Effective communication has been identified as one of the critical
success factors in project management because it helps to make people focussed (Portny
et al., 2008; Stolovitch, n.d.). However, communication is more than just sending
and receiving messages. Effective communication is about sharing information in
such a way that other people’s attitudes and behaviours can be influenced
(Portny et al., 2008) through understanding the message. Below is a You Tube video by Maximum Advantage that explains the
steps in the communication process, namely message formulation, encoding,
sending, decoding, understanding and feedback:
Factors that influence effective
communication
Factors
that influence effective communication include the following:
whether
the right message is being shared with the right person Portny
et al., 2008); the way the message is formulated and delivered; the mode of
delivery; "tonality and body language; personality of the recipient" (Stolovitch, n.d.).
An exercise to
evaluate communication effectiveness
Project communication can be formal or informal, written or oral.
Although informal communication occurs on a daily basis, Portny et al. (2008) and Stolovitch
(n.d.) have recommended that there is need to confirm, in writing, important
information communicated informally. While most written communication nowadays
is done through emails, oral communication is normally done through face to
face meetings and the telephone.
I
had the opportunity to carry out an exercise that involved observing and
evaluating a piece of communication in three different
modalities, as written text, as audio, and as video. The communication was sent
by Jane requesting her team member Mark to send his outstanding report as soon as possible so that it could be incorporated in her report before
the deadline. I have summarized my thoughts about the effectiveness of each mode of
communication below, however, I need to point out that different recipients would probably interpret these messages differently because the personality of each recipient
is different (Stolovitch, n.d.).
Email message
I had to re-read the message in order to fully understand it. The
message did not immediately motivate me to act and respond to the communicator.
Voice message
The message was communicated in a friendly tone and the communicator was
enthusiastic. This message made me empathise with the communicator. I found the
message to be the most effective as it conveyed the subject matter clearly in a
persuasive manner.
Face to face video message
The message was not communicated effectively because the communicator
lacked enthusiasm and the body language was inappropriate. The manner in which the message was communicated did not show the urgency of the request. I found this message
to be the least effective.
Nonverbal
communication or body language
Research has suggested that nonverbal behaviour plays
an important role in the communication process. Wertheim (n.d.) (as cited in Segal, Smith,
Boose & Jaffe, 2013) has suggested that nonverbal
communication cues can play the following different roles in either enhancing
or diminishing the message: repetition, contradiction, substitution, complementing
and accenting. However, Jain & Choudhary (2011) have warned that
nonverbal communication is culture dependent and is therefore likely to be misinterpreted in different
communities.
Implications for
project management communication
The project manager needs to choose the most
appropriate communication approach to suit the situation. For example, Stolovitch (n.d.) has
suggested that important information is best delivered orally in the
presence of all team members. There is need to use different modes of
communication to suit different situations and preferences of different
recipients. Some situations call for combined use of written and oral
communication as well as appropriate body language. Irrespective of the
communication approach used, the message should be delivered in such a way that
it is understood by the recipient.
References
Jain, C. & Choudhary, M. (2011). Actions
speak louder than words: Non-verbal mis/communication. Journal
of Media and Communication Studies, 3(1), 22-26. Retrieved from
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
Segal, J., Smith, M., Boose, G. & Jaffe,
J. (2013). Nonverbal communication:
Improving your
nonverbal skills and reading body language. Retrieved from
Stolovitch,
H. (Walden University
Web sites
visited:
Thank you for a great post on communication and how essential this component is to any human interactions. When I viewed and listened to the messages, my reaction was similar to yours, that the voice recording was the best of the three. In Dr.Stolovitch's video this week, he mentioned that face-to-face meetings were best for critical points in the project but that the written and verbal were fine for project deliverables.
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