Not getting along with your group is a very common problem which almost all students face. They are paired up with random people who they do not even know and then are expected to work well together. But that is not how things work as only one person ends up doing all the work and others become freeloaders who just stick around and get free points. Some groups even search for write my assignment to get their work done professionally as no one in their team is interested to work or submit on time. All this becomes difficult for the students who want to get good grades. Managing a team and getting them to work is an art which only a few people know. And if you are looking for some pointers keep reading. Why is it important to work with people that are different than you? Often times many students complain that they have been paired up with students who they dint want to work with only because their instructor made the di it. They complain and do not understand the logic behind it. While it might look stressful then working with new people and getting them to get everything done on time, it is how it will be in corporate life. All this will be training you for your future when you work in teams in offices. Incorporate you will not get hand-picked people of your choice who you will want to work with. When you work with different people you will get more exposure as everyone has something to learn from others. You will learn to see things in new light and you will never have to make a decision on your own as there will be people to help you out and to guide you. This is what teamwork is and if you cannot work with a diverse group of people, you will not be called a team player when you have a job and that will keep you from getting promoted or moving ahead in your career. If you have been recently paired up with a classmate who you barely knew and are hesitating to work with then keep reading as we give some amazing hacks on how to make a group project work. Tips and tricks to work successfully in college: •	Define objectives: You can never go far with a project if you do not have objective that everyone knows of. For example when you talk to your group, establish some objectives that you need to achieve. You will have to set these so everyone knows what they are aiming for. Are you just looking to get done with it all and submit the assignment or are you really looking forward to impress the teacher with your work and get the highest score in class. You have to discuss your objectives with your group and the set them as ground rules so everyone remembers them while working. It will be the award at the finish line which will motivate everyone. •	Set a clear timeline: You all need to know when you need to submit the work. If you do not have a timeline set you will never be able to get everyone to submit their work on time. When assigning the work, ensure that you give a timeline. Do mention by what date and time everyone needs to submit their work. You can do that in sections. Like at what time will everyone submit the first draft and by what day will everyone submit their final work with changes as per the discussions. It will give everyone a clear deadline to follow and that will push them to meet it. Without a deadline people will think they have unlimited time on their hands and will leave it till the last minute which will compromise the work’s quality and will make it tougher for everyone to align things. •	Choose a leader: You will not be able to get ahead or go far with a group without a leader. If you do not have a leader things will fall apart and you will not be able to recover from that. Make a unanimous decision where everyone votes on who can become the leader. The leader will then assign the roles to everyone and will overlook and manage everyone making sure that each and every member is on track. A group of people will never work well if they aren't with a leader, so try establishing a leader on day one and it will be a smooth ride from there. •	Make a plan: Nothing will work if you do not have a plan. Start off by making a solid plan which will work if every member cooperates. The plan will specify the number of drafts every member must submit, the timeline, the time for changes and editing and the time for compilation and final discussion. This plan will determine the success of every group. Without a plan no one will know what to do and everyone will go in different directions. •	Communicate: Communication is the bridge which will help you cross this lake of projects and assignments. When you communicate with your group members you will get to know their problems and all the places they are stuck at. Ask them and see who is not able to do which part and then notice their strengths. Assign work accordingly and you will see how quickly things get done. The only way to understand what will happen with your final work is if you communicate so make sure you have team meetings and discussions to see at what page everyone is. It will help gather all ideas in one place so people can start working accordingly. Getting over obstacles you never thought you would be able to conquer: There will be some group members who are not interested to get work done will test your patience. They will constantly bug you or will go offline and will not reply to your messages or calls or emails. That's normal. Just keep your cool and tackle it wisely so that the rest of the group doesn't turn against you. Acting calmly but deadly is the way to go ahead with group projects and that is what you need to do. Make sure you opt for clear communication and everything else will fall into place for you. Follow