DDA115 BUSINESS COMMUNICATION For 2025 Exams 1|Page

TRUST ACADEMY

in collaboration with

CHINHOYI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

DDA115 INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

Diploma in Data Analytics & Diploma in Cyber Security

LECTURE NUMBER : TWO (2)

FACILITATOR : MR MUFUNDISI

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Key Concepts and Terms

Effective communication ‘I view’ communication

‘You view’ communication Courtesy
Clarity Conciseness
Credibility Context
Concreteness Tone
Coherence Style

Learning Outcomes
On completing Lecture # 2, the student should be able to:

✅ Clarify the meaning of effective communication

✅ Evaluate strong points for effective communication
✅ Explain the weak points of ineffective communication
✅ Compare by showing the differences between the ‘I’ view point and the ‘You’ view point
communication
✅ Demonstrate awareness of the elements of effective communication - the Cs of effective
communication

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What is effective communication?

Effective communication is the process of exchanging ideas, thoughts, opinions,

knowledge, and data so that the message is received and understood with clarity and purpose.
When we communicate effectively, both the sender and receiver feel satisfied. Communication is
effective when the message is understood, or stimulates the recipient to take appropriate
action.

Benefits of effective communication

The benefits of communication effectiveness can be witnessed in the workplace, in an
educational setting, and in your personal life. Learning how to communicate well can be a boon
in each of these areas.

✅ Workplace
In the workplace, effective communication can help you to:

• Solve problems
• Improve efficiency
• Make business decisions
• Enhance creativity or innovation
• Manage employees and build teams
• Grow the organization more rapidly
• Have clearer, more streamlined workflow
• Produce convincing and compelling corporate materials
• Build strong relationships with outsiders and attract more opportunities for the firm

✅ Personal life
In your personal life, effective communication can lead to:

• Deeper existing connections

• Enhance your professional image
• New bonds based on trust and transparency
• Improved social, emotional, and mental health
• Better problem-solving and conflict resolution skills

Advantages of effective communication

✅Getting the job you want

Effective communication skills will enable one to design a powerful curriculum vitae, compose a
persuasive application letter and interact at an interview with confidence.

✅ Gaining promotion
Communicating one’s technical capabilities and maintaining effective relationships with
stakeholders will enable promotion in the workplace.

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✅ Providing leadership
Effective leadership is built on and relies on excellent communication skills. Being productive on
the job - one is more productive if one is able to listen effectively, speak clearly and write
competently.

✅Relating to others
Successful relationships depend on mutual respect and trust. Ethical and considerate
communication is essential in building trust and respect

✅Assuring the success of the organisation

An organisation will only succeed if it has the support of its stakeholders, support that is
obtained by communicating effectively with these stakeholders.

Strong points for effective communication

✅ Positive image
The image outsiders have of many organizations is negative because of ineffective
communication by employees. In some cases, employees knowingly use ineffective
communication, but in other cases they do not realize that what they say or write produces
damaging results. Employees, when using either a written or oral communication medium, have
an almost infinite number of opportunities for spoiling the organizational image. The damaging
situations can range from failing to answer a question to an outsider or communicating totally
incorrect information. Effective communicators are concerned about the impact of what they say
or write to the listener or reader. In many cases, the implication of what was said - rather than
what was actually said – produces damaging results (e.g. I have not received your
cheaque vs. your cheaque is not received by me. It is with someone else in
the office.) An unfortunate situation arises when the listener or reader receives a totally
incorrect perception of what
the speaker/writer intended.

✅Cost reduction
Effective communication skills make a significant contribution to organizational cost reduction.
To illustrate, consider the cost of preparing a typical business letter.

Supposing it is $50. If an employee prepares a letter that is not effective -

one that results in the need for additional correspondence - the
organization’s profitability is reduced. Let us take another example. Consider
an organization with 10,000 employees. If each employee on the average
wastes 10% of his/her daily working hours in inefficient communication, and
if that 10% is equivalent to $100, then the total amount lost would be of
around $1m per annum.

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✅ Employees morale
In many instances, managers unknowingly contributes to employee morale problems because
they fail to communicate effectively with their subordinates. Managers frequently underestimate
the amount of communication employee’s desire from them. As a result, information that
employees would find useful simply does not get communicated. This lack of communication, in
turn, creates an impression among the employees that their managers are not concerned about
them or the positions they hold. When this impression is created, employee morale deteriorates.

