Communicating Effectively

Communication can take presence in three different ways: written text (email, memo, & letter), as audio (telephone), and as video. Using the various forms of communication, the recipient may interrupt the message in many different ways according to how the message is sent.  I watched three forms of communication of the same message where I thought about the content and tone of the message. In addition, I reflected on the interpretation of the message after watching, listening and reading each modality.

Email

Reading the message via email created a very negative affect for me. The line, “Because your report contains data I need to finish my report, I might miss my own deadline if I don’t get your report soon.” I interrupted this in a negative way where I feel like I would be the one being blamed for a possible deadline being missed when it is not my responsibility for that person’s procrastination. Emails can be formal but, I feel that they are more informal where it is a form of communication that “occurs as people think of information they want to share” (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008, p. 357).  

Voicemail

Listening to the voicemail regarding the message of needing a report as soon as possible so that person is able to make their deadline was much better than the email for a number of reasons. First of all, the listener is not reading between the lines and misinterpreting the message and tone of the email. However, if this was the only way of getting ahold of the person, then I believe that using the voicemail is the best option for communicating the need of the report. I would not have let the message as the person did but, I would have state the understanding that the person has been in meetings, but is in need of a the report that contains data that they need for their report. Therefore, could you please get back to me as soon as possible where we are able to discuss this issue more in depth? I would then conclude the voicemail with, “thank you so much for your attention to this mater. “

Face-to-Face

Face-to-face is the most formal form of communication where the content is preplanned and conducted in a standard format for a scheduled time. However, in the face-to-face message, I would have interrupted the message much more offensive then the email because the facial expressions and hand gestures. During this interaction, I feel as though it was not a schedule meeting, but a stop by to inform that the person is in desperate need of a report because they are lacking on their deadline.

Overall, communication is very effective when it is conducted according to the type of information and format that it needs to be in, in order to effective communicate the information. In addition, after hearing the information that Dr. Harold Stolovitch discusses and our text book addresses it seems as though one must determine whether the information is information that just needs to be share for a friendly FYI or check up or it needs to be preplanned with information that is essential for all members and stakeholders.

Resources:

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: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.