Achieving Success Through Effective

Business Communication
 Effective Communication
• Quicker problem solving
• Stronger decision making
• Increased productivity
• Steadier work flow
 Effective Communication
• Stronger business relationships
• Clearer promotional materials
• Enhanced professional image
• Improved stakeholder response
 Characteristics
of Effective Messages

• Provide factual information

• Give facts, not impressions
• Clarify and condense information
• State precise responsibilities
• Persuade and make recommendations
 Basic Communication

• Nonverbal
– Less structured, harder to classify
– More spontaneous, less control
• Verbal
– More structured, easier to study
– Conscious purpose, more control
 Usage of Business
Communication Channels
• Listening 45%
• Reading 16%
• Speaking 30%
• Writing 9%
 The Listening Process
• Receiving
• Interpreting
• Remembering
• Evaluating
• Responding
 Barriers to Listening
• Prejudgment
• Self-centeredness
• Selective listening
 Active Listening
• Find areas of interest
• Focus on content
• Hold your fire
• Listen for ideas
• Take selective notes
 Active Listening
• Work at listening
• Block competing thoughts
• Paraphrase the speaker
• Stay open-minded
• Stay ahead of the speaker
 Preparing for Meetings
• Decide on the purpose
• Select participants
• Choose the location
• Set and follow an agenda
 Effective Meetings
• Focus
• Procedures
• Participation
• Closing
• Follow-up
 Receiving Telephone Calls

• Answer promptly
• Identify yourself
• Establish rapport
• Be positive
• Take messages
• Explain your actions
 Making Telephone Calls

• Get ready
• Schedule the call
• Minimize distractions
• Introduce yourself
• Maximize your time
• Maintain focus
• Use a positive close
 Using Voice Mail
• Minimize time zones
• Reduce paperwork
 Effective
Voice Mail Greetings
• Be brief and accurate
• Sound professional
• Keep callers in mind
• Make options helpful
• Update your greetings
• Respond to calls promptly
 Effective
Voice Mail Messages
• Keep the message simple
• Sound professional
• Avoid personal messages
• Replay the message
• Avoid multiple messages
• Don’t hide behind voice mail
Communication Challenges in Today’s
Workplace
• Advances in technology
• Globalization
• Workforce diversity
• Team-based organizations
 Internal Communication

• Official structure
– Formal chain of command
– Up, down, across formal power lines
• The grapevine
– Informal networking
– Unofficial lines of power
 External Communication
• Formal contacts
– Marketing
– Public relations
• Informal contacts
– Employees
– Managers
 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
 Communication Barriers
• Perception and language – culture and belief
• Restrictive environments – physiological/
technology
• Distractions – technology/ people
• Information overload
 Overcoming Barriers
• Adopt audience-centered approach
• Foster open communication climate
• Commit to ethical communication
• Create lean, efficient messages
 Audience-Centered Approach
• Understand biases
• Consider education
• Factor in age
• Recognize status
• Acknowledge style
 Communication Climate
• Modify organizational structure
• Facilitate feedback
 Ethical Communication
• Recognize ethical choices
• Make ethical choices
• Motivate ethical choices
 Efficient Messages
• Send fewer messages
• Minimize distractions
• Develop communication skills
 Nonverbal Communication
• Intent
• Spontaneity
• Honesty
• Efficiency
Types of Nonverbal Communication

• Facial expressions
• Gestures and posture
• Vocal characteristics
• Personal appearance
• Touching behavior
• Use of time and space
 Maximizing Nonverbal
Communication
• Avoid conflicting signals
• Strive for honesty
• Smile genuinely
• Maintain eye contact
• Be aware of posture and gestures
• Use appropriate vocal signals
 Maximizing Nonverbal
Communication
• Know your audience
• Acknowledge comfort zones
• Shake hands appropriately
• Respect varying attitudes about time
• Use touch carefully
• Be aware of false cues
 Communicating in Teams and
Mastering Listening and Nonverbal
Communication Skills
 Exercise:

THE AVAILABLE HEART

 You are a surgeon at a large hospital. You
must make a very important decision. You
have, in the hospital, seven patients, each of
whom needs an immediate heart transplant
operation. Unfortunately, only one donor
heart is available at this time. Each of the
seven patients is compatible with the available
heart and may well die before another
appropriate heart becomes available.
Which patient would you select to receive the
heart?
Why?
Potential Recepients
• A famous brain surgeon at the height of her career (single,
female, 31 years old, no children)
• A brilliant 12 year-old female musician.
• A 40 year-old male teacher with two children and a wife who
does not work outside the home.
• A 15 year-old pregnant woman who is single and who has no
children.
• A 35 year-old priest working in a temple.
• A 17 year-old waitress who is a high school dropout and helps
to support her siblings and aging parents.
• A 38 year-old scientist who is pursuing a promising line of
research that will hopefully lead to a cure for AIDS. She is a
lesbian and has no children.
Each of you has now made an individual decision about your
choice to receive the available heart, and the criteria upon
which you made your decision.
The second phase of this exercise involves group decision
making. Your group is to employ the process of consensus
decision making in arriving at a group decision. This means
that the group must reach a consensus on who receives the
available heart and the standards for making that decision.
The choice must be one that everyone in the group can agree
upon; even if the choice does not meet with everyone’s
complete approval all members of the group will support the
decision because every member of the group has been
heard; and they support the choice as being the best
decision at the time.
 Characteristics of
Effective Teams
• Have a clear sense of purpose
• Communicate openly and honestly
• Reach decisions by consensus
• Think creatively
• Remain focused
• Resolve conflict effectively