Communications management - part 1

The PMBOK mentions the 'general communications model'. It talks about personality and perception screens and things like that. You can find some kind of model here.

Communications must be thoroughly planned, it is incredible how much time is spent communicating and how quickly something could escalate into something unexpected. Example. I receive a mail from a stakeholder from the UK. I am quite proud of liking British comedy, therefore assuming I understand British humor. There was a joke in there and I didn't see it coming. I even called the guy to check if we could arrange something and that I thought it would be OK.

It turned out that the small remark in the mail was just meant to "pull my leg" and I didn't get it. Only because it was an e-mail and I did not get any body language, tone of voice or other context. Quite fascinating.

Plan your channels of communication well and be rewarded during each phase of your project.