An Ultimate Guide to Interactive Vs. Push Vs. Pull Communication in Project Management

The terms interactive, push, and pull communication have been used in project management for many years. Unfortunately, they are often used interchangeably, thus making it confusing for us to use the correct method in our everyday work. We need to understand them well because they can help us improve our overall communication strategy, and they can assist us in maximizing the potential of our projects. Let's understand these three communications:

Interactive Communication

Interactive communication is the most common type of communication. It involves two parties exchanging information back and forth, such as an email or a phone call. This type of communication is mainly used in project management to request updates from team members, provide feedback, and receive updates.

When to use interactive communication?

Interactive communication is best suited when you want to exchange information or ideas between people already working together on a project or task.

You can use it to brainstorm ideas, solve problems, make decisions, give feedback and encourage creativity.

However, suppose you need to share information between teams that don't yet trust each other (or don't know each other well). In that case, interactive methods might not be ideal because they might cause confusion or misunderstanding.

Push Communication

Push communication is a specific type of interactive communication where the sender sends information to everyone on the team at once. This can be done through an email blast or an announcement in a group chat room.

The purpose of this type of communication is to provide important information that everyone needs to know right now. Push communications are generally sent at the end of each day or when something significant happens during the day (such as a major change in schedule).

They're also used when there's a need for urgency or immediacy, such as when there's an emergency or critical issue that needs immediate attention from all team members.

When to use push communication?

Push communication is best suited for sending urgent or essential information to everyone at once. This is the best option when you need to send an email or make a phone call. For example, if you want everyone on your team to know about a schedule change, you can use push communication.

Examples of push communication:

Slack Messages: Slack messages are sent by default to all members of the channel they are sent in. If you want it sent privately, send it with direct news instead.

Email: Emails can be marked as high priority (which will get them through spam filters) or urgent (which will result in them being read immediately).

Phone Calls: Phone calls can be placed on hold and transferred instantly so multiple people can hear them simultaneously.

Pull Communication

Pull communication involves one person sending out an invitation or announcement, such as when they need help completing tasks or want feedback on something they've done. Managers typically use this to get employees' input on project proposals or presentations before they are finalized.

When to use pull communication?

Pull communication works best when you're managing many people or projects. It's an efficient way of ensuring everyone is on track without wasting their time with unnecessary questions.

You might want to use pull communication:

• When you have a lot of people working on a project who don't report directly to you.
• When you need regular updates from your team.
• When someone has been given an assignment that requires them to work independently.

Takeaway Point

Interactive communication is the most efficient form of communication.

Communication is a crucial part of project management. It's hard to succeed without it.

Project managers use many different types of communication, such as emails, phone calls, and face-to-face meetings. But which kind of communication is the most efficient?

Interactive communication is the most efficient form of communication in project management. It allows you to engage with your audience directly through instant feedback and questions.

It's not just about what you say; it's about how you say it. The best way to interact with your audience is through a tool like Slack or Skype that allows for real-time collaboration and quick responses from other team members.

The advantages of interactive communication are endless:

• You can engage with your audience at any time or place
• You don't need to wait until someone's available to answer your question — they'll be able to respond immediately through the tool itself (or by email if necessary). This means you'll get an answer immediately instead of having to wait around all day for someone to get back to you.
• You can share documents easily using tools like Google Drive and Dropbox, which makes working together much more Spartan than sending attachments back and forth through email.

Conclusion

We hope we've been able to clarify some things for you in regards to push, pull, and interactive communication. One thing that remains constant, however: no matter which type of communication your team uses, as long as your team members stay on the same page and follow through with their agreed-upon responsibilities, you'll be able to run a successful project. The most important thing? Make sure everyone on your team is committed to the project's success! Good luck! And thanks for reading.