Business Communication Defined

Business communication is any communication used to build partnerships, intellectual resources, to promote an idea, a product, service, or an
organization – with the objective of creating value for your business.

10 Great Communication Quotes

Internal and External Communication
Business Communication encompasses a huge body of knowledge both internal and external for your business.
Internal communication includes communication of corporate vision, strategies, plans, corporate culture, shared values and guiding
principles, employee motivation, cross-pollination of ideas, etc.
External communication includes branding, marketing, advertising, selling, customer relations, public relations, media relations, business
negotiations, etc.
Whatever form it takes, the objective remains the same – to create a business value.

Company Vision
Corporate vision provides purpose, strategic direction,
motivation, inspiration and alignment

Project Management: Two Approaches

Objectives of Project Communication
Why Project Communication?

nd getting agreement on goals Constant, effective communication among all project stakeholders ranks high
factors leading to the success of a project. It is a key prerequisite of getting th
ating people done in the right way. As knowledge is power, sharing knowledge empowerin
stakeholder.
ring and solving problems
The 10 Key Project Leader Skills
g expectations
• Communication skills: verbal, both one-on-one and with a group, and w

Types of Project Communication 5 Factors that Make a Project a Success

By: Eric Verzuh, the author of The Fast Forward MBA in Project Manageme
communicating within the project team
To be successful, a project must have...:
communication with upper management, customers, and external
3. Constant, effective communication among everyone involved in the p
to coordinate action, recognize and solve problems, and react to changes... More
Management
50 Rules of Project Management

ut reporting
The project would not have been started if the truth had been told about the c
timescale.
rget Information Users and their Information Needs
 What is not on paper has not been said.
Users (project stakeholders)
Good project management is not so much knowing what to do and when, as k
excuses to give and when... More
Project manager
Communication Plan
Project team
A project communication plan is the written strategy for getting the right info
Sponsor right project stakeholders at the right time. Each stakeholder has different req
information as they participate in the project in different ways.
Functional management
Making Information Timely
Customers
For information to be used, it has to be delivered to its target users timely. As
Information Categories manager, while developing your communication plan, you need to decide how
each stakeholder and with what information.
zations (any document that represents an agreement: project plans;
anization chart; responsibility matrix; product specifications, etc.) Managerial Communication

hanges (regular cost and schedule status reports; problem logs, etc.) Visibility Room

ation (tasks and responsibilities; relationships between groups; Visibility rooms are the areas displaying key project documents for easy refe
project stakeholders. They should contain the following kind of documents:

• The project charter, milestone chart, and issues log

Google: 10 Golden Rules
oordination easy. Because all members of a team are within a few
another, it is relatively easy to coordinate projects. In addition to
oximity, each Googler e-mails a snippet once a week to his work
ribing what he has done in the last week. This gives everyone an
o track what everyone else is up to, making it much easier to
ogress and synchronize work flow... More
• The current version of the statement of work, project plan, project sche
organization chart, responsibility matrix, risk management plan, and ot
management information and forms
• Product development information (design, prototyping, testing, scaling
deliverables, etc.)
Communicating within the Team

7 Phases of a Project Internal communication within the project teams is to meet their four major c
needs4:

Confusion
1. Responsibility of each team member for different parts of the project
Panic... More
2. Coordination information that enables team members to work togethe
How To Break Down Barriers To Communication
3. Status information tracking the progress, identifying problems and ena
members to take corrective action
e cross-functional teams for all sorts of projects. Make them as
formal as you see fit but be sure that there is good mixing and that
epartments contribute... More 4. Authorization information - decisions made by customers, sponsors, a
r mu ch m or e! management - that relates to the project and its business environment,
team members to keep all project decisions synchronized.
gement
Internal communications happen primarily through team meetings, memos, v
mail. Project managers need to be able to write, speak, and listen well, lead m
ynergies Approach resolve conflicts effectively.

a Responsibility Matrix: 4 Steps Communicating with Upper Management and Customers

External stakeholders, such as sponsor, customer and resource manager, mus

informed of progress and their inputs solicited. "The communication plan sho
Law in Project Management strategy not only for informing these stakeholders, but for actively managing
expectations as well4".

Answer the following questions to decide what information should be relayed

ro-course Project Management 10 slides and customers:
 • Who needs information, why, and when?

• What type of information will they need and in what detail?

• What will you goal be when you communicate with customer and man
what medium will best accomplish that?

Communicating with other External Players

Every component and every stakeholder in your project, however a minor rol
play, is important. Even minor role players have the potential to come out lar
behind schedule, eventually affecting your critical path. So, don't make the m
assuming that all players outside your department or your company, nominate
persons, are already on board psychologically. Be proactive in making them a
of your project through making personal contact, establishing some rapport fa
asking for their help, providing them with all necessary information timely, a
thank-you notes acknowledging their level contribution to them personally an
supervisors.

Change Management

Set up an Escalation Procedure for rapid communication with upper managem

project begins to run over cost or schedule, or rapid decisions need to be mad
internal or external changes. This escalation should determine which level of
management to contact depending on the degree of variance from the project

Close-out Reporting

The deliverables from the project close-out serve two purposes. They:

1. finalize the project in the eyes of the stakeholders, and

2. present a learning opportunity.

Formal acceptance of the final deliverables by the customer signifies that the
complete. The lessons-learned report presents opportunities for improvement
project management process and your personal skills.

GREAT Model

By: Michael S. Dobson

To make your project team function effectively, the first thing you need to kn
GREAT model: Goals; Results; Expectations / Performance; Accountabilitie
Timing.

The GREAT model specifies what people must know before they can work to
effectively... More

References:

1. Getting Started in Project Planning, P.Martin and K.Tate

2. Project Manager's MBA, Cohen E. Graham

3. ICB – IPMA Competence Baseline, International Project Management Association (IPMA)

4. The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management, Erich Verzuh