Business Communication Sir Provided

ABACUS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & Computer SCIENCES
Stadium Road, Karachi
EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION.
EFFECTIVE:
The definition of effective means to achieve goals and objective as a whole not partially. Whatever goals have been set should be completed within given period and must require full and optional result.
BUSINESS:
A business is considered all sort of activities; transaction and trading are taking place. A business is not limited only with the exchange of goods and services against some consideration but involves all activities in the life.
COMMUNICATION:
The terms communication means the process of transmitting, interpreting, exchange of ideas, thought and acceptance of verbal and non-verbal messages. The precondition of communication is acceptance of message comprehensive and mutually exchange of emotion and ideas. Process of exchanging starts with an idea, emotion, and language is a tool of communication but not considered as a medium of communication. INTERNAL COMMUNICATION Organization cannot function without open and effective communication EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION Effective communication to people outside the organization can help create a good reputation and have a positive impact on its ultimate success
COMMUNICATION COULD BE:

1. Upward Communication 2. Downward Communication 3. Horizontal Communication
SIGNIFICANCE:
Communication should be significant and effective only to the extent that people involved in it can make sense of it. We could be able to understand and deal wish intelligently with problems in communication. A VALUABLE JOB REQUIREMENT If you carrier requires mainly mental rather than manual labor, your progress will be strongly influenced by how effectively you communicates your knowledge, proposals and ideas to others who need or should receive them. AN ESSENTIAL FOR PROMOTION The prime requisite of a promotable executive is Ability to communicate. too often who cannot communicate effectively in either oral or written communications remain buried in lower, dead-end jobs. Members of management usually spend 60 to 90 percent of their working days communicating-speaking, writing and listening. DEVELOPING THE RIGHT ATTITUDE: To the customer you are the company. This good advice comes from public relation experts. Your attitude when dealing with customers, clients, and the public reflection the company you represent. When you deal with international business people, your attitude will reflect your country and your culture.
PROBLEMS:
Communication deals with the problems in the daily life as a problem of message of exchange. The organization problem is that message doesnt flow very well from bottom to top. Since communication is a process, it is dynamic and over changing. To examine those problems we must know the component of the communication process. We will be considering sources, of that person who generated the ideas. Is this persons ideas sound? Has he conceptualized the idea correctly? Does he understand? Is he biased? Some question about the evedibility of sources. Dose the person erode the ideas clearly with enough force and energy? We also see the channels, routs by which the communication are sent. So it is category of source, message, channel and receiver is important for the flow of communication. We should suggest ways to find solution to problems and criteria by which to select the most effective solution. The problem arises by numerous factors such as CONVENTION OF MEANING VALUES, ATTIUDES AND OPINIONS
CONVENTION OF MEANING
A fundamental principle of communication is that the symbols the sendor uses to communicate messages must have essentially the same meaning in both the senders and receivers mind.
VALUES, ATTIUDES AND OPINIONS Communication effectiveness is influenced also by the values, attitudes and opinions the communicators have in their mental filters. People react favorably when the message they receive agrees with their views toward the information the facts and the sender, the communication problems regarding values, attitude and opinions are 1. 2. 3. 4. FAVORABLE OR UNFAVORABLE INFORMATION INADEQUATE OR INCORRECT INFORMATION CLOSED MINDS SENDORS CREDIBILITY
Responsibilities of Communicator
Communication starts with day one or even before birth, doesnt end at death, so communicator has some responsibility, accountability so which communicating be little bit cautious dont use necessary words. Person has some ethical responsibility at least to tell the truth, honestly is the best policy, do not harm to any body and treat people justly.
Universal Responsibility:
It is universal responsibility to preserve communication to our ancestor knowledge and also propagate and provide such arrangement to transfer that knowledge for further down the year.

Stadium Road, Karachi EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Question: Illustrate Communication Model. What are the different components of communication? Communication in simple terms is a two-way process of exchanging ideas or information. It is a process of transmitting and receiving verbal and non-verbal messages. Verbal communication can be either oral or written. Non-verbal communication includes Body movement (gestures/postures), signals, pictures, symbols, expressions, time, silence, distance (gap/closeness), etc. The above attributes are of various types e.g. size, color, texture, smell ad-infinitum. Basically communication is non-verbal. Communication is a mystery that can be solved by (a) understanding the pattern, and (b) matching the meaning between listener and speaker. Communication has the following components: (i) Context: It is a broad field which includes country, culture, organization as well as internal and external stimuli. The messages must be planned designed and communicated taking the above aspects into consideration. The source of external stimulus that prompts one to send a message may be a letter, memo, note electronic mail, fax, telex, telephone call, a meeting or even a casual conversation. In other words it can be oral or written. The internal stimuli have a complex influence on how you translate ideas into a message. Effective Communication of ideas and messages are influenced by the communicators attitudes, opinions, emotions, past experiences, likes and dislikes, education, job status and confidence in communication skills. Equally important is the ability to analyze receivers culture, view-points, needs, skills, status, mental ability, experience and expectations. (ii) Speaker: (Sender or Encoder): Depending on whether the message is oral or written the sender of the message is either the writer or speaker. When sending the message symbols (usually words and sometimes also graphics or pictures) are used so that the receiver will understand it and react with desired response. It is up to the sender to choose symbols and message channel to convey the message effectively. Message: Message is the core idea that one wishes to communicate either verbally or nonverbally. A sender must decide what should be the main point of the message and what other information needs to be included. It is very important to consider the interpretation of the message by the receiver and how the message may affect the relationship between the sender and the receiver. Channel of Transmission (Medium): The choices of transmitting the message could be written or spoken. The medium can be printed word, electronic mail or sound. The choice of medium is also influenced by the relationship between the sender and the receiver. Other factors to be considered are importance, cost, number of receivers, amount of information and the medium preferred in the receivers culture.
(iii)
(iv)
When the message is long, technical or formal in nature, and when the message must be documented, written channel is preferred. The oral channel is effective when the message is urgent or personal or when immediate feedback is important. (v) Receiver Decoder: A message when transmitted is either read or listened by the receiver or decoder who could be one or more. The receiver, like the sender, is influenced by context and by his or her mental filter. They receive messages through eyes and ears but are also influenced by nonverbal factors and are filtered through the receivers view of and experience in the world. Feedback: The reaction or response of the receiver to the senders message is known as Feedback. Response could either be as desired or undesired by the sender depending upon a clear understanding of the symbols or miscommunication. Feedback can be oral or written and can also be an action or silence. Silence is almost ineffective as the sender needs feedback in order to determine the success of failure of the communication. Noise: Noise in other words is the communication barrier which is caused due to disturbance, disruption, distortion, breakage, blockage or corruption. It breaks the process of communication. Communication barriers are of different types and mostly depend upon the moods of the sender and receiver. These barriers are emotional, psychological, mechanical/physical, sentimental, status, money, culture, language, dress, social, etc. Empathy (Communication Booster): Effectiveness of Communication fails due to misunderstanding/miscommunication or breaks due to noise or communication barrier. Empathy means sharing the pains and pleasures of the person at the other end as well as forecasting the emotional or behavioral response of the receiver. The presence of noise during communication cannot be ignored or eliminated but empathy can, to a great extent, help in understanding, interpreting and making the message more effective.
(vi)
(vii)
(viii)
The component of communication can be illustrated from the following tables. CONTEXT Stimuli NOISE
Sender-Encoder (experiences, attitudes, skills) Perception Idea encoding Symbol decisions Sending mechanisms. Empathy Message Medium Verbal, nonverbal
Receiver-Decoder (experiences, attitudes, skills) Receptor mechanisms Perception Decoding Idea interpretation Empathy
NOISE FEEDBACK Verbal, nonverbal A Communication Model
Context Sender-Encoder Message Medium Receiver-Decoder Feedback Noise Empathy
Components of Communication Components of Communication 1. Context a. b. Specific reasons for and objectives of the message Cultural and organizational convention concerning the environment of the message.
2. a. b. 3.
Sender-Encoder Influence of Internal attitudes on the message Words/symbolism reveal something about the sender a. b. Message Central purpose should be clear Verbal and non-verbal elements of communication should be realized. Medium Choice of Medium (Urgent: oral suggested Less Urgent: written suggested) Clarification of symbols chosen in the message. Receiver-Decoder The sender should be aware of the attitudes and perceptions of receiver. Consideration of physical, emotional, mental or cultural factors in the receiver may affect the message.
4. a. b. 5. a. b.
6. Feedback a. Allow feedback to the message b. To be precise in desiring the feedback. 7. Noise a. Communication barriers caused due to disturbance, disruption, distortion, breakage, blockage or corruption
b.
Communication barriers are of different types and mostly depend upon the moods of the sender and receiver.
8. Empathy a. Forecasting the emotional or behavioral response of the receiver. b. Empathy can, to a great extent, help in understanding, interpreting and making the message more effective.
ABACUS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & Computer SCIENCES Stadium Road, Karachi EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION.
Communication includes both written and oral communication. How do the two types differ from each other and how do you decide which one is effective in a given situation? Communication skills include the mix of verbal, written, interpersonal and physical strategies needed to interact confidently and effectively with a range of audiences. A skilful communicator draws on a number of different means (e.g., graphical, visual, statistical, audio-visual and technological) to get the point across. People in organizations typically spend over 75% of their time in an interpersonal situation; thus it is no surprise to find that at the root of a large number of organizational problems is poor communications. Effective communication is an essential component of organizational success whether it is at the interpersonal, intergroup, intergroup, organizational, or external levels. Although all of us have been communicating with others since our infancy, the process of transmitting information from an individual (or group) to another is a very complex process with many sources of potential error. Differences between Oral and Written Communication All communication includes the transfer of information from one person to another, and while the transfer of information is only the first step in the process of understanding a complex phenomenon, it is an important first step. Writing is a fairly static form of transfer. Speaking is a dynamic transfer of information. To be an effective speaker, you must exploit the dynamism of oral communication, but also learn to work within its limitations. While there is a higher level of immediacy and a lower level of retention in the spoken word, a speaker has more ability to engage the audience psychologically and to use complex forms of non-verbal communication. Written Communication Oral Communication Slow, deliberate process because Used to regulate social interactions. Topic of mechanical constraints. No need usually here and now. Listeners often give to worry about keeping the immediate feedback. listener's attention. The written language can be more Speeches can also be precise and precise. Written words can be indeed they have to be. But
chosen with greater thought, and a precision in oral communication written argument can be comes only with a great deal of extraordinarily sophisticated, preparation and compression. intricate, and lengthy. These attributes of writing are possible because the pace of involvement is controlled by both the writer and the reader. The writer can write and rewrite at great length. Similarly, the reader can read quickly or slowly or even stop to think about what he or she has just read. More importantly, the reader always has the option of re-reading. In written communication, one can read from a written text and achieve the same degree of verbal precision as written communication. But word-for-word reading from a text is not speechmaking, and in most circumstances audiences find speech-reading boring and retain very little of the information transmitted. Key Behaviors Communication of Once spoken, words cannot be retracted, although one can apologize for a mistake and improvise a clarification or qualification. After an oral communication, one cannot go back and correct errors or omissions. Oral communication can be significantly more effective in expressing meaning to an audience. This distinction between precision and effectiveness is due to the signals available to the speaker; gestures, intonation, inflection, volume, pitch, pauses, movement and visual cues. Key Behaviors Communication of Oral
Written
Uses of correct grammar, spellings and punctuations Expresses ideas so that the reader can understand. Organizes logically. communication
Speakers should avoid focusing on single individuals within an audience. A speaker has significantly more control over what the listener will hear than the writer has over what the reader will read. Reading an audience is a systematic and cumulative endeavor unavailable to the writer such as body appearances and body language. Many speakers fail to appreciate
Adjusts the style, format, and content of communication to the level of the reader. Presents data accurately to support conclusions and recommendations. Knows when written
communication should be used rather than oral communication. Sends communication to the appropriate receivers. Asks for help from others in reviewing important documents.
the difficulties of good listening, and most speakers worry about leaving out some important part of the argument. Audience will remember about one-half of what was said in a twenty-minute talk. Oral communication also allows incomplete sentences if delivered properly, and many sentences will begin with "and," "but," and "except."
Written communication involves any type of interaction that makes use of the written word. It is one of the two main types of communication, along with oral/spoken communication. Written communication is very common in business situations, so it is important for small business owners and managers to develop effective written communication skills. Some of the various forms of written communication that are used internally for business operations include memos, reports, bulletins, job descriptions, employee manuals, and electronic mail. Examples f written communication avenues typically pursued with clients, vendors, and other members of the business community, meanwhile, include electronic mail, Internet Web sites, letters, proposals, telegrams, faxes, postcards, contracts, advertisements, brochures, and news releases. Ironically, the importance of good writing skills in the business world has become more evident even as companies rely increasingly on computers and other new technologies to meet their obligations. Writing ability is especially important in customer communication. Business proposals, status reports, customer documentation, technical support, or even e-mail replies all depend on clear written communication Advantages of Written Communication One advantage is that written messages do not have to be delivered on the spur of the moment; instead, they can be edited and revised several times before they are sent so that the content can be shaped to maximum effect. Another advantage is that written communication provides a permanent record of the messages that have been sent and can be saved for later study. Since they are permanent, written forms of communication also enable recipients to take more time in reviewing the message and providing appropriate feedback. For these reasons, written forms of communication are often considered more appropriate
for complex business messages that include important facts and figures. Other benefits commonly associated with good writing skills.
What characteristics or traits do successful communicators share? Characteristics of a Successful Communicator Everything we do is communication. Without communication we will not be able to interact in a civilized manner. Without communication we will not be able to create modern societies. Without communication we would not be able to create prosperity for ourselves. Without communication we would not be able to construct organizations necessary for the reproduction of material wealth. Communication is the most important building block of human civilization. If communication is so important then this implies a certain competency level in the strategies and tactics of communication possessed by all people irrespective of their education, social background, nationality, and common language. This is unfortunately not true because a large number of people do not have the proper communication skills necessary to become successful. Most of them are simply muddling through their daily lives using basic communication skills which are barely enough to keep their heads above the water. Below are some typical characteristics which good communicators shares: 1. Good communicators pay attention to everything the other person is communicating.
2. Good communicators constantly think about the nature of their messages: they always think about when, where, and how they will deliver their messages. 3. Good communicators always try to find the right combination of words, body language, dress, and tone of voice before sending a message. 4. Good communicators show constructive attitude by a relaxed posture 5. Good communicators try to avoid using the same words when sending their message to different persons because no one person is identical. Good communicators try to find out what is important for the other person 6. Good communicators show attention by eye contact 7. Good communicators are always ready to be flexible or try to move on after delivering their message by reaching a decision, solving a problem, negotiating a compromise, etc. 8. Good communicators are fully aware of the reciprocal nature of communication which is a process of giving and receiving a message. Good communication is a like a dance which entails leading and following. 9. Good communicators show interest in the other person by orienting your body towards the other person.
10.
Good communicators show openness by keeping your hands open.

