Effective Business

Communication
• “The greatest problem of communication is
the illusion that it has been accomplished”
- George Bernard Shaw
 Modes of Communication
• Verbal & Non Verbal
 What are the most common ways
we communicate?

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is ual I
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age
 Modes of Business Communication

E-mail

Report Writing
Communication

Business Memo
 E-mail Etiquette
• Use the inverted pyramid writing style.
• Follow the ABCs of good writing:
– Accuracy
– Brevity
– Clarity
 Writing Effective Subject Lines
• Highlight the main point to summarize the
entire e-mail.
• Use sentence case.
• Avoid words like important and critical.
• Always include a subject.
 Using CC and BCC
• Carbon copy copies others; CC leaves e-
mail addresses visible to all recipients.
• Blind carbon copy copies others; e-mail
addresses listed in the BCC field are
hidden from other recipients.
• Only CC appropriate individuals.
• Use BCC sparingly.
 Extinguishing a Flame War
• Flame wars have no place in professional
communications.
• Choose not to respond to avoid further
provoking heated e-mail threads.
• Leverage in-person communication to
resolve the issue.
• Involve management if in-person
 Business Memo
Writing is an essential skill upon which we all rely. It is the
major means of communication within an organisation.
Thus it is absolutely vital for us as Professionals to actively
develop the skill of writing; not only because of the time
involved in writing, but also because the success of our
work may depend upon it. Indeed, since so much of the
communication between us and more senior management
occurs in writing, our whole career may depend upon the
quality of our writing skills.
 Parts of a Memo
Heading Segment
– TO: (readers' names and job titles)
– FROM: (your name and job title)
– DATE: (complete and current date)
– SUBJECT: (what the memo is about, highlighted in some way)

• 'To' (to whom – directly involved)

• 'Cc' (copy – indirectly involved)
• 'Bcc' (blind copy – not seen by ‘To’ and ‘Cc’)
 Parts of a Memo cont’d………..
• Opening Segment- Before indulging the reader with details and the
context, give the reader a brief overview of what the memo will be about

• Context- The context is the event, circumstance, or background of the problem

you are solving.

• Task Segment- One essential portion of a memo is the task statement

where you should describe what you are doing to help solve the problem
 Parts of a Memo cont’d………..
• Summary Segment- If your memo is longer than a page, you may
want to include a separate summary segment

• Discussion Segments- These segments are the longest portions of

the memo, and are the parts in which you include all the details that support your
ideas

• Closing Segment- After the reader has absorbed all of your information,
you want to close with a courteous ending that states what action you want your
reader to take
 Organizing your writing
Whether you are writing a memo to your co-worker or a
report for your boss, you should decide what information
you want to convey:
• List each item you need to discuss in your memo or
report.
• Put them in order -- from most to least important
• Write a brief summary of your entire memo -- this will be
your first paragraph.
• Expand on each item listed in step 1.
• If any action needs to be taken by the recipient, state
that in your closing paragraph.
 The role of writing
Writing has two major roles:
• it clarifies - for both writer and reader
• it conveys information

It is this deliberate, dual aim which should

form the focus for all your writing activity.
 Tips to remember
• Avoid wordiness.
• Say out loud what you are trying to write.
• Listen to how the words sound.

For example, the sentence:

"I found out that I should take a look at our past sales
figures in order to come up with a plan to help us re-
evaluate our sales technique"

Could be more simply stated as:

"I must take a look at our past sales figures to re-evaluate
our sales technique."
 Report Writing
1. Identify your audience
2. Define your purpose
3. Collect your ideas
4. Select the material and decide
how to show the significance of your facts
10.Structure your ideas
 Report Format
Table of contents
Abstract/Executive Summary
Introduction
Discussion
Conclusions
Recommendations
Bibliography
Attachments / Exhibits
 Report Format
Title page
Table of Content

Abstract/Executive Summary

Introduction

Report Format Discussion

Conclusions

Recommendations

Bibliography
Attachments / Exhibits
 For Greater Impact
Walk your Talk
•

•
 70 % or all our communication
efforts are:
misunderstood, misinterpreted,
rejected, disliked, distorted, or
not heard (in the same language,

70%
Communication is the process of sending
and receiving information among people…
Feedback

receiver sender

SENDER RECEIVER
 Effective communication
• Exchange of Information
• Message Clarity
• The Information exchanged is rightly
perceived
• Positive Feedback
All messages do not reach the
receiver due to “distortion”
Feedback

Sender Receiver
 Ineffective communication
• Communication breakdown
• Disagreements
• Misconceptions
• Conflicts
• Poor Performance
• Poor Motivation
• Costly Errors
"I remind myself every morning: Nothing
I say this day will teach me anything.
So if I'm going to learn, I must do it by
listening." (Larry King).
 Listening…the other side of
communication
Too many people see communication as merely speaking.

