Attend a meeting. It can be on campus, at your job, in your local community, or virtually, anyplace where you can observe formal group discussion (a class meeting does not count). During the meeting, take notes to monitor the effectiveness of communication level at the meeting. (You can use a meeting you attended within the last year.)
Use your notes to write a coherent, five-paragraph, 500-word essay, with a title and with a thesis that states your evaluation of this meeting. You can attend the meeting with a fellow class member, but you must write your report individually.
Thinking about these ideas that may help shape your essay:
How would you describe the leaders ability to clearly state the meetings goals and to engage members in a meaningful discussion? Was an agenda given and followed? How well did you feel the meeting was managed? If there were any guest speakers there, how well did they communicate? Be specific.
How would you evaluate the group’s listening and engagement skills? Did the group make decisions? Did any participants change their expressed views or their votes during the meeting? Did those with dissenting opinions get an opportunity to voice their objections? How well did the individual participants listen? Be specific.
Did you observe any communications barriers? How would evaluate the space? Were there issues of volume or language or technology that prevented things from being heard? Were people paying attention? Was it a good time of day to hold a meeting? Be specific.