1.

The Importance of Business Communication

- Good communication means your message is being sent and those receiving it clearly
understand it in it’s entirely. Because of this, they are more likely to respond to it in a
positive manner. When this occurs, it means the message was communicated
effectively. A customer who receives poor communication from an employee will most
likely have an unfavorable response to a company. The reason for this could be
because the person listening does not possess a clear understanding of what the
person doing the talking is actually saying. Perhaps the request is unclear, or maybe
the person listening did not pay close enough attention.
- Communication is one of the most basic functions of management in any organization.
Its importance can never be over emphasized. It is the process of transmitting ideas,
thoughts, information, opinions, and plans between various parts of an organization or
sometimes to those on the outside of an organization who have a vested interest in
the business and need to know the information.
- Human relations cannot be present without communication. Good and effective
communication is required for both personal relationships and successful business
relationships. You can use business software and other popular applications for
writing communications, or you can utilize the telephone and in-person methods for
the spoken part. No matter how you communicate, make sure there is both talking and
listening going on and that you take the time to carefully consider what is being said to
you.
- All three forms of communication are important to a business. The written
communications can serve as a record of sorts while the phone conversations can
facilitate the beginning of a great business relationship. The in-person communication
will also help to further promote the business principles as well as the products. Face-
to-face communication is especially important between companies and their
customers. This is what keeps them coming back time and time again and what can
place the business in the forefront of many situations that are perfect for acquiring and
maintaining customers.
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2. There are 7 C’s of effective communication which are applicable

to both written as well as oral communication. These are as
follows:
Completeness - The communication must be complete. It should convey all facts
required by the audience. The sender of the message must take into consideration the
receiver’s mind set and convey the message accordingly. A complete communication
has following features:

 Complete communication develops and enhances reputation of an organization.

 Moreover, they are cost saving as no crucial information is missing and no
additional cost is incurred in conveying extra message if the communication is
complete.
 A complete communication always gives additional information wherever
required. It leaves no questions in the mind of receiver.
  Complete communication helps in better decision-making by the
audience/readers/receivers of message as they get all desired and crucial
information.
 It persuades the audience.

Conciseness - Conciseness means wordiness, i.e, communicating what you want to

convey in least possible words without forgoing the other C’s of communication.
Conciseness is a necessity for effective communication. Concise communication has
following features:

 It is both time-saving as well as cost-saving.

 It underlines and highlights the main message as it avoids using excessive and
needless words.
 Concise communication provides short and essential message in limited words to
the audience.
 Concise message is more appealing and comprehensible to the audience.
 Concise message is non-repetitive in nature.

Consideration - Consideration implies “stepping into the shoes of others”. Effective

communication must take the audience into consideration, i.e, the audience’s view
points, background, mind-set, education level, etc. Make an attempt to envisage your
audience, their requirements, emotions as well as problems. Ensure that the self-respect
of the audience is maintained and their emotions are not at harm. Modify your words in
message to suit the audience’s needs while making your message complete. Features
of considerate communication are as follows:

 Emphasize on “you” approach.

 Empathize with the audience and exhibit interest in the audience. This will
stimulate a positive reaction from the audience.
 Show optimism towards your audience. Emphasize on “what is possible” rather
than “what is impossible”. Lay stress on positive words such as jovial, committed,
thanks, warm, healthy, help, etc.

Clarity - Clarity implies emphasizing on a specific message or goal at a time, rather than
trying to achieve too much at once. Clarity in communication has following features:

 It makes understanding easier.

 Complete clarity of thoughts and ideas enhances the meaning of message.
 Clear message makes use of exact, appropriate and concrete words.

Concreteness - Concrete communication implies being particular and clear rather than
fuzzy and general. Concreteness strengthens the confidence. Concrete message has
following features:

 It is supported with specific facts and figures.

 It makes use of words that are clear and that build the reputation.
 Concrete messages are not misinterpreted.

Courtesy - Courtesy in message implies the message should show the sender’s
expression as well as should respect the receiver. The sender of the message should be
 sincerely polite, judicious, reflective and enthusiastic. Courteous message has following
features:

 Courtesy implies taking into consideration both viewpoints as well as feelings of

the receiver of the message.
 Courteous message is positive and focused at the audience.
 It makes use of terms showing respect for the receiver of message.
 It is not at all biased.

Correctness - Correctness in communication implies that there are no grammatical

errors in communication. Correct communication has following features:

 The message is exact, correct and well-timed.

 If the communication is correct, it boosts up the confidence level.
 Correct message has greater impact on the audience/readers.
 It checks for the precision and accurateness of facts and figures used in the
message. It makes use of appropriate and correct language in the message.

Awareness of these 7 C’s of communication makes you an effective communicator.

