Good communication is essential to a successful project. When choosing how to communicate with team members during a project, it is important to understand how the mode of communication can affect the message. Email, voicemail, and face-to-face conversations can all say the same thing, but send much different messages based on the tone, facial expressions, and word choice. It is important to choose wisely how to communicate to ensure that the proper message is relayed.
The multimedia program at http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html showed how email, voicemail, and face-to-face communication can shade a message. When I looked at the email message, it took a casual and understanding tone. Although the content of the message seemed important, it did not give the sense of urgency. It read as a simple reminder of a task that needed to be done in the time of the receiver. The voicemail, which used the same script as the email, had an almost sarcastic tone at the beginning that I did not pick up on from the email. It was not as friendly and still did not convey a sense of urgency. The face-to-face conversation took on a friendly tone but left a sense of urgency and expectation. It gave the sense that, although the speaker was understanding, they were waiting for a timely reply.
I feel that three factors greatly affect how messages are interpreted: tone, facial expressions, and choice of words. Tone is important for interpretation of a message. This is why email is often an ineffective mode of communication when dealing with urgent or important matters. Email leaves a lot of room for interpretation and cannot be trusted to convey all messages. Facial expressions are also used to interpret a message. Based on the facial expression of the person delivering the message, the listener can determine how serious the matter is and how urgent it is. It can also give you clues to the speaker’s attitudes. In this case, the speaker shows an understanding attitude by smiling and using a friendly tone. This message could not have been as effectively delivered through email or voicemail and could have easily been misunderstood or misinterpreted. Finally, word choice can often be used to interpret a message. Choosing words carefully is important in all communication. However, it is more important to carefully choose words when delivering them through email and voicemail where facial expressions cannot be used to interpret the message. For communication that must be done via email, it is important to begin with a clear purpose to lessen the confusion of the intent of the communication. Emails should be clear and concise and should specify if and when a reply is expected (Communication With Stakeholders, n.d.).
It is important to evaluate the content of the message before deciding on a mode of communication. Communication that is of greater importance or that is vital to a project should always be done face-to-face to ensure that the correct message is being sent. When communication is misinterpreted, it can cause unintended conflict that can only be detrimental to the progress of a project.
References:
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Communicating with stakeholders [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Your post is excellent--very well explained! I especially like what you said about choosing words carefully as I did not take this into account in my post about the same subject. I have experienced both extremes, i.e. too many words and I was lost in all of the details and too few words and I was left wondering what they really meant. There is a careful balance between the two. When sending emails to business professionals who have to sift through potentially hundreds of emails daily, it is important to be brief and have a clear purpose and intent. When I send emails, I try to follow the BLUF principal; that is, bottom line up front so the individual has the intent in the first line. Then, if further explanation is needed, I will include it below. However, too much detail and not getting to the point can become a distraction rather than further clarifying the intent of the email. I agree with you, be as clear and concise as is possible, and I would add, put the bottom line first--tell them what you need up front.
ReplyDeleteKristy,
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that we could read the same email and come to different conclusions about its tone. What struck me as troubling about the email was the word choice used. Without vocal tone or body language to complement the message, I couldn't get past the word choice connecting the incomplete status of the receiver's being the total blame for the sender's inability to complete her part. This really hits home what you observed about how having the words alone leave a lot of room for interpretation.
Kristy,
DeleteWhen you stated that emails can leave room for people to interpret information in many different ways which can cause many problems. With technology always growing it has changed the way people communicate with each other. Email is a quick and fast way to send and receive information. Jane biggest problem in communicating was that she was thinking about the task that needed be done and not about that Mark was in meeting. Begin aware and open will others communicate especially in project management.