Project Management & Training Week 3

Communicating Effectively

Description of assignment this week

This week we reviewed the same message delivered using three different forms of communication modalities. The three forms were email, voice mail, and face-to-face.

The message consisted of Jane contacting Mark to get the data from a missing report that Mark had in his possession. Jane was asking Mark if he could giver her an ETA on receiving the report since the data in the report was needed for her to complete her task on time.

Interpretations of the message delivered in each modality

This week we learned when it comes to written communications it should begin with a clear purpose, state the situation, include possible solution, indicate if a sign-off is required, specify the form that the response is required to take, and keep tone business friendly and respectful (Laureate, 2016). After reviewing the three delivery methods of the message from Jane to Mark I felt that it did a pretty good job of included these requirements. The interpretation from one modality to another did seem different to me.

In the email version, I could not tell the tone or body language that would have been associated with the message. So I was unable to tell if Jane was upset with Mark taking his time getting her the missing report.

When I listen to the voice mail version I was able to tell that Jane was pleasantly requesting the missing report and didn’t seem like she was frustrated with the length of time Mark was taking to hand over the missing report.

Then I reviewed the face-to-face version of the message and I was left feeling that Jane is getting a little frustrated that she cannot seem to get a copy of the missing report from Mark by visually seeing her facial expressions.

Changes in interpretation from one modality to the next of the message

Dr. Stolovitch discussed that effective communications are influenced by spirit and attitude, tonality and body language, timing, and the personality of the recipient (Laureate, 2016). After reviewing all three communications modalities it is clear that it can be difficult to figure out the tonality and body language of the author of an email has compared to having the same communication with them face-to-face. At least with a voice mail, you can possibly figure out by the tone of the voice being used as to the possible feelings of the communicator toward a situation.

My thoughts regarding what this activity implied about communicating with members of a project team.

Depending on the modality used to deliver the message the message can be interpreted differently. Important communications should be done with all team members through a virtual or face-to-face meeting. Once this type of communication is completed it is important to document what decisions were made, how decisions will be implemented and by who.

How will this new knowledge help me communicate more effectively with others in the future?

As an instructional designer I must switch and put on my project manager hat I need to make sure that I communicate clearly, concisely, and with a focus to help my project team stay focused and on target. There will always be room in misinterpreting a communication so it is important that any decisions made should also be documented.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (n.d.). Communicating with stakeholders [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu