This week in the lectorial, Rachel spoke about collaboration and why it is important.

The main reasons as to why collaboration is a good thing that stood out to me were:

• Bouncing ideas and inspiration of each other
• The speed at which the task is completed; collaborating creates the ability to work faster and more efficiently as there are more hands to help out

I definitely agree. I thought this lectorial was so incredibly useful and relevant as we begin thinking about our next project brief, which involves working in a group. Although I never really think about it, group/ collaborative skills are so important when conducting a specific task. It’s important to ensure everyone is putting in an equal amount of effort, no one is left doing everything themselves, different ideas and suggestions allow for greater ideas, discussions and approaches – all of which Rachel spoke about.

A group discussion can often be hard to begin or generate, and it’s not until people put in their own ideas where it gets easier and more ideas are created. Especially because when working in a group, every member is likely to be so different from each other, so when everyone brings their different approaches or beliefs into the discussion, ideas are bounced off on another in ways you couldn’t do alone.

Collaborating does create the ability to work faster and more efficiently as there are more people involved in the specific task(s). If one person in the group is left to do everything on their own, the process is slow, and it’s often hard to actually get anywhere. If everyone chips in and collaborates together, more ideas are shared which creates opportunity for a stronger piece of work in the long run, and tasks are done quicker as there are more hands helping out.