October 27, 2008 – Back to the Basic: Communication – How

Once, in the midst of a long distance relationship I had the grand idea of sending a Western Union Telegram to my girlfriend. From my vast knowledge of telegrams, based solely on movies and TV, I knew that every time you put a period they say "STOP" to indicate the end of the sentence. I envisioned a hand delivered envelop with the words “Don’t STOP loving me and I won’t STOP loving you” on Western Union paper. I think they took my $20 and placed a phone call instead that incoherently said "Don't loving me and I won't loving you."

Telegrams were a great way to express you feelings in the 1800’s but by the 1980’s it was out dated. Sometimes you know what to say and when to say it but fail to be heard because of how you choose to say it.

How to be Heard. When deciding how to get your message out, you need to consider both the method and content.

The method does matter. There are the normal methods:

• Phone. Great for quick answers and to give initial direction. Not so good for detailed instructions or approvals.
• Voice Mail. Excellent for letting people know you called and for playing phone tag. Don’t rely on it to guarantee the message was conveyed or that action will be taken.
• Instant Messaging. Good tool to exchange ideas and verify progress.
• Email. Reliable for giving more detailed instructions and receiving approval. Not very personal and can lead to chaos when everyone replies to everyone else.
• Teleconference. When your team is half way around the world, email doesn’t cut it. It can take 2 days to convey a message. Scheduling a teleconference can clarify the conversation quickly.
• Webex / GoToMeeting. Web meeting tools that allow you to share your desktop information make it possible for you to run your business from practically anywhere.
• Get out of your seat. The personal touch allows you to observe the non-verbal aspects of communication like body language, eye contact, gestures and facial expressions. When other methods fail, it may be worth the trip down the hall or across the world.
• Video Conference. The next best thing to being there. Setting up a web cam on both ends of the world can be relatively cheap and net big benefits.

Sometimes you have to think beyond the normal to get your message across.

• Go Big. The company I work for owns a plotter for printing poster size images. Some statements need to be loud. Skywriting might be a little much.
• Websites / SharePoint. A central location for communicating project updates is a great means to keep the team, management, end users and other key stakeholder informed.
• Hand Written. In an age of electronic everything, sometimes the best communication is a hand written note. It can be a card of encouragement, a sticky note of thanks or a message on the whiteboard.

Content clarifies. Here are some simple things that will help get you heard clearer.

• Check the Spelling. I recently received a high glossy postcard from my insurance company. They spelled the word “their” wrong…twice. It doesn’t instill a large amount of confidence in the company.
• Reread it for clarity. Some sentences make their own nonsense…like this one. Often I review what I think is brilliant writing and find it muddled.
• Shorten it. As you reread, look for simpler, more concise ways to communicate your thoughts.

In the end, you need to merge the What, When and How to get your message across.

By the way, that long distance relationship? We just passed our 19th wedding anniversary.

April 5, 2007 – It’s in the Game – Information Overload Part 2

An overload of information is like adding Olympic Games traffic to major city rush hour. No one ends up going anywhere. Yesterday we looked at how to reasonably limit the Project Schedule. Today we will look at meeting minutes and messages.

Meeting Minutes. Minutes are extremely important. I recall one project that I transitioned to another project manager where the client immediately started changing things previously agreed to. When asked about it I was able to pull out the meeting minutes and set the record straight. Unfortunately, minutes are usually the first thing dropped when project managers get busy. Sometimes the problem is that too much information is crammed into the minutes. It ends up taking longer to issue them than the meeting took. Here are some tips on handling them better.

1. Just the facts. Minutes are not intended to capture every word everyone says. Skip the discussion points and just record the decisions and action items. Too much detail takes too long and is counter productive. No one is going to read multiple pages of minutes for every meeting they attend.

2. Use a consistent template. Find a format that helps you organize the minutes and encourages you to keep them concise. Blank documents lead to writing paragraphs of information instead of bullet points.

