Communication
Abstract
Good communications are the lifeblood of project management. This is highlighted by listing the possible communication failures due to cultural or language differences, technical jargon, geographical location, misunderstandings due to selective listening, attitude and perception, hidden agendas, poor leadership, unclear (ambiguous) instructions, messages or objectives, and withholding of information.
Keywords
Communications; instructions; information; language differences; jargon
Chapter Outline
Cultural Differences, Language Differences, Pronunciation, Translation, and Technical Jargon
Geographical Separation, Location Equipment, or Transmission Failure
Misunderstanding, Attitude, Perception, Selective Listening, Assumptions, Hidden Agendas
Poor Leadership, Unclear Instructions, Unclear Objectives, Unnecessarily Long Messages, Withholding of Information
While it is vital that a project manager has a good information system, without an equally good communication system such information would not be available when it is needed.
Generally, all external communications of a contractual nature, especially changes in scope or costs, must be channelled via the project manager or his office. This applies particularly to communications with the client and suppliers/subcontractors. The danger of not doing this is that an apparent small change agreed between technical experts could have considerable financial or program (or even political) repercussions due to the experts not being aware of the whole picture.
Unless a project manager decides to do everything himself, which should certainly not be the case, he has to communicate his ideas, plans, and instructions to others. This requires communication, whether by mouth, in writing, by mail, electronically, or by carrier pigeon.
Communications can be formal and informal, and while contractual, organizational, and technical information should always follow the formal route, communication between team members is often most effective when carried out informally. There are many occasions when a project manager has the opportunity to meet his or her team members, client, or other stakeholders, all of which will enable him or her to discuss problems, obtain information, elicit opinions, and build up trusting relationships which are essential for good project management.
Management by walkabout is an accepted method of informal communication, which not only enables an exchange of information and ideas to take place, often in a relaxed atmosphere, but also has the advantage of seeing what is actually going on as well as setting the framework for establishing personal relationships.
Probably more errors occur in a project due to bad communications than any other cause. Ideas and instructions are often misunderstood, misinterpreted, misheard, or just plainly ignored for one reason or another; in other words the communication system has broken down. All communication involves a sender and a receiver. The sender has a responsibility to ensure that the message is clear and unambiguous and the receiver has to make sure that it is correctly understood, interpreted, confirmed, and acted upon.
There are a number of reasons why and how failures in communication can occur. The most common of these, generally known as communication barriers, are:
• Geographical separation of locations
• Equipment or transmission failure
• Attitude due to personality clash
• Perception problems due to distrust
• Selective listening due to dislike of sender
• Poor leadership causing unclear instructions
• Poor document distribution system
• Poor document retention system or archiving
• Poor working environment such as background noise
Clearly some of these barriers are closely related. In the following further explanation some of these have been collected and will be discussed in more detail together with the techniques which can be used to overcome these communication problems.
Cultural Differences, Language Differences, Pronunciation, Translation, and Technical Jargon
Problems may arise because different cultures have different customs, etiquette, and trading practices. In some instances where two countries use the same language, a particular word may have a totally different meaning. This occurs not only between England and America but for example also between Germany and Austria, who are, as some cynics might say, all ‘divided by a common language’.
For example a lift in England would be an elevator in the USA and a water tap would be a faucet. Most project managers will be familiar with the English term planned being called scheduled in the USA. In addition, regional accents and variations in pronunciation can cause misunderstandings in verbal communications. The solution is simple. Always speak clearly and confirm the salient points in writing.
Forms of address may be fairly informal in some countries like the UK or USA, but unless one knows the other party well, the formal personal pronoun sie or vous must be used in Germany or France. The incorrect form of address could easily cause offence. It is advisable therefore to seek guidance or attend a short course before visiting a country where such rules apply.
Incorrect translations are not only a source of amusement but can be a real danger. To overcome such errors, the translator should always be a native speaker of the language the text is translated into. This will enable the correct word for a particular context to be chosen and the right nuances to be expressed.
Most disciplines or industries have their own technical jargon which can cause difficulties or misunderstanding when the recipient is from a different environment or culture. There may be a reluctance for the receiver to admit to his/her ignorance of the terms used, which can cause errors or delays in the execution of an instruction. The sender should therefore refrain from using jargon or colloquialisms, but by the same token, it is up to the receiver to request that any unfamiliar term is explained as it is mentioned.
Geographical Separation, Location Equipment, or Transmission Failure
Where stakeholders of a project are located in different offices or sites, good electronic transmission equipment is essential. The necessary equipment must be correctly installed, regularly checked, and properly maintained. Generally it is worthwhile to install the latest updates, especially if these increase the speed of transmission, even if they do not reduce the often high operating and often high transmission costs. Where persons in countries with different time zones have to be contacted, care must be taken to take these into consideration. A person from whom one wants a favour will not be very co-operative if woken up at 4 o’clock in the morning!
Misunderstanding, Attitude, Perception, Selective Listening, Assumptions, Hidden Agendas
Senders and receivers of communications are human beings and are therefore prone to prejudice, bias, tiredness, and other failings, often related to their mood or health at the time. Misunderstandings can occur due to bad hearing or eyesight or because there was not sufficient time to properly read and digest the message. Cases have been known where, because the receiver did not like or trust the sender, the transmitted information was perceived as being unimportant or not relevant and was therefore not be acted upon with the urgency it actually required. The receiver may believe the sender to have a hidden agenda or indeed have his/her own agenda and may therefore deliberately not co-operate with a request. To avoid these pitfalls, all parties must be told in no uncertain manner that the project has priority over their personal opinions. It also helps to arrange for occasional face-to-face meetings to take place.
It is not unusual for the receiver to make assumptions which were not intended. For example, the sender may request a colleague to book some seats to a theatre. The receiver may assume the sender wants the best seats when the opposite may be true. The fault here lies with the sender who was not specific in his request.
Poor Leadership, Unclear Instructions, Unclear Objectives, Unnecessarily Long Messages, Withholding of Information
Instructions whether verbal or written must be clear and unambiguous. They should also be as short as possible as the receiver’s as well as the sender’s time is often costly. Winston Churchill required all important documents to be condensed onto ‘one sheet of foolscap paper’ (approximately the size of an A4 sheet). Time is money and the higher one is in the hierarchy, the more expensive time becomes. As with instructions, objectives must also be set out clearly and unequivocally. It is often advantageous to add simple sketches to written communications. These are often more explicit than long descriptions.
When information has to be communicated to a number of recipients, it may not be advisable to tell everybody everything. For example an instruction to a technical department may not include the cost of certain quoted components. Some information is often only disseminated on a ‘need to know’ basis. The sender therefore has the responsibility to decide which parts of the documentation are required by each receiver. Clearly particular care has to be taken with sensitive or classified information which may be subject to commercial distribution restrictions or even the Official Secrets Act.
It can be seen that while there are many potential communication barriers, they can all be overcome by good communication planning and sensitive project management.
An example of how ones attitude can be affected by receiving good or bad communications is clearly shown by the following scenario.
You are standing on a railway platform waiting for a late train, and you hear the usual bland announcement which simply says:
‘This train will be 40 minutes late. We are sorry for the inconvenience this has caused.’
This will probably make you angry and blame the train operators for incompetence.
If, on the other hand, the announcement says: ‘This train will be delayed by 40 minutes due to a young girl falling onto the line at the last station’, you will be mollified and probably quite sympathetic to the operators who now have the problem of dealing with a very unhappy occurrence.
The difference is that in the second announcement you were given an explanation.