Course: 0612J - Business

Communication
Business Communication,
Management and Success
&
Adapting Your Message to
Your Audience
Week 1

Module 1

Business Communication,
Management and Success

Learning Outcomes

To learn how to
Recognize myths about on-the-job writing
Distinguish business communication from other
school writing
Explain accomplishments through
communication
Understand costs for business communication
Define criteria for effective messages
Apply strategies for communication analysis
Apply strategies for creative thinking

Verbal
Verbal and
and Nonverbal
Nonverbal
Communication
Communication
Verbal Communication

Face-to-Face or Phone Conversations

Meetings
Text, e-mail, and voice-mail messages
Letters, and memos
Reports

Verbal
Verbal and
and Nonverbal
Nonverbal
Communication
Communication
Nonverbal Communication

Pictures
Company logos
Gestures and body language
Who sits where at meeting
How long keeps a visitor waiting

Will I really have to write?

Myths
Myths About
About Workplace
Workplace Writing
Writing
Secretaries will do all my writing.
Ill use form letters or templates
when I need to write.
Im being hired as an accountant,
not a writer.
Ill just pick up the phone.

Dont I know enough about communication?

Business communication differs from other
school writing, based on:

Purpose.
Audience.
Information.
Organization.
Style.
Document design.
Visuals.

What does communication accomplish?

Management happens through communication
President
To superiors
VIP
Producti
on

VIP
Marketin
g

VIP
Sales

VIP
Finance

VIP
Resource
s

To peers
Sales
Man East

To subordinates
Sales
rep

Sales
Man Mid W

District 1
manager
Sales
rep

Sales
Man West
District 2
manager

Sales
rep

Sales
rep

Sales
Man Int.
District 3
manager
Sales
rep

Communication oral, nonverbal, and written goes

both internal and external audiences

Internal
Subordinates
Supervisors
Peers

External, such as:

Customers/Stockholders
Unions/Government Agencies
Press/General Public
Suppliers/Vendors/Distributors
Customers/Clients

 The important of Listening, speaking, and

interpersonal communication
The Purpose of Messages in Organization

To Inform
To request or persuade
To build goodwill

How much does correspondence cost?

Bad writing wastes time by:
Taking more time to read
Requiring more time to revise and more rounds of
revision
Confusing ideas so that discussions and decisions are
needlessly drawn out
Delaying action while the reader asks for more
information or tries to figure out the meaning

What makes a message effective?

Good messages meet five criteria:
1.Is clear
2.Is complete
3.Is correct
4.Save the readers time
5.Builds goodwill

Better writing helps you:

1.Save time
2.Make your efforts more effective
3.Communicate your points more clearly
4.Builds goodwill

How should I analyze business

communication situation?
Ask yourself the following question:
1.Whats at stake to whom?
2.Should you send a message?
3.What channel should you use?
4.What should you say?
5.How should you say it?

Thinking Creatively
IBMs tips for creativity are even more diverse. Some
of them include:
Have a constructive argument
Brainstorm with someone 10 years older and
someone 10 years younger
Clean your desk
Come in early enjoy the quiet
Leave the office. Sit with just a pencil and a pad of
paper. See what happens

Module 2

Adapting Your Message

to
Your Audience

Learning Outcomes

To learn how to

Understand expectations from your organization

Define audiences for messages
Apply strategies for audience analysis with
PAIBOC
Apply strategies for individual and group
analyses
Apply strategies for audience needs analysis
Adapt messages for audience
Choose channels for audience

Understanding what your organization wants

To find out what counts in your organization:
Ask your boss, What parts of my job are most important?
Whats the biggest thing I could do to improve my work?
Listen to the stories colleagues tell about people who
have succeeded and those who have failed
Observe. See who is praised, who is promoted

Who is my audience?
In an organizational setting, a message may have five
separate audiences:
1.The primary audience
2.The secondary audience
3.The initial audience
4.A gatekeeper
5.A watchdog audience

Why is my audience important?

PAIBOC

What are your purposes in writing or speaking?

Who is (are) your audiences?

What information must your message include?

PAIBOC

continued

What reasons or reader benefits can you

use to support your position?

What objections can you expect your

reader(s) to have?

How will the context affect reader

response?

The Communication Process

The Communication
Model

Perception
Interpretation
Choice/ Selection
Encoding/ Decoding
Channel
Noise

What do I need to know about my audience(s)?

Audience analysis factors
Knowledge
Demographic Factors
Personality
Values and Beliefs
Past Behavior

Discourse community
A group of people who share assumptions about
What channels, formats, and styles are preferred
for Communication? Do you write a paper memo,
send e-mail, or walk down the hall to talk to
someone?
What do people talk about? What is not discussed?
What kind of and how much evidence is needed to
be convincing? Is personal experience convincing?

Organization (Corporate culture)

Norms of behavior in an organization
are revealed
Verbally through the organizations
myths, stories, and heroes.
Nonverbally through the allocation of
space, money, and power.

Now that I have my analysis, what do I do with it?

Strategy
Organization
Style
Document design
Photograph and visuals

What if my audiences have different needs?

Gatekeepers and primary audience
To reach, focus on
Content and choice of details
Organization
Level of formality
Use of technical terms and theory

How do I reach my audience(s)?

Communication channels vary in
Speed
Accuracy of transmission
Cost
Number of messages carried
Number of people reached
Efficiency
Ability to promote goodwill

A written message makes it easier to

Present many specific details of a law, policy,
or procedure
Present extensive or complex financial data
Minimize undesirable emotions

Oral messages make it easier to

Answer questions, resolve conflicts, and build
consensus
Use emotion to help persuade the audience
Get immediate action or response
Focus the audiences attention on specific points
Modify a proposal that may not be acceptable in its
original form

Oral and written messages have many similarities.

In both you should:
Adapt the message to the specific audience
Show the audience members how they benefit from
the idea, policy, service, or product
Overcome any objections the audience may have
Use you-attitude and positive emphasis
Use visuals to clarify or emphasize material
Specify exactly what the audiences should do