer “buys it” only to learn several days later that it was not in stock. This seems to be especially problematic for edible products, because people may tend to order them for special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries. But we don’t really know this for sure because of the low participation in the post-sale survey.

Mariah: There are four edible products that frequently sell out. So far, we haven’t been able to boost the appeal of other edibles so that people would order them as a second choice when these sales leaders aren’t available. We also have several rare, exotic products that are slow movers. They have potential, but currently are underperformers.

Suri: We know from a zip code analysis that most of our customers are from a few specific geographic areas associated with above-average incomes. We have very few credit cards declined, and the average sale is over $100.

Shipping costs represent on average 8% of the total sales cost. We do not have sufficient information to produce a customer profile. There is no specific point in the purchase process where basket abandonment tends to happen; it happens fairly uniformly at all steps.

Consider Possible Solutions to the Problem

The group has listened to each other and now starts to brainstorm ways to address the challenges they have addressed while focusing resources on those solutions that are more likely to produce results.

Kevin: Is it possible for our programmers to create a cross-index feature, linking the product desired with a report of how many are in stock? I’d like the customer to know right away whether it is in stock, or how long they may have to wait. As another idea, is it possible to add incentives to the purchase cycle that won’t negatively impact our overall profit? I’m thinking a small volume discount on multiple items, or perhaps free shipping over a specific dollar amount.

Mariah: I recommend we hold a focus group where customers can sample our edible products and tell us what they like best and why. When the best sellers are sold out, could we offer a discount on related products to provide an instant alternative? We might also cull the underperforming products with a liquidation sale to generate interest.

Suri: If we want to know more about our customers, we need to give them an incentive to complete the post-sale survey. How about a five percent off coupon code for the next purchase, to get them to return and to help us better identify our customer base? We may also want to build in a customer referral rewards program, but it all takes better data in to get results out. We should also explore the supply side of the business and see if we can get a more reliable supply of the leading products, and try to get more advantageous discounts from our suppliers, especially in the edible category.

Decide on a Solution

Kevin, Mariah, and Suri may want to implement all of the solution strategies, but they do not have the resources to do them all. They’ll complete a cost/benefit analysis , which ranks each solution according to its probable impact. The analysis is shown in Table 11.1 “Cost/Benefit Analysis” .

Now that the options have been presented with their costs and benefits, it is easier for the group to decide which courses of action are likely to yield the best outcomes. The analysis helps the group members to see beyond the immediate cost of implementing a given solution. For example, Kevin’s suggestion of offering free shipping won’t cost Favorites much money, but it also may not pay off in customer goodwill. And even though Mariah’s suggestion of having a focus group might sound like a good idea, it will be expensive and its benefits are questionable.

A careful reading of the analysis indicates that Kevin’s best suggestion is to integrate the cross-index feature in the ordering process so that customers can know immediately whether an item is in stock or on back order. Of Mariah’s suggestions, searching for alternative products is probably the most likely to benefit Favorites. And Suri’s two supply-side suggestions are likely to result in positive outcomes.

Implement the Solution

Kevin is faced with the challenge of designing the computer interface without incurring unacceptable costs. He strongly believes that the interface will pay for itself within the first year—or, to put if more bluntly, that Favorites’ declining sales will get worse if the website does not soon have this feature. He asks to meet with top management to get budget approval and secures their agreement, on one condition: He must negotiate a compensation schedule with the Information Technology consultants that includes delayed compensation in the form of bonuses after the feature has been up and running successfully for six months.

Mariah knows that searching for alternative products is a never-ending process, but it takes time and the company needs results. She decides to invest time evaluating products that competing companies currently offer, especially in the edible category, on the theory that customers who find their desired items sold out on the Favorites website may have been buying alternative products elsewhere instead of choosing an alternative from Favorites’ product lines.

Suri decides to approach the vendors of the four frequently sold-out products and ask point blank: “What would it take to get you to produce these items more reliably in greater quantities?” By opening the channel of communication with these vendors, she is able to motivate them to make modifications that will improve the reliability and quantity. She also approaches the vendors of the less popular products with a request for better discounts in return for cooperation in developing and test-marketing new products.

Follow up on the Solution

This scenario allows us to see the problem may have many dimensions, and may have several solutions, but resources can be limited and not every solution is successful. Even though the problem is not immediately resolved, the group problem-solving pattern serves as a useful guide through the problem-solving process.

Key Takeaways

Group problem-solving can be an orderly process when it is broken down into seven specific stages.

Think of a problem encountered in the past by a group of which you are a member. How did the group solve the problem? How satisfactory was the solution? Discuss your results with your classmates.
Consider again the problem you described in Exercise #1. In view of the seven-step framework, which steps did the group utilize? Would following the full seven-step framework have been helpful? Discuss your opinion with a classmate.
Research one business that you would like to know more about and see if you can learn about how they communicate in groups and teams Compare your results with those of classmates.
Think of a decision you will be making some time in the near future. Apply the cost/benefit analysis framework to your decision. Do you find this method helpful? Discuss your results with classmates.

12.2 Group Decision-Making

Define decision-making and distinguish between decision-making and problem-solving.
Describe five methods of group decision-making.
Identify six guidelines for consensus decision-making.
Define autocratic, democratic, and participative decision-making styles and place them within the Tannenbaum-Schmidt continuum.

Life is the sum of all your choices.

– Albert Camus

Simply put, decision-making is the process of choosing among options and arriving at a position, judgment, or action. It usually answers a “wh-” question—i.e., what, who, where, or when?—or perhaps a “how” question.

A group may, of course, make a decision in order to solve a problem. For instance, a group of students might discover halfway through a project that some of its members are failing to contribute to the required work. They might then decide to develop a written timeline and a set of deadlines for itself if it believes that action will lead them out of their difficulty.

Not every group decision, however, will be in response to a problem. Many decisions relate to routine logistical matters such as when and where to schedule an event or how to reach someone who wasn’t able to make it to a meeting (r outine in nature; applicable to fundamental elements and considerations of how an organization or process works). Thus, decision-making differs from problem-solving.

Any decision-making in a group, even about routine topics, is significant. Why? Because decision-making, like problem-solving, results in a change in a group’s status, posture, or stature. Such change, in turn, requires energy and attention on the part of a group in order for the group to progress easily into a new reality. Things will be different in the group once a problem has been solved or a decision has been reached, and group members will need to adjust.

Methods of Reaching Decisions

Research does indicate that groups generate more ideas and make more accurate decisions on matters for which a known preferred solution exists, but they also operate more slowly than individuals. [3] Under time pressure and other constraints, some group leaders exercise their power to make a decision unilaterally —alone—because they’re willing to sacrifice a degree of accuracy for the sake of speed. Sometimes this behavior turns out to be wise; sometimes it doesn’t.

Assuming that a group determines that it must reach a decision together on some matter, rather than deferring to the will of a single person, it can proceed according to several methods. Parker and Hoffman [4] , along with Hartley and Dawson [5] , place decision-making procedures in several categories.

Here is a synthesis of their views of how decision-making can take place:

1. “A plop.”

A group may conduct a discussion in which members express views and identify alternatives but then reach no decision and take no action. When people go their own ways after such a “ plop ,” things sometimes take care of themselves, and the lack of a decision causes no difficulties. On the other hand, if a group ignores or postpones a decision which really needs attention, its members may confront tougher decisions later—some of which may deal with problems brought about by not addressing a topic when it was at an early stage.

2. Delegation to an expert.

A group may not be ready to make a decision at a given time, either because it lacks sufficient information or is experiencing unresolved conflict among members with differing views. In such a situation, the group may not want to simply drop the matter and move on. Instead, it may turn to one of its members who everyone feels has the expertise to choose wisely among the alternatives that the group is considering.

The group can either ask the expert to come back later with a final proposal or simply allow the person to make the decision alone after having gathered whatever further information he or she feels is necessary.

3. Averaging.

Group members may shift their individual stances regarding a question by “splitting the difference” to reach a “middle ground.” This technique tends to work most easily if numbers are involved. For instance, a group trying to decide how much money to spend on a gift for a departing member might ask everyone for a preferred amount and agree to spend whatever is computed by averaging those amounts.

4. Voting.

If you need to be quick and definitive in making a decision, voting is probably the best method. Everyone in mainstream American society is familiar with the process, for one thing, and its outcome is inherently clear and obvious. A majority vote requires that more than half of a group’s members vote for a proposal, whereas a proposal subject to a two-thirds vote will not pass unless twice as many members show support as those who oppose it.

Voting is essentially a win/lose activity. You can probably remember a time when you or someone else in a group composed part of a strong and passionate minority whose desires were thwarted because of the results of a vote. How much commitment did you feel to support the results of that vote?

Voting does offer a quick and simple way to reach decisions, but it works better in some situations than in others. If the members of a group see no other way to overcome a deadlock, for instance, voting may make sense. Likewise, very large groups and those facing serious time constraints may see advantages to voting. Finally, the efficiency of voting is appealing when it comes to making routine or noncontroversial decisions that need only to be officially approved.

