Project Communications Management - Overview

This Management group includes the processes that help you ensure timely and appropriate planning, collection, creation, distribution, storage, retrieval, management control, monitoring, and the ultimate disposition of project information.

The three processes in this management group include:

1. Plan Communications Management - develops an appropriate approach and plan for project communications based on stakeholder's information needs and requirements, and available organizational assets
2. Manage Communications - creates, collects, distributes, stores, retrieves, and identifies the ultimate disposition of project information in accordance with the communications management plan
3. Control Communications - monitors and controls communications through the entire projects life cycle to ensure needs are met

The potential dimensions that need to be considered within these processes include:

• Internal and external 
• Formal and informal
• Vertical (up and down the organization) and horizontal (with peers)
• Official and unofficial records
• Written and oral communication

The communication skills that a project manager needs includes:

• Active listening
• Questioning and probing ideas
• Educating to increase teams knowledge
• Fact-finding to identify or confirm information
• Setting expectations
• Persuading a team member to perform an action
• Motivating
• Coaching
• Negotiating
• Resolving conflict
• Summarizing information

Source: PMBOK 5th ed.