Principles of Effective Communication
To compose effective written or oral messages, one must apply certain communication principles. These principles provide guidelines for choice of content and style of presentation, adapted to the purpose and receiver of your message. Called the seven Cs. They are (1) Completeness (2) Conciseness (3) Consideration, (4) concreteness, (5) Clarity, (6) courtesy, and (7) correctness. These seven Cs are applicable to all forms of communication (oral and written).
1. Completeness: A business message is complete when it contains all facts the reader or listener needs for the reaction you desire. Remember that communicators-senders and receivers are differ in their mental filters and they are influenced by their background, viewpoints, needs, experiences, attitudes, status, and emotions. Because of these differences, communication senders need to assess their messages through the eyes of receivers to be sure they have included all relevant information. Completeness offers numerous benefits. First, complete messages are more likely to bring the desired results without the expense of additional messages. Second, they can do a better job of building goodwill. Messages that contain information the receiver needs show concern for others. Third: complete message can help avert costly lawsuits that may result if important information is missing. Last, communications that seem inconsequential can be surprisingly important if the information they contain is complete and effective. .As you strive for completeness, the following guidelines should be kept in mind. I. Provide all necessary information: when a message is initiated, you need to check to make sure you have provided all the information the reader needs for thorough, accurate understanding. One-way to help make your message complete is to answer the five W questions who, what, when, where and why. The 5 method is especially useful when you write requests, announcements, or other informative messages. II. Answer all questions asked: Whenever you reply to an inquiry, try to answer all questions, stated and implied. A colleague or prospective customers reaction to an incomplete reply is likely to be unfavorable. If you have no information on a particular question, say so clearly. III. Give Something Extra, when Desirable: Sometimes you must do more than answer the customers specific questions. They may not know what they need, or their questions may be inadequate. Dont exaggerate the figure as people of sales doing very frequently. 2. 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 for both sender and receiver. To achieve conciseness, observe the following suggestions: 1. Eliminate Wordy Expressions: Concrete suggestions you can use to reduce wordiness in your communication. Use single world substitutes instead of phrases whenever possible without changing meanings. Now for all this times Omit trite, unnecessary expressions. Replace wordy conventional statements with concise versions. Avoid overusing empty phrases. Omit which and that clause whenever possible. Eliminate unnecessary prepositional phrases. Limit use of the passive voice.
2. Include only relevant material: The effective, concise message should omit not only unnecessarily 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 sentences. Omit information obvious to the receiver Do not repeat at length what that person has already told to you. Avoid long introductions, unnecessary explanation, excessive adjectives and prepositions, pompous words. Get the important point tactfully and concisely. 3. 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 repetition. A) Use a shorter name after youve mentioned the long one once. B) Use pronouns or initials rather than repeat long names. C) Cut out all needless repetition of phrases and sentences. 3. Consideration : Consideration means preparing every message with the message receivers in mind, try to put yourself in their place. You are considerate, you dont lose your temper, you dont accuse, and you dont charge them without facts. You are foremost, aware of their desires, problems, circumstances, emotions and probable reactions to your request. Then handle the matter from their point f view. In a broad but true sense, consideration underlies the other six Cs of good business communication. Three specific ways to indicate consideration are: i. Focus on You instead of I or We to create considerate, audience-oriented messages, focus on how message receivers will benefit, what they will receive, and what they want or need to know. Creating a you-attitude may require avoiding telling others how they feel, assuming you know their needs. When a reader receives a business letter, he assesses how it affects him and his business and what action he needs to take on it. A direct personal approach that the you attitude ensures will transmit the message to him quickly and produce the desired response. Showing consideration for the audience involves more than just using you instead of I or we that use you can be insensitive in negative situation. Insensitive: You failed to enclose your check in the envelope. Considerate: The check was not enclosed. (Passive voice) Considerate: The envelope we received didnt have a check in it. (depersonalized) ii. Show Audience Benefit or interest in the Receiver: Whenever possible and true, show how your receivers will benefit from whatever the message asks or announces. Benefits must meet recipients needs address their concerns, or offer them rewards. Receivers will be more likely to react favorable and do what your suggest if you show that benefits are worth the effort and cost you ask of them. In situations where actual direct benefit is impossible or irrelevant to the subject matter, the message should at least show interest in and concern for the recipients needs or viewpoints.
iii. Emphasize positive, pleasant facts: A third way to show consideration for your receivers is to accent the positive. This means stressing what can be done instead of what cannot be done, and focusing on words your recipient can consider favorable. Negative-Unpleasant: It is impossible to open and account for you today, give some alternative, Positive-pleasant: as soon as our signature card reaches us, well gladly open an account. 4. Concreteness: Communicating concretely means being specific, definite, and vivid rather than vague and general. Often it means using denotative (direct, explicit, often dictionary-based meaning) rather than connotative words (ideas or notions suggested by or associated with a word or phrase) The benefits to business professionals of using concrete facts and figures are obvious; your receivers know exactly what is required or desired. The guidelines for composing concrete, convincing messages are: (dont exaggerate) (i) Use specific facts and figures: It is desirable to be precise and concrete in both written and oral business communication. Whenever possible, use an exact, precise statement or a figure in place of a general word to make your message more concrete. Vague, General, indefinite ; Eastern Europe is making progress in obtaining investments Concrete, Precise: In 1990 investments in E Europe were about US $ 30 million, today that figure has increased by 12 %. The inflation has increased in Pakistan by 12 %. (ii) Put action in your verbs: Verbs can activate other words and help make your sentences alive, more vigorous. That is to have dynamic sentences, eg- use active rather than passive verbs and put action in your verbs rather than in nouns and infinitives. A passive verb has three characteristics a) the subject doesnt do the active in a sentence b) The verb consists of two or more words one of which is in some form of to be (is, is being, am, are, was were will be has or have been, had been, or will have been) and, (c) the by is expressed or implied (by whom or what) Active verbs help make your sentences more: Specific the dean decided is more explicit than A decision has been taken Personal- You will note is both personal and specific, it will be noted is impersonal. Concise- The passive requires more words and thus shows both writing and reading. Compare figures show with it is shown by figures. (iii) Choose vivid, image-building words; among the devices you can use to make your messages forceful, vivid, and specific are sensory appeals, comparisons figurative language, concrete nouns, and well-chosen adjectives and adverbs. But use these devices with caution. Business writing uses fewer descriptors than does a magazine article or fictional writing. Sensory appeal: Concrete language often evokes a sensory response in people; it appeals to one or more of the five senses. (Smell, test, touch, feel, and) Such language tens to be more descriptive than conventional business language. For example, instead of saying it was hot in the factory you might appeal to both sight and touch by saying Sweat trickled down the arms of the line workers Although, sensory appeals are used primarily in marketing products, they also have a limited place in providing color and specificity in other forms of business communication. Comparisons: Analogies (either figurative or literal (dull) or comparisons can make an unclear idea clear or make and idea more vivid.
5. Clarity: Clarity means to get the message across in such a manner that the receiver understands what you want to convey. He interprets your words with the same meaning you have in you mind. The useful hints for keeping your writing simple and clear are: Use short familiar and conversational words Keep the sentences simple and short Use short paragraphs Avoid unwanted information in the message Use positive language as par as possible. (a) Choose 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 word to convey your meaning, precise words need not be pretentious. When you use a familiar word or language you select a word to that is familiar to the audience, and appropriate for situation. Although, it is appropriate to use technical terms and business jargon in some professional situations. Avoid it when you communicate with a person who is not acquainted with the terminology. (b) Construct effective sentences and paragraphs: At the core of clarity is the sentence. This grammatical statement when clearly expressed moves thoughts within a paragraph. Important characteristics to consider are length, unity, coherence and emphasis. 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- In a coherent sentence the words are correctly arranges so that the ideas clearly express the intended meaning. Emphasis-the quality that gives force to important parts of sentences and paragraphs is emphasis. Writers must decide what needs emphasis and then choose correct sentence structure. The points about choice of words deserve attention. (a) use simple words (B) use concrete expressions (c) Avoid Jargon (d) Use synonyms carefully (e) prefer active contractions (f) Avoid ambiguity and (g) Use short sentences. Clarity demands that the business message should be correct, concise, complete, concrete and with consideration. To accomplish these, we must choose, short familiar and conversational words, proper punctuations making the writing clear, insert examples, illustration , tables , graphs, and other visual aids, if necessary, make the message the message readable and understandable and make correct sentences and divide the message in properly sized paragraphs. 6. Courtesy. Courtesy is more important and advantageous in business writing than it is in faceto-face communication or conversation. Courtesy is more desirable while communicating through letter because the readers judge you not by actions but by words. A courteous message not only strengthens present business friendship but it also makes new friends. Courtesy may be achieved by being- Truly tactful, thoughtful and appreciative- omitting expressions that annoy, distress, or
ridicule-Answering all your mail properly and promptly and apologizing and being thankful. We can even generate a courteous tone by adopting the following tactics. a. Sincerely tactful, thoughtful, and appreciative: Tact- Though few people are intentionally abrupt or blunt these negative traits are a common cause of discourtesy. Sometimes they stem from a mistaken idea of conciseness, sometimes from negative personal attitude, sometimes from not knowing the culture of a country or even groups of people. Eg- tactless, blunt; I wrote that letter three times, the point was clear. More tactful; Im sorry the point was not clear, here is another version. E-mail messages are short or often informal. Writing a letter to a customer outside the company requires more niceties than writing mail within your company. b. Thoughtfulness and Appreciation: Writers who send cordial, courteous messages of deserved congratulations and appreciation (to persons both inside and outside the firm) help build goodwill. C. Use expressions that show respect. No reader wants to receive messages that offend. d. Choose nondiscriminatory expressions- Another requirement for the courtesy s the use of nondiscriminatory language that reflects equal treatment of people regardless of gender, race, ethnic origin, and physical features. 7. Correctness: correctness of expression makes the writing clear, free from ambiguity and helps the readers in easy understanding and prompt response. Thus clarity and readability are closely related to accuracy. Correctness means that beside the correct punctuation, spelling and grammar used the type of language and facts reported should also be correct. However , a message may be perfect grammatically and mechanically but still insult or lose a customer. The terms correctness, as applied to business messages, also means the following three characteristics: A)- Use the right level of language: There are suggested three levels of language, formal, informal and substandard. Formal writing is often associated with scholarly writing: doctoral dissertations, scholarly articles, legal documents, to-level government agreements and other materials where formality in style is demanded. The style is unconversational usually impersonal and after contain long and involved sentences. Informal writing is more characteristic of business writing avoid substandard language: using incorrect words, incorrect grammar, and faulty pronunciation all suggests an inability to use good English. B)- check accuracy of figures, facts and words: It is impossible to convey meaning precisely, through words from the head of the sender to a receiver. Our goal is to be as precise as possible, which means checking and double-checking to ensure that the figures, facts and words you used are correct. Get all the documents checked some one else. Words that confuse: Our English language is constantly changing. In facts, even dictionaries cannot keep up with the rapid change in our language. But the dictionary is still a major source for locating correct words and their intended meanings. Accept, except---C)- Maintain acceptable writing mechanics: Careful attention should be given to the mechanical part (appearance of business message) of every well-written document. Business communication often lends to expensive operations.
The term correctness, as applied to a business message, means the writer should : use the right level of language, include only accurate facts, words and figures, maintain acceptable writing principles, choose nondiscriminatory expressions. Apply the following qualities- avoid switching from third person to 2nd person. If you are writing in the third person dont use I, me, we, us, you. Vary your sentence structure, there should be proper grammar, punctuation spelling and paragraphing, and apply all other pertinent C qualities. Good business writer must be alert to accuracy because of changing rates, laws an conditions, names of the politicians etc

