COMMUNICATION

SKILLS FOR
INTERNATIONAL
PROJECTS
Subtitle
 GOALS

• Project managers and team leaders face a huge range of

communication challenges on a daily basis. Not only do they have
to speak convincingly with the team at all levels, but they also have
to communicate the need for resources, clarify the complications of
risks and sell tough decisions. Working with different nationalities
and cultures heightens complexity and means participants often
hold different expectations or priorities.
• Our webseminar will help you develop skills to target
communications effectively to different audiences, and to
communicate emotional topics such as risks, changes and clashes.
You will also have the chance to assess your persuasiveness skills
and decide which types of communication work best at which
stages of project team development.
Communication—Project Management Starts With
a Big “C”
• The word communication comes from the Latin word communis, which means
common. When we communicate, we are trying to establish “commonness” with
someone. That is, we are trying to share information, an idea, or an attitude
among the team involved in that particular project.

• One can never take for granted that the receiver will interpret the message the
same way as the sender intended it. Communication is not an absolute, finite
thing. To do this effectively, the project manager needs to consider all the factors
like the different realities, the space the communication takes place in, verbal as
well as non-verbal messages, and the intended meaning versus the perceived
meaning, etc.
• To communicate effectively, project managers must have a good understanding
of the communications process.
There may be many reasons for misinterpretation of information within the project
team. In order to avoid this, each project manager should follow some basic steps
to be effective in this communication process. Let us see how in the further
sections.

• Effective Communication Steps: To Keep Communication Alive

• There are two main groups of people with whom the project manager needs to
ensure clear and effective communication, the stakeholders and the project team.
• Projects often involve the need for the project manager to coordinate the work of
a large group of people working on different aspects of the project.
• The project manager is required to ensure that everyone is clear about what he or
she must achieve and he or she also needs to clearly report on progress to the
project board and/or project sponsors. There are many opportunities for things to
go badly wrong if an effective communication is not established and maintained.
An Effective Communications Plan in Place is the
Key
• A communications management plan can organize and document the process, types, and
expectations of communications. It provides the following:
• The stakeholder communications requirements in order to communicate the appropriate
information as demanded by the stakeholders.
• Information on what is to be communicated. This plan includes the expected format, content, and
detail—thinks project reports versus quick e-mail updates.
• Details on how needed information flows through the project to the correct individuals. The
communication structure documents where the information will originate, to whom the
information will be sent, and in what modality the information is acceptable.
• Appropriate methods for communicating include e-mails, memos, reports, and even press releases.
• Methods to retrieve information as needed.
• Instructions on how the communications management plan can be updated as the project
progresses.
Identify Communication Requirements

• The project manager and the project team work together to identify who needs
what information. In other words, project management needs to know what the
requirements of successful communications are in order to plan on how to
achieve those requirements.
Identify the 5Ws (Why, What, When, Where, Who) and 1H (How)

• Who needs to be communicated to. This is based on the communication formula and needs to
be determined.
• What needs to be communicated. All information related to the project need not be
communicated to everyone in the team.
• When it should be communicated. The timeline of communication should be monitored.
• Where should it be communicated. If the team involves many people, then individual level
and team level communications needs to be resolved.
• Why communication of information is essential and to what level is important. Why is it not
encouraged as it is blame rather than change.
• How the communication needs to be done. Is it conducted via e-mail, phone, or a presentation
done to the team members?
What are the Major Obstacles in Communication?
• Between organizations
• Between departments within an organization
• Between teams within a department.
The main communication obstacles can be drilled
down to the following two broad areas:
• Cultural: Communication at the interface between two organizations with vastly
differing cultures can be difficult. In geographically distributed (or virtual) teams,
differences between regional cultures can come into play. These could manifest
themselves in a variety of ways, such as differences in fluency of language or
social attitudes and behaviors. Here again, the project leader, and the rest of the
team for that matter, need to be aware of the differences and allow for them in
project communications.
• Linguistic: Linguistic needs to be understood in the sense of specialized
terminology used by different disciplines such as accounting, IT, marketing, etc.
This often leads to incomplete (at best) or incorrect (at worst) communication.
Not speaking the same language or having different language levels ocan create
differences and miscommunication.
Information sharing in the current world makes us think of fax
machines, telephone, e-mail, and similar tools. How do you prioritize
the means of communications and convey what is really required?
• 1) In person: The best communication is still face-to-face. The project manager
can determine the person's body language and get their tone and nuances. Very
importantly, this often tells more about what is going on in the project.
• 2) Telephone: The tone of the voice can be heard. Note that you should always
smile into the telephone, which gives a feeling of upbeat and confidence in the
project.
• 3) Videoconferencing: This is very useful in saving travel costs.
• 4) E-mail: The most popular of these is obviously e-mail next to the telephone.
• 5) Fax: This is not highly recommended nowadays, as it is not possible to confirm
if the sent fax was received until the receiver confirms.
Communication Factors
• The confirmation of the sent message can be seen in the recipient's body language, feedback,
and verbal confirmation of the sent message. Five terms are used to describe the process of
communicating. They are as follows:
• Paralingual: The pitch, tone, and inflections in the sender's voice affect the message being
sent.
• Feedback: The sender confirms that the receiver understands the message by directly asking
for a response, questions for clarification, or other confirmation of the sent message.
• Active listening: The receiver confirms that the message is being received through feedback,
questions, prompts for clarity, and other signs of confirmation.
• Effective listening: The receiver is involved in the listening experience by paying attention to
visual clues from the speaker and paralingual characteristics and by asking relevant questions.
• Nonverbal: Approximately 55% of communication is nonverbal. Facial expressions, hand
gestures, and body language contribute to the message
Tips for Individuals to Communicate to Achieve
Success in a Team
• 1. Recognize and understand the differences
• 2. Create the appropriate message to
communicate
• 3. Deliver the message
• 4. Obtain the feedback
 • https://www.englishbusiness.com/communication-
skills-for-international-projects
/
• https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/effective-
communication-better-project-management-6480

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