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3. Developing Trust:- Tips

1. Analyze your attire
2. Role play your verbal communication
3. Evaluate your non verbal communication like “shakehand”
4. Examine your Attitude
5. Scrutinize your grooming (hair, make up, cleanliness)
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4. Albert Mehrabian- AM’s Theory

• 7% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in the words that are spoken.
• 38% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is paralinguistic (the way that
the words are said).
• 55% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in facial expression.

Total Liking = 7% Verbal Liking + 38% Vocal Liking + 55% Facial Liking
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5. Non Verbal Communication elements

 Body Language
 Eye Contact
 Facial Expression
 Posture
 Specific Movements
 Physcial Contact
 Deliver Information
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6. Mendelow’s Matrix
 7. Proxemics Message
Proxemics is the study of how humans use space when we're communicating. How close we
stand to someone, whether we touch them, and how comfortable we feel are all part of the
study of proxemics.

Do you feel uncomfortable when someone stands too close to you? Do very bright colors in a
room make you feel distracted? These questions are important to the study of proxemics.
Basically, proxemics is the study of space and how we use it, how it makes us feel more or less
comfortable, and how we arrange objects and ourselves in relation to space. The term was
coined by the anthropologist Edward Hall. Hall was interested in understanding how humans
use space in communication.

Personal Territory
In order to understand more about proxemics, we need to discuss different kinds of spaces.
There are four kinds of distance that people generally use in communication. This can vary by
place, and different cultures have different standards. These are known as realms of personal
territory. Let's talk about these now.

 Public space is the space that characterizes how close we sit or stand to someone, like
a public figure or public speaker. So, if you are at an event listening to a professor give a
lecture, you are probably about 12 - 25 feet away.
 Social space means we're getting a little closer, about 4 - 12 feet away. This is the kind
of space you're probably in if you're talking to a colleague or a customer at work.
 Personal space is even closer. In this case, you're probably about 1 - 4 feet away from
someone. This is reserved for talking to friends or family.
 Intimate space is for people who you are very close to. In this case, you're probably less
than a foot away and you might even be touching the other person. This is the space
you're in with a romantic partner, for example.

It's important to note that this can vary culturally. These are the standards we generally find in
the United States. But this might not be the case everywhere.
For example, it might be considered rude to stand too close to someone in one place but not
another. It might be very common to touch someone's arm or shoulder while talking in one
place, but this could be considered rude in other places. In one country, you might greet
someone with a kiss on the cheek, and in other places this might be considered too intimate.

Physical Territory
Next, let's talk about physical territory. This is a little bit different than personal territory. It's more
about the ways that we arrange objects in space. For example, you probably have your bed set
up so that you face the center of your bedroom, instead of the wall.
Another example of physical territory might be the color of the walls in a room. Very bright colors
have been shown to be distracting. So, a person designing an office building probably would not
choose to use bright orange or red paint on the walls, as it might be jarring to employees or
students.
Geographic Territory
Finally, proxemics also involves the study of geographic territory. This is a lot like what it sounds
like! It refers to how we act depending on the kind of geographic space we're in. There are a few
types of geographic territory:

 First, a person's primary territory refers to the space that is most comfortable, such as
inside one's house.
 Secondary territory is also a space where you feel comfortable, but it's a little less private
than your own home. This might be a friend's house or a coffee shop you like to
frequent.
 Public territory is what we call a neutral space. This means it's not our own space, but
it's something like a park or a city street. Depending on the space, we could feel
comfortable or uncomfortable here.

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8. Crucial Conversations
A discussion between two or more people where:
a) Stakes are high
b) Opinions vary
c) Emotions run strong

Dialogue

• Free flow of relevant information

• People openly and honestly express their opinions, share their feelings and articulate
their theories
• Willingly and capably share their views- even when their ideas are controversial or
unpopular
• Extremely effective communicators routinely are able to do the above
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9. MoSCoW Technique:-
Technique- used by analysts and stakeholders - prioritizing requirements in a
collaborative fashion

MUST (M)
Defines a requirement that has to be satisfied for the final solution to be acceptable e.g. The HR
system “must” store employee leave history.

SHOULD (S)
This is a high-priority requirement that should be included if possible, within the delivery time
frame. Workarounds may be available for such requirements and they are not usually
considered as time-critical or must-haves. e.g. The HR system “should” allow printing of leave
letters.
COULD (C)
This is a desirable or nice-to-have requirement (time and resources permitting) but the solution
will still be accepted if the functionality is not included e.g. The HR system “could” send out
notifications on pending leave dates.

WON’T or WOULD (W)

This represents a requirement that stakeholders want to have, but have agreed will not be
implemented in the current version of the system. That is, they have decided it will be
postponed till the next round of developments e.g. The HR system “won’t” support remote
access but may do so in the next release.

