Effective Business Communication

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Business Communication – I
 Effective Communications in Business
 Chapter No – 1

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Effective Communications in Business
I - Importance and Benefits of Effective Communication
 Ancient Heritage for Communication Principles
 "Lifeblood" of Every -organization
 Benefits of Effective Communication in Your Career
 Challenge of Communication in the Global Market
II - Components of Communication
 Context
 Sender-Encoder
 Message
 Medium
 Receiver-Decoder
 Feedback
III- Concepts and Problems of Communication
 Conventions of Meaning
 Perceptions of Reality .
 Values. Attitudes. and opinions.
IV- Nonverbal Communication
 How Appearance Communicates
 How Body language Communicates
 How Silence. Time. and Space Communicate

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Concept and definition of
Communication
 The word communication is derived from latin
word ‘communicare’ that means to share, to
participate, convey and transmit.
 Communication is a process of passing
information and understanding from one
person to another.
 It is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or
emotions by two or more persons

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COMMUNICATION DEFINED
Communication is the sum of all the things one
person does when he wants to create
understanding in the mind of another; it involves
a systematic and continuous process of telling,
listening, and understanding”.
It stands for natural activity of all human beings
to convey, opinion, feelings, information & ideas
through words, body language or signs.
Communication

5. Channels of Communication
 The Internet,
 Print (Publications),
 Radio,
 Television,
 Ambient media (Non-Traditional or
Alternative Media),
 Word of mouth (person-to-person
communication)
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Communication
Oral
All forms of spoken information and is by far the
preferred type of communication used by managers.
Written
Includes letters, memos, policy manuals, reports, and
other documents used to share information used in an
organization.
Nonverbal
Involves all messages that are nonlanguage responses.
Forms of Communication

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Elements of communication
 Source
 Audience/Receiver
 Goal/purpose
 Context/environment
 Message
 Medium
 feedback

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Communication as “Lifeblood” of
Organization
• Organizations can’t function without open and
effective communication.
• Exchange of information is must for effective
individual and collective performance at all levels.
• Internal Communication. Downward, upward &
horizontal / lateral.
• External Communication. Effective communication
with external stakeholders can help create a good
reputation, and have a positive impact on its ultimate
success.
• Overall Communication Costs. Time is a major factor
in overall communication costs.

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Process of communication
feedback
Communication has been defined as a process that refers
to identifiable flow of information through interrelate stages
of analysis directed towards the achievement of an
objective.

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process
 Step 1: sender conceives an idea
depending on the purpose of
communication
 Step 2: sender chooses appropriate
symbols, encodes the idea and formulates
the message
 Step 3: sender sends the message
through suitable channel

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Continue….
 Step 4: receiver receives the message.
 Step 5: receiver decodes the symbols, and
interprets the message
 Step 6: receiver sends the feedback
(response) that is observed by the sender

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Sender/Encoder:
 Sender encodes the messages in the form of words,
symbols, graphs, charts etc. to facilitate the receiver in
correct understanding and suitably reacting to the message.
Message:
 It is the core idea that sender wants to communicate; it
could be verbal (written or spoken) or non-verbal symbols.
While composing a message, sender must decide what is
the main point of message and what is the other information
to be included.
Communication Model (Cont’d)

14. The Message
 What is the communication designed to
achieve?
 This needs to be considered carefully to
judge the best method of delivery and to
judge the effectiveness of the feedback as to
whether the message has been successful.
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15. The Medium
 How the communication is to be made
 Important to select an appropriate medium
for the message:
 Need to consider the needs of the sender,
the nature of the receiver and the aims of
the communication
 Inappropriate medium can be a barrier to
effective communication
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Medium:
 Medium may include Memo, Letter, Notice board, Fax,
Telephone, E-mail / Internet, Face to face, Body language,
Video / Video conferencing.
Receiver/decoder:
 The message receiver is the decoder who interprets,
understands and then responds to the message.
Receiver/decoder is influenced by context and by his/her
own mental filters.
Communication Model (Cont’d)

