Communication Training Protocol

Dr. LamCommunication TrainingAgendaWhat is this training about?What is it based on?How does it apply to my team?How can I use it for my teamwork?

What is this training about?Teaches you to choose communication mediums Improve your communication with teammatesSet expectations with each otherImprove team functioning Bond with your team

Medium = tools used to deliver information (e.g., text message, phone call, face-to-face meeting, email, discussion board)What is media synchronicity theory?A theory that helps you make practical decisions about communication.

When teammates choose mediums effectively, teams experience better communication and better

But wait, shouldnt choosing mediums be obvious?Not so fastIt may seem obvious to select a medium that matches your synchronicity needs, but

98% of all student communication was through email (Lam, 2013)

Why?

So, our goal is to determine what it means to choose communication effectively

Four important media capabilitiesTransmission velocity- How fast will the message get to the receiver?Parallelism- How many transmissions can be sent simultaneously?Rehearsability Can you edit or fine tune a message before sending it?Reprocessability- Can you retrieve a message again in order to process the information further?

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According to MSTThere is no best mediumTexting isnt better than IM or email, for example

Instead there is a best fit for certain situations

How to determine fitConsider how fast you need feedback.Do you need immediate feedback?Can you wait to have a discussion?

Consider the communication context.Is it new information that requires considerable discussion?Is it familiar information that requires less discussion?

Consider social circumstances.Have you agreed upon using certain mediums for certain tasks?What is appropriate? (Is it 4am and a text would wake up your teammate?)Step 1: Considering your feedback needsIf you need Immediate Feedback, consider a fast mediumText messageIM/ChatPhone callVideo conferenceFace-to-face meetingOther?If you dont need immediate feedback, consider a less synchronous mediumEmail messageSocial media messageDiscussion board postingOther?

Step 2: Considering the ContextWhat are you trying to communicate?Is it new and complicated?Use a medium that allows you to have a back-and-forth discussion (e.g., face-to-face, video conference, IM, phone call)Is it familiar information youve already discussed?Use a medium that doesnt require as much set up time (e.g., email)Do you need to record the content for a later date?Use a medium that allows for recording (e.g., avoid phone or video conference)Mixed situation?Consider multiple mediums. For example, send a text and then a follow-up email.

Step 3: considering other social factorsHave you agreed on a particular medium?If youve agreed to use gchat for group discussions, then use it. However, you may have to use an additional medium that can notify everyone to join gchat (like a text).

What are the social norms?E.g., Is it appropriate to initiate a video chat at 2 AM?Lets look at some examplesScenario: Its 6pm on Thursday afternoon. You wont see your group again until the next Monday. You want to make sure John is almost done with the outline that is due on Monday.

Answer the following:Do you need (or want) immediate feedback?Is the information complicated or simple? Should it be saved or recorded? Do you know what medium John prefers or will most likely use?

Based on those answers, what medium did you choose?

More examplesScenario: Its 9pm on Sunday afternoon. You wont see your group until Monday. You want to contact John so that you can get the outline and edit it before class Monday.

Answer the following:Do you need (or want) immediate feedback?Is the information complicated or simple? Should it be saved or recorded? Do you know what medium John prefers or will most likely use?

Based on those answers, what medium did you choose?

Even more examplesScenario: Its 1 hour after class just ended. You have met with your group and divided all the work up until you meet again in two days. You suddenly realized that no one has volunteered to complete the audience analysis.

Answer the following:Do you need (or want) immediate feedback?Is the information complicated or simple? Should it be saved or recorded? Do you know what medium John prefers or will most likely use?

Based on those answers, what medium did you choose?

Final exampleScenario: Your final project is due Monday. Its Sunday afternoon and you need a group decision on the final report. Each team member has a different section and you are in charge of putting all of the sections into one single document.

Answer the following:Do you need (or want) immediate feedback?Is the information complicated or simple? Should it be saved or recorded? Do you know what medium John prefers or will most likely use?Based on those answers, what medium did you choose?

ConclusionSetting communication expectations is the most important step

Next Steps:Share contact information with each other (make publicly available)Text each other todayComplete communication contract