Communication – we all think we know what it is. I talk, you listen, you talk, I listen. Pretty simple, right? Well…. maybe not. Most of us have experienced miscommunication on some level. Usually, we are surprised that our message wasn’t received the way we intended. From an adult not understanding a toddler telling a story to an employee missing a key task, breaks in communication happen constantly. Often, communication is a result of how our minds work. We simply misinterpret what another person is trying to communicate. Yet, the human mind is geared towards learning language and communication; it is biologically programmed and young children seem to effortlessly learn communication (Mahoney, N., nd). If communication is such a basic human trait, why does it fail so consistently?
First and foremost, communication is a process. There is a predictable flow with predetermined actions that must be accomplished for communication to occur. In its most basic form, it involves five steps:
Like most processes, there are weak points, areas where the process commonly breaks down. In the communication process, the weakest points are in the encoding and decoding of the message. Wait, back up…. We encode and decode as we communicate? Aren’t we all speaking a common language? Yes, we are all speaking a common language, and in that assumption – that we all understand the same meaning of our common language – lies our first problem. First, let’s define encoding and decoding as it pertains to communication. Encoding is the act of putting together ideas, thoughts and feelings into symbols, the symbols being the English language; decoding is the act of interpreting those symbols to understand the meaning of the ideas, thoughts and feelings (Dobkin and Pace, 2006). Should be easy enough; after all, we all know our language to a fairly advanced level. That assumption – that we all use the English language the same way – is the first break in the process. When my husband first arrived in America from England, he had the typical communications problems with things like “chips” versus “French fries” and “biscuits” versus “cookies.” However, it went beyond those obvious differences in our communication. His way of encoding meaning into his communication was different than mine; I often misinterpreted what he wanted simply because I wasn’t decoding the same thing he was encoding. To him, saying “That looks a lovely cup of tea” really means “I’d like a cup of tea as well. Mind making it for me?” To me, “that looks a lovely cup of tea” means “That looks good. Is it?” Many discussions were had over why I didn’t fix my husband a cup of tea when he had so clearly, in his mind, asked for one. Compound this tendency, or rather likelihood, of decoding messages differently than it was encoded across a group of people working together and it’s easy to see how problems can mount.
So, why do we care about communication as Project Managers? Hopefully, that’s a rhetorical question and we all know the answer. Effective communication is a game-changer; it conveys a sense of purpose to any undertaking, persuades stakeholders to commit funds and resources, increases customer satisfaction and boosts project success rates by ensuring stakeholders understand scope and schedule, motivating project teams, and assuring proactive responses within the project (PMI, 2013). So important is effective communication to project success that without it, the chances of successful project completion significantly fall:
Practice makes perfect; what do we need to do to ensure we are effective communicators? A few key strategies can help you improve your communication skill and style:
- Clarity and detail are important. Too many times, I’ve heard someone end a message with “You know what I mean” without taking the time to truly ensure that the other person does understand. It’s hard to sort through the noise and get to what a person really wants to say; why would we, as communicators, make them do that? Messages that are clear and concise are key. How do we accomplish clarity and detail? First, take time to gather your thoughts before communicating. There’s nothing wrong with telling someone in a meeting “Let me think about that for just a minute” or not responding to an email immediately. Second, know your point and stick to relevant conversations. As you create messages, ask yourself if what you are saying is relevant to the topic of discussion, if it will add meaning to the discussion, and if it answers the “what, why, when, how” questions. Additionally, say what you mean. Nobody has time to read long, irrelevant emails; be direct without being unpleasant. A professional tone that is concise and states what is meant and/or needed wins over a flowery, ambiguous message every time. Lastly, ask for a playback; don’t assume your meaning was understood. Ask the recipients to playback for you what was communicated. This can be done without seeming condescending; simply stating “I want to make sure we are all on the same page. Bob, what have you understood so far?” at varying points of a communication will alleviate miscommunication. This is particularly important if you are expecting your aud
ience to complete tasks; ensuring they have the correct understanding of those tasks will increase productivity and reduce re-work.
Know your audience. Knowing your audience is key to creating messages that are effective. The formality, the level of detail, the medium, and the jargon or acronyms used must be tailored to the audience. Formality in our communications matters; a message to a customer with whom you’re very familiar or a co-worker can be much more informal than a new customer or a senior executive in your own organization. Additionally, some cultures expect formality regardless of how long-standing the relationship. Knowing the etiquette rules of formality in communications provides a chance for an organization to show professionalism. Put yourself in the audience’s shoes. Know and communicate what is important to the audience. For a client, budget, schedule, own tasks, and outcomes are important. For a sales guy, the customer relationship holds the highest importance. The detail provided must also be tailored to the audience; executive leaders generally need the big picture with high level details while technical teams will need the nitty-gritty details to make a project successful.
