Group Interaction and Behavior in Meetings: A New Assessment Tool to Monitor Group Behavior

Abstract

Soft skills, such as verbal and nonverbal communication are important for success in business. Up to 80% of communication happens nonverbally, using standard and microforms of expression. Quantifying such skills can be difficult, so courses rarely prepare students for this much-needed skill (Henville, 2012). Organizational meetings are a hotspot for nonverbal communication. Demographics, such as rank and gender, may give meeting members the power to use negative nonverbal forms of communication to make themselves be heard or to show dislike of others. This is when it is particularly helpful to have a facilitator with skills in nonverbal communication to keep the group on task, following an agenda, and give empower the weak. The author created an assessment instrument with the help of anecdotal evidence and an exhaustive search of the current literature. The tool can be used to measure the behavior in the workplace and contributed to the creation of a classroom or workplace hands-on activity that will help students and employees hone their skills in identifying verbal, nonverbal, and microexpressions.