Communicating Effectively

Multimedia presentation link- http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html


There are so many facets of communication, it is hard to list them all.  Certainly the written and spoken word are important, but as our resources pointed out this week, so are tonality, personality, and body language just to name a few (Laureate Education, n.d.).  Effective communication is not just the words that are written or spoke, it is also how they are communicated that punctuates them.

For the written word, sentence structure, punctuation, font, images and details all affect how the message is received.  As I reviewed the written request in our media snippet, several things came to mind.  I thought the written message was convoluted, and unclear.  The sentences seems wordy and there was no sense of urgency in the message.  The written format could have been much more direct with a deadline and requirements clearly spelled out in a more formal presentation.  While the email should still be cordial, it could have had a cleaner approach.  The email was very empathetic and even made excuses for the recipient why the report was not completed.  As a PM, you need to realize that all people are busy, but that there are still timelines that need to be met.  While email is good, because you have a paper trail, it does not include tone or inflection and assertiveness could come across as rude and condescending if the writer is not careful.  The format of the email presented does not pose any direct questions and a timeline.  It just indicates to let her know.  That could be today, tomorrow, next week etc.  The writer could have emphasized important parts of the email with a different color or font to draw the readers attention (Portny et al., 2008, p. 359)

The face to face approach was nice, and the presenters body language was relaxed, but again, there was no sense of urgency.  The woman almost appeared apologetic in her approach.  While this approach may be fine for co-workers who know each other extremely well, and have a great working relationship, the casualness of the approach may not be good in all situations.  Since the project needed be completed by the end of the day, the presenter could have been a little more aggressive or appeared in greater need.  It was as if, "Hey, if you are not too busy, I really need to get that report.  I hate to ask you, but if possible could I have it by the end of the day."  A better approach might have been, "I know you have been busy, like everyone else around here, but I must have that report for your part of the project completed by the end of the day.  What time can I expect it to be ready?"  What this does is that it forces Mark to commit to a time for his part to be completed by.  

For me, the voice mail approach was the best.  The dialogue seemed to flow better from a listening standpoint than a reading standpoint.  The tone was good, and direct.  While there wasn't an over dramatic sense of urgency, I did feel that this was conveyed more in this example as opposed to the other two.  Again, what would have made this more effective in my mind would have been the deadline and the request for a call back of when the report could be expected.  This puts the ball in Mark's court so to speak and the person can follow up if the time deadline passes without the product being delivered.

While voice mail isn't always the best option, in my opinion, it was the best for this scenario.  As a PM communication is vital to the success of the project.  What the PM has to learn early on is not to communicate how the PM likes to be communicated to, but how the stakeholders and project team members like to be communicated to.  It is important to know who prefers email as opposed to voice mail, and who prefers the face to face meetings.  This will ensure that the PM is keeping everyone in the loop that best suits them.  It makes no sense to just use email, because there may be team members that have very little access to email, or perhaps team members who are on the phone all day who might not have time to listen to voice mail.  In all cases though, the PM should be courteous, detail oriented, and diplomatic in any and all dealings with others.

Resources:

http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html

Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Communicating with stakeholders [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons.