How You Communicate
Effectively Versus What You Communicate Effectively!
As I
reviewed the three modalities of communication in this week’s resources I was
reminded of my most frequent form of communication which is email. As a result,
this week’s blog task not only has me reflecting on the modalities of
communication contained in this assignment but how I have structured and communicated
my messages in the past whether via email, voice mail or face-to-face. Although
I take pride in carefully considering the words contained in the messages I
send (“excuse me”, “please”, “I appreciate”, and “thank you” are a regular part
of my communication vernacular), I have rarely taken time to consider the
effect my messages have on my audience, instead, choosing to focus on getting
the message to my recipient(s) so they either get the information they need or
they get the information to me that I need. In our video on “Communicating with
Stakeholders” Dr. Harold Stovolitch describes communication as “diplomacy” and
project managers who “identify and engage stakeholders”, and whose job it is to
keep conflict to a minimum, as “diplomats” (Laureate Education (Producer),
(n.d.).
Of the three
message modalities reviewed, the voice mail message best conveyed the true
meaning and intent of the message. Jane’s tone sounded to me as if she was
asking for my help versus the email, which, it seemed to me, was trying to tell
me what to do. A lot of how I initially receive messages has to do with the
person’s role within a situation however, having accepted and committed to the project,
I now have a responsibility to act on the request no matter the modality used
to communicate the message, or what Jane’s project role is (Portny, Mantel,
Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008, p. 299).
A good project
manager has already “engaged the project audience,” determined the “stakeholder,
distribution, and team member lists,” identified “drivers, supporters, and
observers” and gotten commitments including mine (Portny, et al, 2008). All of
these factors influenced how I perceived the message and at this point my job
is to deliver on my commitment so that my lack of action does not negatively
influence the project, other team members or stakeholders; or imply incompetence.
Win
References
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, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Hi Win,
ReplyDeleteI liked that you brought up that a good PM already engaged the project audience. I liked the Communication Matrix that was part of the Communication Management Plan Template we were given this week (“Communications management plan template,” n.d.). It's a great tool for keeping track of who, what and where and how the communication needs to occur.
Mary
Communications management plan template. (n.d.). ProjectManagementDocs. Retrieved from www.ProjectManagementDocs.com
Mary thank you reviewing my blog post. You are right. The communication matrix is a valuable tool that outlines exactly how contact will be made.
DeleteWin
Hi Win,
ReplyDeleteYou are such an eloquent writer. I'm sure you are truly a pro at getting people to do what is needed to successfully complete a project. :) I think you are absolutely right. It's imperative when working with sme's, project members, etc. that the tone of the PM be professional, warm, diplomatic as well as assertive.
Great insight
K
Hi Kathy, thank you for visiting my blog and for your kind words. I wonder how I would fair with my tone and delivery in a pressure-packed project management environment?
DeleteWin
Hi Win,
ReplyDeleteAs always a clear concise post. I especially agree with what your said "I now have a responsibility to act on the request no matter the modality used to communicate the message, or what Jane’s project role is (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008, p. 299).
This is very true, Mark as a member of the team really shouldn't have had to continue to be remind of the need for the information. It seemed to me, though she didn't say she had contacted him before, but he was obviously aware that the missing report was required since he was the one with the information. She did remain professional when communicating in the voicemail - and I think the same could be said about her face to face communication.
Pam
Hi Pam, thank you for your response and comments. I'm glad you decided to review my post. We have to make a lot of assumptions when commenting on these different scenarios, which is good because we get an indication of how others tend to handle the same situation and we in turn gain a wider swath of learning experiences.
DeleteWin