You're struggling to communicate with your team on a project. How can you improve?

Discuss what tools work best for the team (email, project management software, instant messaging) and set guidelines for their use. Weekly or bi-weekly meetings help keep everyone on the same page and provide a forum to discuss progress and roadblocks. Circulate an agenda beforehand to ensure everyone comes prepared and the meeting stays focused. Be open and honest about project goals, challenges, and changes. Create a safe space where team members feel comfortable asking questions, voicing concerns, and sharing ideas. Pay attention to what your team members are saying, both verbally and nonverbally. Let your team know how they're doing and offer constructive criticism.

Learn more about your team by taking them on a day where all of you are put to the test of solving problems together. Have someone come in and do team building skills and or take a project adventure course.

Ensure that each team member clearly understands their roles and responsibilities in the project. This helps to avoid misunderstandings and conflicts over who is responsible for what.

My experience managing multiple projects with multicultural and cross functional teams makes me believe that the key is codifying the teams. Communication is a code and if people know what to expect it will be easier: - Understand where the breakdown in the communication happens and codify the team on what you or other team members mean with that - Understand cultural backgrounds and how they impact the different roles in the project (Malcom Gladwell dissects this in his book Outliers) - Set the ground rules from the beginning and what to expect at each stage - Teach yourself and your teams to not only look to what is said, but to really understand what can be said (this is easier said than done, so note that will take time)

Outline each team member's roles, responsibilities, and deadlines right from the start. This clarity helps everyone understand what's expected of them and reduces confusion. Provide detailed guidance. Break down complex tasks into smaller, manageable steps and offer resources or examples to illustrate what needs to be done. Foster open communication. Encourage team members to ask questions, voice concerns, and share ideas freely. Lead by example. As the project leader, demonstrate effective communication practices by being transparent, responsive, and approachable. When team members see you embodying these qualities, they're more likely to follow suit.

By establishing clear goals, using multiple communication channels, scheduling regular check-ins, actively listening, clarifying expectations, providing feedback, documenting decisions, addressing issues promptly, encouraging collaboration, and seeking training or assistance when needed, you can enhance communication within your team and foster a more productive and harmonious working environment.

Debemos también tener en cuenta el impacto de la comunicación, que dice nuestro lenguaje no verbal: postura, gestos conexión visual, entre otros. El lenguaje vocal: el tono en el que hablamos, el volumen, énfasis en las palabras y el lenguaje verbal: que tiene que ver con el mensaje que estamos comunicando, el contenido, las ideas. Todo esto influye en que puedas lograr el propósito de comunicación, puedes tener un excelente mensaje para comunicar pero si por ejemplo no miramos a los ojos a la otra persona cuando estamos hablando y sumado a esto utilizamos un tono de voz inadecuado, difícilmente lograremos el objetivo. Son aspectos que parecen "básicos" y realmente son de gran impacto en la comunicación.