Improved Project Communication: Within And Outside Of The Project Team - CD Seminar (0.1 CEUs)

Course Description

"The problem was communication." How many times have we said this at the conclusion of a failed or unsatisfactory project? What we probably mean is the problem was no or poor communication, and we could have avoided it! But how? This seminar begins by exploring the challenge of communication offering examples of miscommunication. Communication tips offered include topics such as stakeholder participation, principal liaisons, preferred ways of learning/understanding, confirming understanding, widely varied views of the same situation, teamwork, and Columbo's technique. The seminar's underlying theme is that communication must be planned, explicit and on-going as suggested by the following comment by executive and professor Charles Handy: "Mental telepathy is not, I fear, a reliable means of communicating in most organizations."

Presented in this one-hour seminar are practical methods for encouraging effective communication within the project team and between the project team and the client and other stakeholders. Introduced here are topics typically not covered in engineering education but more typically learned, inefficiently, by experience. Participants receive a handout summarizing the seminar and it also includes references to articles, books, e-newsletters, websites and other self-study materials.

Webinar Benefits

• Enhance individual communication skills
• Increase project team effectiveness
• Strengthen project team — client — stake holder relationships
• Reduce client conflict, uncompensated scope creep, and liability exposure
• Earn one Professional Development Hour (PDH)

Intended Audience

This workshop is intended for younger and middle level personnel in both the private and public sectors who lead or serve on project teams. The concepts and techniques are applicable to all disciplines and specialties.

Summary Outline

• Communication challenges: What can go wrong?
• Tips for effective project communication
  • Involve stakeholders
  • Define liaisons
  • Understand and use varied learning / understanding styles
  • Appreciate very different views
  • Confirm understanding
  • Build into project work plan
  • Meet intelligently
  • Build teams
  • Institutionalize communication
  • Use third parties
  • Recognize the communication paradox
• Resources for additional study