Marlan Sunami Martin-BLOG

Growing up, I was always told I was a “natural-born” leader. Back then, I used to think being a leader involved making rules, being bold, straight-forward, and assertive, but there’s so much more to it than just that. There’s even more to making a meeting than meets the eye. There’s also so much involved in something as simple as communication in groups, and we don’t even notice. In my speech class, my classmates and I were split into three groups and told to cover different chapters and make a PowerPoint presentation to summarize it. In these three presentations we were taught by our peers about topics such as group culture and communication, types of groups and their interactions, and lastly, leadership. Each group did such a amazing job explaining each section I actually learned quite a few things. 

Group One talked about Communication and Culture in Groups. One of the most essential skills to have in any group is communication. Without communication, your group won’t get anywhere. If you can’t speak to your groups or your teammates, how are you supposed to know what YOU have to do? It’s impossible. You have to know your audience and speak up when you want to get a point across or ask a question. Group One touched on a couple controversial topics, which are my favorite, such as, sexuality and religion. There are many different sexualities and religions and everyone has their own beliefs but it’s such an interesting conversation to have with your peers because it gives you insight into how they think and how other people perceive such topics. Another topic they mentioned that peaked my interest was culture shock. I actually experienced culture shock first hand a couple times. Once, when I spent a whole summer in Cuba with my dads side of the family by myself. That one wasn’t too bad because I had been to Cuba before but this time it was for a much longer time and I had formed much deeper connection with the people I met over there. When I came back, I was practically a different person. I started my freshman year of high school and that was probably the most shocking experience I’ve lived so far. I had recently graduated from a charter school in Miramar and my life was always a bit sheltered when i was younger so, when i moved to Hialeah and started attending a public high school where I didn’t know anyone, AND in the third week of school (I started late because of my transcripts), I was beyond terrified. I even cried the first two days, but I found and created strong friendships pretty fast. This is one of the main reasons you have to form connections in your group at least with one other member to keep you grounded. 

Group Two explained how different kinds of groups interact amongst themselves and how they’re built. One group that they mentioned which I really liked and identified with was the social group. In my group of friends we all care about each other very much, even though sometimes we might not show it, we’re always there for each other. We have a mix of personalities and characters but we seem to make it work and accommodate our schedules to spend time with each other. I have a pretty strong personality so if someone doesn’t know me they might think I’m very judgmental and mean but I’m really a very caring and understanding person. Group two also explained how support groups comfort each other and give each other advice, which I believe also resonates with my friend group and even my family. I personally related to service groups because when I was in high school i was in a club doing community service and that included things like serving the homeless, going to a food drive and providing food to people from low-income households, and really just anyone struggling to have a meal. One very important group they mentioned were work groups and teams. These types of groups have set tasks, rules, and goals which must be met. This is probably the most important one in a profesional setting. These PowerPoint presentations were a combination of work groups and virtual groups, which are very popular at the moment due to the current pandemic. I don’t really like virtual groups or even studying virtually because i feel as if I’m not getting enough done. I get distracted way too easily and I feel off task. 

Lastly, we have Group Three, leadership. I was introduced to group three very suddenly but I was very happy with how our presentation came out. Apparently, there is a lot behind leadership than just telling people what to do. You cant be a good leader without having your own part to play and I truly believe Greg did a great job. He was very understanding and nice. He answered everyone’s questions and led everyone to success. I was a bit surprised that meetings had so much involved in them. I kind of figured it was all a bit of common sense but there are actual steps to a good and effective meeting. At the end of the day, everyone has a role in a group, it’s not just the leader who does all the work. The team members all play their part in building the team. You know what they say, “One for all, all for one.”. I’m excited to see what else this class has in store for us all. This was a very insightful project.