Preparing Effective Business Messages

In revising your business documents, begin with the Higher Order Concerns (HOCs). The HOCs are aspects of the writing most responsible for the content of the document. In order to prepare an effective written or oral business message, we need to plan, organize, draft, edit and proofread. Thoughtful adherence to communication principles of 7-Cs and awareness f legal and ethical aspects is also essential for composing and effective business message. This section focuses on the following five main planning steps. 1. Identify your purpose
2. Analyze your audience 3. Choose your ideas 4. Collect data to support your ideas, and 5. Organize your message.
1. Identify your Purpose

Business writing is action-oriented, rhetorical (express with a view to persuasive or impressive effect), and user-centered. It aims to effect positive change, through both persuasive and informative strategies. It is essential that you have a clear understanding of the purpose of your document. The objective of our message is always two fold: the reason for the message itself and the creation of goodwill.

What is your purpose in writing the document? What purpose should the document serve for your reader? Is your main point stated early in the document?
What do you want your reader to do when s/he finishes reading the document?

Is your message mainly informational? Is it mainly persuasive? Are you trying to negotiate a contract with a parts supplier?
You must explain why you are not granting a customers request for loan? Analyze your Audience For professional communication writing, it is very important to keep your audience in mind. Considering your audience will help you make a better argument. Have you done enough research about your audience and the organization to which they belong? If we are sending a message to one person, try to see that person as a member of a group, such as business or professional person, superior, colleague, or subordinate, woman or man new or longtime customer, your, middle ages, or elderly. Consider also the persons educational level, attitudes, and probable values (often culture-specific) and finally consider your message and decide whether your readers or listeners are informed or uninformed on the subject and whether they will react positively or negatively with interest or disinterest.
Is your document tailored to the needs of a specific audience (usercentered)?

Are your tone and language appropriate for your audience? Will you have persuaded your reader by the end of the document?
Choose your ideas: Keep the purpose and receiver in mind, the next step is to choose the idea for your message. If you are answering a letter, underline the main points to discuss and jot your ideas in the margin. If you are writing an unsolicited or a complex message, begin by brainstorming, and then choosing the best ideas for your receiver. The ideas you include depend on the type of message you are sending and the background and location of your receiver national or international. Collect your data: After you have decided what ideas to include, you must determine whether you need specific facts, figures, quotations, or other forms of evidence to support your points. Be sure you know your company policies, procedures, and product details if your message requires them. ?always check your data on names of individuals, dates, addresses, and statistics. Sometimes, you may need to enclose a brochure, table, picture, or product sample. Organize your message: Before you write your first draft, outline your messages often seem careless, confusing, and unimportant. However, different approaches are necessary for different cultures. Choose your organizational plan after you have worked through your initial planning steps.
Business Letter: The medium used most often for written message to persons outside your organization is the business letter. Your letters appearance conveys nonverbal impressions that affect a readers attitude even before that person reads the letter. A business letter is more formal than a personal letter. It should have margin of at least one inch on all four edges. There are eight standard parts to a business letter.
1. The Heading: Letterhead and date. This contains the return address (usually two or three lines) with
the date on the last line. Sometimes it may be necessary to include a line after the address and before the date for a phone number, fax number, Email address, or something similar. Often a line is skipped between the address and date. Modern letterheads usually occupy no more than 2 inches at the top of the page. Letterhead information should include the firms name, address, ZIP code, telephone number and sometimes fax number, internet address, nature of business and name of the department are also include.
2. The Inside Address: This is the address you are sending your letter to. Make it as complete as
possible. An inside address also helps the recipient route the letter properly and can help should the envelope be damaged and the address becomes readable. Skip a line after the heading before the inside address. Skip another line after the inside address before the salutation. Order of items is (1) courtesy title (2) name, and (3) executive or professional title, if any. All parts are typed single-spaced.
3. The Salutation. The greeting in a business letter is always formal. It normally begins with the word
Dear and often includes the persons last name. Salutations are typed on the second line below the inside address and two lines above the body of the letter, and even with the left margin.
4. Subject Line. It helps tell your reader at a glance what your letter is about. It also helps in filing. The
subject line may include or omit the word subject.
5. The Body. The body is written as text. Depending on the letter style you choose, paragraphs may be
indented. Regardless of format, skip a line between paragraphs. Skip a line between the salutation and the body. Skip a line between the body and the close. Generally the body of all letters should be typed single-spaced, with double spacing between paragraphs, before and after the salutation, and before the complimentary close. When the body of a letter is two or more pages, each page beyond the first is headed by the addressees name, page number and date. The information is typed at the top of the sheet with the same margins as the first page. The Complimentary Close. This short, polite closing ends with a comma. It is either at the left margin or its left edge is in the centre, depending on the business letter style, that you use. It begins at the same column the heading does. The block style is becoming more widely used because there is no indenting to bother with in the whole letter. We use sincerely, sincerely yours or yours sincerely as the most popular complimentary close. When the letter is informal, additional complimentary closes are often used, such as Warm regards, Best regard, and Best whishes. Do not be surprised to see letters from the U.K or Asia closing with faithfully, tradition influences their use of that closing.
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7. The Signature Line. Skip two lines (unless you have usually wide or narrow lines) and type out the
name to be signed. The signature should start directly above the first letter of the signature line in the space between the close and the signature line. You can include in the signature area several identifications, name of your company, your signature, your typewritten name, and your business title. If printed on the letterhead, your company name need not be typed after the complimentary close.
However, if you wish to include it type it in capital letters and double space lines below the company name (if included) and the complimentary close.
8. The Reference Section. It may include information about the message compose, the typist, and
sometimes word processing data. Your initials as the composer of the message along with those of your typist usually appear at the left margin on the same line with the last line of the signature area (your name or title) or one or two lines below that. Letter Styles: Business letters are usually arranged in one of the following letter styles. Full Block. Every line begins at the left margin. This is a common format because it is quick and easy to set up. Modified-block. The date, complimentary close, and signature section begin at the horizontal center of the page or are placed so that they end near the right-hand margin. Attention and subject lines may be indented, centered, or begin at the left margin, where all other parts begin. This letter style is used often and is attractive on the page. Modified-block with paragraphs indented. AMS (Administrative Management Society) Simplified Style. AMS has been in use since the 1950s, but is not widely used.
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Optional Parts of the Letter: When appropriate, any of these optional parts can be included: (1) attention line. (2) Subject line, (3) enclosure(s), (4) copy notation, (5) file or account number and mailing notation, and (6) postscript. 1. Attention Line: An attention line is useful when you want your message to go to a certain department or when someone other than the addressee will take care of your message. Placement of the attention line is usually between the inside address and salutation, with a blank line before and after it. 2. Subject Line: Considered part of the body of the letter, the subject line helps tell your reader at a glance what your letter is about. It also helps in filing. The subject line may include or omit the word subject. It is usually placed on the second line below the salutation and cantered, or it may be place flush with left margin. 3. Enclosure Notation: An enclosure or attachment notation is included to remind your reader to check for additional pages of information. To remind whoever prepares your envelope for mailing that something is to be enclosed, the enclosure notation is usually typed a single or double space under the reference initials. 4. Copy Notation: When persons other than the addressee will receive a copy of your message, you note by writing c pc. copy, or cc followed by the name s of these persons just below the reference initials or the enclosure notation. 5. File or Account Number and Mailing Notation: To aid in filing and quick retrieval for both the senders and readers company, some firms require that file, loan, or account number be typed above the body of the letter. 6. Postscript: To emphasize a point already in your letter or to include a brief personal message unrelated to the letter, a postscript, typed or handwritten may be added below everything else typed on the page. Latter Layout: Most American business letters use mixed punctuation, with a colon following the salutation and a comma after the complimentary close. Punctuation Styles: Open and mixed punctuation are the two forms most used in American business letters. In open punctuation, no line of any letter part (except the body) has any punctuation at the end unless and abbreviation requires a period. In mixed punctuation, a colon follows the complimentary close. Foreign writers, especially those in Asia and Great Britain, use a comma in place of a colon after the salutation.
Memorandums: The memorandum is an intra organization written document. It is the most common form of written communication between people or departments. Fore memorandums (internal communication) the stationery, parts, layout, and envelopes are different from those of letters. Parts of the Memorandum: Standard memos consist of a heading with TO, FROM, SUBJECT, and DATE. On preprinted office forms, the word MESSAGE may also appear. These parts can be programmed to appear automatically with just a keystroke in a word processing system. Optional parts are such items as reference initials, enclosures, file number, routing information, and the senders department and telephone number. Unlike the letter, the memo requires no inside address, salutation, complimentary close, telephone or full signature. It is not unusual to sign the memorandum at the end along with a personal handwritten note. That is more the case with British-influenced writing, in which a complimentary close is added. Some companies have combination message-reply from that provide lines for both the writers and the readers signatures. Using the combination message-and-reply memorandum form is an especially good time and expense sever for both sender and receiver. Headings: Whether to include a courtesy title after your TO heading depends on your relationship with your receiver, you omit your title before your own name. What you write after the TO, FROM, and DATE will vary with the situation and your organizations practices. A courtesy title such as Mr., Mrs., Miss., Ms. Before your readers name may be used, depending on your relationship with the reader (superior or subordinate) and the degree of formality within your organization. You omit the title before your name. also, if the message is a temporary message, not to be filed, and if you and the writer work together regularly, you may merely use initials, firs name, or nickname after TO and FROM, and use all figures or abbreviations for the date. Whether you use initials, first name, or whole names, you must sign or initial your memo. Usually your signature is written above or to the right of your printed name. Occasionally, the signature is put at the bottom of the memo. If the memos will be filed, the names of the sender and receiver should be completely spelled out. If youre sending the same message to several persons, their names or titles, or both, should be typed after TO. If you write to the same persons often, you may have a form called routing slip prepared with the names printed after the TO. When you have only one copy of a document, book, or other important papers that you want everyone in a certain group to read and comment on, circulate a cover memo (ref pg 172). Subject Line: A subject line must make the content of the memorandum instantly clear. One word subject lines communicate little. The re4ader does not know whether he or she will be informed or persuaded, asked to do something, or simply to read for information. The deductive, early statement of intent, often including a verb, gives early understanding of later contents, such as: Informative subject Line (use of qualifiers). Changes in Vacation Schedules, Requesting Leaves of Absence, Family Events During the Coming Year & Announcement of Newly Promoted Colleague. Persuasive subject Line (use of verbs)- Employees Must Determine Vacation Schedule by March 1. Vice-President Should Submit Material for Annual Report & Leave of Absence needed. In brief, the subject line should give immediate direction to the memorandum. Later, or course, the specific aim of the memo will appear. But having clarity immediately increases the chance of a readers understanding. Layout of the Memorandum Body: The body of the memo is its most important because it contains your message. In general, we can use the same guidelines, principles, and organizational plans for the memos as for the letter. Unlike that of a letter, the memo body is not centered on the page and is lined up evenly o the left, with a triple space between the last of the memo headings and the first line of the body regardless of message length. Single spacing with double spacing between paragraphs is conventional. For memo pages beyond the first, headings are the same as those for the business letter: readers name, page number, and date. Reference initials are typed a double space below the body at the left margin. Copy notations may be placed after the reference initials or
near the top of the memo between the TO and FROM. If only your business title appears in the FROM line is omitted, you should sign your name a few spaces below the memo body.

