1ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Communications Management Part 1 Diana Adorno

2ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Communications What is communication? What is a good/poor communicator? Skills (questioning, listening, rapport,) Techniques (presentations) Communicating within a team Planning communications

3ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 What is communication? Come up with your own definition of what communication means. Is it important? Why, or why not? In what situations do you communicate?

4ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Communication styles What is your preferred way to communicate?

5ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 What is a good communicator? List the attributes of a poor communicator? Work in pairs. List the attributes of a good communicator? Work in pairs.

6ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Skills Good communications skills: Listening (actively) Speaking (clear) Writing (clear) Non-verbal Eye-contact Feedback Asks questions Allows time to speak Does not interrupt

7ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Questioning Closed Yes, No answers E.g. Do you like Sundays? Open More information E.g. What do you use your mobile for? Probing When do you get poor reception?

8ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Listening Interview your neighbour. Find out their name Ask 3 questions to find out as much as you can about a favourite hobby or interest. Review Did you listen? Did you have to ask for anything to be repeated.

9ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Building rapport Listen Mirror Feedback Verbal Non-verbal

10ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Active listening Listening + rapport Ask confirming questions Mirror Non-verbal feedback

11ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Techniques Speaking Conversation Phone Interview Meeting Presentations (short, long, formal, informal) Writing SMS Post-it note Letters Documents

Which technique to use when?

13ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Phone What is good phone manner?

14ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Running Effective Meetings Determine if a meeting can be avoided Define the purpose and intended outcome of the meeting Determine who should attend the meeting Provide an agenda to participants before the meeting Prepare handouts, visual aids, and make logistical arrangements ahead of time Run the meeting professionally (to time & the agenda) Build relationships

15ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Using Effectively Make sure that is an appropriate medium for what you want to communicate Be sure to send the to the right people Use meaningful subjects Limit the content to one main subject, and be as clear and concise as possible Limit the number and size of attachments Delete you don’t need, and don’t open it if you question the source Make sure your virus software is up to date Respond to and file s quickly Learn how to use important features

16ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Presentations What is a good presentation?

17ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Different ways of communicating Person-to-person In small groups In large groups E.g. training, presentations In a meeting In an organisation Memos, letters, repots etc. Mass media

18ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 The Impact of the Number of People on Communications Channels

19ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Working in teams Different personality types Different social styles

20ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) MBTI is a popular tool for determining personality preferences and helping teammates understand each other Four dimensions include: Extrovert/Introvert (E/I) Sensation/Intuition (S/N) Thinking/Feeling (T/F) Judgment/Perception (J/P) NTs or rationals are attracted to technology fields IT people vary most from the general population in not being extroverted or sensing

21ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Social Styles Profile People are perceived as behaving primarily in one of four zones, based on their assertiveness and responsiveness: Drivers Expressives Analyticals Amiables People on opposite corners (drivers and amiables, analyticals and expressives) may have difficulties getting along

22ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Social Styles

23ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 General Advice on Teams Focus on meeting project objectives and producing positive results Fix the problem instead of blaming people Establish regular, effective meetings Nurture team members and encourage them to help each other Acknowledge individual and group accomplishments

24ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Importance of Good Communications The greatest threat to many projects is a failure to communicate Our culture does not portray IT professionals as being good communicators Research shows that IT professionals must be able to communicate effectively to succeed in their positions Strong verbal skills are a key factor in career advancement for IT professionals

25ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Communications Planning Every project should include some type of communications management plan, a document that guides project communications Creating a stakeholder analysis for project communications also aids in communications planning

26ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Sample Stakeholder Analysis for Project Communications

27ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Conflict Can Be Good Conflict often produces important results, such as new ideas, better alternatives, and motivation to work harder and more collaboratively Groupthink can develop if there are no conflicting viewpoints Research by Karen Jehn suggests that task- related conflict often improves team performance, but emotional conflict often depresses team performance

28ICT 421 IT Professional Practice Semester 1, 2005 Using Templates for Project Communications Many technical people are afraid to ask for help Providing examples and templates for project communications saves time and money Organizations can develop their own templates, use some provided by outside organizations, or use samples from textbooks Research shows that companies that excel in project management make effective use of templates