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CON 215 PRE-CLASS ASSIGNMENT #1
Communication in Contracting
INTRODUCTION
With all the demands on your time, why should you be concerned about effective communication? Communication skills are vitally important in any environment where teaming is important. As a business advisor to the acquisition team, it is important for you to communicate clearly and effectively to
carry out the mission of your customer.
Performance Outcome(s)
At the end of this reading, you will be able to effectively communicate orally
and in writing. Specifically, you will be able to:

Explain why effective oral communication is important to the contracting process.

Explain why well written documents are important to the contracting
process.
Resources
You may access the following resource for more information on
basic communication skills:

“Tongue and Quill”: An Air Force Handbook that provides the necessary information to ensure clear communication whether written or
spoken at http://www.e-publishing.af.mil/shared/media/epubs/afh33337.pdf.
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CON 215: Intermediate Contracting for Mission Support
BASIC COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Definition
Different resources define communication using different terminology, but it
ultimately boils down to it being an exchange of information regardless of
how that information is presented.
Purpose of Communication
Communication can serve many purposes such as directing, informing, persuading, inspiring, and sometimes just getting a message across to others.
Regardless of the purpose, you must understand the process as well as the
general principles that apply to all forms of communication.
As business advisor, you will be communicating with many people for many
different purposes. If your purpose is not clear, then you will have a problem
getting your message across. Knowing your purpose will help you know
where to place emphasis and what the tone of your message should be.
Communication Process
The following is a description of the communication process:
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
Sender: must establish credibility

Message: affected by tone, organization, validity, what is communicated and what is left out and individual style

Channel: face-to-face, telephone, letters, emails, reports

Receiver: audience enters process with ideas and feelings that influence understanding

Feedback: crucial to ensuring understanding

Context: situation in which message is delivered, i.e. environment,
culture
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Communication in Contracting
The Communications Process
Sender
Message
Channel
Receiver
Feedback
Context
Adapted from http://www.mindtools.com/CommSkll/CommunicationIntro.htm
This process leaves lots of room for error, with messages often misinterpreted
by one or more of the parties involved. In fact, your message is successful only when both sender and receiver perceive it in the same way.
Barriers to the Communication Process
There are several barriers to effective communication. As you communicate
with members of the acquisition team, contractors, management, and others,
you should be aware of the impact that these barriers may have on your message. The most common barriers are:

Physical: Environmental factors such as distance, pronunciation,
physical health, speech pattern and articulation, temperature.

Perceptual: Contained within message, sender, or receiver, e.g. past
experience, hidden agendas, stereotypes.

Psychological: Mental factors used unconsciously by sender or receiver, e.g. fight defense, flight, manipulation, anxiety, frustration,
threat, insecurity.
FOCUS: General Principles of Communication
The Tongue and Quill uses the acronym FOCUS to spell out the following
general principles of communication:

Focused: Address the whole issue and nothing but the issue.
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CON 215: Intermediate Contracting for Mission Support

Organized: Information and ideas are systematically presented.

Clear: Communicate with clarity and make each word count.

Understanding: Understand the audience and its expectations.

Supported: Use logic and support to make your point.
Most errors in communication occur because one of the above principles has
been forgotten. Remembering and applying these principles to oral and written communication will help you stay on target while effectively getting your
message across to your audience.
As you work with acquisition team members developing and reviewing various documents, put yourself in the place of the intended audience to determine whether your oral or written communication is FOCUSED or are there
unanswered questions, ambiguous statements, or other issues that could be
confusing to the audience and could result in costly changes, delays, and decisions.
COMMUNICATION AND THE CONTRACTING PROCESS
Communication plays an important role in the contracting process. Contracting works best when all of the components work together to achieve a common goal: support the mission of the customer. Direct communication between the program office and all levels in the acquisition oversight and
review process is expected as a means of exchanging information and building trust.
Communication, written and oral, is extremely important to the contracting
process. In fact, federal and agency regulations and various guidebooks
mandate and encourage full and open discussions with all members of the
acquisition team, including the contractors who furnish the goods and services you purchase to meet customer needs. The following resources may be
accessed to reinforce the importance of communication in contracting:
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
FAR 1.102 and 15.201