5. Consensus.

In consensus decision-making, group members reach a resolution which all of the members can support as being acceptable as a means of accomplishing some mutual goal even though it may not be the preferred choice for everyone. In common use, “consensus” can range in meaning from unanimity to a simple majority vote. In public policy facilitation and multilateral international negotiations, however, the term refers to a general agreement reached after discussions and consultations, usually without voting. “consensus”. (2002). In [6]

Consensus should not be confused with unanimity , which means only that no one has explicitly stated objections to a proposal or decision. Although unanimity can certainly convey an accurate perspective of a group’s views at times, groupthink also often leads to unanimous decisions. Therefore, it’s probably wise to be cautious when a group of diverse people seems to have formed a totally unified bloc with respect to choices among controversial alternatives.

When a consensus decision is reached through full interchange of views and is then adopted in good faith by all parties to a discussion, it can energize and motivate a group. Besides avoiding the win/lose elements intrinsic to voting, it converts each member’s investment in a decision into a stake in preserving and promoting the decision after it has been agreed upon.

Guidelines for Seeking Consensus

How can a group actually go about working toward consensus? Here are some guidelines for the process:

First, be sure everyone knows the definition of consensus and is comfortable with observing them. For many group members, this may mean suspending judgment and trying something they’ve never done before. Remind people that consensus requires a joint dedication to moving forward toward improvement in and by the group.

Second, endeavor to solicit participation by every member of the group. Even the naturally quietest person should be actively “polled” from time to time for his or her perspectives. In fact, it’s a good idea to take special pains to ask for varied viewpoints when discussion seems to be stalled or contentious.

Third, listen honestly and openly to each group member’s viewpoints. Attempt to seek and gather information from others. Do your best to subdue your emotions and your tendency to judge and evaluate.

Fourth, be patient. To reach consensus often takes much more time than voting would. A premature “agreement” reached because people give in to speed things up or avoid conflict is likely later to weaken or fall apart.

Fifth, always look for mutually acceptable ways to make it through challenging circumstances. Don’t resort to chance mechanisms like flipping a coin, and don’t trade decisions arbitrarily just so that things come out equally for people who remain committed to opposing views.

Sixth, resolve gridlock earnestly. Stop and ask, “Have we really identified every possible feasible way that our group might act?” If members of a group simply can’t agree on one alternative, see if they can all find and accept a next-best option. Then be sure to request an explicit statement from them that they are prepared to genuinely commit themselves to that option.

One variation on consensus decision-making calls upon a group’s leader to ask its members, before initiating a discussion, to agree to a deadline and a “safety valve.” The deadline would be a time by which everyone in the group feels they need to have reached a decision. The “safety valve” would be a statement that any member can veto the will of the rest of the group to act in a certain way, but only if he or she takes responsibility for moving the group forward in some other positive direction.

Although consensus entails full participation and assent within a group, it usually can’t be reached without guidance from a leader. One college president we knew was a master at escorting his executive team to consensus. Without coercing or rushing them, he would regularly involve them all in discussions and lead their conversations to a point at which everyone was nodding in agreement, or at least conveying acceptance of a decision. Rather than leaving things at that point, however, the president would generally say, “We seem to have reached a decision to do XYZ. Is there anyone who objects?” Once people had this last opportunity to add further comments of their own, the group could move forward with a sense that it had a common vision in mind.

Consensus decision-making is easiest within groups whose members know and respect each other, whose authority is more or less evenly distributed, and whose basic values are shared. Some charitable and religious groups meet these conditions and have long been able to use consensus decision-making as a matter of principle. The Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, began using consensus as early as the 17th century. Its affiliated international service agency, the American Friends Service Committee, employs the same approach. The Mennonite Church has also long made use of consensus decision-making.

Groups may choose among several methods of decision-making, including consensus, depending on their circumstances and the characteristics of their leaders and members. Making decisions which are consistent with the group’s values is of paramount importance.

Think of major decisions made in the last couple of years by two groups you’re a part of. Which method from this section did the groups use in each case? Which of the decisions are you more satisfied with now? Why? To what degree do you feel the decision-making methods the groups used fit the circumstances and the characteristics of the groups themselves?
Tell a classmate about a decision that a group you’re part of needs to make shortly. Ask the classmate for his/her advice on which decision- making method the group should employ.
A major hesitation raised by some people with respect to consensus decision-making is that it requires much more time than voting or other direct methods. In what kind of situation would you be, or have you been, willing to invest “as much time as it takes” to reach consensus in a group?

12.3 Facilitating the Task-Oriented Group

Define “group facilitation”
Identify five guidelines for facilitating a task-oriented group
Distinguish between collaboration and “coliberation”

You’ve probably experienced being part of groups that pleased and motivated you. One reason you experienced those positive feelings may have been that the groups planned and executed their tasks so smoothly that you were hardly aware the processes were taking place. In this section we’ll examine ways in which leaders can contribute to such pleasant, easy experiences.

Just as “facile” in English and “fácil” in Spanish mean “easy,” the word “facilitate” itself means “to make something easy” and “ group facilitation ” consists in easing a group’s growth and progress. Most student, community, and business groups are task-oriented, so we’ll consider here how they can most easily be guided toward accomplishing the tasks they set for themselves. Another section of this book deals specifically with the details of leading meetings, so for now we’ll consider broader questions and principles.

If you’re in a position to facilitate a group, you need to take that position seriously. Just as Pope John XXIII realized with respect to his authority and responsibility in the Catholic Church, it’s best to consider yourself the primary source of direction and the ultimate destination for questions in your group. With those concepts in mind, let’s consider five major guidelines you should probably follow in order to facilitate a group whose purposes include achieving tasks.

Know the group’s members. This means more than just identifying their names and recognizing their faces. If you hope to accomplish anything significant together, you need to be familiar with people’s opinions, their needs, their desires, and their personalities. Perhaps one member of a group you’re leading is particularly time- conscious, another likes to make jokes, and a third prefers to see concepts represented visually. If you take these propensities into account and respond to them as much as possible, you can draw the best cooperative effort from each of the people. You may want to keep track of who’s done what favors for whom within the group, too. Like it or not, many people operate at least from time to time on the principle that “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.”
Weigh task and relationship considerations. The word “ equilibristic ” is sometimes applied to the actions of athletes and musicians. It refers to a capability to balance differing and sometimes conflicting forces so as to maintain continuous movement in a chosen direction. Although almost any group has some work to do, and all groups comprise people whose welfare needs to be tended to, the effective facilitator realizes that it’s impossible to emphasize both those elements to the same degree all the time. If people are disgruntled or frustrated, they can’t contribute well to accomplishing a task. Likewise, if people are always contented with one another and their group but can’t focus on getting things done, the group will be unable to attain its objectives. To facilitate a group well, thus, requires that you be equilibristic.
Understand and anticipate prevalent features of human psychology. Keep in mind that everyone in a group will perceive what the facilitator does in light of his or her own circumstances and wishes.Recall also that everyone possesses diverse and numerous capacities for self-justification and self-support. In their book Mistakes were made (but not by me) , Carol Tavris and Ellion Aronson referred to studies of married couples’ behavior. They indicated that when husbands and wives are asked what proportion of the housework they perform, the totals always exceed 100 percent by a large margin. [7] Tavris and Aronson also described the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, which presents visitors with interactive exhibits portraying categories of people about whom many of us harbor negative preconceptions—including ethnic and racial minorities, obese individuals, people with disabilities, and so on. A video attempts to persuade visitors that they possess prejudices, after which two doors are offered as an exit. One is marked “Prejudiced” and the other is labeled “Unprejudiced.” The second door is locked, to make the point that all of us are indeed subject to prejudice.
Deal well with disruptions. The playwright Paddy Chayevsky wrote that “life is problems.” An effective group facilitator needs to anticipate and skillfully cope with problems as a part of life, whether they’re caused by other people’s behavior or by physical and logistical factors. If you’re an adherent of Theory Y , you probably believe that people enjoy pursuing their goals energetically, in groups or individually. You also probably believe that people prefer to select times and places along the way to relax and recharge. Unfortunately, interruptions often arise in such a way as to make both these aims difficult to achieve. Think about all the unexpected academic, family, and work- related reasons why you and other students you know have found it challenging to “stay the course” toward your personal and collective goals. A group’s facilitator, thus, needs to make sure that interruptions and disruptions don’t derail it. In fact, he or she might profit from actually celebrating these elements of life, as one Seattle office executive did. According to Dale Turner, the executive’s office had a sign on the wall reading “Don’t be irritated by interruptions. They are your reason for being.” Turner went on to quote the executive as saying “Happily, I have learned how to sit loose in the saddle of life, and I’m not usually disturbed by interruptions. I have made it a habit through the years to leave a stretch factor in my daily schedule. I start early and have tried not to so crowd my day with appointments that I have no time for the unexpected. I have not seen interruptions as an intrusion.” [8]
Keep returning to the task. You’ve probably been part of a group in which the leader or facilitator had what might be called a divergent, rather than a convergent, personality. Perhaps that person had lots of good ideas but seemed to jump around from topic to topic and chore to chore so much that your head spun and you couldn’t keep track of what was going on. Maybe the person “missed the forest for the trees” because of dwelling excessively on minutia—small and insignificant details. Or perhaps each time you met with the group its facilitator led a discussion of something valuable and important, but every time it was a different thing.

