Business Communication

Business Communication
Foundations
Definition of Business Communication
• Business communication is the process of
communicating for the purpose of business
transactions for ensuring mutual understanding
and business benefit.
 Most business communication

Business communication is
is transactional. It involves a
give and take relationship

transactional
between the sender and the
receiver(s) in order to
establish a common
understanding.
The Importance of Communicating
Effectively
• Getting Jobs You Want
• Gaining Promotions
• Providing Leadership
• Being Productive on the Job
• Relating Positively to Others
• Assuring the Success of Your Organization
Goals of Business Communication
• Receiver understanding
• Receiver response
• Favorable relationship
• Organizational goodwill
Receiver Understanding
Core factor
• The message must be so clear
that the receiver understands
it as the sender means it to be
understood.
To develop a clear message, the
sender must consider the
following four issues
 Receiver Characteristics
 Message form and content
 Receiver feedback
 Communication barriers
Receiver response
Core factor The receiver response may be
• The wording of the message  Positive
should encourage response  Neutral
 Negative
Favorable relationship
Core factor
• To establish a strong business
relationship, the sender and
the receiver should relate to
each other in three important
ways:
 Positively
 Personally
 Professionally
Some of the ways the sender
can create and maintain a
favorable relationship
 Stressing the receiver’s
interests and benefits
 Using positive wording
 Doing more than what is
expected
Organizational goodwill
Communications reflect
Core factor positively on the quality of the
company’s
• It stresses benefit to the
organization  Products
 Services
 Personnel
Patterns of Business Communication
Vertical communication
Horizontal communication
Serial communication
Vertical communication
• Messages flow upward or downward along a
path referred to as the “chain of command”
Horizontal communication
• Message flow occurs between workers or units of
comparable status who need to share data or
coordinate efforts
Serial communication
• Much of the information flowing vertically and
horizontally within an organization involves
three or more individuals. This communication
pattern is called serial communication.
Four techniques will assist in maintaining the accuracy of
and achieving understanding with serial communication:
Senders should: Receivers should:
 Keep the message simple  Take notes
 Request feedback  Repeat the message
Formal and Informal Communication
Formal communication
 Is planned by the
organization
 Flows in all directions
 Is essential for the effective
operation of the business
Informal communication
 Referred to as a grapevine
(described in the next slide)
 Is not planned by the
organization
 Flows in all directions
 Develops and maintains
positive human relationships
Grapevine
An informal communication network within an organization that conveys
information through unofficial channels independent of management
control.
 Information travels much more quickly through the grapevine than through
formal channels and may become distorted.

 It reinterprets official corporate messages or spread gossip and rumor in

the absence of effective organization channels.
A Communication Process Model

Message
Barriers
Feedback
Sender’s and Receiver’s Roles
Sender’s role
 Selecting the type of message
 Analyzing the receiver
 Using the you-view point
 Encouraging feedback
 Removing communication
barriers
Receiver’s role
 Listening or reading carefully
 Being open to different types
of senders and to new ideas
 Making notes when necessary
 Providing appropriate
feedback to the sender
 Asking questions to clarify the
message
The You-Viewpoint
You-Viewpoint means that the sender gives
primary consideration to receiver’s point of view
when composing and sending messages.
Denotative versus Connotative Meaning
Denotation Connotation
A denotation is the specific A connotation is any other
dictionary definition for a meaning a word suggests to a
word. receiver based on his or her
experiences, interests,
attitudes, and emotions.
Implications and Inferences
Implication
An implication is a meaning
given through
Inference
An inference is a conclusion
drawn from connotation
rather than from specific
details.