You'll notice that the HR system features have been discussed in a decreasing order of priority -
from what we must have, to what we should have, could have and won't have in that order

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10. Networking
Networking has become accepted as a term to describe the activities involved in building and
maintaining formal and informal relationships.
Networks may overlap
-two people may belong to the same network but each will have contacts in other networks.
Networks are not static – they evolve, expand and shrink according to the perceived needs and
actions of the networkers.

Three main types of network: personal, professional and organisational.

New Joiner: Developing Your Network Checklist:-

• Be approachable
• Be aware that people will weigh you up
• Develop a reliable network
• Build your networks across, down and up
• Get your network up and running
• Remember the key importance of relationships
• Maintain network development activity throughout your career
• Establish networks in many worlds
• Reciprocate by giving access to your networks
• Accept that feeling isolated is part of being new

There are 3 ways to Give More and Be More Proactive At A Networking Event.

1. Make it a give and not a get.

2. Follow up after your meeting.

- 75-80% of people who receive a business card at an event do not follow up
- If you follow up with someone, do not start with the hard sell, just say, "Hi, it was a
pleasure to meet you. If there is any way I can help you, please let me know."
- Offering up your network to strangers is a great way to break the ice.
3. Continue to show up for people.
 • Don't immediately ask for a favour - when you connect with someone.
• I will help you- but you also need to help yourself.
• Be clear about your ask, know what you want and be specific- so someone can tap into
their networks to possibly help you.

Networking for Introverts - 7 Simple Steps

1: Find Meet ups and Other Networking Events

2: Have a Standard Opener:- The best way to meet people is to get them talking about their
favourite subject: themselves.
3: Develop your elevator pitch
4: Choose your people
5: Pace yourself and be strategic
6: Collect Business Cards and Write on Them
7: Follow Up (a no brainer)

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11. Simple Rules for Email Writing

 Don’t over communicate via email

 Make good use of subject lines
 Keep messages clear and brief
 Every Mail Must Have a:-
a) Purpose
b) Subject
c) Audience
d) Style
 Different people have different opinions about the form and content of emails.
 Respect other people's time and don't forward junk email to them.
 Use CC: and BCC: sparingly
 Be concise and to the point
 Use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation
 Do not attach unnecessary files
 Use proper structure & layout.
 Do not overuse the high priority option.
 Do not write in CAPITALS
 Add disclaimers to your emails
 Read the email before you send it.
 Do not overuse Reply to All.
 Take care with abbreviations and emoticons
 Do not forward chain letters.
 Do not copy a message or attachment without permission.
 Use active instead of passive.
 Keep your language gender neutral
 Avoid long sentences- max: 15 to 20 words
 Don't send or forward emails containing libelous, defamatory, offensive, racist or
obscene remarks

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12. Cellular Phone Etiquette

As more and more people go wireless, the chance of these devices to intrude and
interrupt others' privacy increases. Here are some tips to remember.

a) When riding on public transportation, avoid loud and animated conversations by

keeping your voice low or to a conversational level. Be sure to avoid extended
calls.
b) Turn the ringer as low as possible to avoid disturbing others.
c) Rarely, if ever, is it appropriate to have phone conversations at social gatherings
such as concerts, plays, movies, funerals (yes, it happens!), lectures, church
services (here too!), and many other events.
d) Remember that the people you are with usually take priority over a phone call.
Having a conversation in their presence can be viewed as being rude and make
the person feel unimportant, and make you look bad.If you have to make a call,
make sure to take it to another location that will be less disruptive.
e) Inform the person that you are calling that you are using a cellular phone, then if
the connection fades or drops, the person will know to wait to see if the clarity
returns or that you will be calling back.
f) Focus on safety first. Do not use cellular phones when they impede your ability to
drive or walk. Get a hands-free kit or phone cradle holder for your vehicle or a
"walk about" kit for your phone when out of the car.
g) Use caller ID, voice messages, or if you must have the phone on, get a vibrating
battery or universal belt clip mechanism.
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 13. Assertive Communication Skill:-

Assertiveness:- The ability to clearly express your thoughts and feelings, stand your
ground & defend you position.

A. LAAFe- Explore the Logic, Action, Fun and Feeling (LAFFe / laugh) within
you.

B. Dr Robert Cialdini's 6 Principles of Persuasion

 Reciprocity.
 Commitment & Consistency.
 Social Proof.
 Liking.
 Authority.
 Scarcity.

C. The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint

• A PowerPoint presentation should have ten slides (10)
• Last no more than twenty minutes (20), and
• Contain no font smaller than thirty points (30).

10- Ten is the optimal number of slides- in a PowerPoint presentation- because

normal human being cannot comprehend more than ten concepts in a meeting. If you
must use more than ten slides to explain your business, you probably don’t have a
business.