✅ Essential for employee productivity

Many organizations are presently concerned about their inability to improve their productivity, a
necessity for their economic well-being. A variety of factors can be identified that negatively
affect organizational productivity, including ineffective communication. In some organizations,
employees are not as productive as they might be because management fails to communicate its
expectations to them. Some employees have difficulty improving their productivity when they
have not been made aware of what management expects of them or when they have not been
fully informed how certain job tasks are to be performed. Management’s failure to communicate
its goals and objectives to employees is another factor that may contribute to decrease
productivity.

✅ Problem solving
Communication solves all problems. Communication is not a cure-all for the problems we
experience. If we are properly skilled in communication, it can be a highly effective medium for
the resolution of problems or conflicts. Unfortunately, many of us have failed to acquire
sufficient skill in this regard. To assume we can eliminate problems effectively simply by being
open and candid communicators, therefore, may be a mistake because communication has the
potential for creating or intensifying problems, as well as the potential for eliminating problems.

NB: There is, therefore, no doubt about the importance and relevance of
effective communication in the organisational context.

Weak points of ineffective communication

✅ Inefficiencies
✅ Low productivity
✅ Misunderstandings
✅ Poor or slow decision making
✅ Misinterpretation of information
✅ Ideas misfire or fail to gain attention
✅ Interferences with sound business solutions

Strategies for improving the ability to communicate effectively

✅ Consider your audience

Who are you communicating with? Make sure you are aware of your audience - those you intend
to communicate with may differ from those who actually receive your messages. Knowing your
audience can be key to delivering the right messages effectively. Their age, race, ethnicity,

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gender, marital status, income, education level, subject knowledge, and professional experience
can all impact how they will receive your message. If you are advertising a fast food restaurant,
for example, you might want to deliver your message to an audience that’s likely to be hungry.
This could be a billboard on the side of a busy highway that shows a giant cheeseburger and
informs drivers that the closest location is just two miles away. Or suppose you are telling your
family about your engagement. You might host a gathering after to celebrate, send them photos
of the engagement in a group chat, surprise them in conversation over dinner two weeks later, or
post on social media. Your chosen form of communication will depend on your family dynamics.

✅ Practice active listening

Active listening is the practice of giving your full attention in a communication exchange.
Some techniques include paying attention to body language, giving encouraging verbal cues,
asking questions, and practicing non-judgment. Before executing your communication, be sure to
consider your audience and practice active listening to get to the heart of their needs and desires.
This way, you can improve your communication as a counsellor, social worker, marketer,
professor, colleague, or friend. Here are some examples of active listening in practice:

• If you work in marketing, you might engage in social listening to gather consumer data on
social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok.
• If you are a professor, lecturer or teacher, you might take advantage of end-of-semester
feedback forms and act on your students' needs by hosting one-on-one meetings during office
hours. Likewise, your students might choose to participate in discussions after your lecture or at
least sit attentively and ask questions.
• If you are a team leader, you might read Slack messages from your teammates, gauge that they
are frustrated with the workload, and respond by resetting priorities for the next few weeks. This
communicates to the team that their voices are heard.
• If you are a parent, you might have a disagreement with your child about finishing their
homework, but if you probe deeper with open communication, they may confess that their
teacher made a discouraging comment that left them unmotivated.

✅Make your message as clear as possible

Once you have successfully identified your audience and listened to their intentions, needs, and
desires, you may have something to communicate. To do this effectively, turn to the 5 C’s of
communication to ensure your message is:

• Clear
• Correct
• Concise
• Complete
• Compassionate

Prepare to communicate in a way that achieves most of these characteristics

✅ Use the right medium or platform

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Using the right medium or platform to effectively communicate is very important. Effective
communication requires you to consider whether you need to meet in person or if Zoom would
suffice. Is your message casual enough to use WhatsApp, or would a formal email be more
efficient and thorough? If you are catching up with a friend, do you two prefer to talk on the
phone or via old-fashioned letters? Whatever you choose should be intuitive and appropriate for
you and your current situation. You might assess the priority level and the type of
communication needed. In a marketing campaign, is there a visual component on Instagram or is
it a spoken podcast ad? Will the platform be a Facebook post, product placement in a film, or a
printed poster hung in cafes? For a university lecture, do students prefer to be online or meet in
person? Will there be a discussion afterward, and would it be fruitful to conduct it in a pub, cafe,
or in a field outdoors? By considering your audience, practicing active listening, clarifying your
communication, and choosing the right medium or environment, you are well on your way to
exercising communication effectiveness.

