Effective Communications in Business

BY
AKHTAR MAHMOOD
Verbal/Non verbal Communication

• Successful communication sends or

receive ideas ,opinions etc. to others
through two different forms of
communication:
• Verbal
• Non verbal
Verbal Communication
• It means communicating with words,
written or spoken.
• It is communication in which we use
words or symbols to express our ideas.
• Oral (Spoken)
• Written
Oral Communication
Benefits:
 Immediate feedback
 Short sentences / words
 Focus on personal relation
 Precise time & positive result
Demerits:
 Less detail
 Not suitable for technical information
Written communication
Benefits:
 Longer sentence /words
 Focus on detail
 Accurate figures
 Permanent record / documentation
Demerits:
 Delay in feedback /actions
 Time consuming
Non-Verbal communication
• The communication does not involve words is
called non-verbal communication . It runs side by
side with verbal communication.
• According to Albert ,out of total impact of
message ,spoken or written words is 7 % ,and vocal
impact i.e. of pitch ,volume ,speed and extra sound
is 38 % and purely non-verbal impact i.e. of facial
expressions ,gestures etc. is 55%.
• Nonverbal communication skills are essential and
can make it easier to convey your point and to read
what others are trying to tell you. Some people
seem to come by these skills quite naturally, but
anyone can improve their nonverbal skills with
practice.
Non-Verbal communication
Components of Non-Verbal
communication
Nonverbal signals include
i. Facial expressions
ii. Postures ,gestures ,movements
iii. Vocal Characteristics/Voice and sound
iv. Personal appearance
v. Smell and touch
vi. Time and space
Facial expressions
Your face is the primary vehicle for
expressing your emotions; it reveals both
the type and the intensity of your feelings.
Your eyes are especially effective for
indicating attention and interest, influencing
others, regulating interaction, and
establishing dominance.
Facial expressions
• Its reveal one’s hidden emotions like
anger ,confusion, enthusiasm, love ,surprise,
uncertainty ,fear ,joy ,respect etc.
• Eyes plays most important role in the facial
expressions.
• Direct eye contact conveys confident
• Lowered eyes conveys shyness and
dishonesty.
• A tongue pressed between teeth may
indicate that sender has committed has
mistake or is sorry.
Postures ,gestures ,movements
The way you position and move your body
expresses both specific and general messages,
some voluntary and some involuntary. Many
gestures—a wave of the hand, for example—have
specific and intentional meanings. Other types of
body movement are unintentional and express
more general messages. Slouching, leaning
forward, fidgeting (small movements, especially of
the hands and feet, through nervousness), and
walking briskly are all unconscious signals that can
reveal whether you feel confident or nervous,
friendly or hostile, assertive or passive, powerful or
powerless.
Postures ,gestures ,movements
• Actions speak louder than words.
• A posture is a way a person carries himself. He
consciously or unconsciously chooses to
stand ,sit ,shift to express his interest in matter
of discussion.
• Gestures are movement of
hands ,arms ,shoulders and head ,which describe
or emphasize something.( traffic direction by a
warden)
• Posture is the way you position your body or
arrange your limbs. So stand up straight, put
your shoulders back, and lift that chin up.
Postures ,gestures ,movements
Vocal characteristics./Voice and
sounds (paralanguage)
Voice carries both intentional and
unintentional messages. A speaker can
intentionally control pitch, speed, and stress
to convey a specific message. For instance,
compare What
“ are you doing?” and “What
you
are doing?” Unintentional vocal
characteristics can convey happiness,
surprise, fear, and other emotions (for
example, fear often increases the pitch and
the pace of your speaking voice).
Voice and sounds (paralanguage)
• The quality ,voice, volume ,speed and pitch of
the voice and the sound of coughing ,sneezing
etc. convey some meanings .
• The variations in volume ,tone convey to the
listener inside feelings and emotions of the
speaker .
• Loud voice indicate anger and urgency.
• Fast voice indicate nervousness.
• Soft voice indicate calming.
• Sudden change may sound artificial or
dramatic.
Appearance
People respond to others on the basis of their
physical appearance, sometimes fairly and
other times unfairly. Although an individual’s
body type and facial features impose
limitations, you can control grooming, clothing,
accessories and hairstyle. If your goal is to
make a good impression, adopt the style of the
people you want to impress.
Movements involve the feet and legs . It show
your confidence and interest .
Appearance
• It conveys nonverbal impressions that affect
receivers attitudes toward the verbal message even
before they read or hear them
• Following are include in this:
 Effect on Written message (Size, color, weight,
postage, title page, envelops, neatness and format)
may impress the receiver as “important,” “routine,” or
“Junk” mail, Telegram, Mailgrams, Express Mail, and
private courier mail also have distinctive envelopes
that signal urgency and importance.
 Effect on Oral message (Personal appearances;
clothing, hairstyles, neatness, jewelry, cosmetic,
surroundings; room size, furnishings)
Effect appearance on written
messages
• The colour, size ,quality of the envelop , the
choice of paper and medium of
communication send very strong signals to
the receiver.
• And then length of the message ,its format .
• Finally language , spelling ,grammar etc.
gives some extra message and impress the
receiver.
Effect appearance on oral
messages
• Oral messages affected by two elements
which can be studied under the following:
 Personal appearance
 Appearance of surroundings
Personal appearance

