BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION
@Mohammed Jemal July 2021
Chapter one
Overview of business
communication
What Is Communication
Definitions:
❖ Communication is the process of sharing our ideas, thoughts, and feelings
with other people and having those ideas, thoughts, and feelings understood
by the people we are communicating with.
➢ No Transfer of Meaning—No Communication
➢ Influence of Mental Maps—Yes, Communication
❑ It’s a two way process of exchanging ideas or
information between human beings
❑ When we communicate we speak, listen, and observe
Definitions..……..
“Communication is the process of people sharing thoughts, ideas, &
feelings with each other in commonly understandable ways.”
The message is said to be effective when the receiver understands the
same meaning that the sender was intended to convey.
Definitions..……..
Communication is a process of transmitting and
receiving verbal and nonverbal messages that
produce a response or reaction from the receivers .
Definitions……………..
❑ The word communicate comes from the Latin verb
“Communicare” that means;
❖ to make common
❖ to participate
❖ and to share
❑ Communication is the sum of all the things one person does
when wants to create understanding in the minds of others-Alien.
Nature of communication
❖ communication is said to exist when:
➢ There is a person (sender or transmitter) desirous of passing on some
information.
➢ There is another person (receiver) to whom the information is to be
passed on.
➢ The receiver partly or wholly understands the message passed on to
her/him.
➢ The receiver responds to the message; i.e. there is some kind of
feedback
➢ Purposeful
SIGNIFICANCE OF COMMUNICATION
. Flattened
management
Information More
hierarchies
as a participatory
corporate asset management
Trends in
New the new Increased
work emphasis
environments
workplace on teams
Innovative Heightened
communication global
technologies competition
SIGNIFICANCE OF COMMUNICATION
➢ The success of an organization depends on communication
skills of its employees.
➢ Researches indicate that: communication skills were rated
“extremely important” relative to other kinds of abilities.
➢ “inability to communicate” and “poor communication skills”
were reasons for not hiring a job applicant.
SIGNIFICANCE OF COMMUNICATION……
➢ Good communication skills are
essential for individuals ;
❑Job placement
❑Job performance
❑Essential for promotion
❑Success in the new world of work
❑Successfully share feelings, ideas,
facts, and opinions
SIGNIFICANCE Of COMMUNICATION……
➢ Effective communication is significant for managers in
the organizations so as to perform the basic functions
of management, i.e., planning, organizing, staffing,
leading and controlling.
➢ Communication helps managers to perform their jobs
and responsibilities.
SIGNIFICANCE Of COMMUNICATION……
❑ helps organizations achieve their goals.
❑ Businesses growth in size
❑ Complexity of business activity and specialization
❑ Business Competition
SIGNIFICANCE OF COMMUNICATION……
❑ Business communication has many purposes
➢ To inform
➢ To request or persuade
➢ To build goodwill
➢ To entertain
➢ Promote
❑ Most messages have more than one purpose
ELEMENT AND PROCESS OF
COMMUNICATION
Mohammed J. Aug. 2021
Date <#>
ELEMENTS OF THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
❑ communication is more than a single act it is a chain of events that can be
broken in to five phases as:
ELEMENTS OF THE COMMUNICATION PROCESS
❑ Whether you are speaking or writing, listening or reading,
communication is more than a single act. Instead, it is a chain of
events that can be broken into five phases;
❖ The sender has an idea. (the sender-encoder )
❖ The idea becomes a message. (message)
❖ The message is transmitted. (medium-channel )
❖ The receiver gets the message (Receiver decoder)
❖ The receiver reacts & sends feedback to the sender (Feedback )
Sender/ encoder
▪ Sender is one who initiates the message (the communication process)
with the purpose of informing, persuading, influencing, and changing
the attitude, opinion, or behavior of the receiver.
▪ He /she decide the communication symbols, the channel, and the time
for sending the message.
▪ Ideas or Thoughts: the raw form of telling the ideas that the sender
wants to share with a receiver by changing them to messages using
symbols
The Sender(encoder) Has an Idea
❖ two things must happen before the sender wants to send a message:
➢ First, an internal or external stimulus prompts you to send a message.
➢ Second - requirement is sufficient motivation.
✓ Think of times when a manager asks a question, and some of the people
present were fairly sure they knew the answer (were stimulated), but did
not respond. Why didn’t they respond?
Probably because they were
❖ not sufficiently motivated.
❖ they saw no personal benefit in answering.
❖ they saw greater benefit in not answering.
Identifying the Target Audience
❑ Communicator starts with a clear target audience in mind.
❑ The audience may be current users or potential buyers, those who
make the buying decision or those who influence it.