Elements of effective communication

Because both oral and written communication play such a significant role in our economy
and in the daily routines of the vast majority of organizations, an understanding of the essentials
of oral and written communication is critical. You must know what you want to say and how to
say it. In addition, you must design your messages to portray exact meaning as well as create a
favourable impression. Well-worded messages not only bring you and your reader closer
together, but also make you appear more friendly, helpful, and interested. In order to choose the
right words and sentences for your letters or speeches, you need to be familiar with the elements
of effective communication. The elements, known as the Cs of effective communication,
are as follows:

✅Clarity
Clarity means clearness or quality or condition of being clear or easy to understand. Getting the
meaning from your head into the head of your listener or reader - accurately - is the purpose
of clarity. The message must be clear, leaving the reader or listener in no doubt the intended
meaning. By concentrating on clarity, you are showing respect for your reader. The benefit for
you is that your speech or document is likely to be regarded as credible (believable). When
writing or speaking to someone, be clear about your goal or message. To be clear, try to
minimize the number of ideas in each sentence. Make sure that it is easy for your reader to
understand your meaning. Clarity can be achieved by:

• Choosing precise, concrete and familiar words

Clarity is achieved in part through a balance between precise language and familiar language.
When you use precise or concrete language you select exactly the right words to convey your
meaning. When you use familiar language, you select a word that is familiar to the audience, and
appropriate for the situation. Familiar words, as between two good friends, for example, are often
conversational, and occasionally may be part of a speech or written communication. When you
have a choice between a long word and a short one, use the short, familiar word your reader or
listener will quickly understand.

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• Constructing effective sentences & paragraphs

At the core of the clarity is the sentence. Important characteristics to consider are:

 Length - generally, short sentences are preferred. The suggested average sentence
length should be about 17 to 20 words.
 Unity - in a sentence - whether simple, compound, or complex – unity means that
you have one main idea, and any other ideas in the sentence must be closely related to
it.
 Coherence - to help improve the clarity of your writing, your sentences and
paragraphs need to be coherent. Coherence is achieved by making sure the
relationships between parts of sentences and paragraphs are clear to the reader and by
placing the modifiers in the correct location in each sentence.
 Emphasis - the technique of emphasis is used when you want certain words,
phrases, clauses, or sentences to stand out. Some of the emphasis techniques that you
can employ are position, repetition, quantity, and mechanics. Emphasis stands out in
two positions: the beginning and the ending. The beginning is generally the preferred
location, unless you are presenting negative information. When using the repetition
technique, you simply repeat the words you want to emphasize. In addition, you can
emphasize an idea by increasing the number of words devoted to its discussion.
Emphasis can also be achieved by presenting a key idea in a short paragraph and then
using the paragraphs that follow to present additional information. Finally, several
mechanical means of emphasizing ideas are available, including underlining, putting
information in all capitals, and using a different colour ink.

✅ Conciseness
Conciseness means being brief and to the point. Effective speaking or writing is concise -
each word, sentence, and paragraph counts. However, conciseness should not be interpreted to
mean brevity, which will result in an incomplete message. The message should be brief in order
to be understood, but should be contain all essential information. Use explanations, examples and
analogies to clarify messages. Concise communication does the following:

• Include only relevant material

The effective, concise message should omit not only unnecessary wordy expressions but also
irrelevant statements. To be sure you include only relevant facts, observe the following
suggestions:

 Stick to the purpose of the message.

