Effective Communications

     This week’s blog is about how to communicate effectively with others.   I visited a website from the Walden University site which presented examples (Laureate Media, n.d.).  The site presents Jane, who is trying to communicate with Mark, a coworker, concerning information she needs from him in order to finish an assignment she is working on.  She has obviously been in contact with Mark about this previously, as there is some urgency in each of the three different communications, but it varies depending on the modality used. 

     The first was through email.  It was straightforward.  Jane started by acknowledging Mark’s busy schedule but reminds him of her need for the report he failed to give her earlier.  She says that, if he can’t send the report in a timely manner, she would be satisfied with the data he included in it.  She is grateful for the help she anticipates from Mark.  The message was repeated three times.  It was clear.  The purpose of the email was stated up front and included possible solutions – either send the email or send the data contained in it.  Jane followed Dr. Stolovich’s advice well (Laureate Education (Producer), Communicating with stakeholders, n.d.).

     Jane’s voicemail message says the same thing as the email but I can hear some anxiety in her voice.  She sounded a little frantic at the beginning.  The last sentence sounded grateful, but also pleading. 

     Her face-to-face meeting with Mark showed how she felt.  There was emotion on her face.  She is leaning over the cube wall.  Her eye contact was there but she would look away frequently, as if she was very uncomfortable having to talk with Mark this way.  Jane starts out smiling, saying she understands how busy Mark has been.  When she gets to the part of the message about Mark’s email containing data she needs to finish her report, the wording changes from the email and voicemail versions.  It is more personable and less formal.  Jane uses hand gestures, pointing to her left to emphasize her need for the data.  It’s almost as if she doesn’t know she is pointing, as if she may not be doing it on purpose.  This form of communication best conveyed the meaning of the message, as it showed her anxiety about needing Mark to get the email or data to her right away. 

     Effective communication conveys the message to the person in a way where they understand the message as we want them to.  Often face-to-face is the best form for this.  Sometimes face-to-face is not the best method, though.  Face-to-face communication may, in some emotional situations, promise to lead to a confrontation that won’t end well for either party.  An email or voicemail may work better.  This would be one of the situations Dr. Stolovich meant when he was addressing communication concerns and recommended asking for advice (Laureate Education (Producer), n.d.).  It may also be better to communicate with a different person, one that the other person trusts (Laureate Education (Producer), Practitioner voices: Strategies for working with stakeholders, n.d.).  Sometimes communication is easy but there are times it is very difficult.  This is the reason we need to strategize how best to get our message across.

References

Laureate Education (Producer) (Director). (n.d.). Communicating with stakeholders [Motion Picture].

Laureate Education (Producer) (Director). (n.d.). Practitioner voices: Strategies for working with stakeholders [Motion Picture].

Laureate Education (Producer) (Director). (n.d.). Project management concerns: Communication strategies and organizational culture [Motion Picture].

Laureate Media. (n.d.). The Art of Effective Communication. Retrieved from Laureate-media.com: http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html