Principles of Business Communication

7/29/2019 Principles of Business Communication

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PRINCIPLES OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION

UNIT 2: VERBAL & NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

UNIT 3: PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS

UNIT 4: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN PRACTICE

UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION

I. DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION

Communication is the process of sending and receiving information among people. It is the

way of reaching others by transmitting ideas and thoughts, feeling and values.

II. THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNICATION

Communication and information play an important role in the creation of preconditions for

peace, dignitiy, justice, disarment and solving of universal problems.

Communication is vital in all areas of our lives. We use it for persuasion; to influence

relationships; to inform; to share; to discover, and uncover information. To live is to

communicate. To communicate effectively is to enjoy life more fully.

III. COMMUNICATION PROCESS

The communication process has 7 main elements:

1. Sender: the person who has something to communicate

2. Message: what needs to be communicated

3. Receiver: the person who will receive the message

4. Feedback: the receivers response to the attempt by the sender to send message

5. Channel/Medium of transmission: the means of communication


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6. Context or setting: circumstances wsithin which communication takes place

7. Interference or noise: stimuli that interferes with communication process.

a. The sender: is an individual, group, or organization whi initiates the comm.

b. Message: are the verbal utterances and noverbal behaviours to which meaning is attributed

during comm. Messages make a connection between senders and receivers.

c. Enconding: in order to convey meaning, the sender must begin encoding, which means

translating information into a message in the form of symbols that represent ideas or

concepts. This process translate the ideas or concepts into the coded message that will be

communicated. The symbols can take on numerous forms such as langauges, words, or

gestures.

d. Channels: is the means used to convey the message.

e. Decoding: is conducted by the receiver. The receiver begins to interpret the symbols sent

by the sender, translating the message to their own set of experiences in order to make the

symbols meaningful.

f. The receiver: is the individual or individuals to whom the message is directed.

g. Feedback: is the final link in the chain of the commun process, it is also the key

component in the comm process since it allows the sender to evaluate the effectiveness of the

message.

h. Context: consists of the situation, circumstances or setting within which comm takesplace.

- Physical context: is the nature of relationship that may already exist between senders and


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receivers.

Ex: most people change how they interact when talking with their paretns or siblings as

compared to how they interact when talking with their friends.

- Historical context: is the background provided by previous comm episodes between the

communicators. It affects understandings in the current encounter.

Ex: An asked Tam will you go there tonight? Tam answer no. There means the party

they are both invited to come.

- Psychological context: includes the moods and feeings each person brings to the encounter.

Ex: suppose Alice is under a strain, Tommy pass by and tell her a joke, Alice may explode

with frustration.

- Cultural context: includes the values, attitudes, beliefs, orientations, and underlying

assumptions prevalent among people in a society. Culture penetrates into every aspect of our

lives, affecting how we think, talk and behave.

Ex: the role of Asian students may mean being very quiet, respectful and never challenging

others views; while the student role in US classrooms may mean being talkative, assertive,

and debating the views of others.

i. Interference or noise

Noise can be physical (external sounds) or psychological (internal distractions)

- Physical noise includes the sights, sounds and other stimuli in the environment that draw

peoples attention away from intended meaning.

- Psychological noise includes internal distractions based on thoughts, feelings or emotional

reactions to symbols and can fall into two categories: internal noise and semantic noise.

+ Internal noise refers to the thoughts and feelings that compete for attention and interfere

with the communication process. (Ex: a student does not hear a lecture since he is thinking

about lunch. )

+ Semantic noise refers to the distractions aroused by certain symbols that take our attention

away from the main message. (Ex: Tommy told Alice that Jane is not a good guy. He

always tell bad about anyone he met. Alice may not hear the rest of what Tommy says since

she thinks Jane is a name for girl, why Tommy call Jane he?)

j. Perception: is the way people understand or give meaning to their environment.

Perception and interpretation of the same message evaries according to how each individuals

perception is influenced by experience, attitudes and beliefs and a range of acquired skills or

expectation.

Ex: one may perceive the color red as lively, hot and love while another may see red as angry

or war.


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IV. COMMUNICATION FUNCTIONS

1. We communicate to meet our social needs: Just as we need food, water and shelter, so

we, as social animals, need contact with other people, too. Similarly, we greet others as we

pass by to meet social obligations.

2. We communicate to develop and maintain our sense of self: Through our interactions,

we learn who we are, what we are good at, and how people react to how we behave.

3. We communicate to develop relationships: Not only do we get to know others through

conversation with them but, more importantly, we develop relationships with them.

