Let’s Talk About Communication

Whether it’s at work or in our personal lives, we communicate with people on a daily basis.

When it comes to IT projects, business analysts use communication as a working tool to successfully carry out their investigations. For project managers, it serves as a valuable ally that allows them to evolve into five-legged sheep! Didn’t catch that reference? That’s because you haven’t read our blog posts on the roles of a project manager and business analyst.

Ok, back to the point! Communication may be a well-known term, but not everyone understands it in the same way. Since some have to rely on it more than others, we should start by examining its most basic definition.

What is the definition of communication?

While there’s no single definition of the term communication, most people think of it as the process of transmitting information and knowledge. It therefore refers to the action of sharing something with someone else.

At the core of this process, we have a sender who wants to relay information to a receiver.

Why do we communicate?

Communicating has three main objectives:

• The first one is cognitive: to provide information
  The goal is to build up your reputation by creating a buzz so that people become aware of your existence and learn more about your company.

• The second one is affective: to create positive interest
  Once you’re well established, communication serves to improve your image and stimulate interest.

• The third one is conative (or behavioural): to make people act
  The objective now is to convince clients to do business with your company.

Are you familiar with the 7 Cs of communication?

Using the 7 Cs method is one way to ensure that your message is properly heard, understood, and assimilated by the receiver.

When communicating in writing or orally, your message should be:

1. Clear: Use short sentences and limit yourself to one idea per sentence.
2. Concise: Use fewer words but make sure they’re effective.
3. Concrete: Find examples that are easy to understand and make sense to everyone.
4. Correct: Adapt your language and intonation and use terms that are relevant to your target audience.
5. Coherent: Make sure your ideas follow a logical pattern, i.e., don’t jump from one topic to another.
6. Complete: Provide all useful and essential elements to your receivers without getting lost in the details.
7. Courteous: Be polite, considerate, genuine, and positive.

The art of communication

There are four main types of workplace personalities: the analyst, the supporter, the driver, and the influencer.

Analysts and supporters tend to adapt more easily to their environment. On the other hand, influencers and drivers expect the environment to adapt to their personalities.

Supporters and influencers are more sensitive and react to emotional factors, while analysts and drivers tend to be more rational.

We refer to communication as an art because we have to adapt our communication style to the receiver’s personality type.

Here are a few tips on how to communicate with each personality:

• Analysts view information as crucial. It’s therefore preferable to transmit information via detailed written communication. After processing and analyzing that information, the analyst possesses all necessary elements and is better able to answer our questions.

• Supporters focus on the who, i.e., the person sharing the information. This can be done through visual, verbal or non-verbal communication. They’re more likely to react to conversations and social dynamics during meetings, thus providing you with real-time answers.

• Influencers believe that context is everything. It’s important to explain the why and the how, pointing out the impact this information will have on their work and why that’s important.

• Drivers like to get to the point, to know the what, and the when. It’s therefore recommended to share information through concise and precise written communication.

Now you can practise your art by trying to figure out if the person you’re talking to is dynamic, patient, communicative or analytical. Look for clues in the conversation. Once you uncover them, you’ll be able to adapt your style!

The different types of communication

There are three main types of communication:

• Internal communication

Internal communication refers to information shared between employees and managers. It also refers to any form of workplace communication that concerns your daily operations.

• Marketing communication

Marketing communication involves a company’s product or brand. As soon as they join the team, Uzinakod recruits receive custom merch, including coffee mugs, water bottle for hikes, and super warm hoodies for winter. We really appreciate our company’s marketing communication approach because it’s done right. After all, it’s more than just advertisement; it serves a real purpose.

• External communication

External communication refers to an organization’s entire communication process with the outside world. It’s addressed to customers, prospects, and the general public.

Let’s explore communication within an IT project

First, we begin by setting up a team for our IT projects. Like a constellation of satellites, this project team is made up of various members, including the developers, account manager, quality experts, and product owner, all of whom are called upon to communicate with one another. These exchanges require two distinct types of communication within the same project team.

Since the analyst and project manager are both part of the same community of experts and both employed by the same company, they communicate internally. These exchanges tend to be informal in nature, whereas communication between developers and the Product Owner is referred to as external and must be carried out in a professional manner. It may be necessary to simplify technical elements so that everyone can understand each other.

There are a lot of exchanges and transfer of information during the course of a project. These interactions are like atoms: they need to be defined and organized to avoid confusion.

In order to do this, we need to establish a communication plan that will help us control the content created throughout the project. This can be done as soon as teams are put together. The challenge will be to keep the plan on track and ensure its evolution during the course of the project.

The plan’s objective is to allow teams to define how and by whom they receive information. It should clarify which channel to use, how often information should be shared, and who is responsible for each communication. This plan, along with other tools, ensures project efficiency by allowing all stakeholders to move in the same direction.

The key to effective communication

Proper internal communication helps maintain good relations between employees while increasing motivation and team spirit. It also promotes employee commitment, allows for better coordination between team members, creates a climate of trust favourable to the sharing of ideas, and increases productivity.

Most importantly, each team member should be able or encouraged to:

• Express themselves clearly: Easier said than done, right? Business communication can be quite complex, so it’s best to simplify topic elements and adapt to your audience.

• Resolve conflicts: Topics can become problematic and end up in conflict if they’re not given enough consideration and are left unresolved. That’s where good communication comes into play: team members should be encouraged to collaborate and engage with one another to resolve the issue at hand. Possible roadblocks can be overcome by providing missing information. While they don’t have to agree on everything, team members should know how to debate, explain their point of view, and express their disagreement.

• Hone their listening skills: Interpersonal communication is an exchange between several people. It’s important for team members to listen to one another and take feedback into consideration. This can be done by creating a space and time for people to exchange ideas, thus allowing them to fully understand each other.

Conclusion

People, collaboration, and communication are at the heart of the Agile Manifesto and Uzinakod’s core values, which translate as:

1. Commitment/Support: Team members are committed to achieving their goals while also helping each other meet their objectives.
2. Focus: Team members are focused on achieving these goals and are shielded from unnecessary distractions.
3. Openness: Team members are open-minded, welcome change, and embrace their mistakes. They’re willing to adapt their work and methods.
4. Respect: Team members respect each other’s professional and independent skills.
5. Right to make mistakes/Courage: Team members have the courage to fail and adapt in order to make the right decisions and work on challenging issues.
6. Honesty: Team members have the courage to tell customers the truth, such as bugs that need to be fixed, stories that need to be split, and changes or cuts in development.

These values are the key to a successful project! Check out our portfolio and discover how they’ve helped us carry out our most ambitious projects.