You're about to have an important first meeting with your team on a new project. It's an essential first step in the internal relationship-building process and your communications skills will be tested to the limit. Face-to-face meetings can result in awkward pauses and initial shyness for those who are not brimming with confidence. To help you over this hurdle, you can approach the meeting fully prepared if you have a look at the following factors. In order to get your message across, think about what you are trying to achieve during the dialogue: (1) What information needs to be conveyed? (2) What do you want the others present to do as a result? Organize yourself beforehand. Jot down notes about your major points. Be positive and keep the message simple. It's straightforward in theory, but in practice often fraught with difficulty. This is particularly so when you have high expectations from other colleagues present. Communication is not just speaking, writing or gesticulating. It's more than the transmission of information. Something else has to occur for the communication to be complete. In essence, the other parties to the communication method have to engage the bram and receive the message. When dealing with other professionals in business relationships, this is not always as simple as it seems. There are plenty of opportunities for misunderstanding and miscommunication.

Inspec keywords: business communication; project management; team working

Other keywords: business relationships; internal relationship-building process; business communication; professionals; teams; project management; communications skills

Subjects: Human resource management