UNDERSTANDING THE

FOUNDATIONS OF
BUSINESS
COMMUNICATIONS
Chapters: 1,2 and 3
Chapter 1
Achieving success Through
Effective Business
Communications
Achieving Success
Your career success depends on effective
communications
Benefits of effective communication?
Differentiate your communication styles
Organizational Communication
Internal Vs External
Formal Vs Informal (3 Directions Vs Grapevine)

Do you know effective
communication?
Practical, Factual, Concise, Clear and
Persuasive.
Your communication skills are constantly
evaluated!
Business Communication is unique.
Information is more important than ever.
Globalization and workforce diversity.
Technology
Evolution of organizational structures (culture)
Team work is becoming more prominent
Effective On The Job
Communication
Successful communication is about making a connection to
your audience.
Idea Message Medium Channel Audience
The communication environment is not perfect! There are
barriers!
Avoid them!
Your audience must sense and capture the message.
Expectations, ease of use, familiarity, empathy, and
compatibility.
Decoding the message is personal. (Selective Perception)
Will they respond? Why?
What kind of feedback?
Be respectfull to others and etiquettes
Improving Business
Communications
Can technology play a role?
Does everyone need technological competence?
How much?
Ethical Communications
Being true
Plagiarism, selective misquoting, misrepresenting
numbers, distorting visuals.
Ethical dilemma and ethical lapse.
Legal Communications
Promotions, Contractuals, Employments, IP, Financial
Reports, Defamation.

Chapter 2
Communicating in Teams, and
Mastering Listening and Nonverbal
Communication Skills
Team Work & Team
Communications
Participative Management is gaining
popularity
Problem Solving Teams (Task Forces) Vs.
Commitees
Are teams always advantageous?
Is it always effective?


Team Communications
Collaborative Writing
Select the right partners, agree on goals, bond,
establish individual responsibilities, and avoid writing
as a group!
CMS, DMS or Wikis may help
Group dynamics
Interactions within the group; They form the norms
Group roles
Self oriented, maintenance, or task oriented.
They often change and evolve! Ex: Leadership
Conflicts can be constructive or destructive
Maintain composure during resistance

Productive Meetings
Decide on your purpose ahead of time, select the
right participants, choose the time and facilities,
set the agenda
Someone MUST do this!
Everyone shares the responsibility for a
successful meeting.
YOU are responsible for keeping things on track,
following procedures, participating (and encouraging)
Technology helps group meetings
Virtual meetings, Groupwares, VideoConferencing
Listening Skills
Listening is one of the most important skills in
the workspace. Why?
Content Listening
Just probing, no evaluation Only to understand.
Critical Listening
Evaluate the meaning, intentions, motives, ASK!
Empathic Listening
Feelings, needs and wants. Appreciative.

Listening Skills
Try to be an active listener!
CONSCIOUS EFFORT to hear and understand
Send positive body languages to encourage
speaker.
Your mind process information faster than
speakers talk (3 to 4 times more)
Dont leave your brain unsupervised!
Dont daydream
When information is crucial, dont count on
your memory!
Non Verbal Communications
This is important, but you need to understand
your audiences culture.
Non verbal signals include facial expressions,
gestures, vocal characteristics, personal
appearance, touch, and time & space.
Touch is complex, when in doubt, DO NOT
touch.
Chapter 3
Communicating in a World of
Diversity
Communication in a Diverse
World
Identify the opportunities and challenges of a diverse
workplace!
Be sensitive to culture and diversity
What is culture?
Avoid ethnocentrism and be culturally plural
Xenophobia, stereotyping
Recognize that this is a DIVERSE world
High context (metaphorical) Vs. Low context (explicit)
Cultural difference complicate ethical choices
The rules of polite behaviors varies (time)
Age, Gender, Religion, and Ability?
Want to look older or younger?

Intercultural Communication
Skills
Study other cultures and languages
Mistakes will happen, so apologize!
Dont assume everyone speaks english!
Respect others communication styles
Can get frustrating!
Be clear, brief, avoid slangs & jargons or
humors & references to popular cultures.