4. We communicate to exchange information: We discuss communication as information

exchange.

5. We communicate to influence others: you convince your friends to go shopping with

you, you persuade your parents to allow you to study abroad

V. CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMUNICATION

1. Communication has purpose

When people communicate with each other, they have purpose for doing so. Speakers may

not always be aware of the purpose.

2. Communication is continous

Because comm is nonverbal as well as verbal, we are always sending behavioral messages

from which others draw inferences or meaning. Even silence or absence is comm behavior if

another person infers meaning from it.

Ex: if you are cold, you shiver. If you are hot or nervous, you perspire.

3. Communication messages vary in conscious thought

- Many of our messages are spontaneous expressioons, spoke without much conscious

thought.

Ex: when we burn our finger, you may blurt out Ouch

- Our messages are scripted, phrasings that we have learned from our past encounters and

judge to be appropriate to the present situation.

Ex: Please pass the sugar. Thanks

- Our messages may be carefully constructed to meet the unique requirements of a particular

situation.


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4. Communication is relational

Our messages always reflect two important aspects of our relationships: immediacy and

control.

- Immedicay is the degree of liking or attractiveness in a relationship.

- Control is the degree to which one participant is perceived to be more dominant or

powerful.

5. Communication is guided by culture

Culture may be defined as systems of knowledge shared by a relatively large group of

people. We must be sensitive to how differences among people based on sex, age, class,

physical characteristics and sexual orientation affect communication.

6. Communication has ethical implications

Ethics is a set of moral principles that may be held by a society, a group, or an idividual.

When we choose to violate the standards that are expected, we are viewd to be unethical.

Here are 5 ethical standards that influence our comm and guide our behavior.

- Truthfulness and honesty mean refraining from lying, cheating, stealing, or deception.

- Integrity means maintaing a consistency of belief and action (keeping promises)

- Fairness means achieving the right balance of interests without regard to ones own

feelings and without showing favour to any side in a conflict. To be fair to someone is tolisten with an open mind, to gather all the relevant facts, consider only circumstances

relevant to the decision at hand, and not let prejudice or irrelevancies affect how ou treat

others.

- Respectmeans showing regard or consideration for others and their ideas, even if we do not

agree with them. Respect is not based on someones affluence, job status or ethnic

background.

- Responsibility means being accountable for ones actions and what one says. Messages can

hurt and messages can soothe. A responsible comm would not spread a false rumor about

another friend.

7. Communicaiton is learned

Just as you learned to walk, so did you learn to communicate. Since comm is learned, you

can improve your ability

VI. LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION

Intrapersonal comm is comm that occurs within us. It involves thoughts, feelings, and the

way we look at ourselves. You are the only sender-receiver.


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Interpersonal comm refers to comm that takes place between two or more persons who

establish a communicative relationship.

Public comm is characterized by a speakers sending a message to an audience.

UNIT 2. VERBAL & NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

I. VERBAL COMMUNICATION

1. Definition of verbal comm

Verbal comm can be defined as communicating your thoughts through words.

2. The nature and use of language

Language affects how people think and what they pay attention to. Language allow sus to

perceive certain aspects of the world by naming them and allows us to ignore other parts of

the world by not naming them.

Uses of language

a. We use language to designate, label, define and limit.

b. We use language to evaluate: through language we convey positive or negative attitude

toward our subject.

c. We use language to discuss things outside our immediate experience: you talk about

yourself, you past and future.

d. We use language to talk about language: discuss how someone phrased a statement and

whether different wording would have had a better outcome or a more positive response.

Cultural and gender influences on language usage

Culture and gender both influence how words are used ad interpreted. In low-context

cultures, like US and most northern European nations, messages are direct and language is

very specific. In high-context culture, like Latin American and Asian, verbal messages may

be indirect, using more general and ambiguous language.

Social expectations for masculinity and femininity influence language use. Feminine styles

of language typically use words of empathy and support, emphasize concrete and personal

language, and show politeness and tentativeness in speaking. Masculinity styles of language

often use words of status and problem solving, emphasize abstract and general language, and


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show assertiveness and control in speaking.

