Overview

The importance of communication

The three main categories of communication
in business
Formal and informal networks
The business communication process
Basic truths about communication



The Importance of Communication
Skills as Expressed by Business
Authorities


Top executives from Fortune 500 companies rate communications
skills as the most important quality for business leaders.


--Business Section


New York Times
There may be no single thing more important in our efforts to achieve
meaningful work and fulfilling relationships than to learn and practice
the art of communication.

--Max De Pree, Author

The Art of Leadership


Evidence of Communication
Weakness in Business
Im surprised how so many people struggle
with communication.
--Michael Rook,
Production Manager
Hewlett Packard,
San Diego, CA

The first thing the Human Resources
Department did was give me a writing book.
--Sam Reeves, IT
Consultant AMS, Denver, CO

Main Forms of
Communication in Business
Operational
Internal
External

Personal
Intranets (or portals) like this one
from Deere & Company are used
for internal communication.
Communication Networks
Formal Network
Well-established, usually along operational lines
Depends on certain established forms or genres
in the company
Planned and managed
Informal Network
Complex
Dynamic
Department
Manager
Supervisor Supervisor
Black Solid Lines = Formal Network
Brown Dashed Lines = Informal Network (at a moment in time, for they change often)
The Formal and Informal Communication Networks in a
Division of a Small Manufacturing Company
Factors Affecting the Communication
in a Business
Nature of the business
Operating plan
Business environment
Geographic dispersion
People
Company culture
The Business Communication Process
The Contexts for Communication
The larger context
Business-economic
Sociocultural
Historical
The relationship of the communicators
The communicators particular contexts
Organizational
Professional
Personal
Business Communication as
Problem Solving
Most business-communication problems are
ill-defined problems requiring
Analysis
Creativity
Judgment
Overview
Role of adaptation in selecting words
Simplifying with short and familiar words
Appropriate use of technical words and acronyms
Selection of words with appropriate strength
Use of concrete words and active voice
Achieve clarity and precision by avoiding
camouflaged verbs, selecting the right words, and
using idioms correctly.
Use of words that do not discriminate
Goals of Communication

To inform

To persuade

To mobilize

Directions of Communication

Vertical communication

Top-down: Used to give orders or
instructions and to provide and ask for
information
Bottom-up: Used to describe the results
of actions, to provide information that
has been requested, and to make
requests or appeals




Cont..
Horizontal communication

Used to keep equals informed of various actions,
to see the counsel or opinion of peers, to discuss
problems, and to chat informally.

Channels of Communication

Spoken: Meetings, presentations, oral instructions,
chats, discussions, etc.


Written: Bulletin board notices, circulars, letters,
memoranda, reports, proposals, notes, etc.


Electronic: E-mail, instant messaging, video
conferencing, phone messages, voice mails, blogs, etc.

Methods of Communication

Meetings
Presentations
Written messages
Public notices on bulletin boards
Memoranda
Cont
Reports
Staff bulletins or magazines
Electronic messages
Telephone conversations
Communication through computers
Communication through local area networks
Video conferences
Fax
E-mail


Barriers to Communication
Wrong Choice Of Medium
A sales report without figure , diagrams , charts.
An employee wants to express his regrets to
supervisor over his misconduct. Here , written
explanation wont be enough.
A Manager wants to compliment an employee for
an extra ordinary performance . He shouldnt
send a peon with a memo.
Physical Barriers
Noise noise in a factory; disturbance in
telecom facility; poor writing; bad photo
copies etc.

Time & Distance people working in a
different shifts ; faulty seating arrangement in
the hall etc.

Verbal Barriers
Inadequate Knowledge or Vocabulary
e.g. NPV , XML
Differences in interpretation
e.g. Cattle class
Language difference
e.g. General Motors had difficulties advertising
NOVA model in Spain , because the name sounds
like Spanish phrase No va , which means It
doesnt go
Inappropriate Use of Expression
Slang
e.g. MS office Advice
Barbie

Euphemisms
e.g. Died Passed away

Polarization
Think in terms of all or nothing limits our
choices.
Semantic Barriers
The transmitter and receiver assign different
meanings to the same words or use different
words for same meaning.
Denotation and connotations.
To minimize semantic barriers
* Use familiar words
* Use words with positive connotations

Different Comprehension Of Reality
Abstracting : Process of focusing attention on
some details and omitting others.
Slanting : Giving Particular bias or slant to the
reality.
Inferring: Drawing inferences from
observation.
Socio psychological Barriers
Attitudes and opinions
Emotions
Status consciousness
The source of communication
Inattentiveness
Faulty transmission
Poor Retention

