Communication is the key to success. The lack of communication can cause things in life to get very complicated and difficult unnecessarily. This week we had the pleasure of listening to the same message in three different mediums. People can easily misinterpret a message that is sent through the various mediums of communication. The key to successful project management is effective communication-sharing the right messages with the right people in a timely manner (Portny, et al, 2008, p. 357).  When watching the multimedia program "The Art of Effective Communication" my perception or view of the message being sent changed each time it was presented through a different medium. The first message that I viewed was through email.  At a first glance of the email, I thought the email came across as unfriendly, and impatient. I got the sense that she was irritated and border line angry. Email can become impersonal or misunderstood (passioncomputing.com, 2010).  Her email was clear in terms of what she needed, however I think the element of compassion was lacking in this instance.

I then listened to the voicemail. I have to say that when I heard the voicemail it completely changed my perception of her mood when she created the message. The email didn't have any tone so the perception rendered impatient, and unfriendly. The voicemail let me know that she was really just asking for what she needed. Her voice sounded calm and friendly. I would also like to add that she sounded professional. The face to face method is the one that sold me completely. The tone in her voice was calm and collective. Her body language showed that she was calm and the smile at the end of the message was equivalent to the icing on cake.

The face to face method conveyed the message most effectively. While the other two mediums are acceptable forms of business communication, the message is still left up in the air for interpretation. It would be much more helpful to just speak to the person face to face. This way, you can perceive the whole picture in real time. You can pick up on nonverbal cues. With a busy work day normally it is difficult sometimes to even find the time to meet with someone face to face to have personal discussion. However, in the long term, face-to-face communication just might assure that communication is clear and understood (Martin, 2007).  Technology is a blessing and a curse. Two of the mediums still leave room for interpretation. The PM needs to ensure that the messages received  are not misunderstood but are indeed clear and concise. The most efficient thing for the PM to do is to  hold weekly meetings to convey information to the team.

References

Martin, C. (2007). The Importance of Face-to-Face Communication at Work. Retrieved September 20, 2012 from  http://www.cio.com/article/29898/The_Importance_of_Face_to_Face_Communication_at_Wor            k?page=1&taxonomyId=3154

Passioncomputing.com. (2010). Using Email Effectively. Retrieved  September 20, 2012 from http://www.passioncomputing.com.au/Copywriting/Using-email

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.