• Includes clothing ,hairstyle ,neatness,

jewelry etc.
• These things convey a strong impression
regarding occupation ,nationality ,social
and economic level.
Appearance of surroundings

• Include location ,room size ,furniture ,wall

decoration , lighting ,windows etc.
• They show taste ,habits etc. of a
particular thing.
Smell and Touch
Touch is an important way to convey warmth,
comfort, and reassurance—as well as control.
Touch is so powerful, in fact, that it is governed by
cultural customs that establish who can touch
whom and how in various circumstances. In the
United States and Great Britain, for instance, people
usually touch less frequently than people in France
or Costa Rica do. Even within each culture’s norms,
however, individual attitudes toward touch vary
widely. A manager might be comfortable using hugs
to express support or congratulations, but his or her
subordinates could interpret those hugs as a show
of dominance or sexual interest. Touch is a
complex subject. The best advice: When in doubt,
don’t touch.
Smell and Touch
• Fragrance and smell carried by the
speaker on his body ,speak of his taste
and habits which ultimately cause the
affect the receiver /audience.
• And touch of the person can convey
warmth ,friendship ,anger ,love etc.
• Put a person on back show on
encouragement.
• Shake hand to be social and polite.
Smell and Touch
Like touch, time and space can be used to
assert authority, imply intimacy, and send
other nonverbal messages. For instance,
some people try to demonstrate their own
importance or disregard for others by making
other people wait; others show respect by
being on time. Similarly, taking care not to
invade private space, such as standing too
close when talking, is a way to show respect
for others. Keep in mind that expectations
regarding both time and space vary by culture.
Improving Nonverbal Communication Skills
Time
• The time spent in waiting may have a bad effect on
person waiting . Also time spent in meeting indicates
degree of relationship between speaker and listener.
• Concepts of time and space are culture specific.
Effective communicator adapt to senders and receivers
expectations
• Examples
Americans and Germans are quite punctual.
Middle eastern business people think little of arising
after an agreed upon time.
If you arrived on time for a meeting in Portugal, you host
might wonder why you came so early.
Space
• Means distance between two persons.
• In the Unite d States, the need for
personal space in a two person
conversation is about 18 inches
Sign language
• Every sign is symbol and everything
around us has a symbolic meaning .
Visual symbols:
include
pictures ,cartoons ,paintings ,maps etc.
Audio symbols:
include horns ,doorbells ,alarms etc.
How Silence, Time and Space
Communicate
• Silence, time and space can
communicate more than you may think
even causing hard feelings, loss of
business, and profits.
Silence
• When we make a request or ask a
question , we expect the receiver to give a
reply ,if he /she is silent for a
considerable time ,we may develop a
feeling of irritation ,assume other one is
confused.
THANKS