Know your stuff. Our clients look to us as project management experts and reasonably expect to be able to trust what we say. Whenever you create a message, make sure you prepare. Prior to presenting a communication to an outside audience, coordinate internally first. This is crucial not only to crafting the right message, but to ensuring project success. The level of internal coordination varies on the preparation required; answering a customer question on an ongoing project might only require a quick phone call. Holding a project kickoff meeting requires additional internal coordination, and an internal coordination meeting may be required. Anticipate your customer’s requirements, whether that customer is internal or external. Put yourself in the customer’s position. What would you want to know? Anticipate, then clarify to avoid miscommunication. Anticipating requirements leads you to provide viable solutions and options. Being the expert in any area means that we provide value by providing concrete solutions and options. What is the problem? What are our options? What do we recommend? Lastly, knowing your stuff means asking the hard questions and insisting on fact-based answers. It’s hard to argue against facts, and with the expertise available to us, we need to insist on basing our conversations on fact.
Choose the right communication medium. This key strategy can easily be linked back to knowing your audience; an effective communicator will use the most user friendly communication medium for each audience. Knowing whether to use verbal or written communication can increase your effectiveness. Non-native English speakers or persons from a different culture, particularly, may benefit from verbal communications instead of written communications because verbal communications more readily convey tone, meaning, and intent. Additionally, verbal communication is generally preferred in urgent situations, where feedback from non-verbal communication is needed, to clear up existing miscommunication or for older generations. Understand that communication method preferences change depending on circumstances, needed outcome, even a person’s generation. 
While email is our most often used means of communication, its limitations must be kept in mind: they do not convey vocal tone, facial expression, or body language; immediate feedback and response is limited, and, unless carefully crafted, can be easily misconstrued. While virtual communications are an improvement over email by increasing participation and speed in communication, it too, has limitations. Poor audio, limited technology, technology incompatibility, increasing chances of miscommunication and lack of “face time” to develop relationships can easily cause problems. Traditionally, face to face communications are the best choice, however, even this medium has faults. In some organization the biggest drawback to onsite communications is cost; with an extensive footprint, travel costs for face to face meetings make this an unrealistic choice in many cases.
So, how do we choose the best communication medium and maximize the benefits of the chosen method? First and foremost, consider the circumstances and audience. Daily communications and informal messages are easily and usually best accomplished via email. Routine status meetings, simple project kickoffs, and the like can typically be done via virtual meetings. Complex project kickoffs, conflict resolution, or communications intended to clear up misunderstandings may be candidates for face to face meetings. Regardless of the medium, the most benefits are seen when the goal of the communication is clearly stated (often in the form of an agenda), follow through on the message (such as in meeting minutes) is provided, and miscommunications are quickly resolved. Source: SmartBlog on Leadership
- Over-communicate. In our busy lives and information overload, people have a lot to process and file away. Often, this leads to missed or misunderstood messages. Key ways to reduce these tendencies is by providing redundant communications, varying the communication medium, escalating the sense of urgency, and ensuring every team members gets every communication every time. Ironically, providing redundant communication is key to overcoming information overload and ensuring your message gets across. Providing redundant messages allows team members a second and third opportunity to capture the message, consider its content, and ask for clarification if needed. Redundant communications become especially effective when there is no direct authority over a project team (Neeley, Leonardi & Gerber, 2011). Because a communication from a source that has no direct authority may get forgotten, or even ignored, repeating the message is an effective way of ensuring understanding and, if required, compliance. However, a repeated message runs the risk of sounding like nagging; how do we avoid that? Vary the media in which the repeated message is conveyed. By using a variety of communication means, the message is received in different ways. We’ve all worked with that person that “never checks voicemail” but lives on email. Providing the message in different media ensures you hit that preferred method with the audience members. Lastly, when you are not confident that the message is properly received, escalate the sense of urgency. Whether the sense of urgency is to ensure a task gets completed or that a misunderstanding is cleared up, pick up the phone and call. Nothing communicates a sense of urgency in today’s email driven world like taking the time to call someone.
So, to sum it all up, communication is a biologically hardwired human function at which we constantly fail. Encoding and decoding never work the way they are supposed to, and miscommunication impacts our scope, schedule, and budget. We can overcome ineffective communication and greatly increase our chances of successful project completion with a few key actions: keep the message clear, tailor the message to your audience, and repeat message. It’s your turn; what communication tips and tricks to you use?
References
Dobkin, B.A. and Pace, R. C. (2006). Communication in a Changing World. McGraw-Hill: New York.
Mahoney, N. (N.D.) A Special Report: Language Learning. Retrieved from: http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/linguistics/learn.jsp.
Neeley, T. B., Leondardi, P. M., & Gerber, E. M. (2011). It’s not Nagging: Why Persistent, Redundant Communication Works. Retrieved from: http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6629.html.
Project Management Institute (2013). Communication: The Message is Clear. Retrieved from: https://www.pmi.org/~/media/PDF/Knowledge%20Center/Communications_whitepaper_v2.ashx.
