This week we have been learning when, how and what type of
communications work best to manage a project and coordinate all stakeholders
involved. This blog assignment to
compare a message that was delivered in email, vmail and face-to-face was
quite fun and I found only the vmail to be an effective method to communicate
the message. Let me share with you my interpretations of the three modalities and why I
felt the vmail message expressed the true meaning the best.
The email message
asking a colleague to send over a report by the end of the day had a negative
tone. For example, using the word “but” is a push verses a pull technique and
creates resistance from the person you are asking. Also the email uses “don’t” get your report. Using don’t
instead of positive ask also causes the recipient to negatively respond. Emails are a dime a dozen and I find if it is important and you
need something right away it is ALWAYS best to pick up the phone or arrange a
meeting. The vmail I found to be
the most effective of the three modalities. The vmail was able to convey the message the best and it had tonal variety, clearly explained the
importance of the report and in a way that the recipient could empathize
with. The face-to-face clip lacked
a sincerity and authenticity of the actor and appeared to be she just stopped
by instead of scheduling a meeting with her colleague. The smile at the end was
fake and I felt if I was on the other side of her ask that I would be pressured, and she knew I was busy. The vmail enables the person to play message when they have a moment to truly listen and properly respond.
This
activity implies that there are different times and reasons to use each type of communication. If
something is time sensitive it is often best to reach out by phone or schedule
a meeting right away. If it
is a simple request and not complicated, an email may be the right approach. If
the request is larger in scope and sensitive in nature, a scheduled
face-to-face session would most likely work better. Going forward my lessons learned from this assignment
are to always keep in mind the reason for your communication, when is a
response needed and how critical is the answer to your communication in meeting
the project schedule and deliverables. With this thinking in mind, I will be able to select
the right communication modality and approach.
-Michelle Cosner
References
The Art of Effective Communication.
[Video podcast]. Retrieved from
http://mym.cdn.laureatemedia.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html
Nice post Michelle, I like your analysis. I had similar analysis about the email message. I found it un-clear and delivered several meanings. I felt the voice message was a bit aggressive with a sense of urgency. Finally, I thought that the face-to-face setting was relaxed and realized that the request is friendly. After reading your post and our colleagues’ posts, I am coming to a conclusion that it depends on the recipient of the message and his/her personality and preferences. Dr. Solovich explained that effective communication should be influenced by the personality of the recipient (Laureate Education Inc., n.d.). It is the responsibility of the PM to utilize the various means of communications to connect with his/her team and provide a clear plan and schedule for them to work with during the project.
ReplyDeleteDalia
Reference:
Laureate Education Inc. (Producer) (n.d.). Communicating with stakeholders [Video Podcast]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1957702_1%26url%3D