Communicating Effectively

     Communication is a key component in any relationship, situation, and mainly during a project. Effective communication has to take place among all project team members in order for the project to move forward and achieve its goals. For this week’s assignment, I had to view the multimedia program “The Art of Effective Communication.”  The piece of communication was presented in three different modalities: as written text, as audio, and as video.

Written text (email)

Jane sent an email to Mark expressing that she needed a data report so that she could complete her task in the project and meet her deadline. Jane displayed understanding, used clear and concise communication, and provided options for the solution. Dr. Stolovitch (n.d.) agreed that effective communication with stakeholders should be clear, concise, and focused in order to help everyone stay on target. I felt the email was professional and to the point. This informal written correspondence assisted Jane in quickly communicating what she needed form Mark, but also provided Jane with documentation of the discussion. Emails can be a convenient method to communicate, but could cause a gray area when it comes to trying to figure out someone tone or attitude within the message.

Audio (voicemail)

I felt I interpreted the same message from the voicemail Jane left Mark, but it had a different influence of communication. The voicemail seem to have added a more understanding tone and warmer delivery. Jane still was clear on her request, kept a good pace of conversation, provided great tonality, and displayed a professional attitude. The voicemail exposed Jane’s professional attitude about getting her task done in the overall project and also provided Mark with flexible options.

Video

In the beginning of the assignment, I knew the face-to-face form of communication would produce the best result. When you are F2F communicating with someone, you can interpret their body language, sense their emotion, and clearly listen and get immediate feedback from the information presented.  One-on-one meetings are particularly useful for interactively exploring and clarifying special issues of interest to a small number of people (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008). The video did provide a visual of a non-confrontational attitude from Jane. Jane was smiling, giving eye contact, and still using a calm and professional tone. She also provided different methods for Mark to give her the data information that she needed to complete her part of the project.

Overall I felt the voicemail and F2F methods of communication were effective during this activity. Emails are widely used to communicate things quickly to people, but again I feel gray area can interfere with the intent of the message. I have learned that you can use different methods of communication to deliver a message effectively, but you should make sure the intention of your message is clear, concise, friendly, and professional.

References

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.

Stolovitch, H. (n.d.). Communication with stakeholders. [Video Media]. Laureate

     Education, Inc.