Short Report: Short reports, inform and analyze, they are often presented in memorandum from. A short report is concise, accurate, unbiased, all inferences depending on supporting evidence to help readers make and informed decision. Short reports need less detailed introductions, numerous, abundant visuals, elaborate headings, involved appendixes, micro subdivisions, and excessive formality. Short reports therefore are often used in business communication, some are even sent via E-mail. Developing the Main Sections of Short Reports: As with oral communication, the short report includes an introduction, body, discussion, or text, and terminal section (summary, conclusions, recommendations). Outlining the major Sections: Report outlines may be the basis for headings within the report. Once the major sections of our report are decided, we need to devote time to our headings and subheadings. Our outline will help us see the relationship between topics, enable us to compare proportions and heading, and let us check for loopholes and logical order. In organizing an outline, we must determine the types of headings, the degrees of headings, and the parallelism in the headings we will use.
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Introduction: (a) Some of these elements may be included if desirable: purpose or aim (always), authorization, sources, scope, definition, background, limits, brief mention of results, list of topics (layout) to be discussed. (b) if a reports introductory elements are stated in one or two short paragraphs at the beginning, the title introduction is usually omitted. Body (discussion, text): (a) Present all relevant facts accurately and impartially. Do not let your personal feelings and prejudices after the facts. (b) Organize your report by the inductive plan or the deductive plan; western businesspeople prefer the deductive method. (c) Emphasize important ideas by showing details, placing them in prominent positions (with the highest degrees of headings that are appropriate), and using stylistic means such as capitalization, underscoring, boldface, italics, more space, and repetition. (d) Include visual aids-graphs, tables, pictureswhenever they will help clarify information for your readers (or listeners). (e) Use headings to guide the reader through the report, but write your sentences and paragraphs so they can stand alone-as if the headings did not exist. In short reports use no more than two or three degrees (levels) of
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headings. (f) Use topic sentences for most paragraphs, and use an introductory paragraph at he beginning of a major section that contains two or more subdivisions. (g) Apply the seven-C writing principles. Throughout make your writing easy to read. Use understandable words, sentences averaging 16 to 20 words in length, concrete nouns, few adverbs, few adjectives, and paragraphs whose average length is about seven typewritten lines. 3. Terminal Section (summary, conclusions, recommendations): (a) Remember that a summary condenses the text, conclusions evaluate and infer from the text, and recommendations offer specific courses of action. (b) Dont include any new material in the terminal section of the report. (c) Usually list summary points in the same order as topics as topics are discussed in the text. Informational Memorandum Reports: The central purpose of informational reports is to inform and to summarize information, similar to the speech to inform. Obviously these reports vary widely in content, depending on type of business, purpose, topics discussed, and readers needs. Although there are many kinds of informational reports, the following examples illustrate three general kinds often used in organizations: conference reports, progress reports, and periodic reports. Conference Report: Topics for conference report range from summaries of personal sales call conferences or write-ups of meetings attended by hundreds of persons. For example, and advertising account executive may write a conference report (contact report) after every meeting or phone call between the ad agency and a client. Its purpose is to record all decisions and discussions. A credit or collection manager or account executive may make similar reports after conferences with clients. Likewise many other employees as well as executives may be responsible for writing reports after any significant conferences with individuals or committees. The text of such reports is usually organized by topic discussed or presented simply in a chronological progression. Some firms have standardized headings for the often-written reports to ensure that the same information or main topics are recorded in all of them. How you organize your material is closely related to your content, try to link content and from. Progress Report: As the name implies, progress reports show progress, accomplishments, or activity over time of at a given stage of a major assignment. The organizational plan is usually inductive, including topics similar to these. (i) Introduction (purpose, nature of project), (ii) Description of accomplishments during the reporting period, Unanticipated problems if any, (iii) Plans for the next reporting period, and (iv) Summary (overall appraisal of progress to date) most progress reports move inductively, via the organizational structure of what is topical or chronological.
Periodic Reports: Some periodic reports are written to correspond to the companys fiscal year. Others may be written weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annually, or in other regular recurring periods. Periodic reports are as numerous as there are business organizations, it is more important to know what they do rather than what they are called. When a memorandum report is written each month about the same department and the same readers, and introduction and terminal section are unnecessary. May business firms use printed forms and standardized headings for the text section then writers are to include only the reasons for the unfavorable situation and the way it is being handled. Most organizations-business, government, religious, athletic, and even business schools-write annual reports to summarize activities and financial affairs. For small concerns the report is exceptionally short, consisting of perhaps a brief transmitted letter with on or two pages of financial statement. For other organizations, especially corporations that must report to their stockholder, the annual report may being with a top officials letter report. Sometimes the letter is the entire report (perhaps eight or more pages). If not, then the report body discuses operations and activities. Guidelines for Preparing Informational Reports 1. Be aware of the purpose: determine whether the person requesting your report wants to make the decision of a recommendation from you. (a) You offer no recommendation. (b) You offer a recommendation. 2. Know how to conclude. Ask yourself: will I simply summarize (a) review of what was covered, or will end with judgments, conclusions (inferences from the presented data)? (a) You summarize. (b) You conclude 3. Use neutral, unbiased language: is your language nonjudgmental, or does it betray a firm point o vies? (a) You are neutral in word choice. (b) You chose persuasive words sentence. Analytical Memorandum Reports: Informational memorandum reports search out and make known to the reader data and evidence. Those reports clarify; they try to omit a recommendation. Anan analytical memorandum report has one central purpose. It seeks to analyze a situation or problem/issue; it may end with or without a specific recommendation. Steps in Preparing an Analytical Personal Report: Introduction: Give though to an opening line (somewhat like standing on a porch before entering a house); be precise as to the am or purpose-this could be a restatement of the subject line-along with a brief authorization, and end with a brief statement on the reports organization (layout or road map of what you will cover) of included material. In a real sense you are laying the foundation for the report, getting started, holding attention. Body (Text, Discussion): Do not move too quickly toward a solution or recommendation. First, analyze the situation or problem. Second, dont presume that everyone agrees that a
problem truly exists. Thus your opening information may include evidence on the current situation, along with undesirable effects. Only after you have proved to existence of a problem can you move toward recommendation. Headings such as the following are popular in text section: Current state of the problem, (i) Effects and causes of the problem, (ii) Possible options to remove the problem, (iii) Criteria in evaluating a solution, and (iv) Recommended solution (if requester of report desires this). Terminal Section (Conclusion, Recommendation): Be brief in this section. Include a short summary of major points and the recommendations, usually numbered consecutively. Know the wishes of your report requester. Does he or she want the recommendation up front or near the end? Most prefer up front. Recommendation-justification reports may be organized in one of tow ways. Deductive and inductive approach can be used if the reader my react negatively toward a recommendation, in that case, present your facts first, then the recommendation. A deductive plan, note up front recommendation. Recommendation for change in communication procedure (inductive plan). Guidelines for preparing Analytical Memorandum Reports: Introduction: (a) Determine whether you are to recommend a solution or simply analyze a series of alternatives, (b) Determine whether your reader desires the deductive (recommendation first) or the inductive (recommendation last) approach to reports. Body (Text, Discussion): (a) Use the suggestions for the seven-C principles, (b) Use sentences about 16 to 20 words in length, sentences should consist of concrete nouns, few adjectives and adverbs. Paragraphs should be about seven typed lines in length. (c) Use a structure similar to the traditional problem solution format. Terminal (Closing) Section: (a) If you are asked for more than one conclusion or recommendation, number them, (b If your evidence is well thought out, your conclusions should logically follow from that evidence, (c) If you know or do not know the receiver of your report, end with courtesy: You would be willing to meet for further oral discussion.

