Be Your Teams Sorcerer Supreme With Multi-Dimensional Communication
Thesis: Using Multiple Forms Of Communication Is The Most Effective Way To Share Information With Your Team
Supporting Point 1: It's no secret that effective communication is a cornerstone of highly functioning teams. But many of the methods currently employed are shockingly incomplete, and sometimes counterproductive (e.g. long winded daily stand-ups). Among the many tools I've used to improve communication, one of the simplest is ensuring your key messages are conveyed via multiple channels- verbal, visual, group, one-on-one, etc…
For example... I've found it helpful to have a 30 minute stand up every week with my core leadership team; ensuring we're aligned on that week's core goals, dependencies, and blockers. I then share these weekly core goals with the entire team via email (up and down the ladder), and post them on the walls of kitchenettes and meeting rooms. Posting in public spaces ensures the information is seen throughout the week and encourages discussion among team members, which increases retention of the message and empowers the team to stay in sync.
Supporting Point 2: PM360 Magazine has a great post about humans communicating as multi-dimensional creatures, with multiple methods of absorbing – or not absorbing – information. Some individuals are audibly-inclined while others are visual, and still others fall somewhere in between. Accordingly, it's important to utilize multiple forms of communications when leading teams through project meetings to ensure you're reaching everyone.
Seeing AND hearing are equally meaningful ways to connect the project goals back to the project teams. This is especially important when leading cross-functional teams across various regions and countries. Using different communication channels with your teams, garners higher levels of engagement and interaction. Check out this paper by Williams, P.R. about Visual Project Management for examples that are immediately actionable and sure to increase the effectiveness of communication within your team.
Supporting Point 3: Think of multi-dimensional communication as your own internal marketing campaign, created weekly and focused on the messages you want your team to focus on. In this sense it's not much different from the marketing strategies used by companies like Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts to get games into the hands of players. Whether it's the latest Call of Duty or installment of Madden, there's a core set of messages that are communicated across multiple channels in an effort to reach everyone in their target audience(s). Fortunately you don't need a massive marketing spent to reach your team. This handy infographic lists 17 different dimensions via which you can communicate with your team.
Fun Fact: Cave paintings dating back as far as 40,000 years suggest that visual communication is the oldest form of communicating across tribes and cultures, and a new study says that that ancient people conveyed a relatively advanced knowledge of astronomy through their cave paintings. They used animal symbols to represent constellations of stars in the night sky, and record events such as comet strikes.
Conclusion: You'll improve your teams performance and engagement by ensuring your communicating clear concise messages across multiple dimensions. It worked for our ancestors, is used in our classrooms, and backed by research.
Extra Credit: How have you used multi-dimensional communication? Share your experiences and help us all become better communicators.
—
About Chris Hewish
Chris Hewish is a veteran game developer, executive and entrepreneur who's helped many great teams ship over 50 games earning over $1B. You can follow him on LinkedIn and his website www.GameCraft.games.
#communication #multi-channel #videogame #gamecraft #game #developer #projectmanagement