The Idea Becomes a Message
✓ The sender must decide how best to convey a message to the specific
receiver.
✓ The process of putting a message into the form in which it is to be
communicated is called ‘encoding.
✓ Encoding: is changing the raw idea from its mental form into symbols,
that is, patterns of words, gestures, pictorial forms or signs (physical
or sounds) of a- specific visual /oral language
The Idea Becomes a Message
• The message is the information or core idea being
transmitted
▪ Message: It is the information, written, spoke or nonverbal,
which is to be sent from one person to another.
▪ message is organized, structured, shaped, and selective
ENCODING
It consists of both verbal (written or spoken) symbols & nonverbal (unspoken)
symbols.
• Whenever you compose a message, you need to consider;
✓ what content to include,
✓ how the receiver will interpret it,
✓ how it may affect your relationship
❑ Be mindful on how your receiver may interpret the message
❑ Frame your message to align with the unique need of your audience or
listener
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Designing a Message
• When putting a message together, the communicator must decide what to say
(message content) and how to say it (message structure and format).
Message Content
• There are three types of appeals:
▪ They relate to the audience’s self-interest.
Rational appeals ▪ They show that the product will produce the
desired benefits.
▪ They attempt to stir up either negative or
Emotional appeals positive emotions that can motivate purchase.
▪ They are directed to an audience’s sense of what
Moral appeals is “right” and “proper”.
Message Format
• To attract attention, communicator can use novelty and contrast; eye-catching
pictures and headlines; distinctive formats; message size and position; and color,
shape, and movement.
Problem in formulating a message
➢ Indecision about message content,
➢ Lack of familiarity with the situation or the receiver,
➢ Emotional conflicts,
➢ Difficulty in expressing ideas.
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The Message is Transmitted/Medium
❑ It is physical transmission of the message from sender to receiver.
❑ Decide what is the appropriate channel for any given message?
❑ you can convey a message by
✓phone,
✓computer,
✓face-to-face
✓letter
✓other medium.
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The Message is Transmitted
❑ The transmission channel or the medium you choose depend on the
message you want to convey and on other factors, such as the,
location of your audience, the need for speed, and the formality
of the situation. Here are some examples:
▪ When immediate feedback is necessary, oral communication channels are
more effective.
▪ If there is a need to document the communication, written channels are the
best choice.
▪ If the message should have detailed accuracy, written channels are best.
Selecting the Message Source
❖ In either personal or non personal communication, the message’s impact also
depends on how the target audience views the communicator.
❖ Messages delivered by highly credible sources are more persuasive.
The Receiver (‘decoder’) Gets the Message
▪ Decoding is the process through which the receiver try to
interpret the exact meaning of a message.
▪ Make your audience read, listen, and give attention to your
message.
▪ After messages received, it has to be understood and stored
in the receiver’s mind.
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The Receiver Reacts & Gives Feedback to the Sender
▪ It is the final link in the communication chain which involves a
reversal of the communication process(receiver now
becomes the sender & the sender becomes the receiver)
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The Receiver Reacts & Gives Feedback to the Sender
❑ Feedback is a key element, it enables the sender to evaluate
the effectiveness of the message
❑ Indicate for a possible communication barriers.
Date <#>
The Receiver Reacts & Gives Feedback to the Sender
➢ when the receiver of the message has made feedback and the
sender is sure that the message has been communicated in the
way intended, we say communication has existed.
▪ Feed back: This is the loop that connects the receiver in the
communication process with the sender(feed back receiver).
3/23/2022 34
Media of communication
Media of Communication
Medium (singular form of media) – is the method
used to deliver a message.
Basic ways in which people send and receive
messages
➢ various media of communication are;
❖Verbal Communication
❖Non verbal Communication
❖Paraverbal communication
38
Verbal Communication Media
➢ If you want to discuss past events, idea, or abstractions,
you need symbols that stand for your thoughts.
➢ Verbal Communication consists of words arranged in
meaningful patterns.
➢ divided into two categories
❑oral communication
❑written communication
Verbal Messages
Messages sent verbally are messsages expressed in words
Verbal Communication
➢ Include;
▪ face – to – face conversation (the richest medium),
▪ telephone calls,
▪ speeches,
▪ presentations
▪ Meetings
➢ Your choice depend on audience location, message
importance, and your need for the sort of nonverbal
feedback.
Nonverbal communication
❖ Non verbal communication is intentional and unintentional
messages are neither written nor spoken.
❖ Enable people to communicate without words.