 Delete irrelevant words and rambling sentence.
 Omit information obvious to the receiver; do not repeat at length what that person has
already told you. If you feel it is important to remind the audience of known information,
subordinate the familiar information.
 Avoid long introductions, unnecessary explanations, excessive adjectives and
propositions, pompous words
 Get to the important point tactfully and concisely

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• Avoid unnecessary repetition

Sometimes repetition is necessary for emphasis. But when the same thing is said two or three
times without reason, the message becomes wordy and boring. Here are three ways to eliminate
unnecessary repetition:

 Use a shorter name after you have mentioned the long one once. Instead of “Business
 Communication Center”, use “Communication Center”
 Use initials rather than repeat long name. Instead of using Trust Academy again and
again, use TA.
 Cut out needless repetition of phrases and sentences

✅ Correctness
Accuracy is important in business communications. All facts, figures and texts should be
checked for errors. At the core of correctness is proper grammar, punctuation, tone, style, and
spelling.

• Tone refers to the speaker or writer’s attitude towards the subject and the audience. Tone can
be friendly, aggressive, arrogant, pompous, impersonal, neutral etc. in oral communication; tone
is conveyed not only by the words you use, but also by your voice and body language. In written
communication, you have to rely on the printed word only to achieve the tone you want. In
business, speakers and writers aim for a pleasant and friendly, or at least a neutral, tone to
generate goodwill between the speaker or writer and listener or reader. Using please and
thank you when appropriate helps to create a pleasant tone and generate goodwill among
communicators.

• Style refers to the different ways people communicate. Every person has a unique
communication style, a way in which they interact and exchange information with others.
Communication styles are different approaches to expressing our thoughts, feelings and
opinions. There are four basic communication styles: passive, aggressive, passive-
aggressive and assertive.
 Passive - individuals who use the passive communication style often act indifferently,
yielding to others. Passive communicators usually fail to express their feelings or needs,
allowing others to express themselves. Frequently, a passive communicator’s lack of
outward communication can lead to misunderstanding, anger build-up or resentment. At
the same time, these communicators can be safer to speak with when a conflict arises,
because they most likely will avoid a confrontation or defer to others. Passive
communicators often display a lack of eye contact, poor body posture and an inability to
say “no.” Passive communicators also act in a way that states “people never consider my
feelings.” But passive communicators are also easy to get along with as they follow
others and “go with the flow”. Examples of phrases that those who use a passive
communication style would say or may believe include: “It really doesn’t matter
that much.” or “I just want to keep the peace”.

 Aggressive - it is often apparent when someone communicates in an aggressive

manner. You will hear it. You will see it. You may even feel it. The aggressive

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communication style is emphasized by speaking in a loud and demanding voice,

maintaining intense eye contact and dominating or controlling others by blaming,
intimidating, criticizing, threatening or attacking them, among other traits. Aggressive
communicators often issue commands, ask questions rudely and fail to listen to others.
But they can also be considered leaders and command respect from those around them.
Examples of phrases that an aggressive communicator would use include: “I’m right
and you’re wrong” or “I’ll get my way no matter what” or “It’s all your
fault.”

 Passive-aggressive - passive-aggressive communication style users appear passive

on the surface, but within he or she may feel powerless or stuck, building up a resentment
that leads to seething or acting out in subtle, indirect or secret ways. Most passive-
aggressive communicators will mutter to themselves rather than confront a person or
issue. They have difficulty acknowledging their anger, use facial expressions that don’t
correlate with how they feel and even deny there is a problem. Passive-aggressive
communicators are most likely to communicate with body language or a lack of open
communication to another person, such as giving someone the silent treatment, spreading
rumors behind people’s backs or sabotaging others’ efforts. Passive-aggressive
communicators may also appear cooperative, but may silently be doing the opposite.
Ultimately, passive-aggressive communicators are aware of their needs, but at times
struggle to voice them. Examples of phrases that a passive-aggressive communicator
would use include: “That’s fine with me, but don’t be surprised if someone
else gets mad” or “Sure, we can do things your way” (then mutters to
self that “your way” is stupid).

 Assertive - thought to be the most effective form of communication, the assertive

communication style features an open communication link while not being overbearing.
Assertive communicators can express their own needs, desires, ideas and feelings, while
also considering the needs of others. Assertive communicators aim for both sides to win
in a situation, balancing one’s rights with the rights of others. Assertive communicators
can express their own needs, desires, ideas and feelings, while also considering the needs
of others. One of the keys to assertive communication is using “I” statements, such as “I
feel frustrated when you are late for a meeting,” or, “I don’t like having to explain this
over and over.” It indicates ownership of feelings and behaviors without blaming the
other person. Examples of phrases an assertive communicator would use include: “We
are equally entitled to express ourselves respectfully to one another”
or “I realize I have choices in my life, and I consider my options” or “I
respect the rights of others.”