Another way to think of how a facilitator should keep bringing the group’s attention back to its tasks relates to the process of meditation. Practitioners of meditation know that people’s minds are naturally active and tend to move readily from subject to subject. When someone is meditating, they say, thoughts will naturally pop into his or her mind. The way to deal with this phenomenon is to regard the thoughts as clouds drifting across the sky. Rather than trying to banish them, the better approach is to allow them to pass by and dissipate, and then to return to serene contemplation. [9]

Coliberation

Above all, a facilitator’s responsibility is to enable members of a group to function together as easily and happily as possible as they pursue their goals. When this happens, the group will achieve a high level of collaboration. In fact, it may rise beyond collaboration to achieve what the author and computer game designer Bernard DeKoven called “ [pb_glossary id="573"]coliberation .[/pb_glossary]” In speaking about meetings, he had this to say: “Good meetings aren’t just about work. They’re about fun—keeping people charged up. It’s more than collaboration, it’s ‘coliberation’—people freeing each other up to think more creatively.” [10]

To facilitate a task-oriented group requires several skills and behaviors and can lead to a state of “coliberation.”

Recall a time when you were in a group whose leader stressed either its task or relationship factors too much. How did the members of the group react? Did the leader eventually develop an equilibristic approach?
Do you agree with the business executive who said that interruptions are “your reason for being”? In your studies and family life, what measures do you take to ensure that interruptions are beneficial rather than destructive? What further steps do you feel you might take in this direction?
Think of someone who effectively facilitated a group you were part of. Did the person perform the job identified by the Dalai Lama—inspiring faith in the group? If so, how?
What, if anything, do you feel members of most groups need to be “coliberated” from?

12.4 Summary

In this chapter we have explored problem-solving in groups. We have identified steps which groups can use to attack and solve problems, as well as several methods of reaching decisions. We have considered the nature of group creativity and reviewed how brainstorming may contribute to creative problem-solving and decision-making. Finally, we have identified methods which can be used to facilitate the problem-solving and decision-making behavior or task-oriented groups.

Following systematic, sequential processes can help groups communicate in ways which resolve problems and lead to appropriate decisions.

Review Questions

Interpretive Questions

In what 2–3 ways has your view of problem-solving or decision-making changed as a result of reading this chapter?
Under what circumstances, or with what kinds of group members, do you feel brainstorming is most likely to produce better results than other methods of generating creative ideas?

Application Questions

Call the office of a state senator or representative. Ask the person who answers the phone to provide you with a list of five creative ideas the legislator has put forth to solve problems facing his or her constituency. If you wanted to expand on the list, who else would you consult, and what process would you use to generate more ideas?
Pick two historical figures who you believe made it easy for people they lived or worked with to achieve shared goals. Find two or three descriptions of episodes in which those figures took action demonstrating that capacity. Identify someone leading a group of which you’re now a member and share the information about the historical figures with that person. What is the person’s reaction? What do you feel might have made the leader’s response more positive?
Look up the phrase “group decision support system” on line and locate 4–5 software programs meant to assist groups with decisions. List advantages and disadvantages of each and share your conclusions with your classmates.

Additional Resources

http://www.deepfun.com/coliberation/ : Bernard “Bernie” De Koven’s blog. A source of provocative ideas on why and how to indulge in creative fun as part of a group.

http://bit.ly/PV635method: A YouTube video describing the “6-3-5 method,” which offers an alternative to traditional brainstorming that attempts to draw and expand upon more ideas from a group of six people.

http://bit.ly/URuMVG: An article in the Minnesota Daily describing how groups of students, faculty members, and community leaders envisioned problems facing higher education and developed pragmatic proposals for solving them.

http://www.co-intelligence.org/I-decisionmakingwithout.html (“How to Make a Decision Without Making a Decision”): An article describing how guided “non- decision-making” can be used by groups to discover what the author refers to as “big obvious truths.”

http://www.tobe.net/ : The website of Dynamic Facilitation Associates, a non-profit organization dedicated to teaching groups how to create choices through intentional facilitation. One of the site’s pages, http://www.co-intelligence.org/ dynamicfacilitationGT.html , describes “Co-Counseling” and compassionate communication as further facilitation tools.

Supplemental Videos

Adler, R. (1996). Communicating at work: principles and practices for business and the professions. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. ↵
McLean, (2005). The basics of interpersonal communication. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon. ↵
Hoy, W.K., & Miskel, C.G. (1982). Educational administration: Theory, research, and practice (2nd ed.). New York: Random House. ↵
Parker, G., & Hoffman, R. (2006). Meeting excellence: 33 tools to lead meetings that get results. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ↵
Hartley, P., & Dawson, M. (2010). Success in groupwork. New York: St. Martin’s Press. ↵
Dictionary of Conflict Resolution, Wiley . Retrieved from http://www.credoreference.com/entry/wileyconfres/consensus ↵
Tavris, C., & Aronson, E. (2007). Mistakes were made (but not by me). Orlando, FL: Harcourt ↵
Turner, D. (1991, March 23). Slaves of habit—we lose when there’s no room for interruptions in our lives. Seattle Times . Retrieved from ProQuest Database. ↵
Rondon, N. (2006, Meditate. Current Health 2 (32), 20–23. Retrieved from ProQuest Database ↵
Matson, E. (1996, April-May). The seven sins of deadly meetings. Fast Company , 122. ↵

Method of ranking each possible solution according to its probable impact.

The process of choosing among options and arriving at a position, judgment, or action.

Routine in nature (applicable to fundamental elements and considerations of how an organization or process works).

Determined or executed by one person alone.

A discussion in which members of a group express views and identify alternative but reach no decision and take no action.

A process of making a decision whereby the vote of more than half a group’s members are considered to be decisive.

A process of making a decision whereby twice as many voters have to approve of a proposal than oppose it in order for the proposal to be accepted.

A condition in which no one in a group has explicitly stated objections to a proposal or decision.

Seriously and honestly, as in a decision-making or conflict situation.

In groups, to make work easier or less difficult; to help bring about growth.

Capable of balancing differing and sometimes conflicting forces so as to maintain continuous movement in a chosen direction.

In groups, an approach which assumes that members are generally honorable, industrious, trustworthy, and cooperative.

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29 Best Group Therapy Activities for Supporting Adults

Childhood begins with a family of origin group and then progresses to groups for education, social activities, shared interests/hobbies, and work.

Group therapy can be traced back to Joseph Pratt. In 1905 he was teaching education classes on hygiene for patients struggling with tuberculosis (Pratt, 1907). Pratt noticed that patients who regularly attended presentations and interacted in groups afterward remained optimistic and courageous and had fewer symptoms and better recovery than those who did not.

Pratt (1907) believed that the emotional connection and support led to increased hope and physical improvement.

Group therapy activities provide emotional connection, education, support, encouragement, and guidance that can improve mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. In this article, we will list various group therapy activities to use in your practice.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free . These science-based exercises explore fundamental aspects of positive psychology, including strengths, values, and self-compassion, and will give you the tools to enhance the wellbeing of your clients, students, or employees.

This Article Contains

How to perform group activities in therapy, 3 therapy group activities for adults, 3 warm-up activities for your first meetings, best group activities for anxiety and depression, 4 positive psychology activities for improving mental health, mindfulness activities for your group sessions, 3 activities for personal growth and self-esteem, 4 helpful closing session activities, resources from positivepsychology.com, a take-home message, frequently asked questions.

There are several factors that should be considered as a therapist or leader begins to perform activities in group therapy. A needs assessment is essential to determine the purpose of the group and the specific activities, format, and structure that will follow.

Is this group open or closed? Is it designed to treat specific conditions or ailments such as post-traumatic stress disorder, addiction, or a specific mental health issue? Who makes up the group regarding age, gender, race, religion, etc.?

A pre-group orientation is helpful to identify individual patterns of group members and their history of interpersonal relationships (Whittingham, 2018).

The initial orientation will help build a positive emotional bond and working alliance with and among clients. Informing clients about the nature of group therapy and reviewing group agreements, logistical information, and assumptions can help group members feel safe, connected, and more engaged in group activities (Whittingham, 2018).

The activities should reflect the goals and composition of group members as well as the theoretical approach used by the group leader or therapist.

Best narrative therapy group activities

Narrative group therapy is an existential approach to therapy and allows clients to take ownership of their story by sharing it and rewriting it (Clark, 2014).

It provides space between an individual and their lived experience so they can separate problems from their life. Some narrative therapy activities that can be done in group settings include:

1. My life story

Clients are asked to identify five to 10 chapter titles for their life and briefly explain each. They can share these stories with other group members, which helps reinforce the idea that the past is in the past and the future is an opportunity for new beginnings.

2. Statement of position map

A statement of position map is an opportunity for clients to identify a problem, map out the effects of the problem across all areas of their life, and explore how the impacts of this problem deeply affect them.

As clients do this individually, they can share the effects of the problem with group members, which offers support and validation.

3. Expressive art storytelling

Expressive art storytelling can be made into a group activity by having members take part in expressive art together. An example would be to have group members individually draw or paint to the sound of music in a way that depicts their personal story for a specified amount of time. After the session, clients share the meaning of their art with other group members.