Long (Formal) Reports: A long report is simply an expansion of a shorter report. Major differences in the long report involve greater length and depth of discussion of more complex problems. Some long reports extend from a few pages to several hundred-even into several volumes of information. Consequently, long reports demand more preliminary collecting, sorting, interpreting, writing and editing and creation of visuals than short reports. Long reports are a mix of informative and persuasive information. A long report may also be called formal but not formal in the sense of language usage. We label a report formal when
it includes more detail, more prefatory information, more visual, and more supplementary forms of support. Topics are often involved and complex. A formal report does mean more formal language; it means the report is more complex in structure. The distinguishing feature of the long report cover and external title, title fly and internal title, letter of memo of transmittal, table of contents, and executive summary. A. Prefatory Section of a Long Report: 1. Cover and External Title: Many reports combine the cover page and title pages as the first page. Most report has a simple hard cover, with the title typed on a gummed label. A report title should indicate briefly and clearly what the report covers. Here are five suggestions: (a) Remember the five Ws: who what, when, where, why. (b) Keep titles short. Eight to ten words is desirable. Try to omit articles-the, a , and anwhenever possible. Your readers get an initial impression in the title. Give careful thought to being concise and clear. (c) Consider a subtitle often indicated with a colon. For instance: Drug use in the workplace: Option for Decreasing the Problem (d) Avoid titles that are vague, extremely short. (e) Eliminate judgment terms: Errors in Accounting Procedures in the Pass Tow years; Why Overseas Personnel Do Badly; issues That Hinder Our Acceptance in Jakarta. 2. Title Fly and Internal Title: By definition the title fly is simply the sheet of paper between the cover and the internal title page. Immediately following that page is the internal title page, which has four parts: the title as stated on the exterior cove, the recipient of the report, the preparer, and the date. In fact, Title, for whom, by whom, and dates are the four parts of a title page. 3. Letter or Memorandum of Transmittal: A cover letter or cover memorandum is names for the first prose document of a report. Regardless of the formality of the report, it is conventional to address the receiver of the report-as if youre writing a letter-as Dear. Most transmittal messages have five parts: (a) Authorization: Unless your report is self-initiated, someone has asked you to produce a report. Hence, your opening words in the transmittal document refer to that request. Include the date. (b) Transmittal Details: Simply put your transmittal; message says, heres the report you requested. But politeness demands more. Use conversational language (with first and second person pronouns as I, You, Me) as you would if you were handling the report to the recipient in person. A formal distinguished group-such as a top government official or department-might use more formal language. (c) Background, Methodology: One could call this information throat clearing. You briefly suggest the research methods you employed, giving the reader some feel for the breadth (also known as the scope or limits of the report) of you investigation. (d) Highlights: You should include information that briefly mentions your conclusions. Here you must make a judgment: If your reader is friendly, potentially inclined to accept your conclusions, you could be precise as to the recommendation: if your reader is less inclined, consider being a bit more general. (e) Courteous Ending: Think about doing any of the following in your ending statement: (i) Acknowledging those who assisted; (ii) Indicating, if necessary that later reports will be forthcoming; (iii) Verifying that the effort in completing the report was worthwhile; (iv) Suggesting a personal willingness to respond to further questions or complete further search if that is necessary; (v) Including-if you are distant from the report readers- where you can be reached personally or via electronic means.
4. Table of Contents: Contents of the Report: Suggestion: Prepare the table of contents last-after you have assigned the headings and final page numbers. Place the table of contents just before the report body, being sure that all headings parallel those in the text. You need not include all headings in the body of the report. Table of Tables: A long report will include illustrations, statistical data, clarifying endnotes, visuals, even bibliographic citations. What you choose to include depends on the kind of formal visuals shown throughout the body of the report. Visuals of Figures: Detailed figures or drawings, especially in highly technical reports, are frequently placed in the appendix. Such visuals are there for the readers use: to see more micro and detailed graphics, as supplements to the prose discussion. Visuals may be included in the body of the report or included as a section in the appendix. 5. Executive Summary, Abstract, and Synopsis: Executive summaries are often the most read page in a report. Companies differ where the executive summary. Abstract, synopsis, prcis, digest should be placed. Some boards and chairpersons desire it right after the transmittal letter or memorandum. Regardless of its position within a report, it is often the most read piece occasionally torn out of a report. Busy manager, and even those tangentially interested, can determine whether they wish to read the entire report simply by reading the executive summary. B. Supplemental Sections: Long reports have numerous headings and sections; they are more detailed; they include more visuals, more evidence, and involve more collaboration than a short report. Furthermore, a long report may also include various kinds of supplementary information. That material is for readers who desire additional details related to but not required within, the report itself. Such supplementary may include a bibliography, a collection of endnotes (on footnotes), appendixes, a glossary, and index, and even visual aids.
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Bibliography: A bibliography is a list of sources you cited as documentation for relevant content in your report. Business report use citations (endnotes or footnotes) sparingly. In fact, many business reports omit both full-citation footnotes and bibliography. The appropriate ways to insert bibliographic information are as follows: (i) Placement: Bibliographic information is usually included at the end of the document. It is additional reading, additional sources to which the reader may wish to turn. Some reports include bibliographic information at the end of each section or chapter. (ii) Bibliographic Format: One you decide on your format, you can present bibliographic entries in a single alphabetic list or under various headings. One could, for instance, arrange sources within broad groups such as books, periodicals newspapers, government reports, or any other major categories of your choice. Footnotes and Endnotes (Citations): Kinds of Footnotes and endnotes: Footnotes and endnotes are to two major types: those that explain content and those that identify sources of content, or citations. (i) Footnotes and Endnotes That Explain: an explanatory endnote or footnote should provide additional information discuss, or explain the contents within the text. Footnotes may appear at the rear end of a report or at the bottom of a page. (ii) Footnotes and Endnotes that Identify Source: Some footnotes or endnotes give credit to sources you used. Any quotation or important factual information that is not common knowledge or that is based on your experience must be supported by a reference to our sources. Citing sources does three things: It improves your own
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credibility as a writer; it helps convince your readers that your data are trustworthy, and it gives readers and opportunity to examine your sources.
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Appendix: You put material in the appendix when you need to include them somewhere in the report but they are not essential in developing any part of the text. The appendix lets you avoid cluttering the body (discussion, text) with exhibits, copies of questionnaires, or pamphlets that are unnecessary for understanding the report but that may be useful for reference or as supporting information. Glossary: When your report includes any terms that have several possible interpretations, definitions should be inserted-in one of three places. If you have many definitions (for instance, in a technical report), a glossary at the end is preferable. Mention in your introduction that the report includes a glossary which will be useful to readers who wish to check on some meaning even though the terms are not essential for understanding the report. Index: The index lists topic alphabetically and guides the reader to various laces that discuss certain subject matter in the report. Only in very long report will you need an index.
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C. Presentation of the Long Report: Presume for the moment that you have completed all your preliminary work: You have defined the problem, collected all needed material, sorted and interpreted data, organized the final outline, and prepared visual aids. Now your steps are writing edition, revising, and typing the report. Writing the First Draft: You may like to begin with a section you consider easiest, and use your outline to prepare the first draft. Introduction: You can begin with the introduction, or leave it until last. Either way is acceptable. Be sure to include opening statements and orient the reader to the rest of the report. Body Text: Three or four main division are appropriate for a report that is 1 to 25 pages in length, if your report is longer than that, look critically at your outline to determine whether you can regroup sections or combine sections. Conclusion, Summary (Terminal Section): The Terminal section may be labeled as Summary, Conclusion, or Conclusions and Recommendation. Besides completing a first draft of the report body you should also write a draft of the executive summary, letter or memo of transmittal, and bibliography or endnotes list, it you will have one. You can also set up the table of contents and the table of tables (if any) in rough draft, but only after the final typing is finished can you know correct page numbers for these tables. Editing and Revising the Rough Drafts: After you have finished the first draft, lay it aside for at least 1 day. Doing so will help you look objectively at the material and see more clearly the weaknesses in the draft. Editing requires objective self-criticism. What seemed right in the first writing my seem seriously out of place upon second reading. Typing the Final Document: Be consistent, this statement suggests that when selecting one of the many ways of physically putting together a report, you should be in harmony with the style others have used to prepare reports for your company. Several items should be considered. Overall Appearance: Laser printers, various type fonts, and different sizes of type allow reports to be highly attractive. Spacing, margins, and pagination all contribute to favorable impression of a report. Spacing: Reports may be typewritten with double or single spacing. Those who prefer double spacing feel it is easy to read. Single-spaced reports have become popular in recent years not only because they save papers but also-with fewer pages for the same amount of report data-because they save (1) typing (2) filing space, (3)
expense of both duplicating time and materials when multiple copies of a report are needed, and (4) reading time when turning few pages. If you double space the report, the first word of each paragraph should be indented (usually five spaces). In a singlespaced report, paragraphs my be indented or begin at the left margin. However, always double-space between paragraphs and both before and after long quotations. Visuals aids and footnotes. Regardless of whether the report is typed in double or single spacing, the following parts should be single-spaced: (1) Transmittal Document: Typed on company letterhead if you are writing it as an employee of the firm. And of course, the letter should be centered attractively on the page. (2) Quotations and Examples-of three or more typewritten lines. If this material consists of three or more paragraphs, double-space (leave a blank line) between them. Also, indent margins of the quote five spaces to the right and left of the double-or single-spaced text material. Use ellipsis () to indicate omissions if you are quoting only parts of an authors paragraph. In long quotations you can show lengthy omissions by either a full line of periods or by four periods at the end of the paragraph. (3) A list of items you want to set off or emphasize. (4) Footnotes (but double-space between them). (5) Some tables and other visual aids. Margins: Acceptable margins are: First part of each prefatory part (preface or letter of transmittal, table of contents, table of tables, abstract), body, and supplemental parts (appendix, bibliography or endnotes, index): top margin of or 2 inches. All other pages: Top bottom and side margins are 1 or 1 inches (plus the inch allowances for binding at either left side or top) Pagination: Every page in the report-except the cover and title fly-should have a number, but not all numbers are actually typed on each page. For the prefatory sheet use small Roman numerals, for the body and supplemental sheets use Arabic numbers, according to these guidelines: (i) Prefatory parts page numbers are centered and placed inch below the imaginary lines that frames the bottom of the typewritten material. (ii) Body and supplemental parts page numbers. (a) If your report is bound at the left, page numbers are usually placed near the upper-right corner of the page, aligned with the right margin and inch (or a double space) above the top imaginary line that frames the typewritten material. (b) If your report is bound at the top, page numbers are usually placed in the centre at the bottom of the page. inch. Or a double space, below the imaginary line that frames the bottom of the typewritten text.

Oral Communication: Oral Communication provides the opportunity for feedback. When people communicate orally, they can ask questions and test their understanding of the message; they can share ideas and work together to solve problems. They can also convey and absorb nonverbal information, which reveals far more than words alone. Oral communication satisfies our common need to be part of the human community and makes us feel good. Talking things over helps people in organizations build morale and establish a group identity. Whether youre using the telephone, engaging in a quick conversation with a colleague, participating in a formal interview, or attending a meeting, oral communication is the vehicle you use to get your message across. When communicating orally, make it your goal take advantage of the positive characteristics while
minimizing the dangers. To achieve that goal, work on improving two key skills, speaking and listening. Speaking and Listening: Before you speak, think about your purpose, your main idea, and your audience. Organize your thoughts in a logical way, decide on a style that suits the occasion (for example, formal or informal, lecture or conversation), and edit your remarks mentally. Try to predict how the other person will react, and organize the message accordingly. Your audience may not react the way you expect, so have alternative approaches ready. As you speak, watch the other person, judging from verbal and nonverbal feedback whether your message is making the desired impression, if it isnt revise and try again. Just as various writing assignments call for different writing styles, various situations call for different speaking styles. Your speaking style depends on the level of intimacy between you and the other person and on the nature of your conversation. When youre talking with a friend, you naturally speak more frankly than when youre talking with your boss or a stranger. When youre talking about a serious subject, you use a serious tone. As you think about which speaking style is appropriate, also think about the nonverbal message you want to convey. People derive less meaning from your words than they do from your facial expressions, vocal characteristics, and body language. The nonverbal message should reinforce your words. Perhaps the most important thing you can do to project yourself more effectively to remember the you attitude, earning other peoples attention and goodwill by focusing on them. In fact, we can elicit opinions from others not only by asking them pointed questions but also by paying attention to their responses.
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESFUL SPEAKING

These are the steps that should be considered to improve our speaking capabilities 1: steps for preparing effective oral presentations 2: kinds of oral presentations 3: Ways of delivering the oral message
4: Strategies for effective oral delivery 5: Strategies for effective nonverbal delivery
STEPS FOR PREPARING EFFECTIVE ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Seven steps are essential for successful oral statements, short or long. The more up-front preparation you do, the more confidence you will have before a group 1. Determine the purpose 2. Analyze the audience and occasion 3. Select the main ideas for the message 4. Research the topic 5. Organize the data and write the draft 6. Create visual aids
6. Rehears the talk

1. Determine the purpose
We communicate to produce a result. We wish something to occur as a result of our words. On the macro level these overall goals are to inform, to persuade, to entertain A: to inform or instruct Here our core goal is to clarify. Secure understanding, explain a process. Our teacher, most often, is speech to inform. So are your authors as we write about the process of oral communication. In brief, at the conclusion of your message you hope listeners have a better comprehension of an issue, an idea, a process, a procedure B: to persuade Gaining willing acceptance of an idea is core to persuasion. Our goal is that after we finished our presentation, listeners will accept our proposal, our claim, our thesis we hope that they will do as we ask them to do. C: to entertain This speaking genre may include not only humorous statements you will make-of which there will probably be few-but also the numerous ceremonial. Introductory or stimulating statements. Social occasions such as promotion parties, retirement or anniversaries are characteristic of this kind of speaking
2: Analyze the audience and occasion
Whether one writes or speaks the message must be adapted to the audience. If your talk is within your organization. You will have some idea about who and how many people will be in the audience. Less information is available when speaking to outside groups. Then seek our information such as the size of the group, age range, interests, goals, occupations and other which could be incorporated in you remarks
3: Select the main ideas for the message

Selecting your main theme or your core ideas should be done first. Then gathering in additional information will be in support of those core ideas. Your first list of core ideas may be disorganized, haphazard, which is fine. Later you can select those ideas that are workable and offers a unified theme. Some speakers begin with filling a complete page with single word or incomplete sentence.
4. Research the topic

It is obvious that we will not possess all information relating to your central theme thus, as in writing you need to collect facts, data, Information. Your research may cause you to drop some of your initial ideas and add new ones.
5: Organize the data and write the draft

Assume that we have completed gathering our information. Then it is time to force some order on your information. Usually in the form of an initial outline as we do this, remember that a good speech has three parts an introduction, a body and a conclusion
6: Create visual aids

Some presentations do not require visuals. It would be odd to include an in over head of the major dates in the carrier of a retiree. On the other hand it would be odd not to include a visual when speaking about the structure of an organization.
7: Rehearse the talk

Two purposes underline rehearsals. You will become more comfortable with your material and you can still revise where necessary. Keep in mind the following issues Always imagine the audience in front of you
Use transitional phrases and sentences to show your listeners the relationships between sections of your report. avoid long sentences and unusual words
Take each of the main points one at a time and learn to present each with its supporting material as a unit
Include the visual aids you will use-and in the margin, note where each aid should be used
Anticipate questions from the audience.jot them on paper and consider thoughtful answers
Stop at the allotted time. Then cut and revise the speech accordingly until you can deliver it within the limit.
KINDS OF ORAL PRESENTATIONS