3. Fragments are ok. Unless it is a formal environment it is ok to skimp on full sentences for your bullet points. Use good grammar, but keep it short.

4. Off load. You don’t need to do everything. For team meetings especially, have a different team member take the minutes each week. Train them on what you expect and let them handle it. If you have a team member that is aspiring to be a PM, give more of that responsibility to him/her.

Messages. Nothing puts me to sleep faster than a long voice mail. Pointless emails come in a close second. I’m sure you have received your share of both. You have probably had someone leave you a long voice mail and then follow it up with a mega-email on the same topic. So what is the best way to avoid overload for messages?

1. Pick your platform. Some things are better said than read. Phone should be used to get someone’s attention and get them to call back. If you are leaving someone numbers or other details, email may be the better choice. On voice messages longer than 30 seconds my mind starts to loose focus.

2. Delete and rerecord. If you find that you are starting to ramble or are trying to cram too much information into a voice mail, stop. Delete what you have and start over again. You may even want to rethink your choice of platform.

3. Leaving your number…twice. It seems like the more information someone leaves in a voice mail, the faster they blurt out their phone number. I end up having to listen to the whole message twice just to make sure I captured it correctly. Give your phone number at the beginning of the message, tell them why you called and then leave your number again.

4. Reread your email. Take the time to read what you type. Look for redundancies and excess wording. Re-organize your thoughts if necessary. Shorter emails get read and acted on sooner.

Information is great but too much information can get in the way. Learn the balance and you can increase your odds of winning the game.

March 15 – Email Problems

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To some email is a necessary evil. To others it is the golden form of communication. From passing pictures of your pet to receiving approvals from your sponsor, email is a major part of our world. The trouble is there are a few things you need to avoid when using it.

Hiding. Email is simply a communication tool along with the phone and face-to-face meetings. If you are sending emails because you are avoiding a discussion that should take place in person then you are hiding. Get out from behind the screen and start talking.

Poor Naming. There are 3 things to avoid with the name. First, don’t forget to put a subject on the email. Second, don’t use a subject that could get blocked by spam. Finally, don’t get ignored. Give it a subject that will get the reaction you are looking for. If you need them to do something add ACTION REQUIRED to the start of your title. If it is acceptance management start with APPROVAL REQUEST. Use a title that explains the email and will get it read.

Mad Mailing. I have typed some emails that would have been career-shortening events if I hadn’t hit the delete button. Never send an email in the heat of the moment. Carefully save it as draft so you don’t send it. Go get a cup of your favorite, legal work beverage and come back to reconsider it. If you are still ticked, print it and have someone else read it to talk you down. Sometimes it is very therapeutic to vent but do so safely.

Spell Checking. Definitely use spell checking. One of my all time really bad jokes is “Bad spellers of the world, UNTIE!” Usually I have to explain that “untie” is “unite” spelled wrong which just ruins the whole affect. But use spell check wisely, especially with names. If you don’t Waithe becomes Waiter, Uwins becomes Wines and Shashank becomes Sheepshank. Not very pretty. My favorite example of spell check problems came from a woman I worked with once. (It’s ok, Judy, I won’t mention your name). She wrote an email about Sarbanes-Oxley and spell check changed it to Sardines-Ox eyes. She sent it before she saw it.

Not Reading. Before you send it, give it one last read. So often I look at something I have written and wonder how I expected anyone to possibly understand it. I also use spell checking as my last line of defense against a bad email. If it catches a word, I take a moment longer to consider whether to send it or not. Several times I have opted for phoning or going to see them person instead. More often I have chosen to reword the whole thing or drop it all together.

CCing. The entire company doesn’t need to get all of your emails. Does that long list of individuals on the TO and CC lines have to be there? What is your purpose for including each one? Many of them probably won’t even read it. I had a manager once who said because of the number of emails she received she never opens those that she was cc’d on. That explained why I never received the support I expected from her.

Email is just another tool in your bag. Use it for good and not evil.


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