Email:
The text in the message is so friendly as if an employee is politely begging for an ETA report from her manager or supervisor or a higher rank employee, she looks worry and impatient . She is scarcely or with hesitation asking him to send the report soon without any firm deadline. Jane is desperately asking Mark about when he thinks he can send the report or even the data that will help her complete her report by a separate email. Actually, in this message, I can tell that Jan has successfully applied all what Dr. Stolovitch, (2011) mentioned in “Communicating with Stakeholders” video about “written communication should begin with a clear purpose, state the situation, include possible solutions, specify the form that the response is required to take and keep tone friendly and respectful”.Voicemail:
The voicemail tone gave me a feeling of a team leader or an equivalent teammate asking with a polite and friendly tone for the report. The tone shows more confidence than the email and I can feel a some level of commanding tone in saying words like Soon and the sentence “get the report sent over to me”.
Face to Face:
The video tone and gestures and body language confirm an employee request for the report from a colleague with a neutral tone neither commanding nor begging but politely asking, indicating the urgency and reminding of a report dead times.
The factors that influenced each message perception can be defined as follows:
For Email format: Only the text
Voicemail: Both words and tone
Face to face communication: Words, tone, and body language.
I believe all three methods are effective ways of communication if the right tools are used. However I feel that face to face communication is more effective and better way of communication; it would great if it will be followed by a formal written request as well.
Dr. Stolovitch, (2011) in “Communicating with Stakeholders” video stated that ”Effective communication is influenced by the spirit and attitude, tonality and body language, timing, and the personality of the recipient. Some communication is delivered orally as informal but we need to make sure that important communication is best delivered live and then followed with a documented statement”.
References
Dr. Stolovitch, (2011). Communicating with Stakeholders. Retrieved from Walden University eCollege.
Laureate Education. (2011). [Online]. The Art of Effective Communication. Retrieved from Walden University eCollege.
Portny, S., Mantel, S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., Sutton, M., & Kramer, B. (2008). Project Management: Planning, scheduling and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Laureate Education. (2011). [Online]. The Art of Effective Communication. Retrieved from Walden University eCollege.
Portny, S., Mantel, S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., Sutton, M., & Kramer, B. (2008). Project Management: Planning, scheduling and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
As long as it works
ReplyDeleteYour analysis of this week’s scenario (for project management) was pleasantly surprising. Your critique of all three communication platforms was positive and effective in the message Jane was trying to relay to Mark.
I differed in opinion on the email text as I perceived the text to be threatening. What you perceived as ‘desperate’ I thought bordered on ‘rudeness’. Using ‘key’ words in written communication can assist the reader in understanding what is expected or required (Portny et al. 2008).
I guess for me, it is how the ‘key’ words are arranged in the text.
Simonson et al. (2009) noted instructors should be aware of the etiquette surrounding communication. The same can be said for project managers when communicating with team members and stakeholders. “While in a face-to-face setting, humor can often be the ‘icebreaker’ that opens avenues of conversation, it frequently falls flat in a distant setting” (Simonson et al. 2009, p.166).
Great analysis!
Trace
References
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, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., Albright, M., & Zvacek, S. (2009). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education (4th Ed.) Boston, MA: Pearson.