Effective Business Communication

Benefits of effective communication

• Faster decision making and problem solving• Stronger business relationships• Better returns for investors• Enhanced professional image• Stronger marketing messages• Lower turnover and higher retention• Early identification of potential problems• Improving work flow and productivity

What employers want from employees• Employees must be able to express their ideas and thoughts properly• Employees must be able to listen effectively• Employees must be able to communicate with people from diverse

backgrounds• They must be able to deliver high quality writing and speaking• Practice business etiquette• Communicate ethically • Be able to use communication technologies effectively

Characteristics of effective messages• Practically useful information( help understand something or perform

a desired action)• Factual information (truthful , accurate, detailed; opinions to be

presented with strong arguments)• Concise information (summary of important points)• Clearly defined expectations and responsibilities in terms of response• Persuasive arguments and recommendations

Communication in organizations

• Internal – Between members of the organizations• External – Between members and people on the outside• Formal – Planned communication following business manners and

etiquettes• Upward- employee to employer (internal)• Downward – employer to employee (internal)• Horizontal – between employees or between employers (internal)

• Informal – casual communication• Grapevine (internal)• Unofficial lines of power (internal)

Factors affecting Business communication • Pervasiveness of technology• Emphasis on team work• Globalization of business• Emphasis on workforce diversity• Increasing value of information• Evolution in organizational structures

Increasing value of information

• Information needed to :• Gain competitive edge over rivals• Understand and accordingly cater to customer needs• Understanding regulations and guidelines imposed on business activities

• Knowledge workers are persons within organizations that acquire, process and communicate information at all levels.

Globalization and diverse workforce

• Businesses are crossing international borders to:• Increase customer base• Partner with other businesses• hire executives and workers from diverse backgrounds• Cultures, religions, gender, races, education• The more diverse the workforce, the more attention must be paid to

communication within the organization• Diverse workforce brings new communication skills and new ideas and can

give competitive advantages

Pervasive technology

• Voice systems• Virtual agents• Mobile communication• Networking advances

Important to keep technical expertise up to date to prevent falling behind the competition

Evolution of organizational structures• Tall structures:

• Many levels, communication breakdowns are common• Slow and highly distorted communication• Very formal

• Shift to flat structures:• Fewer levels or layers• Less formal• Faster and less distorted communication• Individuals have more responsibility for cross department communication

• Flexible structures and outsourcing• Corporate culture defines atmosphere and personality of organization• An open climate is preferred because it allows employees to express their ideas

and thoughts more freely.

Communicating effectively

• Connecting with one’s audience• Using audience centered approaches• Reducing communication barriers and distractions• Providing constructive criticism• Improving communication skills• Observing business etiquette

Connecting with audience• In order to communicate effectively to the audience:

• Understand the audience• Understand the process of communication

• Process of communication:• Sender has idea or thought• Sender encodes the idea into a message that can be understood by the receiver• Sender puts the message in oral, visual, written or electronic form • Sender passes the message along a communication channel (many barriers in channels)• Audience receives message• Audience decodes message• Audience formulates response to the message• Audience provides feedback on the effectiveness of the communication

Reduction in barriers

• Internal distractions – one’s own thought processes and emotions• External distractions – Noisy and crowded atmosphere, multitasking,

uncomfortable environment• Competing messages – leads to information overload which makes it

difficult to distinguish between messages in terms of importance and can enhance workplace stress• Filters – Technological or human intervention, intentional or

unintentional• Channel breakdowns

Mind of the audience

• For the audience to actually receive a message, three things are needed:• The audience must sense there is a message• The audience must select from the sea of messages• The audience must perceive the relevance of the message

• For the audience to perceive your message, you must:• Empathize with the audience• Know audience expectations• Ensure compatibility of message• Ensure familiarity• Ensure ease of access and use for your medium of transmission

How audience decodes message

• Affected by:• Culture• Social environment• Personal beliefs• Thinking patterns and styles• Life experience• Moods and emotions• Language

• Selective perception occurs when people ignore or distort information in order to align it with their preconceived notions of reality.

How audience responds to messages• The audience must remember the message (short to long term

memory) long enough to act upon it. The audience must be able to retrieve the message from memory when the time for action arises• The audience must be motivated to respond to the message.• The audience must be able to respond according to your

requirements.

Minimizing distractions• Be courteous• Use common sense• Do not disrupt others• Set out time to attend to private and personal messages• Respect personal space and differences• Prioritize messages and inform others to do so• Do not communicate unnecessarily• Know your emotions and learn to control them• Anticipate emotional reactions from others

Audience centered approach

• Know your audience – the you attitude• Relate to your audience – Emotional intelligence is key

Improve communication skills

• Learn on the job• Practice preparing documents and speech• Listen carefully• Collaborate with others• Communicate across cultures

Constructive feedback vs destructive feedback• Constructive feedback focuses on improvement • Destructive feedback focuses on shaming• Avoid personal attacks and give clear guidelines for improvement

when giving constructive criticism• getting defensive when you receive constructive criticism, respond

unemotionally

Observing etiquette

• Respect • Courtesy • Common sense

Using technology

• Understand that technology can’t do everything for you.• Reduce dependency on technology• Know and understand the technology to use it efficiently• Take time off from technology to communicate in person• Spend money on technology wisely

Unethical communication

• Plagiarism – presenting someone else’s work as your own• Selective misquoting – omitting unflattering comments or views• Misrepresenting numbers• Distorting visuals

Ethical dilemma vs ethical lapse

• Ethical dilemma is choosing between alternatives that are equally ethical and valid.• Ethical lapse is doing something despite knowing that is ethically

wrong

Ensuring ethics

• Individual employees practice ethics• Leadership must be ethical• Laws and policies concerning behaviors and ethics must be drafted

and enforced effectively

Ethical regulation - areas

• Marketing• Promotional communications• Contracts• Intellectual property• Defamation• Employment communications • Financial reporting