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Warm-up activities in group sessions help clients build connections, reduce anxiety and defensiveness, and can shift focus to specific topics of discussion. These activities can be used for nearly any age group and for any specific purpose.

1. Two truths and a lie

In this activity, clients will each get an index card to write down three things about themselves. Two of them are true, and one is a lie. Members will go around the room stating the three pieces of information, and other members of the group must guess the lie.

2. Give me a minute

Members of the group will each get an index card with a topic on it (any random topic will do). Individuals talk about the topic for one minute. This fun activity allows members to open up, get creative, and express ideas and opinions about specific topics.

3. Desert island

Ask clients to think about being trapped on a desert island. They may bring one luxury item, one entertainment item, and one survival item. Have members share what they would take with them. This is often a revealing activity that can help members get to know one another.

Group therapy can provide a supportive and cost-effective way to treat symptoms and underlying causes of these debilitating mental health conditions.

1. Affirmations

This is an effective group activity for both anxiety and depression once a (closed) group has been a cohesive unit for several weekly sessions. It is important for group members to know one another to some degree.

A sheet of paper is passed out to each member, and they will write their name on the sheet. The paper is passed around so that other members can write positive affirmations directed to the member. This activity can be uplifting for individuals struggling with depression and decrease levels of anxiety.

2. Healthy brainstorming

This activity is based on Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), behavioral activation , and goal setting. Each member of the group writes down a goal they would like to accomplish to improve mental health, such as diet, exercise, sleep, mindfulness, etc.

Members write down as many goals as they would like and pass the ideas around. Once the list is complete, the group can brainstorm practical ways to implement behaviors that will help achieve these goals.

3. Thought replacement

This positive thought replacement worksheet is based on CBT and can be used in a group setting. Each member can write down or identify a negative automatic thought they typically have. The member sitting next to them will come up with a positive replacement thought.

Thought identification and replacement is a cornerstone of CBT, which is an evidence-based treatment for both anxiety and depression (Wolgensinger, 2015).

This video expands on how useful group therapy can be for anxiety and depression.

2 Activities for coping with loneliness

Loneliness, grief, and loss are very much related to both anxiety and depression.

Group therapy activities can be very beneficial for individuals struggling with loneliness . They can provide a sense of connection, belonging, and shared interests (Shapiro & Gans, 2008). The following activities are a few examples.

1. Person to person

Members of the group will get two to five commands that they must perform as a pair. The last command is always “person to person” and everyone, including the person giving the commands, will have to scramble to find a new partner.

The “odd person out” gets to go into the middle of the group and provide the next set of commands.

The game begins with the person in the center (initially the facilitator) giving instructions such as: “hand to head” and the pairs must put a hand to a head. The facilitator can then say: “elbow to knee,” and the pairs then have to put an elbow to a knee, as well as keeping the hand to the head.

After a few more commands, the facilitator says, “person to person,” and everyone finds a new partner, except for the new person who begins calling out commands.

This activity forces interaction between members, which can help decrease feelings of loneliness and isolation.

2. The interview activity

Participants are paired and asked to interview each other to identify areas of commonality in their lives. Potential areas include education, family, likes, dislikes, professional interests, responsibilities, hometown, etc.

Each pair is asked to report to the group on three commonalities discovered. This activity helps individuals feel more connected and provides a sense of belonging.

2 Helpful activities for grief and loss

Bereavement groups provide members benefits for individuals dealing with grief and loss. They can help normalize the impact of grief, provide a safe, nonjudgmental space for the individual, and help participants discover resources and coping strategies.

According to Alan Wolflet (2004), group activities for grief and loss should help members with the six needs of mourning. These include acknowledging the reality of death , moving toward the pain of loss, remembering the person who died, developing a new identity, searching for meaning , and continuing to receive support from others.

1. Triggers

In this activity, the group identifies and discusses common triggers for their particular loss (what stimulates negative emotions such as sadness). Group members and leaders can then suggest different coping strategies they could use when feeling triggered.

2. Shared positive experiences

Have clients each bring in an item, object, or picture that represents a fond memory of the individual they are grieving. Members can take turns sharing the memory and how it affects them today.

Group therapy provides a uniquely rich environment and powerful setting that can improve mental health. We are hardwired for attachment and groups, which are potent sources of change for the central nervous system, brain, and emotional wellbeing (Denninger, 2010).

2 Activities for building healthy relationships

Healthy relationships are crucial for mental health and wellbeing. These activities can help build healthy relationships and improve personal emotional wellness.

1. Role-play

Role-play can be a great activity for acting out and resolving conflict in a healthy way. Members of the group can take on specific characters and role-play effective discussion, healthy ways to deal with stressful emotions, and setting boundaries. Role-play scripts can be an ideal tool to facilitate such sessions.

2. Effective communication

This effective communication worksheet teaches clients about effective communication techniques.

In a group session, members can practice each of the techniques with a partner and reflect on areas of strength and weakness. These can be discussed in session and continually practiced in subsequent meetings.

Best exercises for learning to let go

Learning to let go of negative thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and the need for control can lead to improvements in mental health.

1. Visualization

Have group members visualize what their lives would look like if they could let go of what was holding them back or what they were holding onto. After doing the visualization individually, have group members share about the experience.

2. Radical Acceptance

This worksheet on radical acceptance can be completed individually inside or outside of a group session. Members can share their responses with the group and reflect on what they learn about themselves and from one another.

Mindfulness group therapy allows individuals to come together in a group setting to develop and practice mindfulness skills and draw benefits from the shared experience with others.

1. Mindful eating

A mindful eating activity can be done with any food but is often done with an almond, raisin, or orange slice.

Each member will take one of the above and be guided through a mindful eating session. Participants will examine the food item, smell it, taste it without chewing, slowly chew, slowly swallow, etc. Participants can share about the experience after it is completed.

2. Mindful breathing

Participants are asked to either close their eyes or stare down at the ground in front of them.

A mindful breathing script may guide them as follows: Take a moment, bring your awareness to your breath. Notice if you are breathing out of your mouth or your nose. Notice the length and quality of the breath. Notice the movement of your body as you breathe. Continue to focus all your attention on your breath and only your breath. If your mind wanders, gently bring your awareness back to your breath. Allow this focus to continue for five minutes.

3. Mindful yoga class

Yoga is a mindful activity that is great for groups. It is best led by a trained yoga instructor who can guide group members through breathwork and gentle movements.

The particular psychotherapeutic conditions a group provides are ideal for creating personal growth and improving self-esteem. Groups can establish a safe, trusting interpersonal environment that allows members to gain new skills and experiences.

Additionally, groups can help dis-confirm faulty memories, beliefs, and assumptions that are the basis of low confidence, self-doubt, and fear that inhibit growth.

Neural networks that hold implicit experiences (leading to these faulty thinking patterns and beliefs) can be triggered and reframed when other group members bring their own struggles and experiences to the group (Badenoch & Cox, 2010).

These group activities can be applied to group settings to improve personal growth and self-esteem.

1. I Will Survive

This worksheet can be applied in a group setting. It helps clients notice their strengths, past successes, and ability to grow and overcome challenges.

2. The worth jar

Group members decorate a glass jar and fill it with notes or trinkets that represent their personal worth and value.

These might include inspiring quotes, small objects that symbolize strengths or accomplishments, or letters from loved ones. Members will share the jar with the group and explain the significance of the items.

3. The “I am” activity

Have group members write down a list of positive affirmations about themselves starting with “I am.” Examples include “I am compassionate” or “I am enough.” They will share their affirmations with other group members.

Our article on Self-Esteem Therapy provides more ideas to improve self-esteem and growth activities that can be applied to both individual and group therapy sessions.

Closing activities should highlight important aspects and reinforce any themes of the session. These activities help to unite group members and encourage them to work on themselves outside of the session before the next meeting.

1. Coping sheet

Create a coping cheat sheet summary card that group members can keep with them between sessions. This card can have a list of three to 10 coping skills that they can use when they are struggling. Examples could be breathing, counting, calling a friend, calling a hotline, listening to a song, or pausing.

2. Share an affirmation

Have group members end the session by going around the room and sharing a take-home affirmation they learned or recognized during the meeting.

Ending activities for your termination session

Closing group therapy treatment is the phase of group development known as termination (Levine, 2011). This is often one of the most difficult aspects of group structure and development. A group leader must evaluate either subjectively or objectively (or both) how the group members have progressed and whether goals have been met (Levine, 2011).

A variety of group activities can be incorporated in the termination phase to assist in this process and help group members transition out of group therapy.

1. Group motto

Have group members collaborate and come up with a group motto based on the goals and outcome of the group sessions.

2. Leave your mark

Do something creative and have the group come up with a piece of artwork collaboratively. They might use thumb or handprints to create a picture or use individual talents to contribute to a mixed-media piece of art.

The final product can be discussed and remembered as members leave the group.

17 Top-Rated Positive Psychology Exercises for Practitioners

Expand your arsenal and impact with these 17 Positive Psychology Exercises [PDF] , scientifically designed to promote human flourishing, meaning, and wellbeing.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

PositivePsychology.com offers a wealth of therapy resources that can be used and applied in group settings.