Some talks may range from 1 to 10 minutes in length. You may simply introduce someone, present an award to a retiree, give a briefing to visitors to your company or offer an opening statement in a group meeting. You could also represent the company outside your office, accepting an award, showing your support for a local cause, offering greeting at a community banquet. Longer statements may vary from 10 minutes to 1 hour. It is not usual in Asia, for instances to have speeches 2 hours long. But with the increasing emphasis on brevity, some corporations limit statements to 20 or 30 minutes, knowing that attention spans decrease the longer the statement
WAYS OF DILIVERING ORAL MESSAGE

We have four options for speaking extemporaneous, reminding, memorization and impromptu delivery
1: Extemporaneous
This method-most preferred by the audiences and speakers-allows a speaker to use notes or an outline. Usually may use 2 by 5 inch cards or a full sheet of paper as notes for the remarks
2. Reading
Major political figures and others who do not want to make a mistake read a manuscript. When constructing a manuscript for reading, some speakers use a page style similar to a TV script, leaving a left margin of about one-third of the page. In that wide margin are pronunciations aids or suggestions as to where to look in an audience
3. Memorization
A risk of memorization is forgetting your precise words, grouping for words in front of an audience decrease your credibility
4. Impromptu
Many of us are called upon at the last moment to offer comments. When you speak off the cuff without preparation, without a fore warming that you will speak
STRATEGIES FOR AN EFFECTIVE ORAL DELIVERY

One of your personal signatures is your voice, varying pitch, rate and volume gives it more interest and appeal.
1: Pitch
As its simplest level pitch is the highness or lowness of your voice. In speaking this pitch should be varied. Traditional problems in using pitch are monotone, high or low voice and same word value Monotone: He is a monotone is no compliment. This critical statement implies that the speaker has little or no variation in pitch. An oscilloscope would show rather a flat line High or low voice: Often monotones are voices that rarely rise out of a lower registor. On the other hand excited people frequent the upper ranges Same word value: In writing we emphasize a word visually by underlining it. Marking it bold face or using italics. When each word in speaking regardless of its importance in a thought group, is the same, the speaker does not distinguish with vocal stress between important and unimportant words.
2: Rate
Variation in rate is better than speaking at the same speed
3: Volume
When in doubt as to your volume level ask a colleague about her or his impressions from the back or side of the room
4: Vocal quality
There is some debate about whether anything can be done about changing voice quality. Your mouth, tongue, lips, teeth, vocal folds, sinuses, hard and soft plate and nose all affect that quality. We may see a competent speech therapist for professional help. Some experts also suggest relaxing the throat, thereby allowing an unrestricted sound to enter the resonating chambers of the mouth, throat and nasal cavities
5: Pronunciations
We may easily forgive pronunciations errors in foreign speakers than in native speakers. You are expected to be correct in the business world. In fact we sub consciously react negatively when any word is mispronounced relative to our concept of how it should be pronounced. Some of the additional pronunciation problems need to be mentioned Jargon Varied regional accents Added or omitted sounds
STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE NONVERBAL DELIVERY 1: Posture

How you stand, even sits communicates something about you as a communicator
2: Movement
Taking a few steps during a presentation helps hold attention as does any moving object. There are times however when a lectern precludes extensive movements other than short steps to its side. Yet move if possible for the following reasons Move to hold attention Move to get rid of nervousness
3: GESTURES
At a simplest level any movement of the hand arms, head, and shoulders are termed gestures. At a more macro level there is an entire science of body movement called kinetics of which gestures are a part EMBLEMS: behavior that has a verbal counterpart such as the thumb upward for hitchhiking the arm wave for hello or good bye ILLUSTRATORS: Here belong the gestures, usually the arm used to describe a circle or the finger pointing to emphasize a point. As emblems had direct verbal counterpart, illustrators do not AFFECT DISPLAYS: speakers may use any of the primary emotional states usually via facial expressins,happiness,sadness,anger,fear,surprise,disgust,contempt and interest REGULATORS: speakers use body movements of their audience to search out responses to their message. Thus listener may nod their heads, maintain eye contact, shift their postures, incline their head to hear better ADAPTERS: these are often the unintentional movements to a physical or psychological state e.g. starching a nose, twisting a pencil, smoothing ones hair
4: FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
Ones facial expression could convey primary gestures. Thus a smile or a laugh suggests that your topic interests you. a frown or glare may convey nonverbal impressions that you are worried, angry, or perhaps till at ease. Facial expressions include eye contact .eye contact with your listeners suggest respect and goodwill to a favorable impression of you as a speaker
5: APPEARANCE
Some companies are more casual in dress, others less so. Learning the company culture includes learning its dress code. Western attire is accepted throughout the world. Conversely western businesspersons must recognize that other nations may have different dress codes.
STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING STAGE FRIGHT
Know your subject well: Prepare with the attitude that you want to
know the subject on that day better than anyone else.

Rehearse your talk several times: If possible rehearse in the same
room. Where you will speak. This can easily be done with in your company. But if your speech will be outside your company try to arrive at the place early and look at around.
Request in advance a lectern: it helps to hold not only your notes but
also occasionally a trembling hand.

Pre check any equipment you will need: Projector, screen
extension cord and know which electrical outlet is nearest to the podium
Take an object with you. A pen, your notes, a marking pencil. of
course and should not play with the object, but using it as a pointer and as something to touch has helped calm some speakers
Breathe deeply and slowly before speaking: try moving a little in
your chair, cross and uncross your legs
Move during speech: some movement hold attention and release
nervous energy. Even behind a lectern one can move slightly or use a lavaliere mike and thereby increase the possible range of movement
Approach the lectern: with assurance and enthusiasm
Listening: If youre typical, you spend over half your communication time listening. Listening supports effective relationship within the organization enhances the organizations delivery of products, alerts the organization to the both in the work force and in the customers they serve. Importance of Listening: What Happens When You Listen- Listening involves five activities, which most often occur in sequence?
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
Sensing is physically hearing the message and taking note of it. This reception can be blocked by interfering noises, impaired hearing, or inattention. Tune out distractions by focusing on the message. (ii) Interpreting is decoding and absorbing what you hear. As you listen, you assign meaning to the words according to your own values, beliefs, ideas, expectations, roles, needs, and personal history. The speakers frame of reference may be quite different from yours, so you may need to determine what the speaker really means. Pay attention to nonverbal cues- things such as gestures, body language, and facial expressionsbut be careful not to assign meanings that are not there. For example, a speaker who nervously stumbles over his or her words might be guiding something or might simply nervous. Evaluating is forming an opinion about the message. Sorting through the speakers remarks, separating fact from opinion, and evaluating the quality of the evidence require a good deal of effort, particularly if the subject is complex or emotionally charged. Avoid the temptations to dismiss ideas offered by people who are unattractive or abrasive and to embrace ideas offered by people who are charismatic speakers. Remembering is storing a message or future reference. As you listen, retain what you hear by taking notes or by making a mental outline of the speakers key points. Responding is acknowledging the message by reacting to the speaker in some fashion. If you are communicating one on one or in a small group, the initial response generally takes the form of verbal feedback. If youre one of many in the audiences, your initial response may take the form of applause, laughter, or silence. Later on, you may act on what you have heard, actively provide feedback to help the speaker refine the message.
The Three Types of Listening: Various situations call for different listening skills. The three types of listening differ not only in purpose but also in the amount of feedback or interaction that occurs. The goal of content listening is to understand and retain information imparted by a speaker. You may ask questions, but basically information flows from the speaker to you. Your job is to identify the key points of the message, so be sure to listen for clues to its structure: previews, transitions, summaries, enumerated points.
1.
The goal of critical listening is to evaluate the message at several levels: the logic of the argument, strength of the evidence, and validity of the conclusions; the implications of the message for you or your organization; the speakers intentions and motives; the omission of any important or relevant points. Because its hard to absorb information and evaluate it at the same time, reserve judgment until the speaker has finished. Critical listening generally involves interaction as you try to uncover the speakers point of vies.
2.
The goal of active or emphatic listening is to understand the speakers feelings, needs and wants so that you can appreciate his or her point of view, regard less of whether you share that perspective. By listening in an active or emphatic way, you help the individual vent the emotion that prevents a dispassionate approach to the subject.
3.
STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING LISTENING SKILLS

FAULTS IN LISTENING
1. Prejudice against the speaker. Perhaps you have hears this quotation who is saying it shouts so loudly that what is said forgotten. We are distracted because who the speaker is conflicts with our attitudes. For example can you maintain attention when the speakers position, attitude or belief is entirely contrary to your opinion? 2. External distraction. The proceeding fault was more of internal distraction.some nonverbal cues are strong external distractions. Does the speaker stammer? Wear loud clothing? Dress sloppily? Walk or gesture excessively? Reek of perfume or cologne? Actually entire physical environment effect listening 3. Thinking speed. Most of us speak between 80 to160 words per minute. Yet people have the capacity to think at the phenomenal speed of up to 800 words per minute. That leaves time on the listeners hand. What do you do during all the time when you are not actually processing the speakers words? Do you go go off tangents? Focus your attention elsewhere. Begin to day dream. Shift your attention? Soon you can brief of, far away from the words of the speaker-missing some important points. 4: Premature evaluation. How many times have you interrupted persons before they completed their thought? Finished their sentence? Stated their conclusion? Directly as a result of our rapid thinking speed, we race ahead to what we feel is the conclusion. 5. Semantic stereo types. As certain kinds of people bother us, so too do their words. An interesting class interchange occurs when discussing this question. What is your favorites words and why?
6. Deliver. A monotone can readily put listeners to sleep-or cause them to lose interest. Sadly some teachers speak in monotones. So do significant people in government or business.
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR LISTENING SKILLS

Be prepared.
Accent the positive. if you have to do it, do it with a positive
attitude is a center piece of life
Listen to understand. Not refute. Respect the view point of those with
whom you disagree.try to understand the points they emphasize and why they have such feeling
Focus you attention. Construct a mental outline of where the speaker
the speaker is going. Listen for transitions and the progression of ideas.
Concentrate on context. Construct a mental outline of where the
speaker is going. Listen for transitions and the progressive of ideas of ideas.
Take notes.jot down ideas. Even incomplete sentences or single words,
will later be a memory jogger of what we said
Curb the impulse to interrupt. This suggestion applies to interviews,
conferences, job instructions and meeting. Listen attentively until the speaker invites questions
Summarize and evaluate. Restate-in your words-just what you think
was said. You should also question evidence used and mentally test the validity of evidence in support of a proposition

