Business Communication Unit 1 – presentation Importance of Communication Skills

1. Communication as a complex process Communication is: 1.not innate 2.learned 3.the oldest form of academic study 4.originally ‘rhetoric’ 5.a two-way interaction 6.not static 7.not a synonym of ‘information’

1. Communication as a complex process Because we live in a world of constant change…: 1.jobs are no longer long-term 2.communication technology makes communication fast- paced 3.business leaders have become facilitators, coaches and directors

2. Forms of communication Communication can be: 1.formal / informal 2.spoken / written 3.verbal / non-verbal 4.aided by technology 5.person-to-person

2. Forms of communication Communication, in whatever form, is structured as: SENDER  channel  RECEIVER i.e. (WHO  how / by what means  TO / WITH WHOM)

2. Forms of communication Communication, in whatever form, is conditioned by: TIME

3. Barriers to good communication Communication can be hampered by: 1.faulty information 2.insufficient information 3.ineffective communication 4.language / culture issues 5.deficient listening skills 6.lack of thinking ahead by interaction

3. Barriers to good communication Remember: Communication = everything we do

4. Content and relationship Every message has two levels: 1.content (= WHAT): words, message, information 2.relationship (= HOW): non-verbal behaviour

4. Content and relationship According to researchers, people would rather 1.believe their eyes (non-verbal perceptions), than 2.their ears (words spoken or written)

4. Content and relationship According to researchers, 1.75%-95% of a perceived message is non-verbal 2.any speaker has 1-3 minutes to leave an impression 3.long-term relationships are important

4. Content and relationship Past and present: 1.in the past employees were left out of decision-making 2.nowadays they are included in this process through the enhancement in good communication

5. Language and discrimination General types of discrimination: 1.direct 2.indirect 3.‘positive’

5. Language and discrimination Discrimination may involve someone’s: race skin colour gender sexual orientation age disability medical record impairment

5. Language and discrimination Discrimination may involve someone’s: marital status pregnancy family responsibilities criminal record trade union activity political opinion religion social / ethnic origin

5. Language and discrimination Through stereotyping, language may reflect direct or indirect (inadvertent) discrimination: language and age> ageism language and cultural diversity> racism language and gender> sexism language and sexual orientation> homophobia language and disability

6. Communication for business A classification of an organization’s communication activities: 1.internal operational 2.external operational 3.personal

6. Communication for business A classification of an organization’s communication activities: 1.internal operational –giving orders –assembling reports –writing memorandums –communicating by computers etc

6. Communication for business A classification of an organization’s communication activities: 2.external operational –personal selling –telephoning –advertising –business correspondence etc

6. Communication for business A classification of an organization’s communication activities: 3.personal –feelings among people working in the same organization