Communication Interpretations

There are three forms of communication that were used as an example to communicate a request from a team member. They were email, voicemail, and face to face (F2F).

Jane is Marks team member and needs data that Mark has to complete her portion of the task. We were given all three modalities of Jane communicating with Mark for the needed Data.

If I could ONLY pick one modality it would be email. The reasons are that it is quick, succinct, and documents the request. But, if I could use multiple modalities I would start with the F2F because it is more personal and I could guarantee fewer hard feelings than with just an email and then follow up with the needed documentation of an email.

One factor I find with email is the interpretation of the reader. Depending on the mood, character, and current situation of the reader there can be many different interpretations of the email. If the reader was depressed and felt everyone was pushing him, he might read the email and be very hurt and frustrated from the pressure.

F2F there are many gestures, facial expressions, voice tone, and body language that goes along with words. Depending on the type of person you may be dealing with this might be the best form of communication. Because there is team there are many personalities. Personalities can build or destroy a team. Being cautious of how you communicate because there can be implications.

I have not thought about communicating with a team before. I personally use a weekly email to each referral source on their clients. I have found that this keeps the emails and phone calls to a minimum. The reason behind this was that I had a manager that constantly questioned me on statuses and I would have to take so much time researching to get the answers that it would take extra time.

Now thinking of how can I communicate with me team? First I would have a F2F with the group and then individually to get to know them personally but professionally. Then I would implement a weekly email to each team member and see how things are going for them. I'm afraid I might open a flood gate of whining and complaints. But, it may be good and weed out the weak, encourage the timid, and promote the strong.


Reference

Multimedia Program: "The Art of Effective Communication"

Forum Flopps!

A few years ago I was asked to work with a group and see if I could add to a website they wanted to create. It was a public disability Association that wanted to have a website that could answer questions for people concerning their computer.

I found this to be a worth while cause so I went to several meetings and came back to them with costs and how it can be done. Finally they wanted to limit the help desk and resources to their own local group. I encourage them to reconsider and open it up global but they refused. The cost initially was too high to maintain such a small group.

The PM should have took more interest in the stakeholders from the beginning. There should have been more conversation of what the stakeholders wanted as an outcome.

Project Management

In the next 8 weeks I will be posting blogs on Project Management. Looking forward to reading other blogs on this topic and hearing your comments.

John