Effective Project Communication and the "Other" Side

Harry Houdini was the most celebrated magician and escape artist of the 20th century.  It was said that Houdini could escape from any manacle.  Over the course of his career he escaped from progressively more dangerous and dramatic traps.  In one of his most famous escapes, he was bound and then locked into an iron-bound chest that was typically dropped into a water tank or thrown off a boat.  Other feats included being hung from a skyscraper in a straight-jacket, or bound and buried (without a coffin) under six feet of dirt.  Houdini relied on his strength, dexterity, and concentration (not trickery).  He was an incredible showman.

In his later years, Houdini campaigned against mediums, mind readers, fakirs, and others who made claims to supernatural powers (yet relied on tricks and gimmicks).  Houdini was a deeply spiritual man who made a pact with his wife and close friends that if he was the first to die, he would try to communicate with them from the grave about the reality of the spirit world.  After his death on October 31, 1926, his wife waited for a communique from the other side, but it never came.  She declared the experiment a failure shortly before her death in 1943.

Most people probably agree with Houdini.  Try as we might, we just can't read each other's minds.  Nevertheless, poor communication skills amongst members of a project team, stakeholders, and project sponsors often make it a necessity.  Because mind-reading techniques should be left to sideshows and parlor tricks (not work management methodologies), what are some things we can do to improve project communication?

1. Actually talk to each other.  The technology in project management software is a great way to provide status updates, create an audit trail, and share documents.  New technology makes it possible to communicate and collaborate with project team members across the hall, across the country—even across the world.  However, reliance on technology for all project communication could be problematic.  There's no body language associated with a terse email or abrupt text message, so it's safe to assume that the intent of your message will often be misinterpreted by colleagues.  As often as possible, walk across the office and have a face-to-face conversation.  You might be surprised at how much an occasional chat can mitigate mis-communication.
2. Email and text messaging really can be cordial.  In today's work environment, where time-lines are truncated and project teams are asked to do more and more, take an extra few seconds when writing an email to consider that your communication is going to a person.  I like to begin every email with a salutation, which reminds me that I am writing to someone.  The immediacy of the medium shouldn't determine the attention we give to the communication.  The extra two or three seconds it takes me to address the person I'm writing to doesn't negatively impact my productivity, but it does help me foster a productive and cordial working relationship.
3. Take time to be polite.  Whenever I would argue with my sisters, my mother would say, "Ty, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."  Of course within the imperfect world of project-based work, sometimes difficult discussions take place—but that doesn't mean that we can throw civility out the window.  In the thirty plus years of my professional career I have watched what used to be considered common courtesy among superiors, subordinates, and coworkers become quaint and "unnecessary."  There is nothing wrong with considering the feelings of the person needing correction, regardless of how stupid you think they are or how big a mistake you think they made.  Being polite and considerate of each other is the very least we should be able to expect from our "professional" colleagues.  Anything less is unproductive and immature.
4. Remove the criticism from "constructive" criticism.  I was taught early in my career, by friends and colleagues much wiser than myself, that "criticism" was never "constructive."  I don't think I have ever worked with a project team where we all agreed all the time.  Project management involves a lot of creative problem solving, which means that it is seldom done right the first time.  Fostering a creative environment where team members are creatively solving problems and pushing for excellence requires collaboration, not criticism.  Where disagreements arise or a course change is required, "I don't like this" should be followed by, "here's why, and here's a suggestion as to how you might proceed."

Effective communication doesn't rely on tricks or gimmicks.  In my opinion, it's important to remember that effective communication is personal.  It doesn't matter if it's face-to-face, via email, or even in a blog.  It's one person interacting with another—and doesn't require any supernatural powers.

How do you avoid "tricks" and "gimmicks" when communicating with your project teams?