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ArticlePublished 3 Aug 20262 min readBy Kevin Jogin
POSTER 26
Extension · Stakeholders & Communications

Stakeholder Engagement & Communications

A stakeholder is anyone who can affect or be affected by the work. Engagement means identify → analyse → plan → engage → monitor, and communication is the vehicle — a PM spends roughly 90% of their time communicating. Match the channel to the message and the effort to the stakeholder.

Visual Map — The Engagement Process

Identify
who's affected▸ Analyse
power, interest, attitude▸ Plan
engagement & comms▸ Engage
manage expectations▸ Monitor
adjust as it shifts↺

Stakeholder management is really risk management for people: surface them early, understand their power & interest, and close the gap between their current and desired engagement.

Power / Interest Grid

Keep Satisfied high power · low interest Manage Closely high power · high interest Monitor low power · low interest Keep Informed low power · high interest Power → Interest →

Other Analysis Models

  • Salience model: Power · Legitimacy · Urgency — all three = a definitive stakeholder.
  • Engagement Assessment Matrix (SEAM): Unaware → Resistant → Neutral → Supportive → Leading; mark Current vs Desired, act on the gap.
  • Power/Influence & Influence/Impact grids — alternative axes.
  • Directions of influence: upward · downward · outward · sideward.

Communication Methods

Channels = n(n − 1) ÷ 2  (n = 10 → 45)

Interactive
two-way, richest — meetings, calls. Best for complex / sensitive / conflict.
Push
one-way out — email, reports, memos. No proof of understanding.
Pull
recipient retrieves — portals, wikis, repositories. For large audiences / big info.

Comms Model, 5 Cs & Dimensions

  • Model: sender → encode → medium → decode → receiver → feedback; watch noise / barriers.
  • 5 Cs (written): Correct · Concise · Clear · Coherent · Controlled.
  • Dimensions: internal/external · formal/informal · vertical/horizontal · written/verbal.
  • ~55/38/7 — body language / tone / words (a cue to meet in person when it matters).

Exam Concepts

  • PM spends ~90% of time communicating.
  • Channels = n(n−1)/2 — adding people explodes complexity.
  • Interactive vs push vs pull — know examples of each.
  • Use interactive for conflict / complex / sensitive topics.
  • SEAM drives action via current-vs-desired gaps.

Executive View

  • Engagement is people risk management — align expectations early.
  • The right channel for the message saves rework & conflict.
  • Engagement gaps are actionable, not just descriptive.

Industry Example

Defence
  • Many stakeholders (Navy, govt, primes, unions, community): salience & SEAM to prioritise; interactive forums for high-power/high-interest; push reports to keep-informed; a pull portal for documents.

Relationships

  • Realises PMBOK 7 Stakeholders domain & the Stakeholder principle (Posters 2–3).
  • Salience & grids are models from Poster 6.
  • Programs scale this up — many, diverse, long-term stakeholders (Poster 17).

Memory Hooks

  • Grid: Manage Closely · Keep Satisfied · Keep Informed · Monitor.
  • "Interactive = talk · Push = send · Pull = fetch."
  • Salience = P-L-U; SEAM = U-R-N-S-L.
60-sec Review The 4 grid quadrants + actions Salience 3 attributes Interactive vs push vs pull Channels for n = 8 SEAM: current vs desired
PMI Visual Wall · Poster 26 · Stakeholder Engagement & Communications · original instructional design · A3 landscape

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