The art of communication is an essential skill
to be successful in project management.
So, how do you communicate effectively to your team?
Well, in this video,
I'm going to share with you just how to do that.
And on a side note, just as important
as effective communication,
I have for you something really brand new,
six tips on how to ensure your projects are successful.
And I put it all together in a guide just for you.
And I'm going to share with you how you can get it
at the end of this video.
Hi, if you're new here, welcome.
My name is Adriana and you have landed on
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in fact, the best practical project management channel
on YouTube, in my personal opinion.
Love it if you would subscribe
and help us grow this amazing community.
Now, on that note, let's get to those communication tips.
(hands clapping)
Set clear expectations.
Oh, my goodness.
Part of communication, as we all know,
even in our personal lives,
is when we're not clear with expectations and what happens.
That's where mess starts to happen.
That's where things don't get done.
So, you really have to set clear expectation.
That's part of a really good communication plan
within a project.
So, what are some of those expectations?
There's behavioral expectations
of how you expect your team to interact with each other.
There's expectations about your action plan and tasks.
How are you going to meet all of those things
that bring you together as a team?
You need to be very clear with what you expect from that.
How are people going to deliver on their tasks?
How are they going to inform you when things are done?
What's really cool, too,
is there's kickoff meetings that you can have
to set this expectation out from day one.
Now, if you go to the search bar on YouTube,
put in Adriana Girdler,
put in communication plan and kickoff meeting,
I have lots more great tips for you for that as well.
Share the project vision and goals.
Yes, this is really important to be part
of really good communication.
People need to understand the why.
Why are they doing this?
Yes, I know they've gotten the marching orders,
but I find when people are just given marching orders
and they don't understand that bigger picture,
the vision, how does this all tie in,
I find that they're not as engaged
or they don't understand the importance of their work.
And so, this is why really sharing the why,
why are we doing this project?
How's it tied into the greater strategy of the organization?
What is the vision that we're seeing
and how does this project you're working on
fitting in with it,
and ultimately, what is the goal that you're delivering on
becomes so critical that you share that with your team
and remind them of it,
particularly when things are really, really busy
and it's easy to lose track of what you're going to do.
Reinforce the vision and the overall goal.
Keep people in the loop.
Ugh, this becomes challenging and an interesting topic
because we can sometimes get very lost
when we're with our project teams
and we're so into the project that we know all the nuances
that we forget about keeping people in the loop
for things that seem really basic and simple to us.
But for someone who is maybe a stakeholder
who's not part of our project teams
and maybe not part of the daily workings,
that they need to be kept in the loop.
So, keeping people in the loop becomes critical,
and there's different people you need to keep in the loop.
Which is why it's so important to understand
that you just have to step back,
recognize that you know everything as a project manager,
your core team probably is really tight
with everything going on as well.
Just don't assume that everyone
is on the same level as you are.
In fact, I promise you, they're not,
so you have to keep them in the loop.
If there's an announcement for something
or if you settled and you finished some testing
and you got your results, don't just stop there.
Make sure you share it.
Tell the right people and put a little plan together
around how you're going to keep people in the loop
becomes really important for really good communication.
Now, if you're liking what you're hearing so far,
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Now, let's move on to the next tip.
What is it we have to do
or what are one of the things that we have to look at
when it comes to communication?
Listening.
Yes, listen to the team.
It's really easy to think that communication
is all about talking and giving out information,
but it's listening as well.
And as a project manager,
that becomes really important that you listen to your team.
They may be bringing stuff to you that is really critical
that may change the direction of your project.
They may also be bringing things to you
from other stakeholders.
So, really listen to your team,
listen to other people around you
to ensure that you are all on the same page,
because it's about being kept in the loop,
being on the same page,
ensuring that everyone understands the nuances
of what's happening in your project.
In essence, really good communication.
Have a purpose for all of your communication.
How is your inbox right now?
Is it huge, just a ton of information in it?
The majority of people in organizations,
the answer is probably yes.
So, you really have to be clear
with your purpose of your communication.
Don't just send something out
for the sake of sending something out.
Understand what the purpose is.
Do you have the right people?
Do you have a sequencing
of when you're going to be sending that out?
Is it a newsletter that you're doing
and you're inviting people to read what's happening?
Whatever it may be,
be very clear with your communication
and the purpose behind it.
'Cause I would love to say that every
communication channel that you touch,
and a lot of times, yes,
we verbally, we talk to people.
But a lot of them are newsletters,
a lot of them are on SharePoint's site.
They may be announcements.
You still have to drive people there
and everyone's really busy.
So, be very careful.
Ensure you have a purpose for everything.
Really think through your stakeholders.
And it really is just going to enhance your communication,
and people will notice that you're not just
sending things out for the sake of sending it out,
but there's always something behind it.
Which means you may need to save up on information.
Just don't piecemeal it out.
You're going to have to play that one by ear,
depending on your organization and your project.
Now that you have these tips
on how to communicate effectively
with your team and in projects,
oh, get this now in the link below this video!
This is just going to ensure the basics you need to know
so that you can have a successful project.
And it's for you, free.
Until the next video, see you later.