the tips we talked about above if you do not want to run into any problems with your group. Getting over stage fright and the problems that come with it Stage fright is the most common problems which students face. Even adults go through this issue a lot and do not know how to get better. Many students get help from others but when it is time to present their work in front of the classroom and teachers, they panic and are unable to perform well. All this is a huge problem as it stems from a fear rooted deep inside and if it is left unchecked, students are unable to do well even in their professional life. When giving presentations or talking to teams or clients, they seem to lose confidence in themselves and that keeps them from getting promoted and from doing well in their organisation. What is stage fright and why is it so common amongst college students? Stage fright is not being able to speak confidently in front of the people you are facing or in front of crowds. If you feel nervous or lose all confidence when facing the public and talking in front of them, you are suffering from stage fright. The reason why it is so common is because every student at school isn't taught how to overcome this. In school there are almost no presentations and there is no requirement for students to participate or perform or do anything in front of other students. It gets overlooked in school and the students themselves do not find it important to work on it. Students are young and they need to be taught the importance of public speaking. Because that was never encouraged in school, they are unable to work on that and then at the end fail at things in life. If only the teachers at school start emphasizing the importance of this skill and started to assign projects that will help students speak more freely and confidently, this fear will go away from the masses. If you are just going on to college or university or are starting a new job, you should be able to talk to the people in groups. If you find that you are unable to do so, keep reading to see how you can work on these skills. Easy ways to get over stage fright that are easy and practical: •	Remove all self-doubt: The first thing you need to do is remove all self-doubt. You have to look deep inside and see what is the one thing that prevents you from moving on in life. Is it something that you dislike about yourself? Do you not like how you talk? Because if these are the things which keep you from speaking confidently in front of people, then it needs to change. You see, no one in this world is perfect and we all have our flaws. If we only think about the negative things inside us, we will never be able to move ahead in our lives and will never do anything worthwhile. So, remove all traces of self-doubt from within your mind and then you will notice this new confidence inside you. •	Meditate: Meditation is one of those things which will help clear your mind. It keeps you in touch with your inner peace and removes all toxicity from your mind. Start off by mediating every single morning and you will be much calmer and relaxed. Meditation and yoga early morning helps you manage your stress levels and all the oxygen that foes inside you helps your brain relax. Start off be meditation every day especially before presentations and public speaking and you will never face an issue in your life. •	Practice: Start off by practicing your public speaking skills. Stand in front of a mirror and start talking. You will surprise yourself at the confidence you gain with this simple exercise. You can also make a wall with faces from celebrities or tour friends. You can even look at them while talking and giving a presentation and that will help you be more confident once you step out in front of actual people. You can find some safe spots in the audience too. Keep looking at your friends and maintain eye contact with them. This way you will not feel nervous while delivering your content on a public platform. •	Be prepared: Never go to any public speaking event without being prepared. Preparation is the key here. If you are not prepared your confidence will already be at the edge as you know you will not be able to answer questions. So, if you have assigned a presentation which you need to present in front of an audience, make sure that you practiced it beforehand and that you are well aware of all the things you mentioned. Once you are well rehearsed nothing will be able to shake you since you would know the answer to every question. •	Look at your strengths: You need to take into consideration your strengths. You cannot talk confidently in front of a crowd if you doubt yourself. Remind yourself that you are strong and good at this and that you are well versed with this topic. When you know that you are prepared and that it can help you get through, you will automatically find solace in your strengths. It is high time that instead of counting all the negative elements of your life, you start to give time to your strengths so that they can help you get far in life. Conclusion: Stage fright is a fear which is usually caused due to the fear of humiliation and getting laughed at. Instead of focusing on the negative aspect of this, try looking at the bright side. There are many people who stutter but still end up giving a performance which is loved by everyone. Everyone has insecurities and we all have to work our way past them. If we do not do that, we will forever be stuck in the same hole in which we started in and that feeling itself is not a good one. So, be willing to step out of your comfort zone and you will notice that things have started to look better for you.
