by Carl Pritchard, PMP, PMI-RMP, EVP
We all acknowledge that a significant amount of our success or failure is rooted in our abilities to communicate. Great communicators are more likely to have great project success. Poor communicators are more likely to find themselves struggling to get their project messages across. And yet we don't invest a lot of time thinking about how to turn our mundane communications into opportunities for others to fall in love with us and our message.
I raised this specter in a recent class and got an interesting array of responses from my students. They suggested a host of fundamental rules and protocols that would simplify, clarify and render messages more powerful and effective. Rather than simply share my insights, I offer theirs here with a simple suggestion. Pick two. Steel yourself to try them consistently. Make them a personal mission. You'll be surprised by the shift.
E-Mail
E-mail is one of the most dangerous media we can choose for communications, and yet, for many professionals it is now the default setting. We use e-mail almost exclusively in some relationships, and as such, we should seriously consider ways to show the respect we want to offer others through our communications experiences.
Student Suggestions:
- Be consistent about the use of the To:, CC:, and BCC: lines. To: people are those who have to take direct action related to the e-mail. CC: folks? They're the ones who are being informed, but we want others to know who they are and that they have visibility on the information. Still, if you're on the CC:, there's no need to make a direct response. And BCC: folks should be those who have a need to be informed, but should not be included on the inevitable parade of responses that may follow.
- For the Subject line, if the topic has changed, then change it. If there are multiple RE:s, winnow a few out. But no matter what, ensure it has meaning.
- And in the content? Keep it down to a single page, printed. If it looks longer, seriously consider formatting it as a document, memo, or more formal communication and attaching it. That much information generally cries out for more extensive formatting.
Voicemail
Both sides of the voicemail experience are challenging. Whether you are leaving the message or sending it, as a manager, you need to seriously consider what's being said and how.
Student Suggestions:
- As the person leaving the message, keep it succinct. If you hit voicemail and don't know what you're going to say, hang up. Think it through. Come back. Then leave the message.
- Keep it under 60 seconds.
- State your phone number and name twice. Once at the beginning and once at the end.
- As the person receiving the messages, keep your message brief. If you must leave a long message, start by explaining how to skip your message.
- If you want specific information, ask for it. If time zones matter to you, ask for them.
Conference Calls
Conference calls are little more than small (or not-so-small) meetings in disguise. That means that all of the standard meeting rules and practices have to apply here, as well.
Student Suggestions:
- Have an agenda, with times, names and objectives
- Have each participant identify him/herself each time they speak
- Send a pre-call picture sheet with small head-shot snapshots of each participant
- Serve as a facilitator, controlling the discussion throughout, limiting interruptions
- Encourage the use of the "mute" function
- Find out how to kick someone off the call, if necessary, if they abuse the "hold" function (Nothing like listening to Girl from Ipanema in the background while you're trying to settle on a new technology)
- If there are any handouts or materials that were sent out in advance, have them on a website as well, so that latecomers came pick them up
Face-to-Face
While you might not think that "hall chat" requires any specific rules or steps, while it's the richest form of communication, it's also one where we have a great potential to expend, rather than build, political capital.
Student Suggestions:
- Schedule interactions. Give the person you just bumped into the opportunity to walk away. If they don't have the time to spend with you, they won't be focused on your message. Give them an "out" in case they aren't ready for the face-to-face experience.
- Apprise others how long the interaction will likely take. If you say, "Hey, this will only take a minute..." don't take ten. And if you apprise others that you need about 20 minutes of their time, you're affording them the ability to steel themselves for that experience.
- Consider personal hygiene. It's easy to forget that you had the hoagie with garlic dressing for lunch, but others won't. Even if they're down the hall, this may be the perfect situation for a phone call.
While many of these may seem like common sense, the odds are significant that there are at least two of them that you tend to forget, let slip, or hadn't considered. This is a wonderful opportunity to see just how pronounced a change you can make in the efficacy of your communications with a very minor level of effort.
Carl Pritchard welcomes your communications at carl@carlpritchard.com. He can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. He is the author of The Project Management Communications Tool Kit and was the former speaker's coach at the National Leadership Conference.