Business Communication

MBA 1007
 Definition
• Communication is any behavior, verbal or
nonverbal, that is perceived by another.
Knowledge, feelings or thoughts are
enclosed and sent from at least one
person and received and decoded by
another. Meaning is given to this message
as the receiver interprets the message. A
connection is made between the people
communicating.
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 Ch.1- Apply communication
principles in workplace
• Forms of Communication: Each of the
channels of communication requires effective
skills suited to the form of communication
used to send the message. Communication
is classified into three forms:
1. Verbal communication, either spoken or written
2. Nonverbal
3. Graphic.

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 Terms and Ideas
• Communication Purposes
• Communication Process
• Communication Context
• Genres of Communication
• Communication Barriers
• Communication Ethics
 Purposes for Business
Communication
• Provide factual information
• Inform readers about or provide information
• Clarify and condense information
• State precise responsibilities
• Persuade and make recommendations
 Usage of Business
Communication Channels
• Listening 45%
• Reading 16%
• Speaking 30%
• Writing 9%
 The Communication Process

• Sender has an idea

• Nonverbal
– Less structured, harder to classify
– More spontaneous, less control
• Verbal
– More structured, easier to study
– Conscious purpose, more control
 Genres of Communication
• Written Communication
• Oral Communication
• Mixed Communication
 Written Communication
• Letters
• Memos
• Email
• Reports/White Papers
• Web sites
• Promotional Materials
• Other written documents
 Oral Communication
• Meetings
• Conference calls
• Phone calls
• Presentations
• Video or audio recordings
• Other forms of oral communication
 Mixed Communication
• Web sites
• PowerPoint presentations (spoken and
written communication)
• Performance reviews
 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
 Communication Ethics
• Recognize ethical choices
• Make ethical choices
• Motivate ethical choices
 Ch.1- Apply communication
principles in workplace
• Types of communication: A person working
in an organization uses four different types
of communication.
1. Intrapersonal communication
2. Interpersonal communication
3. Public communication
4. Mass communication

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 Ch.1- Ch.1- Apply communication
principles in workplace
The communication process takes place in various
situations for different reasons, with the potential for
many interpretations. It has seven main elements:
1. Sender
2. Message
3. Receiver
4. Feedback
5. Channel
6. Context or setting
7. Noise or interference
• Perception influences communication . It is
the way people understand or give
meaning to their environment.

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 Ch.1- Apply communication
principles in workplace
 Causes of communication barriers: Effective
communication often passes unnoticed, while poor
commuication is obvious. The compete message and its
meaning are distorted and interrupted.
◦ Inappropriate choice of word
◦ Inappropriate channel
◦ Receiver inattention
◦ Lack of courtesy by the sender or the receiver
◦ Nonverbal communication that does not support the words
◦ Different cultural backgrounds
◦ Poor layout and presentation
◦ Inappropriate timing
◦ İnadequate feedback
 These barriers interrupt the flow of communication and
lead to confusion and misunderstandings.

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 Ch.1- Apply communication
principles in workplace
 Communication within the workplace: For business decisions to
be effective and relevant, timely and appropriate information has
to be obtained and communicated throughout the organization.
 The successful organization is the one that has effective
communication both within the organization and with other
companies and clients. In fact, information flow is crucial to any
organization and the better the flow the more successful the
company or organization.
 Being an effective communicator means being honest with
yourself and others; it meanshaving the ability to say what you
want or feel, but not at the expense of others. It is not about
getting your own way and winning every time. Nor is it a means
to manipulate and manage other people so that you achieve
your aim while appearing to be considering others. An effective
communicatior avoids a series of quick-fix tricks or techniques.

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 Ch.1- Apply communication
principles in workplace
Communication is one of the most important skills in
the workplace. Effective communication establishes
a connection between two or more people and leads
to understanding. It allows individuals to be more
effective at work and in their relationship with others.
As well as allowing individuals to interact to satisfy
their own needs and to develop their personal, social
and work relationships, effective communication also
enables leaders and managers to control work
procedures motivate others and balance the needs
and goals of individuals and the organization.

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 Ch.1- Apply communication
principles in workplace
Nonverbal communication consists of that part
of a message that is not encoded in words. The
nonverbal part of the message tends to be less
conscious and reveals the sender’s feelings,
likings and preferences more spontaneously
and honestly than the verbal part.
There are four types of nonverbal messages:
◦ Personal (to the individual)
◦ Common to a group of people or culture
◦ Universal (to humankind)
◦ Unrelated to the message (random)

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 Ch.1- Apply communication
principles in workplace
• Analysing nonverbal communication: People
communicate nonverbally with the body
movement and with personal relationship
behaviors. This nonverbal communication
modifies, changes or complements the
verbal communication. Nonverbal
communication always exists in a context,
or framework. The context often determines
the meaning of the nonverbal behavior.

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 Ch.1- Apply communication
principles in workplace
• We can classify nonverbal communication into
seven main areas:
1. Body movement or kinesics
2. Physical characteristics
3. Touching behavior
4. Vocal qualities, or paralanguage
5. Use of space, or proximity
6. Artefacts (e.g. Parfume, clothes, lipstick, glasses and
hairpieces project the style or mood of the wearer.)
7. Environment

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 Writing Business Letters
• At work we write letters for many different reasons to
initiate a business contact, to reply to someone, to
give directions, to make requests. Some are written to
persuade a potential customer to buy something, or to
encourage a customer to pay an overdue account.
• The four main types of business letters are;
1.Good news letters
2.Bad news letters
3.Neutral letters
4.Persuasive letters

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Ch.15- Writing Business Letters
• Layout of a business letter: The layout of the letter
provides the frame for the body of your letter.
Essential Parts Optional Parts
Writer’s name and address Subject line
Date Attention line
Inside (intended reader’s ) Reference initials
address
Greeting Enclosure
Body of the letter File number
Complimentary close Sender’s telephone
extensions
Writer’s signature and job Sender’s e-mail or website
title or designation details
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Ch.15- Writing Business Letters
• Types of layout
1. Full block layout
2. Full block layout with centered letterhead
3. Modified block layout

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Ch.15- Writing Business Letters
• Planning the business letter
1. Decide on the purpose of the letter
2. Decide what you want to say
3. Note down all the ideas in point form
4. Order these ideas into a sequence appropriate to
the type of letter
5. Write the first draft, using plain English
6. Read the letter to ensure that you have achieved
your purpose
7. Rewrite if necessary

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Ch.15- Writing Business Letters
– Writing good news or neutral letters: Direct
order of information
1. An inquiry
2. A request
3. An acknowledgement
4. A letter of introduction to someone

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Ch.15- Writing Business Letters
• Writing bad news letters: Indirect order of
information
1. An order refusal
2. A credit refusal
3. An adjustment refusal
4. Refusing an invitation or request

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Ch.15- Writing Business Letters
• Persuasive letters: to collect someting
(money, cooperation etc.)
1. The remainder
2. The strong remainder
3. Inquiry
4. Urgency

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