Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Communication 101-Plus
Tom Mochal, PgMP, PMP, TSPM is the president of TenStep, Inc., a methodology development, consulting and training company. Tom won the Distinguished Contribution Award from the Project Management Institute for his work spreading knowledge of project management around the world. He is a speaker, lecturer, instructor and consultant to companies and organizations around the world.
On larger projects with a variety of stakeholders and participants, project managers should create a communication plan that tailors specific messages to the needs of each audience.
We all know the drill. We are managing a project, solving problems, providing leadership to the team, trying to get all the work done on time and within budget. However, when your manager or your client asks how the project is going, you, of course, reply "oh fine."
My experience with project managers is that many of them try to communicate with the minimum possible effort and the fewest words. I know that part of this hesitancy is a lack of comfort with written and verbal communication in general. I am also convinced that most project managers simply do not understand the value that proactive communication provides to a project.
First, let’s agree that communication is one of the core project management processes. Second, let’s realize that all the project management processes, including communication, should be based on the size of the project. For small projects, the level of communication might be as simple as making sure the business client understands that the work has begun, and notifying them when the work is completed. Nothing fancy there.
But problems can arrive when we apply this small-project communication model to larger projects.
No News Is Bad News
As we get into …
Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.
ADVERTISEMENTS
|
"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest." - Mark Twain |