The GROW With Your Team worksheet specifically helps with group development, team cohesion, and learning to set and achieve common goals. This can be a wonderful activity to use to start a group because it allows members’ active participation in accomplishing objectives and the healing process.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is an effective treatment for anxiety , depression, and other mental health issues. Read our article that addresses how to apply ACT therapy in group settings .

Group therapy can be a fun way to improve aspects of mental and emotional wellbeing. The Empathy Bingo worksheet is an interactive way for group members to learn about empathy, develop healthy relationships, and practice self-compassion.

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others enhance their wellbeing, check out this signature collection of 17 validated positive psychology tools for practitioners. Use them to help others flourish and thrive.

Group therapy has a nearly 100-year-old history and has branched into many aspects of the contemporary world. As social creatures, we learn from and depend on groups to survive, thrive, and grow as individuals.

This complex, intense interpersonal experience can be filled with powerful interaction and meaningful activities. Many of these group therapy activities are highlighted in this article.

Therapy provided in a group setting can be a powerful way to improve any area of emotional and mental wellbeing. It is a wonderfully unique experience in that every group and session is different and dynamic.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Positive Psychology Exercises for free .

Group therapy provides a cost-effective alternative to individual psychotherapy. It brings people with similar needs together in a supportive, encouraging, and validating way.

Mental health activities include any activities that stimulate growth and change, and challenge clients to explore and improve mental and emotional wellbeing.

Group therapy is most effective and enjoyable when members connect and collaborate. Creating a supportive environment and keeping group members engaged with the specific topic and with one another makes group sessions fun.

Badenoch, B., & Cox, P. (2010). Integrating interpersonal neurobiology with group psychotherapy. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy , 60 (4), 462–481.
Clark, A. (2014). Narrative therapy integration within substance abuse groups. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health , 9 (4), 511–522.
Denninger, J. W. (2010). Commentary on the neurobiology of group psychotherapy: Group and social brain. International Journal of group Psychotherapy , 60 (4), 595–604.
Levine, R. (2011). Progressing while regressing in relationships. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy , 61 , 621–643.
Pratt, J. H. (1907). The organization of tuberculosis classes. Medical Communications of the Massachusetts Medical Society , 20 , 475–492.
Shapiro, E., & Gans, J. (2008). The courage of the group therapist. International Journal or Group of Group Psychotherapy , 58 (3), 345–361.
Sundquist, J., Lilja, A., Palmer, K., Memon, A., Wang, X., Johansson, L., & Sundquist, K. (2015). Mindfulness group therapy in primary care patients with depression, anxiety and stress and adjustment disorders: Randomised controlled trial. The British Journal of Psychiatry , 206 , 128–135.
Whittingham, M. (2018). Innovations in group assessment: How focused brief group therapy integrates formal measures to enhance treatment preparation, process and outcomes. Psychotherapy , 55 , 186–190.
Wolfelt, A. (2004). Understanding your grief: Support group guide: Starting and leading a bereavement support group . Companion Press.
Wolgensinger, L. (2015). Cognitive behavioral group therapy for anxiety: Recent developments. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience , 17 (3), 347–351.

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11 Groups and meetings

Meetings are a part of how groups get work done. Some view meetings as boring, pointless, and futile exercises, while others see them as opportunities to exchange information and produce results. A combination of preparation and execution makes all the difference. Remember, too, that meetings do not have to take place in a physical space where the participants meet face to face. Instead, a number of technological tools make it possible to hold virtual meetings in which the participants are half a world away from one another. Virtual meetings are formally arranged gatherings where participants, located in distinct geographic locations, come together via the Internet.

Preparation

A meeting, like a problem-solving group, needs a clear purpose statement. The specific goal for the specific meeting will clearly relate to the overall goal of the group or committee. Determining your purpose is central to an effective meeting and getting together just to get together is called a party, not a meeting. Do not schedule a meeting just because you met at the same time last month or because it is a standing committee. Members will resent the intrusion into their schedules and quickly perceive the lack of purpose.

Similarly, if the need for a meeting arises, do not rush into it without planning. A poorly planned meeting announced at the last minute is sure to be less than effective. People may be unable to change their schedules, may fail to attend, or may impede the progress and discussion of the group because of their absence. Those who attend may feel hindered because they needed more time to prepare and present comprehensive results to the group or committee.

DECIDING HOW TO MEET

If a meeting is necessary, and a clear purpose can be articulated, then you’ll need to decide how and where to meet. Distance is no longer an obstacle to participation, as we will see later in this section when we explore some of the technologies for virtual meetings. However, there are many advantages to meeting in person. People communicate not just with words but also with their body language—facial expressions, hand gestures, head nodding or head shaking, and posture. These subtleties of communication can be key to determining how group members really feel about an issue or question. Meeting in real time can be important, too, as all group members have the benefit of receiving new information at the same time. For purposes of our present discussion, we will focus on meetings taking place face to face in real time. Later in this chapter, we will discuss virtual meetings.

FORMULATING AN AGENDA

If you have a purpose statement for the meeting, then it also follows that you should be able to create an agenda , or a list of topics to be discussed. You may need to solicit information from members to formulate an agenda, and this pre-meeting contact can serve to encourage active participation. The agenda will have a time, date, place, and method of interaction noted, as well as a list of participants. It will also have a statement of purpose, a list of points to be considered, and a brief summary of relevant information that relates to each point. Somewhere on the agenda the start and end times need to be clearly indicated, and it is always a good idea to leave time at the end for questions and additional points that individual members may want to share. If the meeting has an emotional point or theme, will require significant deliberation or change, or the news is negative, plan for additional time for discussion, clarification, and recycling of conversations as the participants process the information.

INVITING MEETING PARTICIPANTS

If you are planning an intense work session, you need to consider the number of possible interactions among the participants and limit them. Smaller groups are generally more productive. If you are gathering to present information or to motivate the sales staff, a large audience, where little interaction is expected, is appropriate. Each member has a role, and attention to how and why they are interacting will produce the best results. Review the stages of group formation in view of the idea that a meeting is a short-term group. You can anticipate a “forming” stage, and if roles are not clear, there may be a bit of “storming” before the group establishes norms and becomes productive. Adding additional participants for no clear reason will only make the process more complex and may produce negative results.

Inviting the participants via e-mail has become increasingly common across business and industry. Software programs like Microsoft Outlook allow you to initiate a meeting request and receive an “accept” or “decline” response that makes the invitation process organized and straightforward. Further, increasingly services like Calendly can integrate meeting participant’s calendars, and can even email participants a link to a virtual meeting or schedule a room. Reliance on a software program, however, may not be enough to encourage and ensure participation. A reminder on the individual’s computer may go off fifteen minutes prior to the meeting, but if they are away from their computer or if Outlook is not running, the reminder will go unseen and unheard. A reminder e-mail on the day of the meeting, often early in the morning, can serve as a personal effort to highlight the activities of the day.

IDENTIFYING AN APPROPRIATE MEETING SPACE

Seating arrangements in meetings have been a recent topic of discussion. Generally, a table that is square, rectangular, or U-shaped has a fixed point at which the attention is directed, often referred to as the head of the table. This space is often associated with power, status, and hierarchy and may play an important role in the flow of interactions across the meeting. If information is to be distributed and presented from administration to managers, for example, a table with a clear focal point for the head or CEO may be indicated. Tables that are round, or tables arranged in a circular pattern, allow for a more egalitarian model of interaction, reducing the hierarchical aspects while reinforcing the clear line of sight among all participants. If a meeting requires intense interaction and collaboration, generally a round table or a circular pattern is indicated.

People sit at a long rectangular table with a person at a white board at the far end

Some meetings do not call for a table, but rather rows of seats all facing toward the speaker; you probably recognize this arrangement from many class lectures you have attended. For relatively formal meetings in which information is being delivered to a large number of listeners and little interaction is desired, seating in rows is an efficient use of space.

If you are the person responsible for the room reservation, confirm the reservation a week before the meeting and again the day before the meeting. Redundancy in the confirmation process can help eliminate double-booking a room, where two meetings are scheduled at the same time. If technology is required at the meeting, such as a microphone, conference telephone, or laptop and projector, make sure you confirm their reservation at the same time as you confirm the meeting room reservation. Always personally inspect the room and test these systems prior to the meeting. There is nothing more embarrassing than introducing a high-profile speaker, such as the company president, and then finding that the PowerPoint software or projector is not working properly.

FACILITATING AN EFFECTIVE MEETING

Facilitating a meeting requires care, vigilance, flexibility, resilience, humility, and humor. In a way, to run a meeting effectively calls someone to act the way a skilled athletic coach does, watching the action, calling plays, and encouraging good performance. Furthermore, you need to monitor the interaction of everyone around you and “call the plays” based on a game plan that you and your fellow group members have presumably agreed upon in advance. Finally, like a coach, you sometimes need to call timeouts—breaks—when people are weary or the action is starting to get raggedy or undisciplined.

