Effective communication with writing and communication tips. Presentation also includes presenting and formal and informal business reports.

1. By: Anthony Gatto
Best Practices in Business Communication

2. Agenda
Effective business communication
Ethics in business communication
Business communication between cultures
Writing and communication tips
Electronic messaging and digital media
Communicating positive and negative messages
Business presentations
Business reports
Summary

3. Communication is a Process
Successful communication depends on the message being
received by the receiver intact and interpreted by the
receiver to have the same meaning as when transmitted.
Effective Business Communication

4. Effective Business Communication
 Gather additional information
 Wait before making your point
 Devote your full attention to listening
 Clearly state your reason for talk or meeting
 Apologize, reduce tension

5. Effective Business Communication Methods
Video, phone, and web conferencing
Mobile devices
Printers and copiers
Presentations
Company intranets
One on ones
Blogs, podcasts, and Wikis

6. Ethics in Business Communication
Goals for Ethical Business Communication (Guffey, 2008)
Abiding by the law
Telling the truth
Labeling opinions
Being objective
Communicating clearly
Using inclusive language
Giving credit

7. Seven steps to integrate ethics in the workplace (Mack, 2013)
Publish general behavioral guidelines
Train staff
Listen to other viewpoints
Defend the weak
Confront questionable behavior
Report unethical behavior
Treat all with respect and honesty
Ethics in Business Communication

8. Ethics in Business Communication
Ethics on a Global Stage
Corruption Index
To learn more about global corruption and what countries are doing to increase
transparency and ethics, go to: http://government.defenceindex.org/results/overall

9. Writing and Communication Tips
Ethical Writing:
Tips to follow
 Avoid plagiarism!
 Don’t promise what you can’t deliver.
 Check your facts.
 Gather statistics using sound methods or from reliable sources.
 Be careful not to cross the line between dressing up the facts for
promotional purposes and misleading.
For additional information on copyright laws and public domain visit:
http://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm

10. Business Communication Between Cultures

11. Oral and writing tips
 Learn foreign phases
 Use simple English
 Speak slowly and enunciate
clearly
 Encourage accurate feedback
 Accept blame
 Listen without interrupting
 Consider local styles
 Observe titles and rank
 Use short sentences and
paragraphs
 Avoid ambiguous expressions
 Use correct grammar
 Strive for clarity
Writing and Communication Tips Between
Cultures

12. Writing Tips

13. Writing Tips for Digital Media
Bad vs. Good & Tips
Bad Good Tip
Subject Need help! Need help in writing ad Expand subject with
more information.
Response Yes, I agree totally! Yes, I agree with our
first choice should be
an online listing.
Provide context to
orient reader.
Instructions Instructions to different people
however not specific for each.
Haley, please analyze
choices.
Tony, provide ROI for
each.
Terri, provide
cost/benefit analysis
for each.
Send general message
however include
individual instruction.
Use Bcc Unless person being sent or CC
aware do not use Bcc.
Send separate messages
or copy everyone.
Using Bcc may not
explain properly to all
included on message.

14. Electronic Messaging in Business
Subject line
Opening
Indirect
Direct
Body
Closing
Action
Summary
Closing thought
For additional examples of business letters, memos, and emails visit:
http://highered.mcgraw-
hill.com/sites/0070880581/student_view0/sample_letters.html

15. Communication Bad News

16. Communicating Negative Messages
Primary and Secondary Goals in Communicating Bad News
For additional information on delivering bad
news and examples of negative business
letters visit:
http://grammar.about.com/od/ab/g/Bad-
News-Message.htm
 Primary
Make receiver understand the bad
news
Have the receiver accept the bad
news
Maintain a positive image of you
and your organization
 Secondary
Reduce bad feelings
Convey fairness
Eliminate future correspondence
Avoid creating legal liability or
responsibility for you or your
organization

17. Business Letters: Accentuating the Positives
Even when bad news must be presented, you can do so with a tilt towards the
positive. To gain additional information on writing, visit the Purdue University
online writing lab at: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/654/01/
 When you need to present negative information, soften its effects by
superimposing a positive picture on a negative one.
Stress what something is rather than what it is not.
Emphasize what the firm or product can and will do rather than what
it cannot.
Open with action rather than apology or explanation.
Avoid words which convey unpleasant facts.
Communicating Positive Messages

18. Business Presentations
Tips for communicating with a diverse audience (Lieberman, 2013):
 Use words that include rather that exclude.
 Learn the demographics of the audience.
 Do not assume everyone shares your religious beliefs.
 Look at everyone and smile.
 Do not use humor that puts down any particular group.
 Do not be afraid to ask for correct pronunciation of someone’s name.
 If someone has an accent you can’t understand, ask them to repeat
themselves slowly, because what they are saying is important to you.
 Use different methodologies in your presentations to accommodate
different learning styles.
 Be comfortable with silence.

19. Know Your Audience

20. Business Presentations - Creating the Presentation
Start with text
Select background and fonts
Choose images that help
communicate your message
Create graphics
Add special effects
Create hyperlinks to approximate
the Web browsing experience
Engage your audience by asking
for interaction

21. Business Presentation- Giving the Presentation
• Get the attention of your audience – Use an interesting 'hook' or
opening point, like a shocking statistic. Be provocative and stimulating,
not boring or calm.
• Create a need – Convince the audience there's a problem, explain how
it affects them – and persuade them that things need to change.
• Define your solution – Explain what you think needs to be done.
• Describe a detailed picture of success (or failure) – Give the audience a
vision; something they can see, hear, taste, and touch.
• Ask the audience to do something right away – Get the audience
involved right from the start. Then it's usually much easier to keep
them engaged and active in your cause.

22. Business Presentations- Using Graphics
Pictures leave a more lasting impact than oral communication

23. Business Reports
Types of Business Reports
 Informational
 Analytical
 Research
 Statutory
 Non Statutory
 Routine
 Special
To learn more about business proposals and reports and to view
examples from experts, visit: http://www.bplans.com/

24. Mary Ellen Guffey, Business Communication: Process and Product, 8e
Components of Formal andComponents of Formal and
Informal ProposalsInformal Proposals
Budget
Authorization
Appendix
Generally appear in both
formal and informal proposals:
Staffing
Optional in informal proposals:
Schedule
Background, problem, purpose
Introduction
List of figures
Table of contents
Title Page
Abstract or summary
Letter of transmittal
Copy of RFP (optional)

25. Summary
 Communication is a process and there are obstacles
however there are ways to overcome them.
 Communication is key, listen more, talk less.
 Effective communication occurs when recipient
receives and understands message sent by sender.
 Know your audience, people learn more effectively
in different ways.
 Ethics in business is paramount.
 Writing is also a process, more you write, the better
writer you will become.
 Communication, oral and written, no matter the
medium is important.
 You can find a positive in a negative situation.
 Preparation is key to effective presenting.