3. Improving Language Skills

We can improve our messages by following ways:

a. Choosing specific language: Specific words clear up confusion; specific words are momre

concrete and precise than general words. To increase your vocabulary is to study vocabulary-

building books, use a dictionary or use a thesaurus

b. Develop verbal vividness and emphasis: Vividness can be achieved quickly through using

similes (so snh) and metaphors ( n d ). Emphasizing by repeating means important words

or ideas more than once.

c. Provide details and examples: clarity can be achieved by adding details or examples.

d. Date information: means to specify the time or time period that a fact was true or known to

be true.

e. Index generalizations: While we might generally think that people who buy Mercedes are

rich, that might not be true for all Mercedes buyers. To index, consider whether what we are

about to say applies a generalization to a specific person, place or thing.

f. Speaking appropriately: means choosing language and symbols that are adapted to the

needs, interests, knowledge and attitudes of the listeners and avoiding language that alienates

them. It is important that we consider

II. NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATION

1. Definition of non-verbal communication

Non-verbal comm is everything that is communicated beyond what is expressed in words.

2. The importance of non-verbal communication

Non-verbal comm takes place whether humans think it is important or not. We are evaluating

everything about what the person is doing, not just what they are saying.

3. Functions of nonverbal communication

- Nonverbal cuescomplement a verbal message when they add to its meaning.

- Nonverbal messages canrepeat the message the person is making verbally such as pointing

when giving directions.

- Nonverbal messagesregulate verbal comm when they help to maintain the back and forth

sequencing of conversations. Ex: if we are talking to our boss or our teacher, they might get


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up our of her chair, or might look pointedly at the clock on the wall to indicate that the

conversation is over.

- Nonverbal messages cansubstitue for verbal messages. Ex: the wave our hands when we

leave instead of saying goodbye or simply nod our heads instead of saying yes.

- Nonverbal messages can sometimes conflict with the verbal message. Ex: one can say imnot upset while his or her facial expression and tone of voice indicate the opposite.

- Nonverbal messagesaccent what we are saying. Ex: the politician pounds the lectern to

make sure everyone realizes his or her message is important.

4. Types of nonverbal communication

a. Paralanguage (n i ngn)

Paralanguage (sometimes called vocalics) is the study of nonverbal cues of the voice. It may

change the meaning of words.

Paralangauge includes tone, pitch, volume, rate, vocal quality, rhythm.

b. Extralanguage (ngo i ngn)

- Body lanugage / Kinesics

+ Gestures

+ Postures

+ Eye-contact

+ Facial expressions

+ Touch / Haptics

- Objective language / Artifacts

+ Physique, height, weight, hair, skin color, gender, and clothing

- Environmental language

+ Conversational distance / Proxemics: The space btw sender and receiver of a mess

influences the way the mess is interpreted.

+ Time / Chronemics: include punctuality and willingness to wait, the speed of speech and

how long people are willing to listen.


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5. Improving your non-verbal communication

- Pay attention to the feedback we get from others.

- Record your actions in a videotape.

- Observe people in the role they play.

- Tell your family and friends to remind you so that you can break your bad habit.

III. VERBAL AND NON-VERBAL DIFFERENCES

Verbal Non-verbal

Environment If someone get into your roon

without you being present, hemay learn quite a bit about

you from your environment.

Since ones envi can give so

much info, we often feel we

cannot get to know a person

until we visit the place she/he

lives.

Feedback Much of our emotional

response is expressed by

facial expressions and the

positioning of our bodies.

Continuity Verbal comm begins and

ends with words

Non-verbal comm is

continuous.

Channel Verbal comm requires a

single channel (words)

Non-verbal comm uses

several channels (posture,

facial expression, gestures,

hairdo, )

Control Verbal comm is under

control since we can choose

our words

Non-verbal comm is under

our control only part of the

time. Only clothes can be

controlled, your body

language can not.

Structure Verbal comm is structured. Itfollows rules of grammar

Much of non-verbal commoccurs unconsciously =>

there is no planned sequence.


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Acquisition Many of formal rules for

verbal comm (grammar) are

taught in formal environment

such as school.

Much of non-verbal comm is

not formally taught, we pick

it up from imitating others.

UNIT 3: PRINCIPLES OF COMMUNICATION IN BUSINESS

I. COMMUNICATION BARRIERS

1. Muddled messages

Effective comm starts with a clear message. Muddled messages are a barrier to comm since

the sender leaves the receiver unclear about the intent of the sender.

Feedback from the receiver is the best way for a sender to be sure that the message is clear

rather than muddled.

Ex: Please be here at 7am tomorrow morning vs Please be here about 7m tomrrow

morning.

2. Perceptional barriers

Comm depends on our perception, or how we perceive people, their motives, and intentions

and sometimes we build some prejudice inside our comm.

We should improve our self-awareness of our own values, belief and attitudes and how they

affect our perception; and also improve our understand of, and sensitivity to, others.