Role of verbal symbols in communication
It is the ability to communicate by using
words that separates human beings from
rest of the animal Kingdom
Our verbal ability enables us to learn
from the past to benefit from the
experience of others.
But , try , dont know are negative words
Verbal nods I see , yes , okay , right
Call the people by their name
Open & closed questions
its always happening , this sort of thing
Any way .
Tone of voice





Role of Non verbal symbols in
communication
Smile hide yr nervousness , relax yr vocal
chords , yr voice sound more interesting
Avoid creating barriers
Stand square
Surprise , anger , shock , distrust , worry ,
confusion , happiness , boredom
One talks 100wpm & thinks 800wpm
Wet fish hand shake , squeezed hand shake ,
normal hand shake
Eye contact social zone , dominant zone
Losing rapport and regaining rapport

Chapter Objectives
To understand 7 Cs of Effective
Communication
To consider the Audience Benefit for
Effective communication
To learn how to make Communication
effective using these 7 Cs

7 Cs of Effective
communication
Completeness
Conciseness
Consideration
Concreteness
Clarity
Courtesy
Correctness

7 Cs of Effective
communication - completeness
Completeness
A business message is complete when it
contains all facts the reader or listener
needs for the reaction the sender desires.
Completeness offers 4 important benefits:
Brings the desired result.
Builds goodwill.
Avoids misunderstanding and hence averts costly
lawsuits.
Inconsequential communications can be
surprisingly important if they are complete.
7 Cs of Effective
communication - completeness
In order to make the message
complete, use following guidelines:
Provide All Necessary Information
Answer All Questions Asked
Give Something Extra, When Desirable
7 Cs of Effective
communication - completeness
Provide All Necessary Information
Provide all necessary information the
receiver would need to act upon in a way
desired by the sender.
Usually a complete message should be
capable of answering the five W and one
H questions.


7 Cs of Effective
communication - completeness
Answer All Questions Asked
Your reply to an inquiry must answer all
the questions asked.
If some answers are unfavorable to you or
reflect your weak points, handle them
with tact and honesty.
Remember that omissions cast
suspicions.
7 Cs of Effective
communication - completeness
Give Something Extra, When
Desirable
The words when desirable are
important here.
In reply to a query, if certain details are
not asked, but if you feel they are
desirable to make the message complete,
give extra information.
7 Cs of Effective
communication - conciseness
Conciseness
Conciseness is saying what you want to
in the fewest possible words without
sacrificing the other Cs of effective
communication.
A concise message saves both time and
expense for both the sender and the
receiver.

7 Cs of Effective
communication - conciseness
Remember the following to make your
Message Concise:
Eliminate Wordy Expressions
Include Only Relevant Material
Avoid Unnecessary Repetition


7 Cs of Effective
communication - conciseness
Eliminate Wordy Expressions:
Use single-word instead of phrase.
Omit unnecessary expressions.
Avoid overusing empty phrases.
Omit which and that clauses whenever
possible.
Eliminate unnecessary propositional
phrases.
Limit use of passive voice.
7 Cs of Effective
communication - conciseness
Include Only Relevant Material
Stick to the purpose of the message.
Delete irrelevant words and rambling
sentences.
Omit information obvious to the
receiver.
Avoid long introductions, unnecessary
explanations, excessive adjectives,
pompous words, gushy politeness.
Get to the point tactfully.

7 Cs of Effective
communication - conciseness
Avoid Unnecessary Repetition
Use shorter names once they are
mentioned.
Use pronouns or initials rather than long
names.
Remove phrases and sentences that are
needlessly getting repeated.

7 Cs of Effective
communication - consideration
Consideration
Consideration means preparing every
message with the message receivers in
mind.
It is basically You-attitude, empathy,
and understanding of human nature.

7 Cs of Effective
communication - consideration
Three way to indicate Consideration
are:
Focus on You Instead of I or We
Show Audience Benefit or Interest in
Receiver
Emphasize Positive, Pleasant Facts

7 Cs of Effective
communication - consideration
Focus on You Instead of I or We
Focus on audiences benefits.
It does not mean using You in every
sentences that are communicated.
The use of you in negative situation can
be avoided using the passive voice.
7 Cs of Effective
communication - consideration
Show Audience Benefit or Interest in
Receiver
Show how audience will benefit from the
message.
Merely inserting you does not ensure
you-attitude.