MEETING CHECKLIST FOR PARTICIPANTS

Mary Ellen Guffey (2017) provides a useful participant checklist that is adapted here for our use:

Arrive on time and stay until the meeting adjourns (unless there are prior arrangements)
Leave the meeting only for established breaks or emergencies
Be prepared and have everything you need on hand
Turn off cell phones and personal digital assistants
Follow the established protocol for turn taking
Respect time limits
Demonstrate professionalism in your verbal and nonverbal interactions
Communicate interest and stay engaged in the discussion
Avoid tangents and side discussions
Respect space and don’t place your notebook or papers all around you
Clean up after yourself
Engage in polite conversation after the conclusion

Perils of Poor Facilitation

Unfortunately, many people lack the skills to effectively facilitate a meeting. As a result, a variety of negative results can take place as they fail to act capably as meeting facilitators. Here are some signs to watch for:

An argument starts about an established fact.
Opinions are introduced as if they were truths.
People intimidate others with real or imaginary “knowledge.”
People overwhelm each other with too many proposals for the time available to consider them.
People become angry for no good reason.
People promote their own visions at the expense of everyone else’s.
People demand or offer much more information than is needed.
Discussion becomes circular; people repeat themselves without making any progress toward conclusions.

Guidelines for Facilitating a Meeting

Many authorities have recommended actions and attitudes which can help you facilitate a meeting well (Barge, 1991; Lumsden & Lumsden 2004; Parker & Hoffman, 2006). Here are several such suggestions, taken partly from these writers’ works and partly from the authors’ experiences as facilitators and participants in meetings over the years:

Start promptly: Some time, calculate the cost to your group—even at minimum-wage rates—for the minutes its members sit around waiting for meetings to begin. You may occasionally be delayed for good reasons, but if you’re chronically late you’ll eventually aggravate folks who’ve arrived on time—the very ones whose professionalism you’d particularly like to reinforce and praise. Consistently starting on time may even boost morale: “Early in, early out” will probably appeal to most of a group’s members, since they are likely to have other things they need to do as soon as a meeting ends.
Begin with something positive: Face it: no matter what you do, many people in your group would probably rather be somewhere else than in a meeting. If you’d like them to overcome this familiar aversion and get pumped up about what you’ll be doing in a meeting, therefore, you might emulate the practice of City Year, a Boston-based nonprofit international service organization. City Year begins its meetings by inviting members to describe from their own recent life experiences an example of what Robert F. Kennedy referred to as a “ripple of hope” (Grossman, 1998). This could be a good deed they’ve seen someone do for someone else, a news item about a decline in the crime rate, or perhaps even a loving note they’ve received from a child or other family member. Sharing with their fellow group members such examples of altruism, love, or community improvement focuses and motivates City Year members by reminding them in specific, personal terms of why their meetings can be truly worthwhile.
Tend to housekeeping details: People’s productivity depends in part on their biological state. Once you convene your meeting, announce or remind the group members of where they can find restrooms, water fountains, vending machines, and any other amenities that may contribute to their physical comfort.
Make sure people understand their roles. At the start of the meeting, review what you understand is going to happen and ask for confirmation of what you think people are expected to do in the time you’re going to be spending together. Calling on someone to make a report if he or she isn’t aware it’s required can be embarrassing for both you and that person.
Keep to your agenda. Social time makes people happy and relieves stress. Most group meetings, however, should not consist primarily of social time. You may want to designate someone in the group to watch for departures from the agenda and courteously direct people back on task. Either you or the that person might want to periodically provide “ signposts ” indicating where you are in your process, too, such as “It looks like we’ve got 25 minutes left in our meeting, and we haven’t discussed yet who’s going to be working on the report to give to Mary.” If your meetings habitually exceed the time you allot for them, consider either budgeting more time or, if you want to stick to your guns, setting a kitchen timer to ring when you’ve reached the point when you’ve said you’ll quit. The co-founder of one technology firm, Jeff Atwood, put together a list of rules for his company’s meetings which included this one: “No meeting should ever be more than an hour, under penalty of death” (Milian, 2012). Similarly, the library staff at one college in the Midwest conducts all their meetings standing up in a circle, which encourages brevity and efficiency.
Guide, don’t dictate: If you’re in charge of the meeting, that doesn’t mean you’re responsible for everything people say in it, nor does it mean you have to personally comment on every idea or proposal that comes up. Let the other members of the group carry the content as long as they’re not straying from the process you feel needs to be followed. You may see that some people regularly dominate discussion in your group’s meetings and that others are perhaps slower to talk despite having important contributions to make. One way to deal with these disparities is by providing the group with a “talking stick” and specifying that people must hold it in their hands in order to speak. You could also invoke the NOSTUESOrule with respect to the talking stick, which says that “No One Speaks Twice Until Everybody Speaks Once.”
Pay attention to nonverbal communication. As a meeting progresses, people’s physical and emotional states are likely to change. As the facilitator, you should do your best to identify such change and accommodate it within the structures and processes your group has established for itself. When people do something as simple as crossing their arms in front of them, for instance, they might be signaling that they’re closed to what others are saying—or they might just be trying to stay warm in a room that feels too cold to them. When one person in the meeting has the floor and is talking, it’s a good idea to watch how the rest of the group seems to be responding. You may notice clues indicating that people are pleased and receptive, or that they’re uninterested, skeptical, or even itching to respond negatively. You may want to do a perception check to see if you’re interpreting nonverbal cues accurately. For instance, you might say, “Terry, could we pause here a bit? I get the impression that people might have some questions for you.” As an alternative, you might address the whole group and ask “Does anyone have questions for Terry at this point?”
Capture and assign action items. Unless they are held purely to communicate information, or for other special purposes, most meetings result in action items, tasks, and other assignments for one or more participants. Sometimes these items arise unexpectedly because someone comes up with a great new idea and volunteers or is assigned to pursue it after the discussion ends. Be on the alert for these elements of a meeting.
Avoid sarcasm and cynicism. Encourage humor and merriment. If your agenda includes some challenging items, try to start out with “ quick wins ” to warm the mood of the group.
Take breaks regularly, even when you think you don’t need them. If you’ve ever gone on a long hike on a beautiful day, you may have decided to continue a mile or two beyond your original intended destination because the scenery was beautiful and you were feeling spunky. If you’re like the authors, though, you probably regretted “going the extra mile” later because it meant you had to go back that mile plus all the rest of the way you’d come. Something similar can arise in a meeting. People sometimes feel full of energy and clamor to keep a lively discussion going past the time scheduled for a break, but they may not realize that they’re tiring and losing focus until someone says or does something ill-advised. Taking even five-minute breathers at set intervals can help group members remain physically refreshed over the long haul.
Show respect for everyone. Seek consensus. Avoid groupthink by encouraging a free and full airing of opinions. Observe the Golden Rule. Listen sincerely to everyone, but avoid giving a small minority so much clout that in disputed matters “99-to-1 is a tie.” Keep disagreements agreeable. If you must criticize, criticize positions, not people. There is never a need to comment on people’s identities when you are in a disagreement (i.e., sex, race, sexual orientation, etc.) If someone’s behavior shows a pattern of consistently irritating others or disrupting the flow of your group’s meetings, talk to the person privately and express your concern in a polite but clear fashion. Be specific in stating what you expect the person to do or stop doing, and keep an open mind to whatever response you receive.
Expect the unexpected. Do your best to anticipate and prepare for confrontations and conflicts. If you didn’t already make time to do so earlier, take a minute just before the start of the meeting to mark items on your agenda which you think might turn out to be especially contentious or time-consuming. When unexpected disagreements occur during the meeting allow for dialogue and embrace other meeting suggestions (e.g., respect one another, take breaks when needed, avoid sarcasm, etc.). At the extreme, if an unexpected disagreement emerges which might derail the rest of the meeting, table the contentious item, invite outside task that might help the group reach a resolution, and place the issue on the agenda for a future meeting.
Conduct multiple assessments of the meeting. Formative assessment takes place during an activity and allows people to modify their behavior in response to its results. Why not perform a brief interim evaluation during every meeting in which you ask, for instance, “If we were to end this meeting right now, where would it be, and if we need to make changes now in what’s happening in our meeting, what should they be?” Summative assessment is implemented at the end of an activity. When you finish a meeting, for example, you might check to see how well people feel that the gathering met its intended goals. If you want something in writing, you might distribute a half sheet of paper to each person asking “What was best about our meeting?” and “What might have made this meeting better?” Or you could write two columns on a whiteboard, one with a plus and the other with a minus, and ask people orally to identify items they think belong in each category. If you feel a less formal check-up is sufficient, you might just go around the table or room and ask every person for one word that captures how she or he feels.
Think (and talk) ahead. If you didn’t write it on your agenda—which would have been a good idea, most likely—remind group members, before the meeting breaks up, of where and when their next gathering is to take place.

POST-Meeting Communication

Once the meeting has accomplished its goals in the established time frame, it is time to facilitate the transition to a conclusion. Many meeting facilitators conclude by summarizing what has been discussed or decided, and what actions the group members are to take as a result of the meeting. If there is a clear purpose for holding a subsequent meeting, discuss the time and date, and specifically note assignments for next time. This information is also recorded in meeting minutes.

Minutes are a written document that serves to record the interaction and can provide an opportunity for clarification. Minutes often appear as the agenda with notes in relation to actions taken during the meeting or specific indications of who is responsible for what before the next meeting. In many organizations, minutes of the meeting are tentative, like a rough draft, until they are approved by the members of the group or committee. Normally minutes are sent within a week of the meeting if it is a monthly event, and more quickly if the need to meet more frequently has been determined. If your group or organization does not call for minutes, you can still benefit by reviewing your notes after a meeting and comparing them with those of others to make sure you understood what was discussed and did not miss—or misinterpret—any key information.