Conduct of Meeting: As in interviews, your speaking and listening skills are put to the test during meetings. Moreover, the skills you develop to handle difficult interpersonal situations and interviews are just as helpful when operating in small groups. Meeting can be an extremely useful forum for making key decisions and coordinating the activities of people and departments. Theoretically, the interaction of the participants should lead to good decisions based on the combined intelligence of the group. Whether the meeting is held to solve a problem or to share information, the participants gain a sense of involvement and importance from their attendance. Because they share in the decision, they accept it and are committed to seeing it succeed. At their worst, meetings are unproductive and frustrating. They waste everyones time and they are
expensive. More important, poor meetings may actually be counterproductive, because they may result in bad decisions. When people are pressured to conform, they abandon their sense of personal responsibility and agree to illfounded plans. Arranging the Meeting: By being aware of how small groups of people interact, meeting leaders can take steps to ensure that their meetings are productive. The three most frequently reported problems with meeting are (i) getting off the subject, (ii) Not having an agenda, and (iii) Meeting for too long. The key to productive meeting is careful planning of purpose, participants, agenda, and locations. This type of meeting may involve individual briefings by each participant or a speech by the leader followed by questions from the attendees. Decision-making meetings are mainly concerned with persuasion, analysis, and problem solving. They often include a brain storming session that is followed by a debate on the alternatives. These meetings tend to be somewhat less predictable than informational meetings. Determining the Purpose: In general, the purpose of a meeting is either to get information or to make a decision, although many meetings comprise both purposes. An informational meeting is called so that the participants can share information and, possibly coordinate actions. This type of meeting may involve individual briefings by each participant or a speech by the leader followed by questions from the attendees. Decision-making meetings are mainly concerned with persuasion, analysis, and problem solving. They often include a brain storming session that is followed by a debate on the alternatives. These meetings tend to be somewhat less predictable than informational meetings. Selecting the Participants: Try to invite only those whose presence is essential. The number of participants should reflect the purpose of the meeting if the session is purely informational and one person will be doing most of the talking, you can include a relatively large group. However, if youre trying to solve a problem, develop a plan, or reach a decision, try to limit participation to between 6 and 12 people. Of course, be sure to include those who can make an important contribution and those who are key decision makers. Setting the Agenda: Although the nature of a meeting may sometimes prevent you from developing a fixed agenda, at least prepare a list of matters to be discussed. Distribute the agenda to the participants several days before the meeting. The more participants know ahead of time about the purpose of the meeting, the better prepared theyll be to respond to the issues at hand. Preparing the Location: Decide where youll hold the meeting, and reserve the location. For work sessions, morning meetings are usually more productive than afternoon
sessions. If you work for an organization with technological capabilities, you may want to use teleconferencing or videoconferencing for your meeting. Also, consider the seating arrangements. Contributing to a Productive Meeting: Whether the meeting is conducted electronically or conventionally, the success depends largely on how effective the leader is. If the leader is prepared and had selected the participants carefully, the meeting will probably be productive. Understanding Group Dynamics: A meeting is called for some purpose gives from to the meeting. In addition, however, the interactions and processes that take place during a meeting, the group dynamics, affect the outcome. People are assembled to achieve a work-related task, but at the same time each person has a hidden agenda, private motives that affect the groups interaction. Each persons hidden agenda either contributes to or detracts from the groups ability to perform its task. Although it would be unethical for any group member to make decisions solely on the basis of his or her hidden agenda, a persons private motives cannot be left on a coat tack outside the conference. Role-Playing: The roles people ply in meetings fall into three categories. Members who assume self-oriented roles are motivate mainly to fulfill personal needs, and they tend to be less productive than the other two types. Far more likely to contribute to group goals are those who assume group maintenance roles to help members work well together and those who assume talk-facilitating roles to help members solve the problem or make the decision. Group Norms: Some groups are more cohesive than others. When the group has a strong identity, the members all observe the norms religiously. Theyre upset by any deviation, and individuals feel a great deal of pressure to conform. The sense of group loyalty can be positive: Members generally have a strong commitment to one another, and theyre highly motivated to see that the group succeeds. However, such groups loyalty can also lead members into groupthink, the willingness of individual members to set aside their personal opinions and go along with everyone else, even if everyone else is wrong. Simply because belonging to the group is important to them. Because decisions based on groupthink are more a result of group loyalty and conformity than of carefully considered opinion and fact finding, groupthink can lead to poor quality decisions and ill-advised actions. Groupthink can even induce people to act against their own sense of ethics. Group Decision Making: Groups usually reach their decisions in a predictable pattern. The process can be viewed as passing through four phases. In the orientation phase, group members socialize, establish their roles, and agree on the reason for meeting. In the conflict phase, members begin to discuss their positions on the problem. In the emergence phase members reach a decision. Finally, in the reinforcement phase group feeling is built, and the solution is summarized. These four phases almost always occur, regardless of what type of decision is
being considered. Group members naturally employ this decision process, even when they lack experience or training in group communication.

Interview: An interview is any pleasant conversation with a specific purpose involving two or more people. When both the interviewee achieves their purpose, the interview is a success. Conducting Interviews on the Job: In addition to handling difficult interpersonal situations, planning what to say and developing good listening skills will also help you participate in on-the-job interviews. In a typical interview the action is controlled by the interviewer, the person who scheduled the session. The individual poses a series of questions designed to elicit information from the interviewee. Interviews sometimes involve several interviewers or several interviewees, but more often only two people participate. The conversation bounces back and forth from interviewer to interviewee. Although the interviewer guides the conversation, the interviewee may also seek to accomplish a purpose, perhaps to obtain or provide information, to solve a problem, to create goodwill, or to persuade the
other person to take action. If the participants establish rapport and stick to the subject at hand, both parties have a chance of achieving their objectives. Categorizing Interviews: The various types of interviews call for different communication skills. Job Interviews: The job candidate wants to learn about the position and the organization; the employer wants to learn about the applicants abilities and experience. Both hope to make a good impression and to establish rapport. Initial job interviews are usually fairly formal and structured, but later interviews may be relatively spontaneous as the interviewer explores the candidates responses. Information Interviews: The interviewer seeks facts that bear on a decision or contribute to basic understanding. Information flows mainly in one direction. One person asks a list of question that must be covered and listens to the answers supplied by the other person. This kind of interview is a valuable from of primary research. Of course, the person you interview must be credible and knowledgeable about the subject. It is also important to decide in advance what kind of information you want and how you will you use it; this planning will save time and build goodwill. Persuasive Interviews: One person tells another about a new idea, product, or service and explains why the other should act on the recommendations. Persuasive interviews are often associated with, but are not certainly limited to, selling. The persuader asks about the other persons needs and shows how the product or concept is able to meet those needs. Thus persuasive interviews require skill in drawing out and listening to others as well as the ability to impart information. Evaluation Interviews: A supervisor periodically gives and employee feedback on his or her performance. The supervisor and the employee discuss progress toward predetermined standards or goals and evaluate areas that require improvement. They may also discuss goals for the coming year, as well as the employees longer-term aspirations and general concerns. Counseling Interviews: A supervisor talks with an employee about personal problems that are interfering with work performance. The interviewer is concerned with the welfare of both the employee and the organization. The goal is to establish the facts, convey the companys concern, and steer the person toward a source of help. (Only a trained professional should offer advice on such problems as substance abuse, marital tension, and financial trouble.) Conflict-resolution Interviews: To competing people or groups of people (PIA v/s Daily wages ) explore their problems and attitudes. The goal is to bring the two parties close together, cause adjustments in perceptions and attitudes, and create a more productive climate. Disciplinary Interviews: A supervisor tries to correct the behavior of an employee who has ignored the organizations rules and regulations. The interviewer tries to get the employee to see the reason for the rules and to agree to comply. The interviewer also reviews the facts and explores the persons attitude. Because of the emotional reaction that is likely, neutral observations are more effective than critical comments. Termination Interviews: A supervisor informs and employee of the reasons for the termination. The interviewer tries to avoid involving the company in legal action and tries to maintain as positive a relationship as possible with the
interviewee. To accomplish these goals, the interviewer gives reasons that are specific, accurate and verifiable. Planning Interviews: The interviewer assumes the main responsibility for planning the interview. Planning an interview is similar to planning any other form of communication. You begin by stating your purpose, analyzing the other person, and formulating your main idea. Then you decide on the length, style, and organization of the interview. Even as an interviewee, youve some control over the conversation by anticipating the4 interviewers questions and then planning your answers so that the points you want to make will be covered. You can also introduce questions and topics of your own. In addition, by your comments and nonverbal cues, you can affect the relationship between you and the interviewer. Think about your respective roles. What does this person expect from you? Is to your advantage to confirm those expectations? Will you be more likely to accomplish your objective by being friendly and open or by conveying an impression of professional detachment? Should you allow the interviewer to dominate the exchange, or should you try to take control? If youre the interviewer, responsibility for planning the session falls on you. One the simplest level, your job is to schedule the interview and see that its held in a comfortable and convenient location. Good interviewers are good at collecting information, listening and probing. So youll also develop a set of interview questions and decide on their sequence. Having a plan will enable you to conduct the interview more efficiently, even if you find it advantageous to deviate from the plan during the interview. If your questions might require research or extensive thinking, or if youd like to quote the interviewee in writing, consider providing a list of questions a day or two before the interview so that the person will have time to prepare more complete (and therefore more helpful) answers. You might also want to tape record the interview if the topic is complex or if you plan to quote or paraphrase the interviewee in a written document. Interview Questions: The purpose of the interview and the nature of the participants determine the types of question that are asked. When you plan the interview, bear in mind that you ask questions (1) to get information, (2) to motivate the interviewee to respond honestly and appropriately, and (3) to create a good worming relationship with the other person. To obtain both factual information and underlying feelings, you will probably use various types of questions. Open-ended Questions invite the interviewee to offer an opinion, not just a yes, no, or one-word answer: What do you think your company wants most from its suppliers? This kind of question is useful when you want to learn the reasons behind a decision rather than just the facts. You can learn some interesting and unexpected things from open-ended questions, but they diminish your control of the interview. The other persons idea of whats relevant may not coincide with yours, and you may waste some time getting the interview back on track. Use open-ended questions to warm up the interviewee and to look for information when you have plenty of time to conduct the conversation. Direct Ended Questions. To suggests a response, use direct-ended question. For example, asking What have you done about: assumes that something has been done and calls for an explanation. With direct open-ended questions you
have some what more control over the interview, but you still give the other person some freedom in framing a response. This form is good to use when you want to get a specific conclusion or recommendation from someone: for example, What would you do to improve customer satisfaction in the southern region? take care to avoid biasing the response with the way you word the question, however. Asking What should Imran do to improve customer satisfaction in his region? Implies that Imran is doing something wrong, which may not be the case. Closed-ended questions require yes or no answers or call for short responses: Did you make a reservation for the flight? What is your gradepoint average, 3.5 to 4.0, 3.0 to 3.5, 2.5 to 3.0, 2.0 to 2.5? questions like these produce specific information, save time, require little effort from the interviewee, and eliminate bias and prejudice in answers. The disadvantage is that they limit the respondents initiative and may prevent important information from being revealed. Theyre better for gathering information than for prompting an exchange of feelings. Restatement Question: Questions that mirror a respondents answer are called restatement questions. They invite the respondent to expand an answer: You said you dislike completing travel vouchers. Is that correct? They also signal to the interviewee that youre paying attention. Restatements provide opportunities to clarify points and to correct misunderstandings. Use them to pursue a subject further or to encourage the other person to explain a statement. You can also use restatement questions to soothe upset customers or co-workers. The simple act of acknowledging the other persons complaint provides a wealth of gains in information, rapport, and mutual trust and respect. Interview Structure: Good interviews have an, a body and a close. The opening establishes rapport and orients the interviewee to the remainder of the session. You might begin by introducing yourself, asking a few polite questions, and the explaining the purpose and ground rules of the interview. The questions in the body of the interview reflect the nature of your relationship with the interviewee. For an informational session, such as a market research interview, you may want to structure the interview and prepare a detailed list of specific questions. This approach enables your to control the interview and use your time efficiently. It also facilitates repeating the interview with other participants. On the other hand, if the interview is designed to explore problems to persuade the interviewee, you may prefer a less structured approach. You might simply prepare a checklist of general subjects and then let the interview evolve on the basis of the participants responses. In the body of the interview, use a mix of question types. One good technique is to use closed-ended questions to pin down specific facts that emerge during an open-ended response. You might follow up an open-ended response by asking, How many people did you contact to get this information? or Can we get this product in stock before May 15? The close of the interview is when you summarize the outcome, preview what comes next, and underscore the rapport that has been established. To signal that the interview is coming to an end, you might lean back in your chair, smile, and use and open, palms-up gesture as you say, Well, I guess that takes care of all my questions. Would you like to add
anything? If the interviewee has no comments, you might go on to say, Thank you so much for your help. You have given me all the information I need to finish my report. I should have it completed within two weeks; Ill send you a copy. Then you might rise, shake hands, and approach the door. In parting, you could add a friendly comment to reaffirm your interest in the other person. From a statistical standpoint, you need to be certain that your interview outline is about the right length for the time you have scheduled. People can speak at the rate of about 125 to 150 words a minute. If you have using a mix of various types of questions, you can probably handle about 20 questions in half an hour (or about the same amount of information that you would cover in 10 to 12 pages single-spaced document). However, you may want to allow more or less time for each question and response, depending on the subject matter and the complexity of the questions. Bear in mind that open-ended questions take longer to answer than other types do. When you have concluded the interview, take a few moments to write down your thoughts. If it was an information gathering session, go over your notes. Fill in any blanks while the interview is fresh in your mind. In addition, you might write a short letter or memo that thanks the interviewee for cooperating, confirms understandings between you, and if appropriate, outlines the next steps.

