There are many points those need to keep in mind while you are communicating with senior managers.
Most importantly to understand the business and customers of the organization and respect them.
You should be aware about prospective/concerns of the senior manager.
You need to have a much broader focus when communicating with senior management than you would when communicating to rest of employees.
As time plays major factor in communication, as soon as you can communicate your ideas/ problems to managers, you are doing one thing right in order to communicate effectively. Moral : “focus on the most critical things you need to tell a senior manager”.
If you are communicating in writing the gist / intent should be clear enough in first 2-4 lines and if you are communicating verbally then it should be clear with in first few mins say 1 min.
Over communication is major problem among the team members while they communicate to their managers, many senior managers discard the information if it’s too much.
Prepare a list or outlines of the points those you want to make.
Feel free to take your notes with you and refer to them. That just shows you are organized and you have put thought into using your managers' time efficiently.
If they ask you something that you don't have the answer to, don't panic. Just tell them you'll check on it and give them an answer later. It would be better if you can give time bound answers like “I'll give answer in next 1 hr or later today etc..”.
One major problem i have seen that team members don't verify their EMails or messages If they are communicating in writing, So write out your messages / MoMs or e-mail but DON'T SEND IT until you have re-read it and edited it(if required).
Remember that the way you use language reflects your attitudes and your respect for the audience.
Be an effective Listener by understanding the complexities of listening, prepare to listen, Focus on each and every points, delay judgment, establish eye contact with the speaker, take notes effectively and encourage others to talk.
If you are technical person then don't give your judgment very early. Generally people say its not possible, we can't do it, we should not do it, how this task will be done, etc etc.
Apart from above points YOU MUST UNDERSTAND / RESPECT THE GIVEN DEADLINES BY YOU TO MANAGER or MANAGER TO YOU for the given tasks. Because using these deadlines / timelines your managers plan further activities and business plans.
