The objective of this sample paper is to discuss how my group membership (African-American ethnic group — particularly my immediate family) negatively affected communication with my other small interpersonal group (group of 4 female friends). Below, I’ve given an example of my own to use. I also included two of my textbook if you need help defining words such as outgroups, group membership, intergroup communication, etc.
Thesis – I display poor communication skills by engaging in tit for tat behavior and shutting communication down completely. I need to work on expressing my true feelings in conflictual situations. (feel free to rephrase this sentence)
Example 1 – My friend, Tyra invited me and our other friend, Sadee to a car concert last year during the pandemic. A car concert is a gathering just like a normal concert, except where everyone watches the performance from their car. We all were in agreeance to attend. I purchased my concert ticket before everyone else. I informed both Tyra and Sadee that I purchased a regular admission ticket as well as a VIP parking ticket. I desired a good view, I’m short, and I thought a VIP parking ticket would help minimize my anxiety. Also, the VIP ticket was only needed per car and we planned on riding together. Again, I texted Tyra and Sadee to inform them that I bought my ticket. To my surprise, neither of my friends purchased their ticket yet and they were giving excuses why they might not be able to make the concert after I already purchased mine. The tickets were non-refundable. Approximately, two or three days before the concert they decided to purchase their tickets. Well, unfortunately, all tickets regular and VIP were sold out. I spent $130 total on both tickets. I texted my friends that I would like to be reimbursed because it was inconsiderate of them to delay purchasing their ticket especially because it was Tyra’s idea to attend and we already agreed to go. The text message I sent was short and straightforward. The tone of the message was not mean, but it wasn’t friendly either. Tyra nor Sadee responded to my message. Time went on and petty subliminal messages were posted on Instagram by both parties including myself. My message on Instagram Story included a picture of my backyard pool that captioned “who needs friends when you live like this.” I posted this in response to Tyra posting an image of Tyra & Sadee holding hands. I deemed Tyra’s message as passive-aggressive. I say that I avoid expressing my true feelings because I was indeed hurt by the passive-aggressive behavior, but I did not express that. Our mutual friend, Shanice decided to act as a mediator and have us meet up at Main Event, an entertainment center in Cobb County of Georgia. We discussed everything leading up to our disagreement. Instead of expressing how I really felt which was upset, I expressed anger and a bit of rage. They perceived me asking for reimbursement as being demanding and rude. Sadee said that I was acting entitled and I followed up with define entitled. From my perspective, I was justified in asking for a reimbursement. Also, I believed they were under the impression that my then-boyfriend, now fianc purchased the ticket on my behalf. Tyra stated, just because you and your boyfriend have it like that, doesnt mean everyone else does. Her statement implied that my fianc and I have money to spend carelessly. In addition to making assumptions, we were interrupting each other and not actively listening to one another. Ultimately, my friends did not feel the same as if they owed me a reimbursement and unfortunately, it caused our friendship to end. I did not have an opportunity to elaborate on how I suffer from social anxiety which was the main reason I purchased the VIP ticket. From their perspective, they assumed I was being a privileged individual. The meetup wasnt getting us anywhere so we decided to all leave as it was getting more intense. The next plan was for Tyra and me to meet individually and respectively, for Sadee and me to meet. However, once I reflected on everything that happened at the meetup and prior to, I decided that I would not be in contact with either Sadee or Tyra anymore. I blocked their numbers and moved on with life.
Please follow this structure:
A) Introduction – Foreshadow what’s to come in the paper. Include the thesis statement.
B) Body – Discuss my African-American ethnic group particularly my immediate African-American family intergroup. Discuss how In my family, we hide our feelings and bottle our emotions in. There’s a history of avoiding conflict and shutting down because we assume nothing is going to be done about it anyways. I grew up with the idea that we should conceal emotions. Also, I grew up with the idea to cut people off completely versus trying to work through disagreements. Also, describe how my African-American family intergroup and small group of 3 female friends function together in understanding who I am as a communicator.
B1) Discuss how my immediate African-American family intergroup affected my communication with my small group of 3 female friends. Use the example I provided for this section. Include what I said and did from the example. Also, include how my perspectives of the outgroup members affected what I said and did from the example. Feel free to copy what I said verbatim or improve my sentences if needed.
B2) Use your own judgment and describe how my intergroup communication led to negative outcomes with other groups/outgroups in that communication area.
B3) Use your own judgment and discuss what I should be aware of when it comes to communication behavior. Also, discuss how avoiding and shutting down hurts development as a communicator when it comes to communicating with diverse groups
C) Conclusion – Summarize
**I know this is a lot for my sample paper so feel free to reach out to me and ask questions. Seriously, ask me any questions to clarify or define a work..anything. thanks.
