Communication ~ Interpreting Meaning

“The ability to communicate well, both orally and in writing, is a critical skill for project managers,” advices Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, and Kramer (2008).

In this assignment I was to listen to, read and then look at a video in which Jane needs data (a report) from Mark.  She has been waiting on it and is concerned that she will miss her own deadline because she needs his data to complete her own work. The message was the same in each instance, however, my interpretation changed.  At first I felt she needed a report and later she needed data.  This is a little confusing because she was not specific as to which report or data that she needed.  However, what truly changed from each modality was the personal touch.  An email is less personal, Jane asked very nicely for the data; she was respectful, direct and appreciative.  In the voicemail she sounded urgent; however, she still showed compassion and understanding through the tone of her voice.  Finally the video or face to face meeting I could tell that Jane was kind and understanding and truly concerned about missing a deadline.  She even seems to want to help Mark solve the problem help him get the data to her faster.  Personally, I found the face to face meeting to be the most personal.

Portny, et al., (2008) explains that there are two types of communication; Formal and Informal.  “Formal communications are preplanned and conducted in a standard format in accordance with an established schedule” as described by Portny, et al., (2008, p. 357).  Portny, et al., (2008) defines, “informal communications occur as people think of information they want to share” (p. 357).  Choosing a communication style is essential because stakeholders need information given to them consistently and the project manager needs to understand that if they use informal communication often the rest of the team may not be privy to the original conversation.  Therefore, after informal communication it is necessary to follow up with a more formal communication like an email (Stolovich, 2012).  I also believe that it is necessary to communicate with people in multiple ways, at times multiple times to remind them and to document what is happening. I often will ask team members face to face for something.  Then give them a day or so then I’ll email them and remind them that we talked the day before and I am looking forward to receiving what I asked for.  Finally, I would leave a voicemail.  If there still was not a response, I would go by and see them again. 

Stolovich (2012) believes that ambiguity should be avoided and that being precise will ensure there are not miscommunications.  It is my belief that by keeping things precise the project manager’s job will be easier too as no one will be second guessing the project manager or themselves. When I worked at a software company the teams were precise and everyone could say what they needed and wanted in order to get the job done.  That saved a huge amount of time and concern for everyone. In the future I want to get back to communicating more precisely.  In a school, often time’s ambiguity can fill the air and it has rubbed off on me.  It will be difficult to overcome but I look forward to the challenge.  My peers may not understand though as they are not used to having that sort of communication but at least there will not be misunderstandings.

SIDE NOTE: While looking for images I ran across a funny comic, and wanted to share: http://criticalthinkingexamples.blogspot.com/2011/03/semantic-ambiguity-ii.html

Resources:

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.