Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Week 3 Blog - Communicating Effectively
There are many ways to communicate. This week's blog assignment is to interpret a message that has been delivered in three different modalities. My thoughts on the three are below.
Email: The email message begin in a very understanding manner. The sender, Jane, express concern and understanding as to why she was having to make a formal request to him, Mark. After showing a level of understanding, she firmly stated what it is that she needs from him and why it is pertinent that receives it. She closed the email by giving him options to consider in providing her with the report she is requesting. I think this method of communication best conveys the true meaning and intent of the message. Not only is the email firm and concise, but it is also a means of documenting her communication with him. Hopefully, the email was sent with a request for a delivery receipt.
Audio: The audio message was less appealing to me for a couple of reasons. First, although it was an audio message, it seemed as if she was reading it. Her tone in the beginning of the message didn't appear as if she really was understanding of how busy he may have been. Likewise, her "I really appreciate your help" at the end of the meeting didn't seem sincere. As mentioned in this week's resources, communication is not just words. Tonality speaks volumes. Furthermore, she neglected to leave her name in the message. Chances are Mark might be involved in other things and may miss her deadline because he's not sure who left the message.
Video: The video message was the least effective in getting the message across. The speaker did a poor job of conveying a firm message. Her body language was in no way businesslike, or such that should be taken seriously. She appeared to be too relaxed in asking for something that she really needed to meet her own deadlines. Her tone and body language appeared as if she was speaking to a dear friend and not a business partner.
There are many different ways to communicate with members of a project team. After viewing different means in this week's resource, I think emails are one of the most effective ways to communicate messages that are minimal in nature. It's not wise to send a lot of critical information in an email, but anything that can be put or said in an memo, can be effectively communicated in an email. Emails allow senders to quickly get their messages across without the distractions audio and video messages may present. Additionally, emails are a great source of documentation. When working with a group or team, all levels of communication should be documented, if feasible.
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I agreed with you that of the three the e-mail was most effective. The other two I could have easily dismissed and gone on to other things that were important to me without another thought of her request.
ReplyDeleteI do think e-mails are effective, but if overly used they can be dismissed easily. Like at work, if I get an e-mail from one person, I tend to delete it rather quickly because they are sending out a bulk e-mail. Also, if it is overly used, people will start to forget about the personal touch that meeting someone face-to-face can provide.
MaryLei,
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way. Some names are just automatically deleted. I absoulutely hate bulk emails. You are exactly right about the face to face. With so much technology, it's almost impossible to have real interactions and conversations with people.
Hello Rasheeda,
ReplyDeleteWow, I did not catch on, the woman sending the voice mail message did not leave her name and phone number. Like I stated in another blog post, I hate leaving voice mail messages, because they always catch me off guard. I always make a concerted effort to leave my name and phone number when the message starts and before it ends as well. I think that I have trained myself to do this, as more and more often, I have to leave voice messages to contact my students.
Hi Rasheeda.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100% about the face-to-face method. She was not professional at all. She kind of acted like a nervous kid. Her body language, leaning on the cubicle, was as if she was casually having a conversation with a friend. With the voicemail too, she needed to use her tone to emphasize the importance of the message. She did not though, she was too monotone and boring.
It did seem as if she was reading the audio message. I completely agree with that ascertian; it was just like she was reading from a script.
ReplyDelete