Communicating with others is described in Personal communication (People 3).  The Personal communication competence element enables the individual to communicate efficiently and effectively in a variety of situations, to different audiences and across different cultures.

Projects consist of people who cooperate because they want to achieve a result that makes the world a better place. They need to agree on both the "what" and the "how" of this cooperation, and that can only be achieved when they communicate. One person says something, hoping that the other person understands him. A message is meant to come across, sometimes directly and to the point, and sometimes in a roundabout way and indirectly. But in one way or another, people are trying to convey a message. In order to be successful, communicative skills are necessary. People are social beings, we need each other. We are born, and we become part of a family; we choose our friends and later our colleagues. We call the contact we have with them, communication. When you work on a project, then in each new project your colleagues change, and often you have to accept your colleagues just like that. A new project and a new team, therefore, often create a new communicative challenge. As soon as the team meets for the first time, the members have to discover the optimum way of communicating, and every member has a responsibility for this. When you want to get something agreed upon, you have to make sure that you are clear, so that others really do understand you. The sender is responsible for the quality of the message. Managers have an important role in this, as they have to ensure that there is an atmosphere, in which people communicate openly with each other.

Instructional Objectives: 

• Provide clear and structured information to others and verify their understanding 
• Facilitate and promote open communication 
• Choose communication styles and channels to meet the needs of the audience, situation and management level 
• Communicate effectively with virtual teams 
• Employ humour and sense of perspective when appropriate 

45min.