Communication

According to Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer (2008), communicating effectively during a project is one of the most important parts of being a project manager. If communication is not open and poignant between team members and stakeholders, then a project can really fall apart. However, communication comes in so many forms that it can be hard to decide which will be the most effective. According to Dr. Stolovitch (n.d.), what people say is not as important as how they say it. He means that, when communicating, tone and demeanor can add or detract from your intended meaning. For this project, I look at and listened to the same message delivered in three different venues: email, voicemail, and face-to-face. While I understand the point of the activity, I did not really see any distinct differences between these three scenarios. I am sure that the activity wants me to say one was more effective in deliver or tone. However, the message sounded nearly the same to me in all three venues. I found all the them to be professional and even-toned. In each one, the person seemed calm and as if she is a team player. While staying calm and kind is effective, none of the scenarios seemed as urgent as the message information seemed. The speaker should have a little more urgency in her voice, and perhaps, she needs to set a timeline for the other person to get that information to her. By setting a deadline, the project manager is remaining in control of the project progression. As far as the most effective venue, each one has the some value.
The voicemail and face-to-face have an interesting element of the tone of voice that can help them. The tone of your voice can send a message (Stolovitch, n.d.). In the voicemail, the project manager can encourage the team members and/or be urgent with deadlines through his/her voice. The face-to-face scenario adds another element: the visual. In the face-to-face venue, the project manager can emphasize points through vocal and visual means. Also, in a face-to-face scenario, the project manager can get a confirmation right then instead of waiting for a return call or email, so there are advantages. However, in both these scenarios, the project manager should get the conversation in writing. This is where email would be effective. Email may not get the project manager a quick response, but it will get the discourse in writing. Having a written copy is vital to the project management process.

Therefore, even though I didn’t see much difference in the way the message was delivered, I do believe that project managers need to think about how they communicate. The project manager needs to think about which venue will get the answer needed in the quickest and most effective way. Then, the PM needs to think about getting a written record of the discourse.

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: Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Stolovitch (n.d.). Communicating with Stakeholders [video]. Retrieved from: http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6290461&Survey=1&47=8115912&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1