Real Communication An Introduction

252 Part 3  Group and Organizational Communication

Specifically, the bigger the group, the more its communication takes on the

following characteristics:

c Interaction is more formal. Group communication simply cannot work in the

same kind of informal way that dyadic communication occurs, due to the

need to include more communicators in the discourse. Individuals partici-

pating in a group may feel the need to obtain permission to speak, and they

may also be reluctant to interrupt a speaker.

c Each member has limited opportunities to contribute. Participants may want or

be required by a leader to share “floor time” with other group members. Such

time constraints can inhibit the quality and quantity of their contributions.

Even without a formal leader, in larger groups a few members tend to domi-

nate much of the talk, while the less assertive members tend to remain quiet.

c The communication becomes less intimate. The greater the number of par-

ticipants is, the less comfortable participants feel self-disclosing or voicing

controversial opinions.

c The interaction consumes more time. As more participants are invited to con-

tribute or debate, and there are more opinions possible, the interaction takes

longer to complete.

c Relationships become more complex. As more participants are added, the rela-

tionships become more complex. In the dyad, of course, there is only one

relationship—that between person 1 and person 2. But as shown in Figure

9.1, add another person, and you now have four potential relationships—

between persons 1 and 2, 1 and 3, 2 and 3, and all three together. The num-

ber of relationships multiplies further with each additional participant!

2 People = 1 Dyad = 1 Relationship

3 People = 3 Dyads + of 3 Members1 Total Group = Relationships^4

4 People = 6 Dyads + + =

4 Groups of 3

Members Each

1 Total Group

of 4 Members

11

Relationships

12

12

3

12

34

12

34

12

34

12

3

FIGURE 9.1
COMPLEXITY OF GROUP
RELATIONSHIPS Each time
a person is added to a group,
the number of relationships
increases substantially.