PNMG200
Forms of Communication
Lakewood University
PNMG200: Principles of Management
Forms of
Communication
Managers need to understand that the ability to manage communication effectively is key
to keeping everybody in the loop. Developing a communications planning process will
entails defining the types of information you will deliver, who will receive it, the format for
communicating it, and the timing of its release and distribution. The truth is that about 90%
of a project manager’s job is spent on communication. This means that it is vitally important
to make sure that everybody gets the right message at the right time.
One of the first steps that needs to be taken in defining your communication plan is
figuring out what kind of communication your stakeholders need from the project so they can
make good decisions. This is known as communications requirements analysis. The
communication requirement analysis is a tool that determines the information that the
stakeholder needs. It is acquired through interviews, workshop and even studying the lessons
learned from the previous projects. A project is going to produce a lot of information and as
the manager you don’t want to overwhelm your stakeholders with all of it. It is incumbent on
you to figure out what they feel is valuable. Communicating valuable information does not
mean you only deliver good news or try a paint a rosy picture. Communications to
stakeholders may consist of either good news or bad news. The point is that you don’t want
to bury stakeholders in too much information, but you do want to give them enough so that
they’re informed and can make appropriate decisions.
Another important factor to consider when developing a communications plan is the
different formats that will be needed for a particular project. This involves knowing every
aspect of your project intimately. We are all the key players located, what times will
everyone be working on what parts of the project, knowing if they are in different time
zones, and even knowing what communications mediums they have access to.
Traditionally most of the communications mediums have been oral. Oral communication
build relationships and trust. They also accelerate decision making due to the immediate
feedback. Oral communication builds up a healthy climate in the organization by bringing
superiors and subordinates closer. It is also an effective tool for persuasion. Oral
communication is very fast as it saves the time involved in writing the message and
delivering it through a channel like the postal or courier service. This is good if all your key
stakeholders are in the same location. Nontraditional means of communication have become
very important in today’s environment as we all have learned through pivoting due to the
Covid-19 pandemic.
Communicating over nontraditional mediums such as email, texting or social media
messaging have become more dominate over the past two decades. The speed at which you
can get larger groups together is a factor and if the key stakeholders are no co-located. This
also allows mangers to manage projects without being limited by location or time zones.
Communication must change also to meet the changing society. As the demographics of our
Forms of Communication
Lakewood University
PNMG200: Principles of Management
Forms of
Communication
Managers need to understand that the ability to manage communication effectively is key
to keeping everybody in the loop. Developing a communications planning process will
entails defining the types of information you will deliver, who will receive it, the format for
communicating it, and the timing of its release and distribution. The truth is that about 90%
of a project manager’s job is spent on communication. This means that it is vitally important
to make sure that everybody gets the right message at the right time.
One of the first steps that needs to be taken in defining your communication plan is
figuring out what kind of communication your stakeholders need from the project so they can
make good decisions. This is known as communications requirements analysis. The
communication requirement analysis is a tool that determines the information that the
stakeholder needs. It is acquired through interviews, workshop and even studying the lessons
learned from the previous projects. A project is going to produce a lot of information and as
the manager you don’t want to overwhelm your stakeholders with all of it. It is incumbent on
you to figure out what they feel is valuable. Communicating valuable information does not
mean you only deliver good news or try a paint a rosy picture. Communications to
stakeholders may consist of either good news or bad news. The point is that you don’t want
to bury stakeholders in too much information, but you do want to give them enough so that
they’re informed and can make appropriate decisions.
Another important factor to consider when developing a communications plan is the
different formats that will be needed for a particular project. This involves knowing every
aspect of your project intimately. We are all the key players located, what times will
everyone be working on what parts of the project, knowing if they are in different time
zones, and even knowing what communications mediums they have access to.
Traditionally most of the communications mediums have been oral. Oral communication
build relationships and trust. They also accelerate decision making due to the immediate
feedback. Oral communication builds up a healthy climate in the organization by bringing
superiors and subordinates closer. It is also an effective tool for persuasion. Oral
communication is very fast as it saves the time involved in writing the message and
delivering it through a channel like the postal or courier service. This is good if all your key
stakeholders are in the same location. Nontraditional means of communication have become
very important in today’s environment as we all have learned through pivoting due to the
Covid-19 pandemic.
Communicating over nontraditional mediums such as email, texting or social media
messaging have become more dominate over the past two decades. The speed at which you
can get larger groups together is a factor and if the key stakeholders are no co-located. This
also allows mangers to manage projects without being limited by location or time zones.
Communication must change also to meet the changing society. As the demographics of our
