Communication: It’s All in the Presentation

The Assignment: For an exercise on communication this week, in my Project Management in Education & Training course, I experienced a piece of workplace communication in three different modes: print, a voice mail message, and a video, via a multimedia presentation called The Art of Effective Communication (Laureate Education, n.d.). The content of the communication was exactly the same in all three scenarios, but the feel of the message differed by modality of communication.

The Message: In the communication, the sender (Jane) is asking the receiver (Mark) for a particular report that is apparently “missing.” Jane needs some data from Mark’s report in order to finish her report and submit it on time. She’s running the risk of having her report submitted late, because she is waiting for data that Mark has. Jane asks Mark to give her an ETA on his report, or to send her just the data she needs separately.

My Reactions: I had different reactions to experiencing the communication in three different modalities. Of the three modalities, I was most uncomfortable with the voice mail message; I felt that Jane’s message came across in a slightly more negative way in the voice mail message, as compared to the other two modalities. The voice message seemed somewhat accusatory to me. I found the e-mail communication to be neutral (neither negative nor positive) – it certainly could have been worded more diplomatically, though. I found the video, which represents face-to-face communication, to be the most positive modality for Jane to communicate her message to Mark; in the face-to-face communication, Jane’s demeanor and body language were sympathetic and nonthreatening to Mark.

What Does This Mean for Communicating with Project Team Members? Interpersonal communication can make or break a team. We all interpret communication in different ways, and the mode of the communication has a huge impact on how the receiver perceives the message. Written communications, such as e-mail messages, must be worded very carefully as to not create a wrong impression. Someone might write what they think is a fine e-mail, only to have it interpreted in a completely different way by the receiver. Voice messages have the benefit of allowing the speaker to control the inflection and tone of his or her voice, but this can work for or against the caller, depending upon his or her facility with spoken communication. As Dr. Stolovich asserts in the media presentation Communicating with Stakeholders, diplomacy is  a key facet of communication within a project team (Laureate Education, n.d.). According to Dr. Stolovich, face-to-face communication, which allows for body language to accompany the message, should be used to communicate important information to all members of a team; and it’s important to realize that 93% of a conversation is not in the words, but in the tone, body language, and timing (Laureate Education, n.d.). Poor communication can undermine the effectiveness of teams (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008). Both informal and formal communications should be planned and delivered in a thoughtful way, and certainly not haphazardly. “The key to successful project management is effective communication – sharing the right messages with the right people in a timely manner. Through communication people exchange and share information with one another, and influence one another’s attitudes, behaviors, and understandings" (Portny et al., 2008, p. 357).

How Can I Use This Information to Communicate More Effectively? I found this exercise to be very helpful. I was surprised by how much variation I detected in the same message being delivered in three different modalities. In my work life, I like to communicate by e-mail, because it gives me a written record of information that is sent and received. I am very careful in how I word my e-mail messages, and I read them over more than once to listen for the tone and demeanor. I also realize, from the exercise, that nothing beats face-to-face communication for allowing the sender to communicate a message in the most accurate way possible, particularly when the message is somewhat difficult and perhaps sensitive.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.). The Art of Effective Communication [DVD]. Baltimore, MD.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.). Communicating with Stakeholders [DVD]. Baltimore, MD: Dr. Harold Stolovitch.

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,

Reviewing a Project in Hind Sight

“It's important for project managers and team members to take stock at the end of a project and develop a list of lessons learned so that they don't repeat their mistakes in the next project. Typically such reviews are called  post-project reviews or "post mortems’” (Greer, 2010, p. 42).

At the conclusion of any project, it’s helpful to collect the “lessons learned” (Greer, 2010). Lessons learned allow us to learn from our mistakes and perform better in future projects. A post mortem review allows all of the members of a project team to reflect and identify both what went well with a project and what didn’t go well. By capturing the collective experiences and views of the project team, the team members can use this knowledge to improve upon their project management skills the next time a project is undertaken.

Recently I applied the technique of conducting a post mortem review of a project that I, as an instructional designer, worked on recently. The project entailed working with a college faculty member to develop a new online course. This online course was unique in that we were going to implement a new feature in this course that would set it apart from the courses that we usually offered. The course design would be very innovative and open up new doors and opportunities for faculty teaching online courses by allowing individual faculty members who would be teaching the course to pick and choose elements of the course that they wanted to use – rather like a buffet, from which the faculty could pick and choose lessons, activities, and assessments to their liking. This mode of course design would allow faculty members to offer “themed” versions of the course. The design was established in a collaborative manner by me, the instructional designer, and the faculty member. The faculty member was excited about the new innovative course design. The project broke down, though, when it came time to discuss how the course would be implemented and deployed in the learning management system. The faculty member had in mind that the course would be implemented in a particular way, but I, as the instructional designer, informed her that her vision of how the course would be implemented in the learning management system was not practical from an ongoing maintenance perspective, and that it violated some important departmental policies. When I explained how we would have to implement the new course design in the LMS, she was very disappointed and unhappy with the plan. This disconnect between how the faculty member envisioned implementing the course in the LMS and how it would actually need to be implemented was so great that the faculty member withdrew her support for the innovative project altogether. Instead, a traditional course was developed that had none of the innovations we were intending.

