Chapter 1 Business Communications Communicating at Work Chapter 1 Business Communications
What is communication? It is the transfer or exchange of thoughts, information, ideas, and feelings by speech, writing, or signals between at least two people. In today’s workforce, the quality of your communication will have direct bearing on your success on the job.
Purposes for Business Communication Provide factual information Inform readers about or provide information Clarify and condense information State precise responsibilities Persuade and make recommendations
The Communication Process Sender has an idea Sender encodes the idea Sender transmits the message Receiver gets the message Receiver decodes the message Receiver sends feedback FEEDBACK MESSAGE IDEA REACTION SENDER AUDIENCE
Elements of Communication at Work Chapter 1
What is the situation? The situation of communication includes what is happening and where it is happening. School – classroom, lunch table, hallway Church Home – dinner table, in front of tv, between sibilings Telephone Blog
Who is the sender? The sender is the person who is speaking, writing, or typing. The background and experiences of the sender always affect the message. You Your parent/grandparent The teacher Your BFF Casual friends Boyfriend/girlfriend Principal Boss
Who is the receiver? The receiver of the message is the audience. The audience could be one person or thousands. Two groups of audiences: Specialists Principal to teacher(s) Nurse to doctor(s) Computer tech to computer tech(s) Generalists Computer tech to teacher(s) Doctor to patient(s) Principal to parent(s)
What is the message? The message is the information and ideas relayed by the sender to the audience. If the message is communicated in an unclear manner, it can cause workers to waste time, materials, and money.
What is the purpose? While there are many purposes to consider, the basics are: Socialize Inform/Report Persuade Request
Effect of the Audience on the Message Chapter 1: Communicating Messages Effectively
Effective Communication Message Communication is effective if something happens as a result. Effective communication is an interactive process Feedback
Analyze and Adapt Sender must analyze (study) the audience. THEN… Sender must adapt (adjust) the message.
How do I adapt for my audience? What form should the message take? How will the audience use the message? Will the audience want to hear, read, or listen to my message? Will a visual help? How can I design a user-friendly page? How can I convince the audience to do what I want?
Communicating Messages Effectively Chapter 1
Three Main Stages of Writing
The Planning Stage Written messages are planned so that the sender says exactly what they want to say to the receiver. Do your planning before you begin writing
Planning a Document Requires the following: Analyzing the audience Determining the purpose Collecting information Selecting and organizing information
The Writing Stage The secret to success is… do it wrong the first time. Professional writers prepare many drafts with the help of editors and proofreaders.
When writing the first draft… Write without breaks Stopping to edit breaks your train of thought Don’t stop to read what you have written If you don’t know how to spell a word, do your best and correct it later If you don’t know the right word, use the wrong one – you can fix it later JUST KEEP WRITING TO THE END Edit and revise later!
The Revising Stage Writing effective messages requires that you edit: check, proofread, and revise. If you use a word processing program (such as MSWord) editing is easier using Spell Check and Grammar Check.
The Revising Stage Let time pass between writing and revising because your eyes will see what your brain wants on the paper, not what may actually be there. Read messages aloud to yourself. Sentences may look fine but sound wrong. Ask teachers, parents, and friends to read your work so that they can also supply feedback and corrections.