Group and Individual Communication
Group communication involves more than two people and individual communication involves one person (Baack, 2004). Basing on this information, there are many differences between group communication and individual communication. The major one is that in individual communication just one person or individual has the exclusive responsibility or duty to manage the process of communication. This, therefore, infers that an individual who formulates ideas also decides or chooses the best channel of delivering the information (Baack, 2004). In contrast, group communication results from the contribution of more than two people who create approaches as well as methods of delivery (Baack, 2004). In other words, in group communication, the opinions and ideas of all members are taken into consideration and they collectively find the best approach to achieve the results that are desired.
Challenges to communicating with groups
Since groups are made up of many people, at times, working in different departments and different organizational levels, they are likely to be faced with a lot of challenges. Some of these challenges are associated with the superiority complex. For instance, in some situations, a team may be composed of senior members of the company such as managers and even executives, who generally feel that their views matter more than those of lower-ranking team members. Supporting this, Baack (2004) indicates that oppression by rank can easily cause a break down in group communication. The other challenge is associated with diversity. When a team is composed of people who come from different backgrounds, they may easily present an exceptional set of experiences. Some of these experiences could be educational, religious, or cultural. As Bell (2009) indicates, if some members in a group do not respect the ideas and opinions of others, these factors can easily become an impediment to group communication.
Motivational strategies
In a business presentation, there are very many ways I would use to build rapport with my audience. For instance, I would speak the language of my audience. In the case of professionals like engineers, I would incorporate terms like tolerances, slide rules, structural and tensional forces. When speaking to businessmen or associations I would be careful when using terms such as members, clientele, delegates as well as associates just to mention but a few (Gallo, 2010). What is more, I would base my presentation around things that the audience can easily relate to or connect with. This is based on the fact that different people connect well with what they already know. For instance, in case my audience will be made up of salespeople, the issue of client response would sell out best. If my audience would be businesspersons, the issue of cash flows would sell best.
Motivational strategies applied by another speaker
One of the most successful strategies that I have seen being used as personal stories. One person who liked using this strategy was Steve Jobs, the former CEO of Apple Inc. In most of his presentations, rather than lecturing or incessantly feeding the audience with volumes of information, Steve Jobs used to share with his audience his personal stories. Gallo (2010) indicates that personal stories are considered the most effective way of motivating the audience as they connect with them easily. The stories of Steve Jobs were rich in ideas that appealed to his audience in most cases.
References
Baack, D. (2004). Management communication. New York: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Bell, A. (2009). Management communication. New York: Wiley.
Gallo, C. (2010). The presentation secrets of Steve Jobs: how to be great in front of an audience. NY: McGraw-Hill.