Using Technology to Facilitate Meetings

Given the widespread availability and increasingly low cost of electronic communication, technologies that once served to bring people together across continents and time zones are now also serving people in the same geographic area. Rather than traveling (by plane, car, or even elevator within the same building) to a central point for a face-to-face interaction, busy and cost-conscious professionals often choose to see and hear each other via one of many different electronic interface technologies (e.g., Teams, Skype, Zoom, WebEx, etc.). It is important to be aware of the dimensions of nonverbal communication that are lost in a virtual meeting compared to an in-person meeting. Nevertheless, these technologies are a boon to today’s business organizations, and knowing how to use them is a key skill for all job seekers. We will discuss the technologies by category, beginning with audio-only, then audio-visual, and finally social media.

Audio-Only Interactions

The simplest form of audio-only interaction is, of course, a telephone call. Chances are that you have been using the phone all your life, yet did you know that some executives hire professional voice coaches to help them increase their effectiveness in phone communication? When you stop to think about it, we use a great many audio-only modes of communication, ranging from phone calls and voice-activated telephone menus to radio interviews, public address systems, dictation recording systems, and computer voice recognition technology. The importance of audio communication in the business world has increased with the availability of conference calls, Web conferences, and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) communications.

Your voice has qualities that cannot be communicated in written form, and you can use these qualities to your advantage as you interact with colleagues. Your tone, quality, volume, pitch, and other vocal qualities affect how your message will be received. If you are sending a general informative message to all employees, an e-mail may serve you well, but if you are congratulating one employee on receiving an industry award, your voice as the channel carries your enthusiasm.

Take care to pay attention to your pronunciation of words, stating them correctly in normal ways, and avoiding words that you are not comfortable with as you may mispronounce them. Mispronunciation can have a negative impact on your reputation or perceived credibility. Instead of using complicated words that may cause you to stumble, choose a simple phrase if you can, or learn to pronounce the word correctly before you use it in a formal interactive setting.

Audio-Visual Interactions

Rather than call each other, we often call and interact in both audio and visual ways via the Internet. There are several ways to interface via audio and video, and new technologies in this area are being invented all the time. For example, platforms like Zoom or WebEx allow participants to see and hear each other across time and distance with one-on-one calls and video conferencing. This form of audio-visual communication is quickly becoming a low- or no-cost business tool for interaction.

A coffee cup sits next to a laptop open to a virtual meeting with multiple individuals

If you are going to interact via audio and visual signals, make sure you are prepared. Appropriate dress, setting, and attitude are all required. Pay close attention to your surroundings and what will be visible to others. The integration of a visual signal to the traditional phone call means that nonverbal gestures can now be observed in real time and can both aid and detract from the message.

If you are unfamiliar with the technology, practice with it before your actual business interaction. Try out the features with a friend and know where to find and access the information. If the call doesn’t go as planned, or the signal isn’t what you expected or experienced in the past, keep a good attitude and try again.

Recent evidence suggests that audio-video meetings can be more exhausting. This is because members work hard to focus on their own and others non-verbal cues (Fosslien & Duffy, 2020). So, while there are many benefits to ‘cameras on’ it may also be useful to have meetings with ‘cameras off’ or ‘cameras optional.’ This high-intensity exhaustion even has its own concept: Zoom Fatigue. . Fosslien and Duffy (2020) offer five tips to avoid Zoom fatigure:

Build in breaks
Reduce onscreen stimuli–avoid multitasking and close extra windows/applications
Make virtual social events opt-in
Switch to phone calls or email
For external calls, avoid defaulting to video, especially if you don’t know each other well

Whether the meeting is virtual, face-to-face, or over the phone many of the same principles still apply. As a meeting organizer you need to have an agenda, invite only those who are needed to accomplish the meeting goals, be clear about who is doing what, and prepare for (valuable) deliberation.

TIPS FOR VIRTUAL MEETINGS

Here are some further tips and suggestions for leading or participating in virtual meetings, each based on the unique features of such gatherings:

Get all the participants in an audio meeting to say something brief at the start of the meeting so that everyone becomes familiar with everyone else’s voice.
Remind people of the purpose of the meeting and of the key outcome(s) you hope to achieve together.
Listen/watch for people who aren’t participating and ask them periodically if they have thoughts or suggestions to add to the discussion.
Summarize the status of the meeting from time to time.
Because you may not have nonverbal cues to refer to, ask other members to clarify their meanings and intentions if you’re not sure their words alone convey all you need to know.
If you know you’re going to have to leave a meeting before it ends, inform the organizer in advance. Sign off publicly, but quickly, when you leave rather than just hanging up on the meeting connection.
Barge, J.K. (1991, November). Task skills and competence in group leadership. Paper presented at the meeting of the Speech Communication Association, Atlanta, GA.
Fosslien, L., & Duffy, M. W. (2020). How to combat zoom fatigue. Harvard Business Review , 29 .
Grossman, J. (1998, April). We’ve got to start meeting like this. Inc., 70–74.
Guffey, M. (2017). Essentials of business communication (7th ed.). Thomson/Wadsworth.
Lumsden, G., & Lumsden, D. (2004). Communicating in groups and teams: Sharing leadeship( 4th ed.). Wadsworth/Thompson Learning.
Milian, M. (2012, June 11-June 17). It’s not you, it’s meetings. Bloomberg Businessweek, 51–52.
Parker, G., & Hoffman, R. (2006). Meeting excellence: 33 tools to lead meetings that get results. Jossey-Bass.
Tucker, M., Meyer, G., & Westman, J. (1986). Thinking through communication: An introduction to the study of human communication. Allyn & Bacon.

Author & Attribution

This remix comes from Dr. Jasmine Linabary at Emporia State University. This chapter is also available in her book: Small Group Communication: Forming and Sustaining Teams. The sections “Preparation,” “Post-Meeting Communication” and “Using Technology to Facilitate Meetings” are adapted from “ Business and Professional Meeting s” in Business Communication for Success from the University of Minnesota. The book was adapted from a work produced and distributed under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA) by a publisher who has requested that they and the original author not receive attribution. This work is made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license . The section “Facilitating an Effective Meeting” is adapted and remixed from “ Groups and Meetings ” from An Introduction To Group Communication . This content is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0) License without attribution as requested by the work’s original creator or licensor.

The specific goal for the specific meeting, presentation, or team which clearly relate to the overall goals of the group or committee.

a list of topics to be discussed ahead of a meeting

No One Speaks Twice Until Everybody Speaks Once.

Asking others if your interpretation of their non-verbals is appropriate (e.g., "It seems like we agree, could someone share a concern?"

A set of negative group-level processes, including illusions of invulnerability, self-censorship, and pressures to conform, that occur when highly cohesive groups seek concurrence when making a decision.

A range of formal and informal assessment procedures conducted during the process (e.g. midway through a meeting) in order to modify activities to improve process.

Assessment of participants where the focus is on the outcome of a program--summative assessments occur at the end of a program.

a written document that serves to record the interaction and can provide an opportunity for clarification. Minutes often appear as the agenda with notes in relation to actions taken during the meeting or specific indications of who is responsible for what before the next meeting.

Exhaustion stemming from concentration required to observe others and oneself on video, engaging in multitasking while talking with others online, and other challenges.

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Growth Tactics

Types of Group Discussion: Strategies for Effective Discussions

Last Updated on November 6, 2023 by Milton Campbell

Group discussion is a valuable tool for learning, collaboration, and fostering critical thinking skills. Whether you are a student preparing for an exam, an educator looking for ways to engage your students, or a leader trying to solve a problem, understanding the different types of group discussions, topics, and strategies is essential. In this blog post, we will explore the various types of group discussions, how to choose a suitable topic, and strategies for facilitating meaningful and productive discussions.

Understanding Group Discussion

Group discussions are a form of interactive communication that involves a small group of individuals sharing their thoughts, ideas, and opinions on a specific topic. These discussions can take place in various settings, such as classrooms, organizations, or professional settings, and can serve different purposes, such as problem-solving, decision-making, or brainstorming.

Types of Group Discussion

Group discussions offer a dynamic environment for sharing thoughts, ideas, and opinions. They can be beneficial for learning, collaboration, and developing critical thinking skills . Let’s explore three types of group discussions: case-based discussions, topic-based discussions, and structured group discussions.

1. Case-Based Discussions

In case-based discussions, participants analyze and discuss specific cases or scenarios. They evaluate possible solutions or approaches, which helps develop problem-solving and analytical skills. By actively engaging with real or hypothetical case studies, participants enhance their ability to think critically about complex situations.

2. Topic-Based Discussions

Topic-based discussions center around a specific subject or theme. Participants express their opinions, present arguments, and explore different viewpoints. These discussions improve communication skills and foster critical thinking as participants analyze and evaluate various perspectives on a given topic.

3. Structured Group Discussions

Structured group discussions follow predefined formats or rules. A moderator guides the discussion by posing questions and facilitating conversation. This format ensures active participation and constructive exchanges, providing a framework for focused and productive discussions.

By understanding the different types of group discussions, participants can choose the most suitable format for their goals and create an engaging and interactive environment for meaningful conversations.

