SPPSY 1 LAB:  CONDUCTING GROUP DYNAMICS ACTIVITIES

 

 

Stages of Activity:

 

1. Opening and Establishing Rapport

 

Always start with greeting your participants.  Inform them why they are there in the first place.  You may ask them questions that will give you more information about their background (i.e., course in college, place of work, nature of work, expectations, et al.).  You may open the session when majority of your expected participants have arrived.  This will help them settle down and get the feel of what they are about to experience.

 

Do not forget to introduce yourself if there was nobody to introduce you.  You can tell them some professional information about yourself but avoid personal or private matters.  Establish a professional relationship and not a personal one, avoiding transference and counter-transference.

 

2. Discussing Ground Rules

 

Inform your audience of all general rules to be observed from the start of the activity up to the very end of the session.  Ground rules may be posted on one area in front or at the back of the room throughout the activity.  Ground rules in group activities may include the following:

• Turn off cellular phones
• No one is allowed to leave the room until the break
• Break time is comfort room time
• No eating or drinking inside the conference room
• Active participation is encouraged
• Principle of Suspended Judgment  (Judgment, biases, and contradictions should be ignored or not entertained until the end of the activity.  This may ensure the success of the activity proper.  All these issues may be discussed or clarified in the processing stage.)

 

3. Giving Instructions

 

Instructions must be clear and specific.  Give instructions step by step.  Always order your instructions based on the order of administration.  Never assume that your audience knows what they should do.  These common assumptions to be avoided include:

• Take their seats after rearranging them
• Settle down in order to start with the activity
• Keep silent
• They have pens to answer your paper-based activities
• They understand written instructions

 

4. Activity Proper

 

Do the activity that you oriented them about previously.  Follow the activity designed to the dot but know when you have to be flexible by giving additional instructions or modifying instructions.  These modifications and changes in the activity proper must be done to ensure success or the activity and richness of processing.

 

5. Processing

 

After the activity proper, start with general questions and go to more specific ones.  The subsequent question must be pooled from topics brought up by the audience when answering previous questions.  You may start with questions like, “How did you feel during the activity?”  “How do you feel now?”  Then you may formulate follow up questions depending on their answers on these general ones.  A sport psychologist must be very flexible and smart about asking questions and explaining the activity.  This is the opportunity of the professionals to debrief the audience regarding concealed issues introduced during the activity proper.

 

6. Closing

 

This is often overlooked and underestimated.  Closing the session is as important as opening it and establishing rapport.  It may be another simple activity or merely a closing speech to give the audience a feel of closure in the psychological intervention.  Do not forget to thank the audience for coming and participating.  You may also challenge them to apply what they have learned in the activity to their athletic life whether it be in training or competitions.

 

Guidelines in Conducting Group Dynamics Activities:

 

1. Physical Appearance

 

Remember that you are dealing with athletes or health buffs who tend to dress casually.  You should be sensitive enough about the impression your clothes make on your clients.  If your clothes are too formal for their orientation, athletes may be intimidated by you which in turn will affect the results of your processing.  If your clothes, on the other hand, are too informal for their culture, respect and professional relationship may be difficult to establish.  You must also be clean-looking and approachable.

 

2. Language and Speech

 

You must be aware of colloquialisms and slang words used by athletes.  You need not adopt them into your own conversational style, but you must be aware of the meaning of these words.  All verbal and non-verbal communication from athletes may be a very rich source of relevant information in constructing and designing your intervention.

 

 

3. Personality

 

You should not change your personality for anybody.  You should only be flexible enough to attain and maintain smooth interpersonal relationships.  You must also have a personality that is strong enough to sustain its integrity amidst the various personalities of your clients.