3. Different cultural background

- Cognitive constraints: They are the way people view the world based on their culture,

sometimes religion, the area you live, the school you went to or even the books you have

read.

- Behavior constraints: They are the ways people behave from different cultures. This can be

eye contact or how close you should be to somebody.

- Emotional constraints: different cultures regulate the display of emotion differently. Some

cultures get very emotional when they are debating an issue. They yell, cry, get angry.

Other cultures try to keep their emotions hidden or sharing only the rational or factual

aspects of the situation.

4. Stereotyping


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Stereotyping causes us to typify a person, a group, an event or a thing on oversimplified

conceptions, beliefs or opinions.

Ex: Ford as better than Chevrolet; white people are more intelligent than black people.

5. Wrong channel

Variation of channel helps the receiver understand the nature and importance of a message.

We should plan to use the media that beest fits our style and qualities. One medium may

work better than another. However, in many cases a combination of media may be used for

the communication process to function effectively.

Ex: a man proposes to a woman by drawing on the sand a heart with a question inside will

you marry me?

6. Language

Barriers related to language may be linguistics barriers (different languages or vocabulary,

variations in language accent, dialect); or semantic barriers (we assign a meaning to a word

often because of culture)

Ex: each new employee needs to be taught the language of the company or region; or a new

word being born by young generations such as chuoi, sen

7. Physical barriers

Physical distractions are the physical things that geet in the way of communication.

Examples of such things include the telephone, a pici-up truck door, a desk, an

uncomfortable meeting place or even noise.

For writing, physical barrier can be an unreadable document

For speaking, it can be noise occuring inside the room itself

8. Emotional barriers

Your emotions could be a barrier to comm if you are engrossed in your emotions for some

reasons. In such cases, you tend to have trouble listening to others or understanding the

message conveyed to you.

We should be aware of the feelings that arise in ourself and in others as we communicate,

and attempt to control them.

9. Lack of feedback

Feedback is the mirror of comm. Feedback should be helpful rather than hurtful. Feedback

should deal in specifics rather than generalities.

10. Poor listening skills


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One important listening skill is to be prepared to listen. Shut up is a useful listening

guideline. Providing feedback is the most importatnt active listening skill. Focus on what the

other person is saying. Repeat key points.

11. Interruptions

Interruptions may be due to something more pressing, rudeness, lack of privacy fordiscussion, a drop-in visitor, an emergency, or even the curiosity of someone else wanting to

know what two other people are saying.

12. Gender

There are distinct differences between the speech patterns of man and those in women.

Women like to ask questions before starting a project, while men tend to jump right in. We

should keep in mind that men tend to focus more on competition, data and orders in their

comm, while women tend to focus more on cooperation, intuition and requests.

II. PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

1. Completeness

Your business message is complete when it contains all facts the reader or listener needs for

the reaction you desire.

a. Provide all necessary information

b. Answer all questions asked

c. Give something extra, when desirable

2. Conciseness

Conciseness is saying what you have to say in the fewest possible words without sacrificing

the other C qualities.

a. Eliminate wordy expressions use single word in place of phrases.

b. Include only relevant material

c. Avoid unnecessary repetition

3. Consideration

Consideration means preparing every message with the message receivers in mind, try to put

yourself in their place.

a. Focus on you attitude instead of I and we.

b. Show audience benefit or interest in the receiver


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c. Emphasize positive, plesant facts

4. Concreteness

Communicating concretely means being specific, definite and vivid rather than vague and

general.

a. Use specific facts and figures

b. Put action in your verbs

c. Choose vivid, image-building words

5. Clarity

Getting the meaning from your head into the head of your reader is the purpose of clarity

a. Choose precise, concrete and familiar words

b. Construct effective sentences and paragraphs

6. Courtesy

Knowing your audience allows you to use statements of courtesy; be aware of your message

receiver.

a. Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative

b. Use expressions that show respect

c. Choose nondiscriminatory expressions.

7. Correctness

At the core of correctness is proper grammar, punctuation and spelling.

a. Use the right level of language

b. Check accuracy of figures, facts and words

c. Maintain acceptable writing mechanics.

UNIT 4: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION IN PRACTICE

I. Parts in a business letter

A business letter layout has seven essential parts, each with a specific purpose.

1. Writers name and address


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2. Date

3. Inside (intended readers) address

4. Greeting

5. Body of the letter

6. Complimentary close

7. Writers signature and job title or designation

A sample business letter

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Principles of Business Communication