1. BUSINESS COMMUNICATION -LECTURE1
Benefits of effective communication
Communicating in the organisation
Communicating effectively with your
audience
Using communication technology
Ethics in business communication

2. Benefits of effective communication
Improved decision making
Earlier warning of potential problems
Increased productivity
Stronger business relationships
Clearer marketing messages
Enhanced professional image
LO1. Explain why effective communication is important to your success in todays business environment

3. Communicating in an organisational setting
Formal communications networks –
Ideas and information flow along lines of command
3 ways: Downwards, upward and horizontal
Internal and formal
Informal communications networks
Grapevine
Thrive when we don’t have all the information we need or want

4. Example of a formal communication network
Executives to employees
downward: executive decision making & providing information to assist employees
Employees to Executives
President
Marketing VP
Sales Manager
Advertising & Promo manager
Production VP
Plant Manager
upward: identify problems, trends, opportunities, grievances & performance levels
sideways: employees between departments to share information, co-ordinate tasks & solve complex problems
Employees between departments

5. External Communication
Formal- letters, announcements
Informal- meetings, sales contacts
Social networking technologies- Facebook

6. Characteristics of Effective Business Communication-1 LO2.
Practical- should be useful to help make a decision or aid understanding
Factual- should be concrete, have specific details, be accurate and detailed
Concise- highlight the main ideas: people reason better
Clear- generate a response, what do expect? Or want them to do?
Persuasive- what’s in it for them?

7. LO3. Communication skills employers expect from their employees-1
Organize ideas logically and completely
Express ideas and information coherently and persuasively
Listen to others effectively
Communicating effectively with people from diverse backgrounds and experiences
Using communication technology efficiently and effectively

8. LO3. Communication employers expect from their employees-2
6. Follow accepted spelling, grammar & other standards expected with high quality writing and speaking
7. Communicate in a civil manner that reflects good business etiquette
8. Communicate ethically

9. LO4. List 5 ways in which business communication differs from social communication
The increasing value of business information
The globalization of business and the increase in workforce diversity
The persuasiveness of technology
The evolution of organizational structures
The growing reliance of teamwork

10. LO5.Describe six strategies for communicating more effectively on the job
Connecting with your audience
Minimize distractions
Adopt an audience- centered approach
4. Fine tuning your communication skills
5. Giving constructive feedback
6. Be sensitive to business etiquette

11. Connecting with your audience
Understand the communication process
Know the barriers
Get inside the audience minds

12. Understand the communication process
Audience sends feedback
Sender produces it in a transmittable medium
Sender encodes it in a message
Sender transmits it through a channel
Audience receives the message
Audience responds to the message
Sender has an idea
Audience decodes message

13. Know the barriers
Noise and distractions- e.g. poor acoustics, uncomfortable environs, stress, cell phone, etc
Competing messages- need undivided attention, don’t overload information, etc
Filters- human or technology interventions, e.g. go to junk, biasness
Channel breakdowns- failure to deliver message, e.g. unreliable person, lost server crash, etc.

14. Get inside the audience minds
Consider their expectations- get their attention, be creative
Ensure ease of use- make it easy to find, e.g. good website design and navigation
Use familiar words, images and design- use those familiar to them, e.g. About us page
Clearly address their needs- not yours
Design for compatibility- consider technology differences, e.g. software versions

15. LO6. What must occur for the audience to successfully receive, decode & respond to messages
3 things must occur
Remember
Sensory memory Long term memory Receive info
2. Be able to respond- can they do as you wish, e.g. if it’s a promo, can they actually buy it?? Minimize the scenarios!
3. Be motivated- how will they benefit?

16. Decode
Depends on individuals culture, experience, learning & thinking styles, hopes, fears, moods, etc.
Tend to extract meaning they want to get from the message opposite to that intended by the sender
Perception Selective perception
We will look at response later on slide 20!

17. Strategy 2. Minimize Distractions
Use commonsense and courtesy, e.g. not talking on the phone, listening to music, etc.
Not sending unnecessary messages, e.g. s
Not isolating yourself, e.g. always urgent!
Highlight the priority of the message
Overcome emotional distractions, e.g. expect reactions, choose words carefully, don’t blame

18. Strategy 3-Adopt an Audience-Centered Approach
Keep your audience’s needs in mind
Adopt a “you” attitude
Learn about their biases, education, age, status and concerns- put yourself in their shoes, relate to their needs

19. Strategy 4- Fine tuning your business communication skills
Your skills as a communicator is just as important as your qualifications, experience, opportunities ahead, etc.
Do training!
Extend your vocabulary
Practice

20. Strategy 5- Giving Constructive Feedback
Constructive versus Destructive feedback
Think through your suggested changes carefully
Discuss ‘improvements’ rather than flaws
Be specific
Keep feedback impersonal
Time your feedback carefully
Highlight any limitations your feedback may have
Verify understanding

21. Responding to Constructive Feedback
Resist the urge to defend your work
Don’t react emotionally
Step back and consider the feedback
Ensure suggested changes are valid

22. 6th Strategy-Be sensitive to business etiquette
Etiquette- expected norms of behavior in a particular situation
It influences your reputation
It affects your company’s image
Be respectful
Be courteous
Use commonsense

23. LO7. Explain 4 strategies for using communication technology successfully
Keeping technology in perspective
–use as an aid, not a replacement
Using technology tools productively
- not on the job, inappropriate surfing online
Spend time and money wisely
- that will represent the importance of the communication effort, wasted if not used efficiently
Reconnect with people frequently
- Human touch is important, lost meaning from facial expressions, body language, etc.

24. Tools for Communicating Effectively
Wireless networks
Collaborating
Shared workstations
Podcasting
Corporate blogs
Help lines
Extranets

25. LO8. Discuss the importance of ethics in business communication and how it differs with ethical dilemmas & ethical lapses
Ethics are “accepted principles of conduct that govern behavior”
Ethical communication
Include all relevant information
Is truthful
Not deceptive in any way
Stealth marketing
Being deceptive when selling a concept for personal gain

26. Examples of unethical communications
Plagiarism
- using someone words & other creative products as your
own, its illegal and violates copyright laws
Selective misquoting
Deliberating omitting damaging or unflattering comments to
butter it up
Misrepresenting numbers
- Increasing, decreasing or omitting numbers, changing statistics
Distorting visuals
- Make product look bigger, or editing graphs & charts

27. Ethical dilemmas and lapses
Ethical dilemma- choosing between alternatives that may all be ethical and valid
Ethical lapse- is knowing that something is wrong and doing it anyway

28. Ensuring Legal Business Communication
Can be bounded by a variety of laws and regulations
promotional communication- truth & accuracy in advertising
employment communication
intellectual property
Defamation
Contracts, etc

29. Summary
Effective communication can offer many business related benefits
There are both formal and informal communication networks
You need to understand your audience
Use technology wisely
Be aware of your ethical and legal responsibilities

30. That’s all for this class! Let’s now look at these questions:
A multi-cultural workforce is made up of people from different backgrounds.
i.) List 3 cultural differences that might be found in a diverse workforce today. [3]
ii.) State 2 competitive advantages that a diverse workforce can bring to business. [2]
Sept 08 Q1 d)

31. List 4 types of meeting technologies that are used to connect people around the country or around the world. [4]
List in logical order, 8 steps of the communication process to illustrate how ideas travel from sender to receiver. [9]
June 09 Q1 a) & b), Q3
Outline briefly4 reasons why it is important not to overuse technology if you achieve effective business communication.
March 09 Q1 e)