There are many reasons why projects fail, and poor communication is one of them. No matter what else happens on your projects, if the communication isn’t right then it is going to be tough to take it through to a positive conclusion.

This is why it is vital that you work out how best to get your team to communicate with each other and with everyone else.

Lay Out Your Plan

Given the importance of communication in projects, it is a surprise to see that many teams don’t create any sort of plan around this area. A comprehensive and coherent communications plan will let you feel confident of carrying out this part of the work to a high standard.

Anyone who doesn’t take the time to create a plan for their communications is running a big risk. Given the importance of this issues, it is something that it simply isn’t worth taking a chance on.

So, what goes in this plan? Quite simply, this is where you list the ways that you are going to communicate, together with how you plan to overcome any problems or risks.

Make Sticking to Meetings a Priority

There is just no getting away from the fact that every project involves a lot of meetings. Some people like this and some would rather avoid them, but there is no point in trying to deny the fact that meetings are essential.

Of course, when a project manager has a busy, eventful day full of stress then their planned meeting are among the first things they tend to cancel. Another possibility is that they try and rush through their meetings as fast as humanly possible.

However, it is far better to give these meetings the time and respect that they deserve. In the absolute worst case scenario, it is better to change the meeting for another day than try to rush through it or just cancel it altogether.

Choose a Methodology

One of the key parts of any project is the methodology that is chosen. This is what guides you in the way that you work. This applies as much to the communication aspect as to any other part of the project.

A good example is with the Agile project methodology. This way of working involves getting the customer involved through regular meetings in which they get to provide fast feedback to define the way forward. In terms of the best methodology to use, there is a lot to be said for the PRINCE2 approach. One of the big advantages with this is that it is use all over the world.

Therefore, you can expect to very quickly get a team that is comfortable with the communication strategy you are going to use. If you decide to bring in less experienced team members then you can easily find PRINCE2 Training for them to go on.

Find Modern Solutions

There are some common problems with any sort of communications plan. Fortunately, there are also some modern solutions that you should look into as well. For example, what if you have a team that is geographically dispersed? This is a smart way of working but it does have some problems in terms of communications

The most obvious answer here is to speak to everyone on video conferences. This is easy to arrange and it can allow people from all over the world to truly feel a part of the team effort. This isn’t the only way of using modern solutions to problems like this.

For example, you can share all of your documents online very easily. This will let everyone see what you are up to. By making this small extra effort in your communication you can get a project that everyone feels a part of.