However, a message may be perfect grammatically and mechanically but still insult or lose a
customer. The term correctness, as applied to business messages also means the following three
characteristics:

 Use the right level of language

 Check accuracy of words, information, and data.

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 Use correct grammar and punctuation.

 Check spelling.

✅ Completeness
Message must be complete. Nothing should be left to be communicated later. If it is written
communication, no gaps should be left in the message so that they are filled in at a later date. A
complete message will have all the information the reader needs to know to be able to respond or
take action. Incomplete messages quickly increase the organization’s cost. Any time a message is
prepared that requires the preparation of another message, the cost of communicating doubles.
Incomplete messages are costly in other ways as well because they can result in:

• Loss of goodwill
• Loss of valued customers
• Loss of sales
• Waste of time trying to make sense out of an incomplete message.
• Cost of returning merchandise because of an incomplete order

The best way to determine if you have provided enough information is to subject your speech or
writing to questions like Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? - & H. If you have provided
clear answers to these questions, your response is likely to be complete. If you cannot answer
these questions, you probably should consider adding additional information. As you strive for
completeness, keep the following guidelines in mind:

• Provide all necessary information.

• Answer all questions asked.
• Give something extra, when desirable.

✅ Consistency
Story must be consistent e.g. sticking to a particular style and tone throughout. If you keep
changing your style and type of vocabulary, you will just confuse and frustrate the reader.
Consistency is about having a consistent message that is consistently communicated through a
variety of communication channels – social media, email, presentations, website, blog, etc.
✅ Convincing
Show confidence and commitment in what you communicate, even though there may be times
when you do not actually feel that in your writing. Uncertainty will show through very clearly in
all forms of communication. Believe in what you are saying or writing. Convey messages with
conviction to be taken seriously

✅Credibility
A source who has credibility - power to inspire belief is one who demonstrates qualities of
expertise, status, competence and honesty. Credibility is reputation impacting one's ability to
be believed or trusted e.g. experts are usually considered highly credible, unless or until they are
perceived as biased or self-serving. Credibility is very important in communication since it starts
with a climate of belief which is built by performance on the part of the institution, reflecting an

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earnest desire to serve the receiver. Receiver must have confidence in the sender and a high
regard for the source’s competence on the subject.

✅ Context
Context is the circumstances and setting of communication or its environment. We
communicate all the time. But, how we communicate changes based on who we are with, what
sort of events are occurring around us, our opinions and beliefs, and where we are. Anything,
from an empty stomach to bad weather, to an awkward situation, can form the context that
defines our ability to communicate. Great communicators need to know how to interact in any
context. Context can be physical. Physical context is the actual setting and includes things like
the physical location, time of day, noise level, weather, etc. Physical context can dramatically
impact communication e.g. when a person is at the musical concert, he cheers and claps and
jumps around, communicating his excitement, approval of the band, and shared enthusiasm with
friends. He is communicating, conveying information, but that message is only received because
he responds appropriately to the context.

✅Content
Content is the essence of a communicated message or discourse, as comprehended or received
by its intended audience. Content is the sum total of freshness, readability, relevancy, and
usefulness of information presented, and manner in which it is presented. Message must have
meaning for the receiver, and it must be compatible with his or her value system. Content
determines the audience and must be relevant to receiver’s situation

✅ Continuity
Communication is a never-ending process. This means that once the communication process has
been started, it is continued. It requires reputation to achieve penetration. Repetition - with
variation - contributes to both factual and attitudinal learning. Continuity provides a sensible
flow for users from reading, to listening, to viewing. Without continuity, disruptions,
misunderstandings, misconceptions can occur, followed by confusion and mistakes.

✅ Channels
Established channels of communication should be used - channels used and respected by the
receiver. Creating new channels is difficult. Different channels have different effects and are
effective in different stages of the diffusion process. Different channels are used for reaching
different target audiences. For example, for written communication, channel could be a postal
service or a notice-board; for oral communication, channel could be a personal interview or
telephone system; for visual communication, channel could be a drawing, photograph or film, or
body language.