Messages must be received as well as sent.

A good question to ask yourself is, are you really
listening or simply waiting for your turn to talk?
If you are thinking about your reply before the other
person has finished, then you are not listening!
 What causes distortion or the barriers to
understanding/listening?

• Perceptions •Environment – noise

•Preconceived
• Language
notions/expectations
• Semantics
•Wordiness
• Personal Interests
•Attention span
• Emotions
•Physical hearing problem
• Inflections
•Speed of thought

•
 How can we improve our listening
skills?
Eliminate distractions
Concentrate
Focus on the speaker
Maintain an open mind
Look for nonverbal cues
Do not react to emotive words
Ask questions
Sit so you can see & hear
Avoid prejudices
Take notes
Ask for clarification
How can we improve our listening
& facilitation skills as trainers?
Levels of Listening
 WHY DON’T WE LISTEN?

LISTENING SKILLS
• SELECTIVE LISTENING
• SPEED OF THOUGHT vs. TALK SPEED
• LACK OF INTEREST
• BELIEFS & ATTITUDES
• REACTIONS TO THE SPEAKER
• PREJUDICES
• PHYSICAL DISTRACTIONS
HOW WE SHOW WE ARE NOT LISTENING

• Turn away

LISTENING SKILLS
• Shuffle papers
• Glazed look in our eyes
• No energy/conviction in our response
• Pick up a newspaper and start reading
• Turn and talk to someone else
• Not response on purpose to a question
• Continue to look at the TV (at home
especially)
AMBIGUOUS LISTENING
SIGNALS
• GAZING OUT OF THE WINDOW

LISTENING SKILLS
(could be a sign of concentration)
• DOODLING
(trying to understand a complex thought)
• SITTING BACK ON A CHAIR
(may just mean comfort with the
situation)
 ACTIVE LISTENING

LISTENING SKILLS
• PHYSICAL – eye contact, posture
• PSYCHOLOGICAL
- interpret non-verbal behavior
• VERBAL - probing
TALKING WITH SOMEONE WHO
DOESN’T WANT TO TALK.
Use:

LISTENING SKILLS
• Open-ended probes
• Provoking questions
• Pauses
• Reflective
statements
• Neutral probes
• Brief assertions
TALKING WITH SOMEONE WHO TALKS
TOO MUCH.

Use:

LISTENING SKILLS
• Close-ended probes
- Resist the temptation to ask open-
ended questions.

• Leading questions
- used to politely steer conversation
 EMPATHIC LISTENING
• Use active listening devices but focus

LISTENING SKILLS
on the emotion.
• Let the speaker speak first.
• Let the speaker express him/herself.
• Don’t interrupt the speaker.
• Don’t rush the speaker.
• Don’t argue with the speaker.
• Don’t take over the conversation.
 EMPATHIC LISTENING

• Ask for clarifications – take notes where

necessary.

LISTENING SKILLS
• Make contributions
• Nod, accent
• Ask questions
• Eye contact
• Use more of reflexive statements/pauses.
• Repeat/summarize.
 WHEN THERE’S AN ARGUMENT

• Listen to ALL sides.

LISTENING SKILLS
• Use empathic listening.
• Don’t pass immediate judgment unless
there’s a pressing need to do so.
• Consider listening to a neutral third party.
• Remember – everyone’s frame of reference
is perfectly legitimate.
 Listening
• Listen with the intent to
understand
• Listen with the intent to offer
intelligent response
Active Listening 1) Always 2) Most of the time 3) Sometimes 4) Seldom 5) Never
 Rating Scale
• 14 – 28 High performance listener
• 29 – 49 Good listener
• 50 – 70 poor listener
 Summarizing…try it out!
Try out these summarizing phrases:
“If I understand you correctly,
your main concerns are…”
“These seem to be the key
ideas you have expressed…”
Summarizing pulls
important ideas, facts or
data together to establish a
basis for further discussion
and/or review progress.
The person summarizing
must listen carefully in
order to organize the
information systematically.
It is useful for emphasizing
key points.
• Until the message sent receives
feedback, communication cannot be
said to be effective.