Week 3: Communicating Effectively

The ability to communicate well, both orally and written, is a critical skill for project managers (Portney, et. al, 2008). Formal communications are preplanned and conducted in a standard format in accordance with an established schedule, whereas informal communication occur as people think of information they want to share.  In this week’s video, “The Art of Effective Communication”, after reading it my synopsis of it is this: 

Email: When I initially read the email, my first thought was that Jane was beginning to lose patience with Mark, but that she kept the message straight and to the point.  Reading the text and with no audibility it is hard to understand Jane’s emotions about the project, to mention the urgency of it. 

Voicemail: Jane was very patient and professionally monotone in the voicemail message, once again sending a very non-emotion and straightforward message to Mark.

Face to Face: In the face-to-face conversation and message, Jane seemed more empathetic if anything else, and certainly not impatient with not receiving Mark’s input for her report.  

Hearing a voice and Jane’s actual tone influenced how I interpreted and perceived the message.  In both the voicemail and face-to-face, she seems to maintain her professionalism and patience with Mark in spite of the fact that she pressed for time on meeting a deadline.  Furthermore, I would almost venture to say that in the F2F, Jane almost seems to relaxed and casual and extremely empathetic to Mark, which that in and of itself could send the wrong message.  

There is formal and informal communication, and it is important that communication is clear, concise and focused; helps everyone to stay on target.  It is suggested that communication is not just looked at as words, but spirit and attitude can be deemed as important words (Dr. Stolovitch, 2012).  Tonality, body language, and even timing of the communication becomes part.  Important communication is best delivered with all team members present.  The voicemail message in my opinion was the best method of delivering the message in this particular instance.  I think Mark knows after listening to that voice message exactly where Jane is coming from and thus he understands the urgency and how imperative it is for him to follow-up to her in a timely fashion.  

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (2012). Multimedia Program: "The Art of Effective Communication"

Laureate Education, Inc. (2012). Video Program: "Communicating with Stakeholders"

Dr. Stolovitch discusses communication strategies and managing client expectations.

Portney, S., Mantel, S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., Sutton, M., (2008). Project Management: Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling Projects. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