Choosing a Suitable Topic

Selecting an appropriate topic is crucial for a successful group discussion. Consider the following factors when choosing a topic:

1. Relevance to the Participants

The topic should be relevant to the participants’ interests, experiences, or areas of study. This helps create a sense of engagement and encourages active participation.

2. Controversial and Thought-Provoking

Controversial topics or those that require critical thinking and analysis can spark lively and meaningful discussions. Avoid vague or overly simplistic topics that do not stimulate thoughtful discussion.

3. Current Affairs and Real-World Issues

Discussing current affairs and real-world issues helps participants develop an understanding of the socio-economic and political landscape. These topics encourage participants to think critically and evaluate different perspectives.

Strategies for Effective Group Discussions

To make group discussions productive and engaging, consider implementing the following strategies:

1. Establish Clear Ground Rules

Start by establishing clear guidelines and expectations for the discussion. These ground rules should emphasize the importance of active listening, respectful communication, and equal participation. By setting a foundation of mutual respect and inclusivity, you create a safe and open environment for all participants to contribute their ideas.

2. Encourage the Expression of Diverse Perspectives

Promote a culture that values and encourages diverse perspectives. Encourage participants to share their unique viewpoints, experiences, and ideas. By actively seeking and embracing different perspectives, you enrich the conversation and foster a deeper understanding of the topic at hand. Remember that diversity of thought leads to more innovative and creative solutions.

3. Foster Lateral Thinking and Problem-Solving

Encourage participants to think critically and approach problems from various angles. Foster an environment that values and promotes lateral thinking, which involves exploring unconventional or alternative solutions. Encourage participants to challenge assumptions and consider different perspectives to generate innovative ideas and solutions.

4. Provide Structured Discussion Prompts

Prepare a list of discussion prompts or questions in advance to guide the conversation. These prompts should cover various aspects of the topic and encourage participants to think critically and express their thoughts. Structured discussion prompts provide a framework and keep the conversation focused and productive. This helps ensure that all important aspects of the topic are explored.

5. Facilitate Active Participation

Actively engage all participants to facilitate their active participation in the discussion. Encourage quieter participants to contribute by directly asking for their input or by creating a supportive environment that encourages them to share their thoughts. By ensuring that everyone feels heard and valued, you create a space for meaningful and collaborative discussions.

By implementing these strategies, you can make your group discussions more effective, inclusive, and thought-provoking. These approaches promote critical thinking, enhance problem-solving skills, and allow for the exploration of multiple perspectives. Remember that an open and respectful environment is key to fostering successful group discussions.

Common Challenges in Group Discussions and How to Overcome Them

Group discussions can be an effective way to generate ideas, facilitate collaboration, and arrive at well-informed decisions. However, there are common challenges that can arise during group discussions. Here are some of these challenges and strategies to overcome them:

1. Dominant Personalities

Some participants may have dominant personalities that can overpower the conversation, making others feel unheard or overshadowed. To prevent dominance, set equal speaking opportunities for everyone. Encourage active listening to make sure everyone’s voice is heard. If someone is dominating the conversation, try direct questions to other participants and redirecting the conversation towards the quieter members.

2. Groupthink

Groupthink occurs when the desire for group harmony leads to conformity and a lack of critical thinking. To avoid it, make sure to encourage diverse opinions, ideas, and perspectives. Assign a designated devil’s advocate whose role is to challenge proposed ideas. Anonymous ideation sessions and setting the tone of every idea is welcome helps in the same.

3. Lack of Focus

Conversations may easily veer off-topic or lack a clear focus, making it difficult to achieve the intended goals. Keep the conversation focused by setting and reviewing an agenda periodically. Encourage participants to take constructive breaks that revitalize their focus. Use summarizing techniques throughout the discussion to align the focus.

4. Unequal Participation

In some situations, certain individuals may dominate conversations while others stay silent. Encourage participation by assigning specific roles, and asking directly for input from quieter participants. Brainstorming techniques can be used like round-robin, think-pair-share, or small groups to ensure equal participation.

5. Conflict Resolution

Conflicts or disagreements may arise during group discussions, leading to stress and uncertainty. To handle conflicts constructively, encourage active listening, acknowledging different perspectives and viewpoints, facilitating open dialogue, and seeking win-win solutions. By creating an open and inclusive space to resolve conflicts, the group’s dynamics and outcomes will enhance positively.

By proactively addressing these common challenges, groups can have meaningful conversations that lead to actionable insights and productive solutions.

Technology and Group Discussions

Technology has revolutionized the way we communicate and collaborate in group settings. With the rise of virtual meetings, video conferencing, and online collaboration tools, it’s now easier than ever to conduct group discussions from anywhere in the world. However, with these benefits come new challenges as well. Here are some ways technology can impact group discussions and how to overcome them.

Pros of Using Technology in Group Discussions

Increased Flexibility and Accessibility : With online tools, group members can join meetings from anywhere, at any time. This allows for greater flexibility and accessibility, making it easier for people to participate in group discussions even if they are not physically present.

Improved Collaboration : Virtual tools allow group members to collaborate in real-time, regardless of their physical location. This makes it easier for members to share ideas and information, and work together to achieve a common goal.

Reduced Costs : Virtual meetings can significantly reduce costs associated with travel and facility rental. This makes it easier for groups with limited resources to conduct discussions without sacrificing the benefits of in-person meetings.

Cons of Using Technology in Group Discussions

Technical Difficulties : Technical difficulties can arise during virtual meetings, which can delay progress and cause frustration. This can be overcome by having all participants test the technology before the meeting and ensuring all participants have a stable internet connection.

Lack of Non-Verbal Cues : During virtual meetings, non-verbal cues such as body language and facial expressions can be difficult to read. To overcome this, group members must be clear and concise with their verbal communication.

Distractions : Since virtual meetings can be conducted from anywhere, it’s easy for participants to become distracted by their surroundings. To overcome this, establish ground rules for participants such as turning off notifications or finding a quiet space to participate in the discussion.

In conclusion, technology has revolutionized the way we conduct group discussions and collaboration. By being aware of the pros and cons of using virtual meetings and online collaboration tools, groups can take advantage of the benefits while mitigating the challenges.

Group discussions are an effective way to promote critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills . By understanding the different types of group discussions, selecting suitable topics, and implementing effective strategies, educators and students can foster engaging and productive discussions. Remember to establish ground rules, encourage diverse perspectives, and provide structured prompts to make the most out of your group discussions.

Key Takeaways

Group discussions can take various forms, including case-based and topic-based discussions.
Choosing a relevant and thought-provoking topic is crucial for effective discussions.
Strategies such as establishing ground rules and encouraging diverse perspectives enhance the quality of group discussions .
Active participation and structured discussion prompts facilitate meaningful conversations.

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List Of 80 Group Discussion Topics [PDF Included]
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COMMENTS

14 Brain-Boosting Problem Solving Group Activities For Teams
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We have included three of our favorite books on the subject of Problem-Solving Therapy below. 1. Problem-Solving Therapy: A Treatment Manual - Arthur Nezu, Christine Maguth Nezu, and Thomas D'Zurilla. This is an incredibly valuable book for anyone wishing to understand the principles and practice behind PST.
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Team Building Exercises
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16 In-Person Group Activities Ideas For Problem-Solving. Word Association: Word association is a game in which groups must collaborate to come up with a list of words that are connected in a given amount of time. Picture Association: Teams must cooperate in order to connect a collection of images to create a narrative.
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Everyone joins the problem-solving group they've signed up to, record the discussion and if appropriate, findings can then be shared with the rest of the group afterward. ... Open Space is a methodology for large groups to create their agenda discerning important topics for discussion, suitable for conferences, community gatherings and whole ...
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14 Best Team Building Problem Solving Group Activities For 2024

What are the benefits of group problem-solving activities?

Popular Problem Solving Activities

2. Problem-Solving Templates

Problem Solving Group Activities & Games For Team Building

4. Crack The Case

5. Catch Meme If You Can

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8. Stranded

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Benefits of Group Discussion in Online Courses & Learning Communities

Online vs. in-person group discussion

Online group discussion

In-person group discussion

Favorite Online Resources

Thoughts On The Internet

The Impact of Social Media On Our Lives

The Pros and Cons of Technology

The Changing Landscape of Education

The Importance of Connection

Things That Inspire Your Creativity

“Would you rather” questions

Create an inclusive environment

Create a process to begin and end the group discussion

Make sure everyone has a chance to speak

Encourage people to ask questions

Have an open mind

Keep discussions constructive and positive

Plan topics for group discussions that will resonate with your students

Identify potential problems in group discussions

Give students feedback

Create discussion forums

Creating an Engaging Online Community with Group Discussions

1400+ Group Discussion Topics Categorized

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14.3 Problem Solving and Decision Making in Groups

Group Problem Solving

Group Problem-Solving Process

Step 1: Define the Problem

Step 2: Analyze the Problem

Step 3: Generate Possible Solutions

Step 4: Evaluate Solutions

Step 5: Implement and Assess the Solution

“Getting Competent”

Decision Making in Groups

Brainstorming before Decision Making

Discussion before Decision Making

Specific Decision-Making Techniques