Business Communication
In the opinion of W. H. Meaning, “The exchange of ideas, news and views in
connection with the business among the related parties is called business
communication”.
According to Berelson and Steiner, communication is “the transmission of
information, ideas, emotions, skills, etc., by the use of symbols, words, pictures,
figures, graphs, etc.” It is the act or process of transmission that is usually called
communication.”
William Scott defined, “Organizational communication is a process which involves
the transmission and accurate replication of ideas ensured by feedback for the
purpose of electing actions which will accomplish organizational goals.”
According to Brennan, “Business communication is the expression, channeling,
receiving and interchanging of ideas in commerce and industry.”
Hoben defines communication as “The verbal interchange of thoughts or ideas.”
What is internal business communication?
Internal communication is the transmission of information between organizational
members or parts of the organization. It takes place across all levels and organizational
units of an organization
Internal Communication Channels
1. Leadership – Whether it’s about strategy, news and events, progress reports or
just shared wins, losses, celebrations, and observations, leadership voices are
vital to the organization, and people’s sense being part of something important.
Social networks don’t adequately enable the global communication that
leadership needs to be in touch.
2. Peer to peer sharing, exploring, and chatter – The team needs to be visible
and engaged with one another, informally sharing interesting tidbits, asking
questions and generally supporting one another both emotionally and
professionally. The community of the organization is critical to employee
engagement and great business outcomes.
3. Team and project collaboration – People need simple, organized ways to
convene teams, discuss work, and generally get things done. Streams and
updates aren’t suited to this sort of work.
4. Informal 1-1 or small group chats – “Hey Jules, let's review this report
before we send it on.” This kind of thing needs to be simple and effortless – and
importantly, it needs to be as inclusive (everyone has access) and searchable as
any other form of communication.
5. Resource libraries – We all have policies, procedures, and bodies of work and
reference material to work with. There needs to be one place where it belongs –
a single source of truth for people who are looking for the most current versions.
6. Email – Obviously, one of the most common and versatile (and overused)
channels because of its simplistic beauty. Communicators can draw up an email
in a few minutes and get that message across in a jiffy. Email comes in so many
different forms, you can send a plain text email, a visual/graphical/infographic
email, a video in an email, etc.
7. Newsletters/Magazines – Printed or electronic, employee newsletters and
magazines are an excellent and engaging communication channel if used
properly – get volunteer staff writers and have a fair balance of business to non-
business to social content.
8. Social Media and collaboration apps – Another great channel but works best
if the majority of your population are active. This type of channel is ideal for
communiques where comments, suggestions, and likes are important.
