Thursday, January 19, 2012

Communicating Effectively

Amazing how the same piece of information changes drastically in the way it is perceived through different modalities, isn't it?  When someone gets a message via email or text, it lacks a personal touch.  The reader is unable to gauge tone, intent, or emotion because the mode of communication is simply flat.  The phone, and leaving a voicemail, is a little bit better because your tone of voice can convey a certain amount of your emotion and tone.  However, depending upon the person's mood, the voicemail may be perceived as quite different in tone than you intend it to.  The best way to communicate whenever possible is face to face conversation.  When the recipient can see your facial expressions, matching them with your tone of voice and the information being delivered, the true intent and tone come through.  Obviously, the best way to communicate is face to face, that way your true intent can be read.  This would also be the way to communicate to your team members as a project manager, that way your true intent is apparent as well as making a personal connection with your team members.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Noelle,

    Great posting, and good to know which of the mode of communication did you prefer and why. I now know how important and significant communication is, during project process. It is good to know that face-to-face is the best way to communicate because it displays the person’s true intension, facial expression, and connectivity among the team members.

    Portny et al (2008), noted that face-to-face, allows the intended audience to ask questions to clarify the content on the spot and also enable the project managers to pick up the nonverbal signals that suggest an audience’s reactions to the message.

    Joyce



    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.

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  2. Noelle,

    Appreciate the simplicity you have expressing the communicating effectively. I agree that the best method to communicate effectively is f2f if possible.

    In the video “Communication with Stakeholders”, Dr. Stolovitch talked about how effective communication can be influenced by personality of the recipient (passive/aggressive), and tonality (ability to judge, understanding and reaction to the conversation) and I have learned to focus on these two specifics when engaging in a conversation f2f and phone. Communicating f2f majority of the time can be perceived to be simple, a way to get more details for clarity, it saves time in responding to a need/want because you will get an answer immediately.
    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

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