Role of Effective & Rational Communication in Project Management
How A Project Manager Can Improve His Communication Skills By Being More Rational?
Communication is defined as the act of delivering, receiving, and exchanging information. It could be verbal like reading, listening, speaking, and writing and could be non-verbal like body language, facial expressions, and spoken tone. When we speak about project management, every project’s success depends on effective communication.
Effective communication only happens if the desired outcome is achieved after delivering the right information. Usually, it starts with a communication plan wherein the project manager understands and comprehends the behavioral differences of his audiences. This could be ensured by not assuming anything about the identities, backgrounds, or experiences of his audiences. Project managers are humans which means they have emotions, consciousness, and analytical mind. Most of the time, humans mistakenly believe that they are logical and in control of their life, while, in fact, they are motivated by illogical emotions. This situation may lead to inefficient communication and the failure to reach the desired results.
Rational Communication
Becoming rational is also a soft skill
Soft skills like negotiation and empathy help to foster and strengthen communication. Being a project manager, you should develop a rational self, so you would be able to plan for sustainably achieving the project goals and rationally communicate the project progress to all stakeholders.
Rational communication is like a flavor added to the classic communication plan wherein you always answer neutrally the following questions with logic, numbers, and convincing stats.
Who needs to be involved in the communication?
What's the best way to communicate?
Why are you communicating?
How often should you communicate?
The initial step of being A Rational Project Manager is to understand the different types of biases that can alter how you perceive tasks, milestones, accomplishments, risks, and how you react to them. Always be aware of the response and interpretation that your message or information can elicit.
Confirmation bias - Thinking you're being rational when you're concentrating on facts that support your viewpoints. We, humans, inexorably lean toward information that supports the optimistic scenario. The Risk Register is an important project artifact - imagine what would have happened if the project manager discriminates against the inherent risk factors, and the whole project could go astray.
Appearance bias - Thinking you can read people, events, or conditions from their looks when actually you’re misled by them.
Blame bias - The attitude of being right always, denying your own mistakes, and placing blame on others, conditions, or a brief error in judgment. This mindset is stubborn like - “I learn from my experience and mistakes” - If people really applied what they had learned, there would be fewer mistakes made and we would be living in a near-to-perfect world.
Conviction bias - The attitude of being over-optimistic when you think how can I be wrong I have spent lots of time and energy on this project. so, you always defend your views with conviction to drown out your doubts.
Superiority bias - Thinking you are better, more rational, and much superior than others around you.
Consider your intended audience to ensure that you are communicating the proper message. Whom are you speaking with? Always be upfront and honest about the reasons behind your communications. While some team members may only need an overview of the scenario, others may need specific information. No matter who your audience is, you should be sure to clearly explain the information or request, do it in a clear and succinct manner, and keep on topic.
To make sure you have all the necessary information, respond to the following inquiries before you start to draft a rational communication plan:
Project participants: Have you mapped out your stakeholders' roles and responsibilities? At what stages in the project life cycle would different participants need to be informed? - RACI matrix is a viable solution.
Frequency and method: When, where, and how should you check in with relevant stakeholders? How much information is required by each stakeholder? How frequently should you communicate?
Objective: What do you hope to communicate? Do you require an answer? Are you only giving an update or attempting to promote engagement?
Limitations: Are there any restrictions on time zones? language difficulties? Do some stakeholders (such as an executive) need more time to respond or reply?
You'll be prepared for effective & rational communication if you keep the above pointers in mind when you create your next communication plan.