Week 3 Communicating Effectively

Technology enables distant face-to-face communications

Communicating Effectively

Communication is a necessary asset for project managers to make projects successful; it helps to get anything and everything s/he needs accomplished. Without effective communication skills, nothing would get accomplished during the five life-cycles of project management.

Whether we communicate formally or informally, the project manager utilizes strategies that foster message understanding, clarification, and message reinforcement all of which gets the project moving forward through to closure. Portny, et al. (2008), posit “Communication” is sharing the right messages with the right people in a timely manner”. Moreover, as far as PM’s role is concerned, s/he must have skills that mobilize project teams in participative communication activities via formal weekly scheduled meetings Portny, et al., 2008.

Three Modalities of Communication

For this week’s Assignment, I observed and listened to one message communicated in three different modalities: Written text, audio, and video. In this post, I reflected and now provide my interpretation of the meaning of each modality. I am to pay special attention to the "content" and "tone" of the messages and record my interpretation.

The three modalities are:                                                                    

1. Email/written text
2. Voicemail/audio message
3. Video/Face-to-face


Same message, different modalities.

“Hi Mark,
I know you have been busy and possibly in that all day meeting today, but I really need an ETA on the missing report. Because your report contains data I need to finish my report, I might miss my own deadline if I don’t get your report soon. Please let me know when you think you can get your report sent over to me, or even if you can send the data, I need in a separate email. I really appreciate your help Jane.” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010a).

The first modality is via email/written.

Email is a formal method of communication. It instantaneously relays important information across space and time. It provides an interactive means of communication between sender and receiver—if the receiver opens the email. In project management settings, it is vital that procedures for sending and retrieving email are pre-established and implemented by the PM or ID (Portny et al., 2008). An acceptable communication plan should be one that is standard, consistent, and meaningful that ensures efficient retrieval time, that minimizes misunderstandings, that presents data effectively, efficiently, and leaves a historical footprint of shared information for future reference. The above message is in the modality of written text via email.

As I reflect on my recorded impressions of this message in its written text format, I feel the format is formal and strong because it leaves a history for future reference, and it can be read repeatedly for clarity. However, whether the message is powerful or not, it does not show if the email was read or not, (Portny, et al., 2008) has an answer for that problem. Project managers can determine if emails are read by "Sending a report, then discuss with the people who received it one or two key points that were addressed in the report…doing so will tell a project manager quickly whether the intended audience read the report" (p. 359). The content is in active voice that broadens the urgency needed for immediate action on the part of the recipient. According to Beach (2006), showing urgency is the key to getting immediate feedback. The point I made earlier must be previously implemented and established as to how and when project team members are to retrieve email messages during the duration of the project. The receiver can re-read to gain understanding if necessary and can respond immediately for clarification. It also provides the sender a record that shows the message was sent.

The second modality is via voicemail/audio.

My impression of this communicative method appears to be more powerful than email. The reason this modality is so powerful, I feel, is the human voice, which makes the recipient feel the urgency, strength, direct, authoritative yet mild in the articulatory intonation.

If this voicemail were addressed to me, I would not hesitate to spring into action. Receivers need only one channel (auditory) to process the information—no distraction, no sensory motor skills needed (left to right eye movements, for example). If intonation seems obliging, that might present a non-urgent message.

This mode of the same message gets the point across to the recipient. The tone conveys urgency of the situation that enhances the need to spring into action right now, right away. I believe that piece of the project will be on her desk before she leaves work if the receiver checks the message in time. In spoken communications, the words are simple, to the point, and verbalized in the active voice, all of which demonstrates urgency (Beach, 2006)!

From the sender's perspective, sending the message via voicemail represents an efficient and effective approach to getting the message to the receiver asynchronously and without geographical boundaries. However, if the receiver is away from the phone, out of the office, s/he may have a backlog of messages to go through before getting to this urgent message and that could cause a delay.

(Portny, et al., 2008) suggest for this situation, the sender should backup the message in a formal written format. Depending on the relationship between the sender and receiver, the sender could write a “post note” placed on the office door or desk with the same message, or s/he may also send an email marked urgent in the title box. A good point about voicemail is that once received, it can be replayed for better clarity and understanding.

The third modality is via in person.

Informal (f2f) face-to-face is an effective means of casual communication. In that, the messenger is physically and visually present the message falls under the rules of immediate two-way communications. For example, speaker and listener can make a statement and clarify the meaning right there on spot. This form of on-site communication is the verbal and visual format needed and used in project management settings all the time. In this format, individuals can communicate anytime and anywhere within the confines of a conference room, water fountain, or during lunchtime or at any time during the workday.

Similarly, in today’s high tech world, face-to-face can happen at a distance via pre-arranged teleconferencing. This format is always formal and pre-planned, held at agreed upon set times, in same place and different places, at same time and different times from anywhere around the globe, Simonson, Smaldino, Albright, and Zvacek (2009).

In our f2f model, the speaker's, audio elocution is casual and friendly. She looks directly at the listener. By the messenger, going to see Mark shows urgency and as such, immediate action is demonstrated (Beach, 2006).

Mayer's theory of multiple media design is in full effect in this third modality. “Humans possess separate systems for processing pictorial and verbal information (dual-channel assumption); each channel is limited in the amount of material that can be processed at one time (limited-capacity assumption)” Mayer (2003). I would venture to say besides Mayer’s theory, the two-way process of the science of communication exist for repeating the message to get further clarity and understanding and asking questions and providing answers on the spot.

Albeit informal f2f communication is a two-way process, it sometimes can cause harmful feelings if the receiver of the message feels intimidated or threatened in any way. It is important to conduct communication properly:


• “Choose words carefully                                                   
• Use short sentences in active voice
  
• Maintain eye contact

• Hold hands to the side of your body 
                          
• Ask questions

• Make clarifications" (Portny et al., 2008).                   


My synthesis

Some people hate leaving messages or receiving messages over the phone. Some people do not check their email often enough to get messages on time. However, new project management software tools have the capacity to cue or alert the PM whenever there is a message or submission. Another point to be raised about face-to-face communication is by asking a couple simple questions. By simply asking someone, “What's happening and how do you feel” could go a long way as an icebreaker. Those simple questions could help ease the tension for someone that is bogged down in lots of work and to someone you need to build a meaningful lasting professional relationship with.

Portny et al. (2008) state, "Face-to-face communication is sometimes a better modality than others are because it allows two-way communication; moreover, it allows receiver to pick up nuances of voice and body language unseen in the other two modalities".

Perfecting one's communication skills is a vital project management asset in our global economy.  It determines whether you trump the competition or suffer consequences that emanates from ineffectiveness in being inefficient.

References

Beach, L., R. (2006).  Leadership and the Art of Change.  A practical guide to organizational transformation.  Sage Publications.  Thousand Oaks.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer).  (2010 a).  The Art of Effective Communication.  [Multimedia program].  United States: Laureate Education, Inc.

Mayer, R., (2003).  Nine Ways to Reduce Cognitive Load in Multimedia Learning.  Educational Psychologist, 38 (1), 43–52.  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Retrieved from http://edtechnewsletter.wikispaces.umb.edu/file/view/Cognitive+load+in+Multimedia+learning.pdf.

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.

Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009).  Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th ed.)  Boston, MA: Pearson.