➢ Reinforce the meaning of your message beyond the words
❑ All the cues (symbol);
➢ gestures
➢ facial expressions
➢ spatial relationships
➢ attitude toward time
Nonverbal Messages
About 65 percent of the meanings people get from a
communication
Voice
Physical Movements
Space
“your lips tell me ‘no,no’ but there is ‘yes,yes’ in your
eyes”
The Seven Universal Facial Expressions of Emotion
BARRIERS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION
BARRIERS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION……..
❑ No two persons are exactly alike mentally, physically, or
emotionally. Thus the innumerable human difference plus
cultural, social, & environmental differences may cause
problems in conveying an intended message
❑ Communication barrier – Anything that gets in the way of
clear communication.
Various characteristics of the sender, receiver,
& communication situation can create barriers
to effective communication.
Tangible Differences
Gender
Age
Race
National or Cultural Origin
Socioeconomic Class
Education Level
Urban or Rural Residence
Channel selection
➢ Communication barrier through the wrong
choice of medium.
➢ All the media have their relative merits and
limitations. While a properly chosen medium can
add to the effectiveness of a communication,
an unsuitable medium may act as a barrier to it.
Semantic Problems
❑ Distortion in communication comes from semantics- the use of
words or expressions which have a different meaning for the sender
or receiver
❑ Created when communicators use technical jargon- usage
common to a particular field or specialization.
➢ Bypassed instructions
➢ Denotations & Connotations
PERCEPTION
▪ Our physical limitations are a
screen through which we perceive
things that exist in our
environment.
▪ Our perception is also limited by
psychological screens that we
have developed.
▪ Choosing from among the many
things within our range of
perception those that we will
notice, and block out the rest is
called “Selective Perception”
Factors Influencing Perception
How do we explain that
individuals may look the
same thing ,yet perceive
it differently?
Frequently Used Shortcuts in PERCEPTIONS
➢ Selective perception
➢ Stereotypes
➢ Halo effects
➢ Ignore if conflicts with “what we know.”
Status And Power Differences
❑ Differences in communications are
likely to parallel the differences in
power.
❑ Imbalance or asymmetry in negotiating
power leads the high power party to
perform significantly better than the
low power party.
Credibility
❑ Credibility: people react more favorably when a
communicator has credibility.
❑ When they respect, trust, & believe in the communicator. A
sender’s credibility plays an important role in how a message
is received & understood.
NEGATIVE EMOTIONS
❑ Aalmost always obstacles to good communication!
Especially true if the emotion is uncontrolled,
unfocused, or misdirected.
Other factors
➢ Information overload
➢ Attitudes & Opinions
➢ Physical barriers: these include noise & distance.
PRINCIPLE OF COMMUNICATION
7Cs
Mohammed J. Aug. 2021
7 “C’S” OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
▪ The message is said to be effective when the receiver
understands the same meaning that the sender was intended
to convey.
▪ For any communication in business, in order to be effective, it
must have seven qualities. These seven attributes are
called seven C’s of effective business communication.
7 “C’S” OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
➢ They are important for both written and oral
communications. They provide guidelines for
choice of content and style of presentation-
adapted to the purpose and receiver of your message
7 “C’S” OF BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
▪ Correctness in the message helps in building
confidence.
▪ Clearness makes understanding easier.
▪ Conciseness saves time.
▪ Completeness brings the desired response.
▪ Consideration means understanding of human
nature.
▪ Concreteness reinforces confidence.
▪ Courtesy strengthen relations and builds goodwill.
Completeness
❑ Business message is complete when it contains all facts the
reader or listener needs for the reaction you desire.
❑ As you strive for completeness, keep the following guidelines
in mind
➢ Provide all necessary information:
✓ Check for the five W’s (who, what, where, when and why)
and any other essentials.
✓ Answer all questions asked
✓ Give something extra when desirable
Completeness…..
➢ Incomplete messages keep the receiver guessing, create
misunderstanding and delay actions.
➢ Every person should, therefore, be provided with all the required
facts and figures.
For example, when factory supervisor instructs workers to produce, he
must specify the exact size, shape, quality and cost of the product. Any
assumptions behind the messages should also be clarified.
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to send you all a reminder about the meeting we're having
tomorrow!
See you then,
Tegebew
What is wrong with this message?
Consideration
❑ Consideration means that you prepare every message with
the recipient in mind and try to put yourself in his or her place.
❑ Try to visualize your readers (or listeners)—with their desires,
problems, circumstances, emotions, and probable reactions
to your request.
❑ Then handle the matter (message, channel and contexts)
from their point of view
Consideration…
➢ four specific ways you can indicate you are considerate
❑Focus on "you" instead of "I" and "we.“
❑Show reader benefit or interest in reader.
❑Emphasize positive, pleasant facts.
