The Keys to Effective Project Communications

During all projects, communication occurs via many methods in many forms with many stakeholders inside and outside your organization. There are few simple rules that maintain effective project communications:

Invest time to prepare a practical communication plan

The communication plan has to identify the information needs of all stakeholders as well as identify the method and proper language for information transfer. Some stakeholders have to know some details with accurate figures while others may need to see the same information as a graph.

Use meetings and don’t let meetings use you:

You can use all types of communications in a way that serves project purposes by deciding what you need to get out of each communication incident. For example, in a steering committee, it’s your best chance to get support of senior management and get decisions required for the project progress. You have to know your audience very well and know how to address them.

Repeat and always use feedback

Many communication barriers exist in your environment. Repetition from all parties help unify the language used within the team, and feedback ensures that recipients of the message really understood what the sender wanted to say.

Get to the point

You have to be as concise as possible. Write short emails that fully describe the message you need to send. Use short sentences to make sure the recipients read all of it.

Shut-up and listen:

A great leader listens carefully to all stakeholders. Communication must be 2-way, not a monologue. You need to listen to all ideas, get feedback and build trust with all stakeholders including your subordinates.

Written by
Mr. Waleed ElNaggr