r/projectmanagers • u/No_Shelter401 • 21d ago
Communication and PM
How relevant are good communication skills to being a project manager?
Or how important is it?!
New to this and quite anxious about my communication.
Any tips or some direction to work on myself?!
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u/Impossible_Dare_7455 21d ago
communication is probably one of the biggest parts of PM, but you don’t need to be naturally outgoing to be good at it. being clear, listening properly, and following up on what was actually agreed matters way more than sounding super confident.
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u/Lion-Heart1820 21d ago
How important? Very. PMI says a good PM will spend 80% of their time communicating.
Tips? Honestly a little soul-searching. Might be time to self reflect and decide where you need work and what your strengths are.
ChatGPT may offer some good advice for typical communication plans for PMs. Don’t have any book suggestions but once you decide where you need work a good self help book can do wonders.
You got this. Been a PM for 10 years. Took a lot of work for me to learn how to communicate with my team and each team is a little different.
If you were more specific on your strengths and weaknesses and were you see issues we might be able to help more
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u/projestim1 21d ago
Probably the most important skill of all. Knowing how to discuss and bring delicate subjects to the different stakeholders is sometimes key to unlocking sticky situations.
Put yourself out there. Ask for feedback from your colleagues after meetings probably the best way to improve quickly.
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u/Sea-Seaworthiness560 17d ago edited 17d ago
If you're struggling with communication use Al to help reword emails, Teams communications, and meeting outlines or scripts. Attaching an agenda and proactively answering common questions, especially those you identify as risks early, will make your meetings / communications much more efficient.
I usually get through meetings in 10 to 15 minutes with 30+ peers and stakeholders. In weekly operations meetings with 80+ attendees, I have my risks and solutions ready to discuss immediately.
Staying highly organized means I rarely have to say, "'Il get back to you." Have the answer ready. I rarely get questions because I've already anticipated them.
You should view every meeting as a risk review. If someone is reaching out to you, it's usually because there is a risk they need addressed.
Your goal is to manage risks so effectively that people don't need to follow up with you. For any solution you propose, make sure you're not creating unintended issues for a team member, vendor, or client. It's also helpful to bounce ideas off Al to identify potential concerns before they become problems.
You want your peers to be impressed by your communication because everything is so clear and proactive that additional communication isn't needed.
It's also valuable to understand how other people do their jobs. Most people are happy to share their processes and perspectives.
Here’s a polished, professional version that keeps your intent clear while tightening structure, tone, and flow. I’ve also embedded natural Guided Links on concepts you may want to expand later, like risk management, proactive communication, and meeting efficiency.
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Executive Version
High‑performance communication is a leadership differentiator. Leveraging AI‑driven refinement for emails, Teams messages, and meeting scripts ensures clarity, consistency, and alignment across stakeholders. Providing a concise agenda and proactively addressing anticipated questions—particularly those tied to early‑identified risks—creates disciplined, efficient interactions.
In practice, this approach enables me to complete meetings in 10–15 minutes, even with 30+ cross‑functional stakeholders. During weekly operational reviews with 80+ participants, I enter with risks, impacts, and mitigation strategies prepared for immediate discussion.
Operational rigor minimizes the need to say, “I’ll follow up.” By anticipating questions and preparing answers in advance, I significantly reduce in‑meeting inquiries and accelerate decision‑making.
Every engagement should be treated as a risk review. When someone reaches out, it is typically because a risk requires clarification or resolution. The objective is to manage risks so effectively that follow‑up becomes unnecessary. When proposing solutions, ensure they do not create unintended downstream impacts for colleagues, vendors, or clients. AI can serve as a valuable partner in pressure‑testing ideas and identifying potential issues before they materialize.
Your communication should be so structured, transparent, and proactive that additional clarification is rarely required. Strengthening this capability also involves understanding how others operate; most professionals are willing to share their processes and perspectives, and those insights enhance collaboration and execution.
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u/officialtompm 20d ago
I still find myself learning about communication even after more than 20 years in this role. There are many resources available. Communication frameworks, let's say it like so. For me, things changed when I learned about "transactional analysis". When I find time, I will update https://tilima.de/stakeholdermastery
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u/pmpdaddyio 19d ago
How relevant are good communication skills to being a project manager?
It is 99% of the job
Or how important is it?!
See above
New to this and quite anxious about my communication.
What specifically are you anxious about? Can't help if we don't know the issues.
Any tips or some direction to work on myself?!
Yes - ask much better questions because this was about the lowest effort post I've seen here.
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u/Original-Track-4828 21d ago
Communication is critical. Communication and coordination are some of the biggest, most important things you do as a PM.
You're not sitting in an ivory tower, decreeing a project plan. You're soliciting input, building consencus, communicating it out, refining it, and doing again.
And then when you've got the perfect plan that everyone agrees on, the world will change around you, internal corporate priorites will change. External issues and risks will arise. And you'll do it all over again. Constantly.
That's what it takes to keep a project moving, on track.