Five People You’ll Meet in Group Assignments (And How to Deal With Them)

Whether you like it or not,  at some point throughout university you will be forced to work with people in group assignments.

Just when you’re thinking your future lies entirely in your hands, you get thrown into awkward group assignments and told that the success or failure of your assignment counts towards approximately 50% of your semester’s overall grade.

“Great! Let’s get started!” you think, or exclaim enthusiastically. You obviously have no idea what you’re getting yourself into…you’re pretty much stuck with your team for the next few weeks.

Oh, and you’ll probably see them around  outside of the group meetup time so it’s best to keep things “professional” in case they accidentally urinated on your jacket the night before. (I was the victim of this horribly true story. The culprit was named and shamed on Monday morning in front of the other team mates. )

Here’s a short guide on the  5 types of people you’ll meet while doing group assignments and how to best deal with them. The sooner you spot them, the easier it will be to work with them.

Team mate no. 1: The (suspected) perpetual stoner

How to spot them: says “dude” alot, smells a little funky, walks around with bongos permanently attached.

Why they’re dangerous: They’ll  probably have lots of great ideas, but will also say “Oh… was I meant to do that?” when deadline comes, leaving you and others to pick up the slack.

How to deal with them: Give them a tighter deadline than other group members. When they end up not doing anything or producing something similar to what a 5 year old can do , the rest of you will have some time to fix it before the actual deadline. You can also give them a poor review score at the end of the project if you’re feeling extra mean.

Team mate no. 2: The self-appointed dictator

How to spot them: Bossy from the start, barking orders at everyone, will not take no for an answer.

Why they’re dangerous: They make no secret of wanting to get full marks for this assignment and will expect everyone to put as much effort as them. Whilst the drive of this individual is great, it can be quite suffocating as they may be raising the team’s stress levels to an unnecessary high.

How to deal with them: Try buying them a drink outside of the group activity, it might loosen them up! If that fails, going head-to-head with this person will probably not work. If your ideas are at polar opposite ends of the spectrum, try your best to reach a compromise. If that still fails, ignore their taunts and just do whatever you want, if anything, that will drive them even more crazy, which could be great material for a viral youtube video.

Team mate no. 3: The nervous nancy

How to spot them: The one shaking in the corner.
Why they’re dangerous: Not really dangerous, but their shyness could stop them from asking questions, and you could end up with something completely different from what was initially discussed.

How to deal with them: If they look like they’re bursting to say something but can’t quite get the guts to say it, help them out a little. Ask them directly for their opinion, show that you care about what they have to say and they will appreciate the gesture greatly.

Team mate no. 4: The know-it-all

How to spot them: The one arguing with the dictator.

Why they’re dangerous: They may appear super knowledgeable, but most of the time, they’re all talk no substance. They can lure you into a false sense of security as you believe your group will do well because he/she knows everything about the subject.

How to deal with them: Ask them to back up any claims, especially if you get a gut feeling that they’re just making it up.  E.g. if they say, “Well, obviously this method is the best for our experiment due to INSERT LARGE WORD YOU’VE NEVER HEARD OF”, try saying something along the lines of “How do you define obviously?” and watch them recoil or continue to spin their web of lies.

Team mate no. 5: The party animal

How to spot them: the one trying to keep their eyes open during the brainstorm, usually stinking of beer.

Why they’re dangerous: With their sole aim of university being to break their personal beer pong record, the party animal may not be the most reliable when it comes to producing their best work, especially if there’s a big party before the final deadline.

How to deal with them: This one’s tough because you’ll probably find this type of team mate to be the most common one in group assignments Try scheduling group meet ups a little later in the afternoon to better ensure full consciousness/physical presence from him/her.

Are there more stereotypes I should be aware of? If so, leave me a message!