Job Application Process: Companies market themselves to potential employees via handsome brochures that summarize their missions, products, and services. The next task is yours: How should you decide whether you are interested and qualified to approach a particular company. For a job? As a matter of fact, you, as new graduate or currently employed worker, can expect to hold several jobs over your lifetime. Self-assessment for a Job: Who are you? This is not a simple question. A cursory answer is that you already know who you are. But beyond your surface awareness lie deeper qualities, which when evaluated, prepare you for landing a job: your skills, achievements, interests, and even personal values. Being aware of these qualities allows you to better sell your product-yourself. Know Your Skills: Verbs are core in relating to your reader what you have accomplished and where your skills lie. For example, you might write a list for skills under each of the given verbs: (i) Enjoy analyzing financial data, (ii) Prepared consulting proposal in response to tender offers; (iii) Helped prepare the evaluating document for core courses in our school; (iv) Discovered that like to negotiate, preparing the written document and the oral defense as based on that document; (v) Created three new products for our small company from initial idea to product manufacture and assembly, and (vi) Delighted to speak before groups-both in house and to outside groups. Of
course, this statement are illustrative, but just by beginning with a verb and including later forces you to focus on an specific skill following that verb. Know Your Accomplishments: No matter how young or old you are, youve already accomplished something. Show the result of your specific achievement. Record accomplishments are the ones that may be trivial to you may be important to someone else. Know Your Interests: Analyzing your interests, preferences, and attitudes can help you determine in what type of job you can use your skills such as: (i) Which jobs have I enjoyed the most? (ii) Do I prefer to work with figures, machines, people, or ideas? (iii) What do I like to do with my free time? (iv) Which things have brought me high satisfaction? (v) Which hobbies do I enjoy the most? Know Your Personal Values: Often your decision is based on your own value judgments. Values can also be applied to jobs and what you seek to get from them. E.g. (i) A desire to help people, and work with them in a personal manner. (ii) A position of major responsibility. (iii) A wish to face risk. (iv) An ideal place in which to work; (v) A desire to accomplish much on your won. (vi) A wish to control events and people, (vii) A dislike for a desk. Market Assessment: You now have to ask these questions. Which jobs and employers need what I have to offer / In which business market (company) would I like to work? Written Source of Career and Job Information: Trade publications, libraries, placement offices are principal places to locate information on possible functional job areas. For the most up-to-date information concerning a company, consult its annual report and recruiting booklets. Helpful Persons Regarding Employers and Jobs: Networking (remaining in contact: with individuals or groups) allows you to make known your job wishes. Or, your network lets you know of potential job positions Alumni Obtain a list of your university alumni from around the world; Business friends Ask for an informational interview with local business persons for advice and even a reference; Counselors Your school or placement office staff people who are turned into the latest areas where jobs and opportunities are growing. Employment Agencies Make an appointment with a search firm; get on their list; ask for a review of opportunities in your area of expertise; Former employers and coworkers; Friends, relatives, acquaintances, and Labor unions. The jobs application is an important document in ones life, as it is essential for presenting ones suitability of a desirable position in any type of career. The
ability to write this document requires certain understanding of rules and conventions, accepted on the job market. Types of Job candidates: A job candidates is differentiated on three grounds: (a) One responding to any job advertisement or writing without any invitation; (b) One having either greater, little or no previous experience, and (c) One working in particular field/industry. The first type of difference among job applicants is dealt as two different formats for cover letters: (a) Solicited cover letter A cover letter used only when the employers have invited applications through an advertisement. (b) Unsolicited cover letter A cover letter used when job candidate desires to apply in a particular organization and writes persuasively, without an advertisement. The second difference based on type of experience is deal in the different formats for the resume. (a) Chronological Resume A resume format used by highly qualified professionals, with extensive work experience in their field of expertise. (b) Traditional resume a resume format used by suitably qualified professionals, with little experience, suitable for medium or lower management posts. (c) Functional resumes A resume format used by suitable qualified professionals, but with no professional experience, mostly from entry-level or trainee posts. The job application is a combination of two documents: (a) Cover letter. (b) Resume/Curriculum Vitae Resume: Having completed your self-analysis and market analysis, you must now focus on writing your resume. Briefly, a resume is an organized summary of the applicants background, qualifications and intended career path. It lists the applicants education, work experience, talents, skills, etc. it should be a vivid account of the person applying for the job. It must be organized in such a way that the prospective employer can see at a glance whether the applicant has the necessary skills for the job. The content and format of a resume my vary slightly, but generally all resume contain: Personal Data, Employment Objective, Educational Background, Work experience, Other Experience (volunteer work, clubs etc), Special Skills, knowledge of interests, Accomplishments, Other Experience (volunteer work, professional membership, clubs, etc.), and References. Opening Section: 1. Heading: Information in the heading tells the reader where you can be contacted. Some students, and particularly persons currently in a job position, also include their e-mail and fax number along with the name, address & phone number. 2. Job Career Objective: Based on your self-assessment and an analysis of the job market, you should try for a single-sentence statement of your goal. Such a statement may be general specific, General, if you know your functional area of interest; specific, if you desire more precision, combining the functional area with an industry. People ten to remember first things: therefore, after the heading select your most important selling point. You now face another decision; which area should be in second position in the resume? A general rule in put the most important qualification immediately after the heading. If you have superior job experience, put that next; if education the category most often in the second position is important, position it next. 3. Education: Some recommendations regarding what to include under the heading education are; (i) Include school names, locations, dates attended, and
degrees of certificates earned. (ii) Insert abbreviations for your degree; most employees or their human resources department are familiar with major degree citations; (iii) decide whether to include your GPA. (iv) Determine whether to include specific courses completed, and (v) Note honors and scholarships. 4. Work Experience: The third section of a resume is usually devoted to work experience. Here you include information that helps employers evaluate whether youve the necessary background for a current position. Clearly, work experience similar to that for which youre applying indicates you like the type of work in question. List your jobs in reverse chronological order; put the present or most recent one first. Keep in mind the following points; (i) Give the name, location, and dates of employment for each company (ii) Insert your position and title, if any, beside each company, and (iii) Use verbs that show your major accomplishments while working for each company; but precise as to the results of your work experience. 5. Achievements, Awards, Service Activities: Try to limit your resume to one page. If youve received few noteworthy awards, this information may be omitted or included in sections on education and work experience. 6. Personal Data (Optional): Including personal information is now entirely optional. 7. References Cover Letter: The cover letter serves as the introductory summary about the skills and qualification of the candidate. Here the candidate mentions the personal and professional traits, which cannot be explained in ones resume, in a persuasive manner. The writer tries to convince the reader (the employer/recruiter) about ones suitability for the position in readers organization. Parts of a Cover Letter include Heading, Inside Address, Subject Line, Salutation, Body of Letter, Complimentary Close, and Signature. Organization of Messages: The organization of the message or Body of the Letter requires the knowledge of the basic principle first, We shouldnt repeat any idea in Cover Letter from the resume. Solicited Cover Letter (i) The opening contains the reference it advertisement, along with the assertion about ones suitability; (ii) Relevant qualification & skills, (iii) Professional work experience, and (iv) Request for an interview appointment. Unsolicited Cover Letter: The opening contains a persuasive reference to ones best skill and suitability for the organization; (ii) Relevant qualification. (iii) Implying benefits to the reader, by reference to the experience, and (iv) Requesting consideration for the candidate in the firm. Cover Letter to Resume: Also called the cold contact letter or the job application letter, the resume cover letter has one purpose: to attract the interest of your prospective employer to give you a job interview short covering letter is required when used a resume to apply for a job. The covering letter should not simply repeat information given kin the resume. It should begin by identifying the job youre applying for and how you came to know about it. Add any other information not included in the resume that, might be important for this particular job. Finally request an interview. Try to write a one-page job application letter composed of the following points: opening, middle paragraphs, and last paragraph. This tripartite approach should also continue to be reader-centered and should include evidence (data) to support your claims. Opening For favorable attention: be business like indicate
youre applying for a job. Four possible opening styles are recommended: summary, name, question, and news item opening. Middle Paragraphs For Data, Details: Tow or at most three paragraphs is all the space youve to persuade your reader youve the necessary job qualifications. Support your claim; use truthful data, evidence, supports that both clarify and sustain your conclusions. Education: Many of you will consider education your most important qualification, especially if youre applying for a first job. But avoid the impression that a college degree overshadows all achievements. (i) Emphasize how your overall education prepared you for the work or area you see (ii) Show that youve both a broad background in business (and arts and sciences) and depth in certain major course; and (iii) Explain how additional electives supplemented your major Work Experience: full or part time job responsibilities add valuable data to your resume cover letter. Suggest that in your responsibilities in previous jobs you: (i) Gained practical experience to accompany your education; (ii) adapted to different work environments; (iii) supervised other people with positive results; (iv) Administered large expendable funds honestly and correctly, and (v) negotiated major tender offers with foreign suppliers. Personal Attitudes, Interests, Activities, and Qualities: simply listing your abilities is not enough; show how those abilities relate to the position for which youre applying. Relating your personal attitudes, interests, activities, or personal qualities to the job requirements may also be included. Your Ability to Work with people: (i) used good judgment in working with senior people; (ii) Known to be a conscientious listener to new members of the firm; (iii) Led student groups of various nationalities and cultural interests, and (iv) Won applause for using good judgment with incomplete information. Your attitude toward employment: (i) Long have held an interest in (functional area); (ii) Even in spare time I have devoted effort to furthering my interest in [functional area], and (iii) For a long time Ive shown enthusiasm for this field; my intent is to make it my full-time occupation. Your Personal Qualities: (i) My schooling was funded through scholarships and my own outside-of-school work [determination]; (ii) Each day was tightly planned in order to meet all commitments for the day [organized, time control]; (iii) Wining the undergraduate school investment award taught me the value of in-depth research before making a decision [analytical mind], and (iv) Tow suggestions that led to completed projects were under my supervision [initiative]. Last Paragraph For easy action: in the final paragraph you ask for action; here, more than other parts of your job application letter, use the first person singular I. Some suggestions are: make the action easy be precise as to times you can be reached by phone; include phone number, if youve an answering machine, and whether youre available by fax or e-mail, suggest that it is possible for you to come to the employers office, and ask for a local representatives name if the central office is extremely distant.

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ABACUS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & Computer SCIENCES

Stadium Road, Karachi

EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION.

COMMUNICATION COULD BE:

ABACUS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & Computer SCIENCES

NOISE FEEDBACK Verbal, nonverbal A Communication Model

Context Sender-Encoder Message Medium Receiver-Decoder Feedback Noise Empathy

Good communicators show openness by keeping your hands open.

ABACUS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & Computer SCIENCES

Principles of Effective Communication

ABACUS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & Computer SCIENCES

Preparing Effective Business Messages

1. Identify your Purpose

Is your document tailored to the needs of a specific audience (usercentered)?

ABACUS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & Computer SCIENCES

Stadium Road, Karachi EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

ABACUS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & Computer SCIENCES

ABACUS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & Computer SCIENCES

ABACUS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & Computer SCIENCES

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESFUL SPEAKING

STEPS FOR PREPARING EFFECTIVE ORAL PRESENTATIONS

6. Rehears the talk

2: Analyze the audience and occasion

3: Select the main ideas for the message

4. Research the topic

5: Organize the data and write the draft

6: Create visual aids

7: Rehearse the talk

KINDS OF ORAL PRESENTATIONS

WAYS OF DILIVERING ORAL MESSAGE

STRATEGIES FOR AN EFFECTIVE ORAL DELIVERY

STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE NONVERBAL DELIVERY 1: Posture

STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING STAGE FRIGHT

know the subject on that day better than anyone else.

also occasionally a trembling hand.

Take an object with you. A pen, your notes, a marking pencil. of

your chair, cross and uncross your legs

Move during speech: some movement hold attention and release

STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING LISTENING SKILLS

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR LISTENING SKILLS

Accent the positive. if you have to do it, do it with a positive

attitude is a center piece of life

Focus you attention. Construct a mental outline of where the speaker

Concentrate on context. Construct a mental outline of where the

Take notes.jot down ideas. Even incomplete sentences or single words,

will later be a memory jogger of what we said

Curb the impulse to interrupt. This suggestion applies to interviews,

Summarize and evaluate. Restate-in your words-just what you think

ABACUS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & Computer SCIENCES

ABACUS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & Computer SCIENCES

ABACUS INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT & Computer SCIENCES

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