Different types of communication for organizational communication .pdf

Communication is not only about speaking to and hearing from people, it’s about
understanding the complete message. Communication is the key to successful
project management. Not only project management but also whole organization. A
successful project manager must be a great communicator.
Communication
Communication is simply the act of transferring or sharing information, ideas,
feeling from one place, person or group to another.
Communication is a process by which information is exchanged between
individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior ( ★★For making this content author used various online resources, it is share here only for those who want to know something about it. This content is not the full of author's primary/ own creating/ intellectual property. )

1. Question5: Discuss the different types of communication for effective project
management.
Introduction
Communication is not only about speaking to and hearing from people, it’s about
understanding the complete message. Communication is the key to successful
project management. Not only project management but also whole organization. A
successful project manager must be a great communicator.
Communication
Communication is simply the act of transferring or sharing information, ideas,
feeling from one place, person or group to another.
Communication is a process by which information is exchanged between
individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior.
[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/communication]

Project Managers Must be Skilled Communicators
There are many different types of communication that you will need to be
familiar with if you want to successfully manage your project.
Project communication has many different facets that the project manager
needs to be able to handle. Here are some examples of the wide range of
communication skills needed...
 From describing the project vision to assigning daily tasks
 From working with executives to working with the project team
 From negotiating project scope with clients to negotiating contracts with
vendors
 From large group presentations to individual performance reviews
To get a better feel for the communication skills a project manager needs, let's
take a deeper look at some of the different aspects of communication in a
project environment.

2. Different Types of Communication in Projects
There are many perspectives to project communication. We'll take a look
at four types of communication aspects project managers need to be aware of...
 Project Perspective
 Organizational Perspective
 Formality Perspective
 Channel Perspective
[https://www.project-management-skills.com/different-types-of-
communication.html]
The descriptions of these are given below:
PROJECT PERSPECTIVE
From a project perspective, communication can be looked at as
either internal or external.
Internal communication is the communication that takes place between
project team members. Generally, this type of communication is "raw." It may
involve a lot of back-and-forth discussion as plans or issues are worked out.
External communication is communication between project team members
and the other project stakeholders. Examples include communication with
internal and external customers, other projects, and the media. Generally, this
type of communication is cleaned up or otherwise prepared before being
presented or sent to the receiving party.
ORGANIZATIONAL PERSPECTIVE
Communication from an organizational perspective can be categorized
as vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. This perspective takes into account the way
organizations are structured.
Vertical communication is the upward and downward communication flow
that happens between different hierarchical levels of the organization. An

3. example of upward communication is when a project team member provides
the project manager with a status update of his assigned tasks. An example
of downward communication is when the project manager shares the project
goals with the project team.
Horizontal communication refers to communication between people at the
same organizational level. An example of horizontal communication is when
project team members discuss project topics with each other.
Diagonal communication takes place between different functional divisions of
the organization. Diagonal communication has become more important as
matrix and project-based organizations become more common. To be effective
in these types of organizations, a project manager has to be familiar with the
different functions and managers within the organization and then plan his
communications accordingly.
On the other hand Communication from an organizational perspective can be
categorized as Upward and Downward communication.
Upward Communication
Upward Communication is the process of information flowing from the lower
levels of a hierarchy to the upper levels. This type of communication is becoming
more popular in organizations as traditional forms of communication are becoming
less popular. The more traditional organization types such as a hierarchy, places
people into separate ranks.
Upward communication helps employees to express their requirements, ideas, and
feelings. For the top management, upward communication is an important source
of information for business decisions.
Downward communication
Downward communication is the communication where information or messages
flows from the top of the organizational structure from the bottom of the
organizational structure. Downward communication occurs when information
flows down the hierarch form superiors to subordinates. This type of
communication may forms such as staff meetings, company newsletter, company

4. policy statement, information memos, e-mail, face-to-face contact, orders,
instruction etc.
FORMALITY PERSPECTIVE
Another way to look at project communication is on whether it
is formal or informal.
Formal communication
The Formal Communication is the exchange of official information that flows
along the different levels of the organizational hierarchy and conforms to the
prescribed professional rules, policy, standards, processes and regulations of the
organization.
Some examples of formal communication include reports, presentations, and
media releases. This type of communication is usually planned and takes some
time and effort to prepare.
Informal communication
The Informal Communication is the casual and unofficial form of communication
wherein the information is exchanged spontaneously between two or more persons
without conforming the prescribed official rules, processes, system, formalities and
chain of command.
Informal communication includes emails and ad-hoc discussions. Informal
communication has increased as many projects start to use social networking.
Many people don't put much thought into their informal communications.
However, effective project managers realize this type of communication is just
as important as formal communication. Whether formal or informal, you need
to make sure you communicate with a purpose and that you put some thought
into how you communicate in order to get the results you want.
CHANNEL PERSPECTIVE
Project managers also need to give consideration to the communication
channel they will deliver their message over.

5. This perspective deals with how your message will be communicated. Will it
be...
 Verbal or Non-Verbal
 Written or Oral
 Face-to-Face or via Telephone
There are many types of communication medium you can use. These are just a
few examples of the ways you can communicate your message.
Some of the factors to take into account when deciding what channel to use
are...
 Purpose of the communication
 Audience
 Type of information
Importance of communication skills for project management:
Communication Skills are Essential
The importance of communication skills for project managers can't be
emphasized enough.
Project managers spend a lot of time communicating with individuals and
groups.
In fact, it's been estimated that project manager's spend 90% of their time on
communication related activities!
This makes sense when you consider that communication overlaps with most
aspects of a project manager's job.
For example, when assigning a task to a team member, it is critical to clearly
define what needs to be done and the expected outcome. Depending on the
team members’ skills, you may also need to be able to communicate how to do
the task. If you don't communicate these aspects of the task clearly, the task is
unlikely to be completed successfully.

6. For example, if you choose a poor medium to communicate status, you can end
up spending a lot of time repeating status to multiple project stakeholders
whereas if you had chosen an effective type of communication medium to
report your status update could've kept everyone informed in an efficient
manner.
Examples of Project Communication
Reports
Presentations
Meetings
Email
Hallway Chats
As you can see, from assigning tasks to team members to providing status
updates, a project manager is constantly communicating.
A project manager with good communication skills ends up amplifying the
effectiveness of everyone he interacts with. This greatly increases the
likelihood of his project meeting or exceeding stakeholder expectations.
Likewise, if a project manager's communication skills aren't up to par, there is a
much higher probability that his project will not be successful. Understanding
a basic model of communication can help you identify areas for improving your
communication skills.
Since communication plays a vital role in the success or failure of your project,
it's important for you to take the time to improve your communication skills.
Conclusion
Effective communication skills are the foundation of a project manager's
success. Understanding the different types of communication is important for
making sure your project communication is successful.