In hindsight, it is clear to me that there should have been more discussion and planning in the early stages of the course design process, so that expectations of both the faculty member and the online course development department could be identified, addressed, and explored more fully. The faculty member, who was a key stakeholder in the project, had certain ideas and expectations in her mind that were not articulated, and she had made certain assumptions. Likewise, I as the instructional designer had made certain assumptions that had not been communicated to the faculty member earlier in the requirements gathering and design process. In the end, articulating and exploring our differences in vision may not have saved the innovative nature of the project, but it would have saved us time in that we would not have gone so far down the design and development phase before we realized there was a disconnect and our path would need to be changed. We ended up doing a lot of design and development work that was ultimately scrapped.

In my example of a project post mortem, inadequate communication of visions and unspoken assumptions were the weak links in the project process. In future projects, I would use those important “lessons learned” to prevent similar mistakes from occurring. I would be more specific and more thorough in documenting and describing all assumptions about a course design project, its design, development and implementation, particularly when the implementation was going to be something different than our normal process.

References

Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.

The Future of Distance Education

Despite having existed in one form or another for well over a century – from its early days as mail and telephone correspondence courses, to video and computer-based education, to its more recent flourishing thanks to Internet technologies and tools – distance education is in its formative years and is on track to revolutionize education in the modern world.  In the past few decades, in particular, educators and institutions have begun to systematically embrace distance education as a serious and viable contender for the hearts and minds of learners of all ages and backgrounds. Today, educators, instructional designers, and institutions are coming together to design and develop engaging, enriching, and highly-stimulating online courses that are taking distance education to a whole new level. While not all distance education offered today is up to the standards demanded of excellent education, there are many institutions that are offering amazing online education to students of all ages, from K-12 to higher education. Distance education is already revolutionizing how we define and consume education. And while there is no shortage of skeptics today, one day distance education will change the face of education as we know it.

Public perception of distance education has changed greatly in the recent past. The widespread acceptance of Internet technology tools – such as video conferencing and other social networking tools – that allow people to converse and form relationships despite geographical separation has changed our ideas about what it means to communicate and interact with others without being face-to-face in the same room (Laureate Education, n.d.).  I think public perception about the quality and viability of distance learning will continue to steadily climb. As the quality of online education continues to rise, through the application of sound research and best practices, public perception of the value and relevance of online education will rise, too. I recently conducted an informal interview, asking about the value of online education, and even the notable skeptic in my interview pool admitted that public perception about online education will continue to rise over time. The numbers of students engaging in online learning – from K-12 to higher education – continues to climb. Also, the quality of online education continues to rise. As the quality improves, more students will flock to online learning because of the many advantages that it offers. I can envision a future in which the majority of learners engage in some form of online learning, challenging the role of traditional brick-and-mortar institutions as the primary vehicles for education.

Instructional designers, along with teachers and educational institutions, play a significant role in promoting and championing the future of distance learning. The future of distance learning hinges primarily on the quality of the educational experiences offered. As the bar continues to be raised, and quality continues to improve – along with the development of new and better tools for cognitive engagement and social interaction across geographical distances – distance learning will increasingly become a viable and valued mode for education worldwide. The advantages that distance learning offers students from all levels are significant. Logistics, mobility, access to education, affordability, and flexibility are just some of the tangible advantages offered by distance learning that should not be underestimated. Today, some of the best online educational experiences available are also some of the most affordable. As the quality and acceptance of online education continue to rise, at what point will some students turn away from very expensive brick-and-mortar institutions in favor of more flexible and more affordable online institutions? I think there will be a tipping point, and that point will redefine the nature of education worldwide.

I am admittedly a cheerleader for online learning. I have been an instructional designer of online learning for adults for over 20 years. I have seen how the field has continued to evolve as the bar continues to rise. I, myself, am pursuing a second master’s degree through an online institution, and I find myself taking part in an incredibly well-designed, well-developed, and rigorous academic program. Even my own hopeful and optimistic expectations have been surpassed. As a certified master reviewer and trainer for Quality Matters – a national organization that promotes quality in online education – I am working actively to help institutions of all levels, from K-12 to higher education, improve and refine their online courses. We instructional designers have the privilege of being on the forefront of the evolution of distance learning. As instructional designers, we should never be content with the status quo. We should always strive for improvement. Our efforts to promote quality online education, along with the efforts of dedicated teachers, faculty and innovative institutions, will help pave the way for an education revolution that is based on quality and innovation, rather than geography and tradition.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.). The Future of Distance Education [DVD]. Baltimore, MD.  Dr. George Siemens