BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

3RD YEAR – IECourses 1+2

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

I. The communication model

II. Types of business communication

III. Successful business communication

IV. Non-verbal communication

I. The communication model

• The purpose of communication is to transmit information from one person or group to another.

• Communication involves two parties: The sender The receiver

The process of communication involves the following stages:

1.The sender selecting a communication method to use (e.g. oral or written form);

2.The sender transmitting information;3.The recipient of the communication receiving

the information being communicated;4.The recipient giving feedback to the sender

that the communication has been received.

II. Types of business communication

A. Internal vs. external communication

B. Formal vs. informal communication

C. Oral/Spoken vs. written communication

A. Internal vs. External Communication

• Internal communication (within the business -intranet);

• External communication (between the business and another organization – internet and extranet);

B. Formal vs. Informal Communication

• Formal communication – oral or written: presentations, meetings, negotiations, speeches, formal letters;

• Informal communication – mostly oral (grapevine)

C. Oral vs. Written Communication

Oral Communication• most appropriate for transmitting simple, low-

volume information quickly;• face-to-face conversations, phone calls,

meetings, presentations, interviews;• AGM – Annual General Meeting

Written Communication• most appropriate for transmitting high-volume

or technical information;

• e-mails, memos, letters, reports, proposals, newsletter, agenda, minutes;

Formal letters

• application / cover letter• letter of complaint• letter of enquiry – the seller sends product details;• quotation – if the buyer is interested in the product,

a quotation may be asked for;• order – indicates the number of items ordered/ their

description, catalogue number and price/ when and where they are to be delivered.

• advice note – the supplier / the seller may forward an advice note separately from the goods to tell the buyer they have been despatched;

• delivery note – is sent when the supplier delivers the goods;

• consignment note – may be sent if an independent carrier delivers them (INCOTERMS – DAF, Ex-Works, FOB, etc.)

• invoice – contains details of the goods – their description, quantity, price and total cost;

• statement of account – if the buyer is a regular customer, the seller will send at a later date a statement of account showing the goods sent and payments received in the period.

III. Successful Business Communication

A. Barriers to successful communication

B. The importance of successful communication

C. Visual communication

A. Barriers to successful communication

The sender could use:• inaccurate technical terms or specialist vocabulary;• summaries that miss out important information;• an inappropriate level of language: jargon or over-

complex terms;• over-long sentences or poor sentence structure.

An example of over-complicated language …☺☺☺

“ If there are any of these points about which you need explanation or further particulars we shall be pleased to furnish these additional details as may be requested by telephone.”

(in other words: If you have any questions, please ring) ☺☺☺

The message could be sent:• over a long chain of command, which leads

to it being transmitted through too many people and levels;

• containing far more information than is needed;

• between a sender and a recipient who are quite different: in background or culture.

The receiver could:• have poor listening or reading skills;• interpret the message in a way that was not

intended;• be in an unsuitable state / mood.

B. The importance of successful communication

Good communication will help to:• explain its mission;• build a good reputation;• increase sales;• motivate staff;• improve the quality of product information.

Poor communication has effects on:• Customers• Suppliers• Local community• Employees• Lenders

C. Visual Communication

• Tables• Graphs • Charts• Logo• Design• Advertisements

IV. Non-verbal Communication (NVC)

NVC includes• Gestures• Body posture• Facial expressions

Forms of NVC

• HAPTICS – refers to the study of touching behavior;• VOCALICS – refers to the study of voice

characteristics and changes;• PROXEMICS – refers to the study of human kind‘s

perception and use of space (how close we stand to each other);

• OCCULESICS – refers to the study of eye movement;

• KINESICS – refers to all bodily movements except for those which involve the touching of another person (posture, movement styles, gestures);

• CHRONEMICS – refers to the study of people‘s attitude to time (being punctual);

• OLFACTICS – refers to the study of smell and its impact on human behavior.

How are body language signals classified in business contexts?

According to John Mole, there are two basic groups of body language postures in business:

A.OPEN/CLOSED – indicates whether people are rejecting or accepting messages;

B.FORWARD/BACK – indicates whether people are actively or passively reacting to communication.

EYE-CONTACT

looking right (generally) - creating, fabricating, guessing, lying, storytelling

looking left - recalling, remembering, retrieving 'facts'

looking right and up - visual imagining, fabrication, lying

direct eye contact (when speaking) - honesty - or faked honesty

EYE-CONTACT

direct eye contact (when listening ) - attentiveness, interest, attraction

widening eyes - interest, appeal, invitation rubbing eye or eyes - disbelief, upset, or

tiredness

HEAD/ARMS

head nodding –agreement slow head nodding - attentive listening fast head nodding - hurry up, impatience crossed arms - possibly defensive crossed arms + crossed legs - probably

defensive removing spectacles - alerting wish to

speak

HANDSHAKING

• It can be soft, firm, brief, long, or even painful;

• Aggressive people have firm handshakes;

• People with low self esteem have a limp handshake;

• Politicians shake your hand with their other hand covering the shake or holding your elbow.

??? ☺☺☺

FUNNY THINGS

In Arab culture the left hand is commonly considered unclean due to associations with toilet functions, and should therefore not be offered or used for touching or eating;

The American - style 'OK' sign - a circle made with thumb and index-finger with other fingers fanned or outstretched - is a rude gesture in some cultures, notably the Middle East;

In Japan, business cards should be exchanged at the first possible opportunity. The card received should be held in both hands and examined carefully, and then stored, preferably in a wallet, on the upper half of the body. Holding a person's identity in one hand is casual/disrespectful. The trouser pocket is a rude place.

In some countries, for example Greece, Turkey, shaking the head sideways may mean yes, and nodding the head may mean no.