✅ Capability of audience
Communication must take into account capability of audience. Communication is most
effective when it requires the least effort on the part of the recipient. This involves factors such
as availability, habits, reading ability, and the receiver’s knowledge. Consider carefully the
audience - what language will they understand (principally the use of jargon or specialist

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language), what explanations and examples will make sense to them, in what circumstances will
they receive the communication?

✅ Concreteness
Communicating concretely means being specific, definite, and vivid rather than vague and
general. Concrete writing makes specific references to persons, places, objects, & actions while
abstract means making general references to these items. To make your writing concrete you
should:

• Include as much specific information as possible.

• Use active rather than passive verbs.
• Use vivid, image-building words

✅ Courteous
Being courteous means being polite and respectful to people you are communicating with e.g.
customers, clients, to colleagues, subordinates etc. The review of a speech or business
correspondence reveals that special attention should be devoted to assuring the courtesy of
business communication. Effective speakers or writers visualize the listener or reader before
starting to speak or write. You will want to consider your listener or reader’s desires, problems,
circumstances, emotions, and probable reaction to your request. This step will enable you to
develop your communication from the listener or reader’s point of view.

‘You’ view point communication (You attitude/principle)

Communicators must adopt the ‘You-View Point’ when communicating in business
environments because it’s key to achieving common understanding. Speaking or writing with a
‘you’ attitude shows sincere concern for the reader. Emphasizing the reader’s (you) viewpoint
rather than the writer’s (I) viewpoint demonstrates sincerity. Make your message ‘You’ centred
by phrasing sentences from the listener or reader’s viewpoint and by employing ‘you’ as the
subject of the sentence when appropriate. Merely replacing a few I’s, we’s, our’s and my’s with
you’s and your’s throughout a letter, however, will not guarantee the presence of the You-
Attitude. To establish a You-Attitude, you must create a positive state of mind through your
suggestions and decisions. The ‘You’ Attitude enables the sender to give primary
consideration to receiver’s point of view when composing and sending messages. A You-
Attitude is more than simple courtesy or politeness. It hinges on demonstrating a clear
understanding of the reader’s problem or question. If a listener or reader feels that you are
genuinely concerned about his/her problem or question, the overall impact of the message will be
greatly enhanced. Incorporating a ‘you’ attitude into your message will help give them listener or
reader benefit, which shows the listener or reader how he/she will benefit by complying with
your request or announcement. Readers or listeners are more likely to comply if the benefits
appear to be worth their time, effort, or cost. Even though the benefits of compliance may not be
readily apparent to the listener or reader, your message can be made much more effective by
including listener or reader benefit material.

Things to consider about the receiver when adopting the ‘you’ attitude

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To use the ‘you’ viewpoint, the communicator must analyse the receiver and know what his or
her level of knowledge is, what their interests and attitudes are and what emotional reaction to
the message you could expect. He or she must obtain as much information as possible about the
following aspects of your receiver:

✅ Age
✅ Level of education
✅ Status in the organization
✅ Personal concerns the person may have
✅ Professional concerns the person may have

NB: Communicators must keep these issues in mind and think about how it
will be affecting the person to whom you are sending the message. Imagine
the impact these issues will have on their thinking and their expectations in
the communication exchange and then build your message around ways to
accommodate their expectations and concerns. Communicators must avoid
using the’ I’ view point since it creates unnecessary barriers.

‘I’ view point communication

This is a sender-centred communication which satisfies the sender’s own interests and benefits
h/she is looking for. It means the communicator is only concentrating on accommodating and
satisfying his/her own needs and wants. Communicating from his/her own point of view leads to
less successful communication because it means the sender using his/her own ideas, making use
of his/her own knowledge and attitudes to base the communication on.

Negative effects of ‘I-viewpoint’ communication

✅ Leave receiver feeling left out and unable to see any benefit in the communication exchange
✅ Leave both parties feeling that nothing much had been achieved in spite of the exchange which
had taken place
✅ Leads to less successful communication because it means using your own ideas, making use of
your own knowledge and attitudes to base your communication on

End of Lecture # 2

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