❑ Apply integrity and ethic
Consideration…
➢ For example, an insurance company that wanted to update its
address files sent to half its policyholders a double postcard with
this message:
Because we have not written you in some time please help us
bring our records up to date by filling in and returning the other
half of this card.
➢ Only 3 percent of these cards came back.
➢ To the remaining half of its policyholders the firm sent the same
request-reworded to show reader benefit:
So that dividend checks, premium notices, and other messages of
importance may reach you promptly, please fill out and return the
other half of this card.
➢ This request brought 90 percent of the cards back in a few days!
Conciseness
❑ Conciseness is saying what you have to say in
the fewest possible words without sacrificing
the other C qualities.
❑ A concise message
saves time and expense
❑ Conciseness contributes
to emphasis.
Conciseness
❑ To achieve conciseness;
➢ Eliminate wordy expressions
➢ Include only relevant statements
o Be focused
o Shorten & avoid long explanations
o Avoid gushing politeness
➢ Avoid unnecessary repetitions
o Use short forms the second time
o Use pronouns
Include only relevant information
❑ Always try to provide only relevant information to the receiver
of the message.
➢ Stick to the purpose of message
➢ Delete irrelevant words
➢ Avoid long introduction, unnecessary explanation etc.
➢ Get to the important point concisely.
Conciseness…….
Eliminate wordy expressions
o Due to the fact that o Because
o Employed the use of o Used
o Basic fundamentals Completely eliminate o Fundamentals
o Alternative choices o Eliminate
o Actual experience o Alternatives
o Connected together o Experience
o Final result o Connected
o Prove conclusively o Result
o In as few words as possible
o Prove
o Concisely
Clearness or Clarity
❑ Clarity refers to getting a message across so that the receiver will
understand what you are saying easily.
❑ Getting the meaning from your head to the head of your reader
(accurately) is the purpose of clarity. Of course you know it is not simple;
we all carry around our own unique interpretations, ideas, experiences
associated with words.
➢ Some ways that help you make your message clear include:
➢ Choose short , familiar & conversational words
➢ Construct effective sentences and paragraphs
➢ Include examples, illustrations, and other visual aids, when desirable
Courtesy
▪ True courtesy involves being aware not only of the perspective
of others, but also their feelings. courtesy stems from a
sincere you-attitude.
▪ Knowing your audience allows you to use statements of
courtesy; be aware of your message receiver.
▪ Courtesy It is not merely politeness with mechanical insertions of “please” and
“Thank you” rather, it is politeness that grow out respect and concern for others.
✓Be sincere , tactful, thoughtful and appreciative
✓Omit expressions that hurt , irritate, or insult
Concreteness
❖ Do you use easy-to-understand words that give your reader
specific mental pictures about your message?
❖ Concreteness refers to being specific, definite, and vivid
rather than vague and general.
❖ when you talk to your client always use facts and figures
instead of generic or irrelevant information
To install concrete;
▪ Use specific facts and figures
▪ Put action into words
▪ Choose vivid image building words
Correctness
❖ At the core of correctness is proper grammar,
punctuation, and spelling. However a message
may be perfect grammatically and mechanically but
still insult or lose a customer.
For correctness the writer should:
➢ Use the right level of language
➢ Check accuracy of facts, figures and words
➢ Choose non discriminatory language
Communication in the organization
Information Flow in Organizations
• Downward communication occurs when a
manager or supervisor sends a message to one
or more subordinates.
• Upward communication occurs when messages
flow from subordinates to managers or from
supervisors to executives.
• Horizontal communication occurs between
people at the same level, or between people at
corresponding levels in different divisions.
Formal Networks
• Formal networks are legitimate CEO
and often indicated by an
organization chart that displays Vice-President,
Auxiliary
Vice-President,
Research and
Vice-President,
Manufacturing
Vice-President,
Sales
Vice-President,
Services
who answers to whom.
Technical
Services Development Engineering Marketing
Assistance
• Formal networks indicate a unity
Production Personal CRX 1000 Individual
Maintenance
development computers PC customers
of command. Supplies
Product
XT computers
CRX 2000 Business
refinement XT applications
• Formal communication networks
contain more of the written, AT Computers
CRX 3000
AT
predictable, and routine
communications
Informal Networks
• Informal networks are unofficial channels through
which information passes in an organization.
• Informal networks are faster, richer, and often
more accurate, and communication is more likely to
be face-to-face.
Grapevines
Because using formal communication networks takes so much time and
effort, people may have choose to not communicate at all if they have
no formal channels available.
Even ‘gossip’ and ‘rumors’ usually provide accurate information”. Such
networks are called grapevines.
The End
