successful project management - Commonwealth of Learning

Chapter 3
Interaction For Successful Project Management
Interaction is contextual,
Relates to project management,
Is interpersonal,
Accounts for project success
Learning outcomes
After working through this chapter you should be able to:
• develop terms of reference for the project team;
• distinguish between verbal and non-verbal elements of communication;
• apply to typical distance education projects the different ways of using words
to achieve interactivity;
• communicate convincingly when delivering your message during project
management meetings;
• bring message to life through manipulation of diction, pitch, tone, pace, and
volume;
• explain the significance of emotional intelligence as you interact with the
team; and
• relate newly acquired concepts to projects of interest.
Introduction
It is good to have a definition of what a project is, as well as to be aware what areas
in distance education are sources of projects within a given organization, but such
awareness is insignificant if we are unable as managers of projects to interact
communicatively with project stakeholders. You may have a meticulous plan on
paper, and schedule the project supported with what you believe to be a good team,
but unless you interact with members with some degree of efficiency, the project will
not be a success. Typically, there is discourse we associate with project
management to the extent that the manager and the team can be legitimately
regarded as a speech community. However, the discourse finds expression within
the normal broader discourse of relationships that is known as social speech. The
project speech community has a purpose and uses language to interact. Interaction
can be defined in simple terms as acting upon one another, through language in
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