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Feedback:
 Feedback is the ultimate impact of the message that
compels the receiver to act / react in a particular way or
keep quiet. It could be oral or a written message. Sender
wants feedback to learn about the impact of the message
and the extent to which message has achieved desired
results / behaviour.
 Feedback helps the sender to know about the weak points
of his/her message and further improve it.
Communication Model (Cont’d)

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CONCEPTS AND PROBLEMS

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Conventions of Meanings
• Shapes & Symbols used should have same meanings for
both the parties (to avoid misunderstanding).
• Standard (commonly accepted) abbreviations –
LASER, LIFO, FIFO etc.
• Denotations. Dictionary meanings should be used at
right place, keeping in view the positive / negative sense.
• Connotations. Application of words other than their
common use e.g. using villa, cottage, lodge etc for the
house should be used carefully.
•LASER - Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation

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Perceptions of Reality
• Dynamic scenario is fast changing the perception of the people.
Common problems are:
• Abstracting. Selecting some facts and omitting others. Only
necessary/ relevant facts/ figures should be used.
• Inferring. Be careful while making inferences. Only
necessary/ desirable inferences should be used, after
collecting some relevant information.
Inferences (Conclusion)

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Values, Attitudes and Opinions
• Attitude of the receiver can reflect the acceptance or
rejection of the message. Main problems involving attitude,
values & opinions are:
• Favorable information will be accepted and would yield
better results.
• Inadequate / incorrect information will make the
recipient angry.
• Closed mind stops people from thinking on aspects other
than their pre-conception.
• Sender’s credibility plays important role in receiving
favorable response from the recipients.
• Sensitivity to the state of mind (by both parties) helps to
communicate in a positive way.

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Non-verbal Communication
 Non-verbal communication is the process of
communication without words.
 Facial expressions, movement, eye contact,
vocal qualities all helps us without words.

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 Non-verbal communication differs from
verbal communication in many ways:
 Non-verbal communication is less structured
than verbal words.
 Non-verbal communication is unplanned.
 Non-verbal communication is intent and
spontaneous.
 Non-verbal communication blends with speech.

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 Physical appearance.
 Facial expressions: It conveys emotions with
remarkable accuracy and intensity of your
feelings.
 Movement: the process of getting up from one
place to another in front of audience or on the
platform.
 Posture: posture is the way you conduct yourself
when you face an audience.
 Gesture: A gesture is an expression of your any
part of your body. E.g. your head, hands, face
which reinforce your idea while you speak.
 Eye contact.

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Nonverbal Communication
• How Appearance Communicates. Format, neatness
language of written message and presentation all send
a nonverbal message to the receiver.
• How Body Language Communicates. Facial
expression, gesture, posture, movement, smell, touch,
voice all influence the recipient/ audience.

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• How Silence, Time & Space Communicate. Concept
of time & space are culture - specific. Effective
communicators adapt to receiver’s expectations.
 Silence. Keeping silence for an immediate oral
request or not responding to a letter indicate the
attitude of the receiver; taken as not accepted.
Time. Waiting for a response from the recipient for
an important request creates negative feelings.
 Space. A sense of being ‘egalitarian’; (free / unrestricted)
where you stand in the group; how much space you
maintain from others.
Nonverbal Communication (cont’d)

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Barriers
Anything that prevents successful
communication from occurring
Complex and multi-layered (Meaningful)
Can be technical or generated
by the medium used, etc. but:
Main problem is human behaviour and
psychology

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Barriers to Communication
 Ability of the sender – how much the senders understand
of the message they are trying to send.
 Content – including technicalities and jargon.
 Method of communication – including style and body
language where appropriate.
 Skills and attitude of the receiver.
 Organisational factors – complexity and scope of the
organisation.

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Communication Challenges in Global Market
• Diversified culture and language.
• Capabilities/ knowledge of both sender and receiver.
• Globalization.
• Fast technological advancements – IT boom.
• Ever changing communication demands of customers.

30.  Thanks
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