Communications Execution

📡 Communications Execution: Making Your Project Message Heard!

Analogy Throughout: Think of project communication like being a Radio DJ. You have important songs (messages) to play, you need to make sure your listeners (stakeholders) can hear them clearly, and you constantly check if people are tuned in and enjoying the show!

🎯 What Are We Learning?

Imagine you’re throwing a big birthday party. You’ve planned everything perfectly. But wait—did you tell everyone when to come? Did they hear you? Are they coming?

Communications Execution is about:

1. Sending messages the right way
2. Checking if people received and understood them
3. Talking face-to-face when it matters
4. Putting up signs so everyone always knows what’s happening

Let’s dive in! 🎉

🎙️ Manage Communications Process

What Is It?

Manage Communications is like being a Radio DJ. Your job is to:

• Create the right message (song)
• Send it through the right channel (radio station)
• Make sure it reaches the right people (listeners)
• Send it at the right time (during their favorite show)

The Big Idea

“The right information, to the right people, at the right time, in the right format.”

How Does It Work?

graph TD
    A["📝 Create Message"] --> B["📻 Choose Channel"]
    B --> C["👥 Send to Stakeholders"]
    C --> D["✅ Confirm Receipt"]
    D --> E["📁 Store for Records"]

Real-Life Example: The School Play

Situation: You’re the lead in the school play. You need to tell:

• Parents: “Come watch on Friday at 7 PM!”
• Friends: “Can you help with props?”
• Teachers: “I’ll miss math class for rehearsal”

Bad Communication:

• Sending one email to everyone saying “Play stuff happening”
• ❌ Parents don’t know when to come
• ❌ Friends don’t know what help you need
• ❌ Teachers don’t know which class you’ll miss

Good Communication:

• Parents get a formal invitation with date, time, parking info
• Friends get a fun text with specific tasks
• Teachers get a polite note with exact dates

That’s Manage Communications! 🎯

Key Inputs You Need

Key Outputs You Create

💡 Pro Tip

Always ask: “Who needs to know? What do they need to know? How do they prefer to receive it?”

📊 Monitor Communications Process

What Is It?

Monitor Communications is like checking your radio ratings. Are people listening? Do they understand? Are they happy with what they hear?

The Big Idea

“Sending a message isn’t enough. You must make sure it landed!”

Why Does This Matter?

Imagine you sent a party invitation but never checked if people received it. You might end up with:

• Too much cake and no guests 🎂😢
• Or too many guests and no cake! 😱

How Does It Work?

graph TD
    A["📤 Message Sent"] --> B{🔍 Did they receive it?}
    B -->|Yes| C{✅ Did they understand?}
    B -->|No| D["🔄 Resend/New Channel"]
    C -->|Yes| E["😊 Great!"]
    C -->|No| F["📝 Clarify Message"]
    D --> A
    F --> A

Real-Life Example: The Group Project

Situation: You emailed your team about meeting tomorrow at 3 PM.

Monitoring Steps:

1. ✅ Check if email was opened (read receipts)
2. ✅ Ask in group chat: “Everyone saw the email?”
3. ✅ Get confirmations: “See you at 3!”
4. ✅ Notice one person didn’t reply → call them directly

Result: Everyone shows up. Project succeeds! 🎉

What Are You Looking For?

Warning Signs to Watch 🚨

• People asking questions you already answered
• Stakeholders saying “I didn’t know about that”
• Confusion about roles, deadlines, or decisions
• Complaints about too much or too little information

💡 Pro Tip

Create feedback loops! Ask: “Did this update help you? What else do you need?”

👥 Face-to-Face Communication

What Is It?

Face-to-Face Communication is talking directly to someone—seeing their face, hearing their voice, watching their body language.

Why Is It So Powerful?

Think about getting news from:

• A text message: “The trip is cancelled” 📱
• A phone call: You can hear if they’re sad or relieved 📞
• In person: You can see their face, give a hug, ask questions instantly 🤗

Face-to-face gives you:

• 🗣️ Words (what they say)
• 🎵 Tone (how they say it)
• 🎭 Body language (what their face and body show)

The Communication Effectiveness Scale

graph TD
    A["📄 Text/Email"] --> B["📞 Phone/Audio"]
    B --> C["📹 Video Call"]
    C --> D["👥 Face-to-Face"]

    style A fill:#ff6b6b
    style B fill:#feca57
    style C fill:#48dbfb
    style D fill:#1dd1a1

Real-Life Example: Telling Bad News

Situation: You need to tell your friend their favorite game was cancelled.

By text: “Game cancelled. Sorry.”

• Friend reads it alone
• Might feel ignored
• Can’t ask questions easily

Face-to-face: “Hey, I wanted to tell you personally—the game got cancelled. I know you were excited. How are you feeling?”

• Friend feels cared for
• Can see you’re genuinely sorry
• Can talk it through

When to Choose Face-to-Face

✅ Always use face-to-face for:

• Bad news or sensitive topics
• Conflict resolution
• Building trust with new team members
• Complex problem-solving
• Important negotiations

💡 Pro Tip

Even a 5-minute coffee chat can solve problems that 20 emails couldn’t!

📺 Information Radiators

What Is It?

Information Radiators are big, visible displays that “radiate” (spread) information to everyone who walks by.

The Simple Idea

Think of a scoreboard at a sports game. Everyone can see:

• Who’s winning
• What’s the score
• How much time is left

Nobody needs to ask! The information is just… THERE. 📊

Why Are They Amazing?

graph TD
    A["❓ Questions"] --> B["📺 Information Radiator"]
    C["👀 Team walks by"] --> B
    B --> D["💡 Everyone knows status"]
    D --> E["🚀 Faster decisions"]
    D --> F["📉 Fewer meetings"]
    D --> G["😊 Less stress"]

Types of Information Radiators

Real-Life Example: The Chore Chart

Situation: A family of 4 keeps arguing about chores.

Before (no radiator):

• “Did you do the dishes?” “No, you were supposed to!”
• Constant confusion and arguments 😤

After (chore chart on fridge):

Result:

• Everyone sees their job
• No arguments about whose turn it is
• Chart “radiates” the answer! ✨

Key Principles

1. Big & Visible — Can be seen from across the room
2. Simple — Understood in 5 seconds or less
3. Current — Always up-to-date
4. Accessible — Everyone can see it (no passwords!)
5. Actionable — Tells you what to do next

Where to Place Them

• Team room walls
• Near the coffee machine ☕
• In hallways where people walk
• On big monitors
• At meeting room entrances

💡 Pro Tip

If people are constantly asking the same question, that’s your sign to create an Information Radiator!

🎯 Quick Summary

🧠 Remember This!

📻 MANAGE → Create and send the message
📊 MONITOR → Check if it worked
👥 FACE-TO-FACE → Best for important stuff
📺 RADIATOR → Info for everyone to see

Final Thought: Great project managers aren’t just smart—they’re great communicators! The best plan in the world fails if nobody knows about it.

Now YOU can communicate like a pro! 🎙️🌟

🔗 Key Takeaways

1. Manage Communications = Send the right message, right way, right time
2. Monitor Communications = Always check if messages landed
3. Face-to-Face = Most effective for important conversations
4. Information Radiators = Make status visible to everyone, always

You’ve got this! 💪