“Rules of the Road: A Guide for Leading Successful Integrated Product Teams” Chapter III, page 13; Chapter V, page 19:
(http://www.acq.osd.mil/ara/am/21oct99rulesoftheroad.doc)
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Communication in Contracting
Seven Steps to Effective Communication in the Contracting Process
The Tongue and Quill identifies seven steps to effective communication and
you can apply each of these to specific areas of the contracting process:
1.
Analyze purpose and audience: Know your customer(s), stakeholders, acquisition team, and contractor. This also includes a selfanalysis of your strengths and weaknesses.
2.
Research your topic: Gather information about your requirement(s) using market research, sources sought, draft RFPs, or other
techniques.
3.
Support your ideas: Use results of market research to support your
decisions (e.g., commercial vs. non-commercial, contract type, method
of procurement, level of competition).
4.
Organize and outline: Plan for the acquisition (e.g., method of procurement, level of competition, set asides).
5.
Draft: Use draft solicitations and requirements documents to obtain
feedback on the clarity of your acquisition.
6.
Edit: Critically evaluate, critique, and correct all written and oral
communication.
7.
Fight for feedback and get approval: Get buy-in from all involved
in the acquisition process. What we write or say at work must often
be approved by our chain of command through a formal coordination
process (e.g., supervisor, executive officer).
Modes of Communication in the Contracting Process
In the contracting arena, most of your communication involves speaking and
writing, but it also includes nonverbal communication such as body language,
physical environment, and personal attributes. Therefore, when communicating you must be aware of the impact each of these modes of communication has on the delivery of your message.
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CON 215: Intermediate Contracting for Mission Support
Oral Communication
Oral communication is the physical act of speaking to convey your message.
Much of your oral communication in the contracting process will take place
during the following:

Clarifications

Negotiations (sole source)

Discussions (competitive)

Briefings
—
Management
—
Source selection teams
—
Pre-award
—
Post-award
Because of the complex or controversial nature of these types of communication, it is important for you to ensure that key information is not omitted, to
avoid repercussions caused by inadvertent ad-libbing, and to use exact definitions and precise phrasing.
Access the following references to read the regulatory policy regarding these
forms of oral communication:

FAR 15.306

FAR 15.505

FAR 15.506
It is important for you to constantly remind members of your acquisition
team that there are certain rules that apply to these various forms of oral
communication and improper action can result in serious repercussions.
Written Communication
As contracting officer and business advisor, you will be writing as well as reviewing many of the written documents generated by the acquisition team. It
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Communication in Contracting
is important to ensure that those documents are clear and concise to avoid
confusion, costly changes, delays, and unfavorable acquisition decisions.
The various documents that you may be writing or reviewing include, but are
not limited to:

Requirements documents

Justifications for other than full and open competition (JOFOC)

Determinations and findings (D&F)

Memorandums

Briefing documents

Solicitations

Price negotiation memorandums (PNM)

Source selection documents
Many individuals will read these various documents; therefore, all of your
written documentation must provide detailed, explicit explanations for your
decisions.
Although format is not always as important as substance, a professional looking document may make the difference between success and failure of your
written presentation.
Nonverbal Communication and Negotiations/Discussions
Nonverbal communication is the sum of your body’s messages and includes
body language that consists of facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, posture and breathing, distance and touching.
Research has shown that between 70 and 90% of all communication is
nonverbal. Therefore, you should be aware of the different forms of nonverbal communication and their impact in contracting situations. For more detailed information on nonverbal communication during the negotiations, you
may access:
https://acc.dau.mil/CommunityBrowser.aspx?id=406579&lang=en-US
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CON 215: Intermediate Contracting for Mission Support
SUMMARY
As business advisor to the acquisition team, it is important for you to be an
effective communicator, both orally and in writing. More often than not, you
will be the voice of the team, so it is important that you understand the communication process, recognize barriers and situations that could impede that
process, and ensure that all team members are communicating and working
together to support the mission of the customer. Each member of the team
must understand the importance of open, honest communication and its impact on our ability to support and meet the needs of our many customers.
At certain phases in the contracting process, your role as business advisor is
even more critical to ensuring that communication, whether oral or written,
is in compliance with policies governing the various forms of exchanges.
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