While viewing “The Art of Effective Communication” video, these are the impressions I was left with after reviewing the lessons taught through different modalities. My responses will be analyzing how I understand the tone, changes in interpretation, and content through each modality.
Written Text
There was a definite sense of urgency in the email for Mark to finish up his portion of the project. Timing appears to be critical, and Jane’s work will be directly effected by Mark’s work. This email implies that Mark should have been done with the work already and that Mark is late in getting it to Jane. Jane uses a very sincere writing style and is pleading for the documents to be finished up and given to her.
Audio
Again there was a sense of urgency because Jane asked several times for the report to be sent over. Her voice was sincere, but also to the point. I could sense a little bit of frustration in her voice, that did not come across in the email.
Video
It is interesting that when I saw her face to face, I didn’t feel the urgency as strongly as I did through the voicemail and email. Seeing her also made me feel more calm, and probably more responsive to her needs.
Implications for Working with Project Team Members
I found the email was the modality that created the most urgency. In this situation, the email appeared to be the most effective in creating the needed urgency to assure that Mark would do his portion of the work in time for Jane to be able to act upon the data.
Relationships are key in working with other team members, and the face to face communication was the most effective for maintaining a positive working relationship. The voice mail and the email on the other hand were able to create the needed urgency that this work needed to be done.
To create the urgency and maintain a strong working relationship, it would be best to have a face to face conversation about the needs, and then follow up with an email to restate and formalize the needs that were expressed.
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Hi Eric,
Respectfully, I had a different interpretation of this week’s lesson. I did not think the delivery of the message changed the information or tone within the communication delivery. In the written text, the message was well-written and clearly understood. In the audio, I did not hear a sense of urgency in the message. On the other hand, in the video the communication delivery it seemed more light, friendly and personal. I think it depends on your interpretation of the sender.
Not too long ago, a co-worker had me read an email from an out of state team member that she does not like. She said the email was rude and bossy but when I read it, I did not get the same impression. Again, not knowing the sender I did not read between the lines and read into the motive behind why the message was sent. I think there are many unknown variables with communication because of our diverse cultural backgrounds.
-Mary
Eric,
You wrote, “To create the urgency and maintain a strong working relationship, it would be best to have a face to face conversation about the needs, and then follow up with an email to restate and formalize the needs that were expressed”. So true! Not only does it help to record the facts of a conversation, it helps with verification if someone “misremembers” some key issues later on.
I am beginning to think there must be something wrong with me. The majority of the posts from others I read about this case study say pretty much the same comments as yours. However, I did not notice a difference between any of them. All three modalities I interpreted as to the point but not demeaning. Guess I need to go back and review them again.
Great job! Rocky
Hi Eric,
We both agree Jane’s email was the most effective form of communication. I found your interpretation of the face-to-face communication different from my own. Jane seemed to lack emotion in her tone and I remember seeing lines form between her eyebrows, which indicate stress to me. I also considered the fact Jane walked over to Mark’s cubicle expresses the highest level of urgency. It is interesting to see how each of us perceives a message differently. This implies we can use effective communication, but how our messages are received are not completely under our control. I realize that during communication, “both sides have emotions and emotional reactions”. These emotions are based on our experiences and internal mental and other processes”. Our text supports why we both agree the email was the most effective initially and should follow the face-to-face communication by suggesting we “confirm in writing the important information”, along with, “avoid having informal discussions”.(Portny&Sutton,2008)
Speaking with Mark could effectively build their relationship, but do you agree this would depend on Mark’s personality, situation and the teams dynamic?
Reference:
Heckers,J. (2011) Top 10 tips for effective communication. Try to edit out the emotion.
http://www.cobizmag.com/articles/top-10-tips-for-effective-communication/
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.
Ama,
From reading through the posts and replies to my post, I am becoming more aware of how differently individuals will interpret a message and it’s intent. To answer your question with that in mind, yes, Mark’s personality, the team dynamics, and the project that are being worked on all play a role in how this message will be interpreted.
Sincerely,
Eric
Hi Eric –
I agree with you on your thoughts on the different modalities. I interpreted the e-mail as the most demanding of the three different delivery methods. I like your take on the e-mail and how she was stressing the urgency needed for the report. I think this explains the e-mail better than my thoughts that she was being demanding. Going back and looking at the e-mail again I think it definitely addressed a sense of urgency for the data needed. Portny, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton & Kramer (2008) noted “whatever form communications take, however, project managers should plan and prepare so their messages are received and correctly interpreted by project audiences” (p. 367). You noted at the end of your blog about the need for a face-to-face meeting to create urgency and then follow-up with an e-mail. If the project members are separated by distance and can only communicate via e-mail or over the phone, would you recommend a voice phone call and then e-mail? Or do you think an e-mail in a distance environment could create the same type of urgency? Thoughts?
Thanks,
Jenn
References
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.
Jenn,
I did feel that the email is what created the most urgency, but as I have discussed with my peers, it largely depends on who is receiving the message. We should always take time to consider who we are talking to, and try to determine the most efficient and effective way to communicate with them.
Sincerely,
Eric