Communication: Message Sent- Message Received - Can You Tell Me How it was Perceived ?

Communication: Message Sent-> Message Received <-> Can You Tell Me How it was Perceived ?

Poor communication or misunderstood communication is regularly cited as a major contributor to project issues affecting the scope, schedule, cost and quality of deliverables. While we all communicate regularly, just confirming the message is sent and received is often not sufficient. Essentially important is how the target audience (Customers, team members , stakeholders, etc.) perceives your message - Is there a common understanding ?

In John Maxwell's book : " Everyone Communicates, Few Connect" , He tells a story that good communication methods do not develop by accident and you cannot expect to succeed by luck, as did the leader of a wagon train of pioneers heading across the Western Plains of the US. A lookout spotted a dust cloud in the distance and soon they saw a tribe of Native American braves race toward them. The leader of the settlers ordered the wagons to form a circle behind a hill. The leader of the settlers saw who the chief was in the group and went over to face the chief and try to communicate using sign language. Soon the chief left and went back to his men.

The pioneers asked their leader what happened. The leader said "First I drew a circle in the dust to show we are all one in this land. The chief looked at the circle and drew a line through it - He meant of course that there are 2 nations ours & his. I then pointed my finger to the sky to indicate we are all under one God. Then the chief reached into his pouch and gave me an onion. To show I understood his meaning , I ate the onion. I then reached into my coat and offered him an egg to show our goodwill, but as he was too proud to accept, he just turned and walked away."

Meanwhile the warriors were preparing to attack and were awaiting word from the chief, who held up his hand and told them what happened. "The man drew a circle in the dust which I knew meant we were surrounded. I drew a line through his circle to show we would cut them in half. Then he pointed to the sky meaning he could take us on all by himself. Then I gave him an onion to tell him he would soon taste the bitterness of defeat and death. But he ate the onion in defiance! Then he showed me an egg to tell me how fragile our position is. There must be more people nearby. Let's get out of here ! " This story of miscommunication is humorous to read , but not fun to deal with the impact of miscommunication in real life.

Another important aspect of communication in addition to making sure your message is understood , is the ability to connect with the group or project team. Focus on the main purpose of the of the project and acknowledge everyone's ability to contribute to the goal using their unique skills.

So to ensure the message is properly communicated and understood by the recipient , make sure the purpose is clear. For verbal or face to face meetings, ask the recipient to paraphrase what you had said for critical items, (especially useful when you assign an action item to the person). Lastly for email based communications, it is often useful to follow up with a quick call to key stakeholders or team members on important information that impacts them or to confirm their commitment to their action items.