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Communications Management Part 1

Communications Management Part 1. Diana Adorno d.adorno@murdoch.edu.au 0419 428 881. Communications. What is communication? What is a good/poor communicator? Skills (questioning, listening, rapport,) Techniques (presentations) Communicating within a team Planning communications.

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Communications Management Part 1

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  1. Communications ManagementPart 1 Diana Adorno d.adorno@murdoch.edu.au 0419 428 881 ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  2. Communications • What is communication? • What is a good/poor communicator? • Skills (questioning, listening, rapport,) • Techniques (presentations) • Communicating within a team • Planning communications ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  3. What is communication? • Come up with your own definition of what communication means. • Is it important? • Why, or why not? • In what situations do you communicate? ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  4. Communication styles • What is your preferred way to communicate? ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  5. What is a good communicator? • List the attributes of a poor communicator? • Work in pairs. • List the attributes of a good communicator? • Work in pairs. ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  6. Skills • Good communications skills: • Listening (actively) • Speaking (clear) • Writing (clear) • Non-verbal • Eye-contact • Feedback • Asks questions • Allows time to speak • Does not interrupt ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  7. Questioning • Closed • Yes, No answers • E.g. Do you like Sundays? • Open • More information • E.g. What do you use your mobile for? • Probing • When do you get poor reception? ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  8. Listening • Interview your neighbour. • Find out their name • Ask 3 questions to find out as much as you can about a favourite hobby or interest. • Review • Did you listen? • Did you have to ask for anything to be repeated. ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  9. Building rapport • Listen • Mirror • Feedback • Verbal • Non-verbal ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  10. Active listening • Listening + rapport • Ask confirming questions • Mirror • Non-verbal feedback ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  11. Techniques • Speaking • Conversation • Phone • Interview • Meeting • Presentations (short, long, formal, informal) • Writing • SMS • Post-it note • Email • Letters • Documents ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  12. Which technique to use when?

  13. Phone • What is good phone manner? ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  14. Running Effective Meetings • Determine if a meeting can be avoided • Define the purpose and intended outcome of the meeting • Determine who should attend the meeting • Provide an agenda to participants before the meeting • Prepare handouts, visual aids, and make logistical arrangements ahead of time • Run the meeting professionally (to time & the agenda) • Build relationships ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  15. Using E-Mail Effectively • Make sure that e-mail is an appropriate medium for what you want to communicate • Be sure to send the e-mail to the right people • Use meaningful subjects • Limit the content to one main subject, and be as clear and concise as possible • Limit the number and size of attachments • Delete e-mail you don’t need, and don’t open it if you question the source • Make sure your virus software is up to date • Respond to and file e-mails quickly • Learn how to use important features ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  16. Presentations • What is a good presentation? ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  17. Different ways of communicating • Person-to-person • In small groups • In large groups • E.g. training, presentations • In a meeting • In an organisation • Memos, letters, repots etc. • Mass media ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  18. The Impact of the Number of People on Communications Channels ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  19. Working in teams • Different personality types • Different social styles ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  20. Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) • MBTI is a popular tool for determining personality preferences and helping teammates understand each other • Four dimensions include: • Extrovert/Introvert (E/I) • Sensation/Intuition (S/N) • Thinking/Feeling (T/F) • Judgment/Perception (J/P) • NTs or rationals are attracted to technology fields • IT people vary most from the general population in not being extroverted or sensing ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  21. Social Styles Profile • People are perceived as behaving primarily in one of four zones, based on their assertiveness and responsiveness: • Drivers • Expressives • Analyticals • Amiables • People on opposite corners (drivers and amiables, analyticals and expressives) may have difficulties getting along ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  22. Social Styles ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  23. General Advice on Teams • Focus on meeting project objectives and producing positive results • Fix the problem instead of blaming people • Establish regular, effective meetings • Nurture team members and encourage them to help each other • Acknowledge individual and group accomplishments ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  24. Importance of Good Communications • The greatest threat to many projects is a failure to communicate • Our culture does not portray IT professionals as being good communicators • Research shows that IT professionals must be able to communicate effectively to succeed in their positions • Strong verbal skills are a key factor in career advancement for IT professionals ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  25. Communications Planning • Every project should include some type of communications management plan, a document that guides project communications • Creating a stakeholder analysis for project communications also aids in communications planning ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  26. Sample Stakeholder Analysis for Project Communications ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  27. Conflict Can Be Good • Conflict often produces important results, such as new ideas, better alternatives, and motivation to work harder and more collaboratively • Groupthink can develop if there are no conflicting viewpoints • Research by Karen Jehn suggests that task-related conflict often improves team performance, but emotional conflict often depresses team performance ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

  28. Using Templates for Project Communications • Many technical people are afraid to ask for help • Providing examples and templates for project communications saves time and money • Organizations can develop their own templates, use some provided by outside organizations, or use samples from textbooks • Research shows that companies that excel in project management make effective use of templates ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005

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