7 Cs of Effective
communication -
consideration
Emphasize Positive, Pleasant
Facts
Stressing on what can be done instead
of what cannot be done is third way to
show consideration.
Among positive words to which people
react favorably are benefit, cordial,
happy, help, generous, loyal, pleasure,
thanks, thoughtful.
Words with negative connotation are
blame, complaint, failed, fault,
negligence, regret, reject, trouble,
unfair, and many others.
7 Cs of Effective
communication -
concreteness
Concreteness
Communicating concretely means being
specific, definite, and vivid rather than
vague and general.
It often means using denotative (direct,
specific and dictionary-based) rather than
connotative words (ideas or notions
associated with a word or phrase).

7 Cs of Effective
communication -
concreteness
The following guidelines help compose
Concrete Message:
Use Specific Facts and Figures
Put Action in your Verbs
Choose Vivid, Image-Building Words

7 Cs of Effective
communication -
concreteness
Use Specific Facts and Figures
Whenever possible, use an exact, precise
statement or a figure in place of a general
word to make your message more
concrete.
Avoid being specific if it sounds too
harsh, especially while communicating
negative message.
7 Cs of Effective
communication -
concreteness
Put Action in your Verbs
Use active voice as far as possible.
Put action in verbs, not in nouns and
infinitives.
Choose vivid, image-building words.


7 Cs of Effective
communication - clarity
Clarity
Clarity of communication means
transferring the meaning from the mind
of communicator to the mind(s) of
receiver(s) accurately.


7 Cs of Effective
communication - clarity
In order to be Clear in
communication,
Choose Precise, Concrete, and Familiar
Words
Construct Effective Sentences and
Paragraphs


7 Cs of Effective
communication - clarity
Choose Precise, Concrete, and
Familiar Words
Clarity is achieved by balancing between
precise language and familiar language.
Use familiar words instead of pretentious
words.
7 Cs of Effective
communication - clarity
Construct Effective Sentences and
Paragraphs
Sentence formation is the core of clarity.
Ensure appropriateness of length, unity,
coherence, and emphasis while forming a
sentence and a paragraph.
7 Cs of Effective
communication - courtesy
Courtesy
Being aware of the perspective of others
and their feeling is true courtesy in
communication.
Mere mechanical insertions of polite
words such as please or thank you
doesnt help much.
It is politeness that grow out of respect
and concern for others.
7 Cs of Effective
communication - courtesy
Be Sincerely Tactful, Thoughtful, and
Appreciative
Being blunt or abrupt are common cause
of discourtesy.
Be thoughtful and courteous when
communicating with other culture
especially Asian cultures.

7 Cs of Effective
communication - courtesy
One can show Courtesy by using the
following:
Be Sincerely Tactful, Thoughtful, and
Appreciative
Use Expressions That Show Respect
Choose Nondiscriminatory Expressions
7 Cs of Effective
communication - courtesy
Be Sincerely Tactful, Thoughtful, and
Appreciative
Being blunt or abrupt are common cause
of discourtesy.
Be thoughtful and courteous when
communicating with other culture
especially Asian cultures.

7 Cs of Effective
communication - courtesy
Use Expressions That Show Respect
Omit irritating expressions. [Use the
fact that instead of I do not agree
with you.]
Laughter to one person may be disgust to
another. Use humor with caution.
7 Cs of Effective
communication -
correctness
Correctness
At the core of correctness is proper
grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
Incorrect message may cause loss of a
customer or end of a business relation.
7 Cs of Effective
communication -
correctness
In the context of business
communication, Correctness also
means:
Use the Right Level of Language
Check Accuracy of Figures, Facts, and
Words
Maintain Acceptable Writing Mechanics
7 Cs of Effective
communication -
correctness
Use the Right Level of Language
Choose the right level of language:
formal, informal and substandard.
Formal writing is often associated
with scholarly writing such as
doctoral theses, legal documents,
agreements, articles, etc.
Informal writing is more
characteristic of business writing.
Avoid substandard language.
7 Cs of Effective
communication -
correctness
Check Accuracy of Figures, Facts,
and Words
Message must be communicated as
precisely as possible. Hence a
communicator must check and
ensure the accuracy of figures,
facts, and words.
A good check of the message is have
another person read and comment
on the validity of the material.
7 Cs of Effective
communication - correctness
Maintain Acceptable Writing
Mechanics
use acceptable writing mechanics, word
processing and appearance of business
messages.


Project Report Writing
Cover Page
Title Page
Certificate
Declaration
Acknowledgement
Preface
Index
Executive summary
Industry Information
Company Information
Functional Areas
Analysis
Findings
Conclusion
Appendices
Bibliography
Research Report
Research Methodology
Relevance of study
Research problem
Objectives
Hypothesis
Scope of study
Data collection

Literature review
Primary research
Sampling design
Instrument of data
collection
Mode of data collection
Limitation of study
Data Analysis