20- Twenty minutes. –

You’re using a Windows laptop- takes forty minutes to make it work with the projector.
Even if setup goes perfectly, people will arrive late and have to leave early.
-In a perfect world, you give your pitch in twenty minutes- have forty minutes left for
discussion.

30- Thirty-point font.

-The majority of the presentations- that I see - text in a ten point font.
-As much text as possible- jammed into the slide-the presenter reads it.
-As soon as the audience figures out -you’re reading the text- they read ahead of you -
can read faster than you can speak.
-The result is that you and the audience are out of sync.
-If “thirty points,” is too much –then find out the age of the oldest person in your
audience and divide it by two. That’s your optimal font size.

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 14. Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence is the measure of an individual’s abilities to recognize and manage their
emotions, and the emotions of other people, both individually and in groups.

Benefits of Higher Emotional Intelligence

- People with higher emotional intelligence find it easier to form and maintain
interpersonal relationships and to ‘fit in’ to group situations.
- People with higher emotional intelligence are also better at understanding their
own psychological state, which can include managing stress effectively and
being less likely to suffer from depression.

EI Skills:
1. Self Awareness
2. Self Regulation
3. Motivation
4. Social Skills
5. Empathy
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15. Importance of Story Telling

We are surrounded by stories. In fact, over half of human conversation comes in

the form of stories. As humans, we are more receptive to stories than we are to
data or hard facts. This is because stories help us relate, they allow us to
empathize, and they allow our brains to process information in a form that is
more digestible and memorable.

- Stories Sell
- Stories provide relevance
- Stories set context
- Stories create purpose and drive action
A while back, a colleague asked me why leadership storytelling is important. I came
up with the following list:

 Storytelling is a key leadership technique because it’s quick, powerful,

free, natural, refreshing, energizing, collaborative, persuasive, holistic,
entertaining, moving, memorable and authentic. Stories help us make
sense of organizations.

 Storytelling is more than an essential set of tools to get things done:

it’s a way for leaders – wherever they may sit – to embody the change
they seek. Rather than merely advocating and counter-advocating
propositional arguments, which lead to more arguments, leaders
establish credibility and authenticity through telling the stories that
they are living. When they believe deeply in them, their stories
resonate, generating creativity, interaction and transformation.

 Storytelling is often the best way for leaders to communicate with

people they are leading. Why? It is inherently well adapted to handling
the most intractable leadership challenges of today – sparking change,
communicating who you are, enhancing the brand, transmitting
values, creating high-performance teams, sharing knowledge, taming
the grapevine, leading people in to the future.
  Storytelling translates dry and abstract numbers into compelling
pictures of a leader’s goals. Although good business cases are
developed through the use of numbers, they are typically approved on
the basis of a story—that is, a narrative that links a set of events in
some kind of causal sequence.

 Storytelling is a crucial tool for management and leadership, because

often, nothing else works. Charts leave listeners bemused. Prose
remains unread. Dialogue is just too laborious and slow. Time after
time, when faced with the task of persuading a group of managers or
front-line staff in a large organization to get enthusiastic about a major
change, storytelling is the only thing that works.

 Storytelling can inspire people to act in unfamiliar, and often

unwelcome, ways. Mind-numbing cascades of numbers or daze-
inducing PowerPoint slides won’t achieve this goal. Even logical
arguments for making the needed changes usually won’t do the trick.
But effective storytelling often does.

 Storytelling works better than the “Just tell ‘em” approach in most
leadership situations. Management fads may come and go, but
storytelling is a phenomenon that is fundamental to all nations,
societies and cultures, and has been so since time immemorial.

 Narrative is the instrument of continuing creativity, a power that

inexorably propels us forward into the future, the unknown, building
new worlds and structures.

 Storytelling is part of the creative struggle to generate a new future, as

opposed to conventional management approaches that search for
virtual certainties anchored in the illusive security of yesterday.

 Narrative can help transform even gargantuan organizations through

the unanticipated power of the imagination. It has the capacity to
change tangible, hard realities through no more than airy nothings,
mere gauzy thoughts.
16. Transactional Analysis

There are three ego states in Berne’s model:

1. Parent
2. Adult
3. Child

In the 1950's Eric Berne began to develop his theories of Transactional Analysis. He said that verbal
communication, particularly face to face, is at the centre of human social relationships and
psychoanalysis.

His starting-point was that when two people encounter each other, one of them will speak to the
other. This he called the Transaction Stimulus. The reaction from the other person he called the
Transaction Response.

The person sending the Stimulus is called the Agent. The person who responds is called the
Respondent.

Transactional Analysis became the method of examining the transaction wherein: 'I do something to
you, and you do something back'.

Berne also said that each person is made up of three alter ego states:

1) Parent

This is our ingrained voice of authority, absorbed conditioning, learning and attitudes from when we
were young. We were conditioned by our real parents, teachers, older people, next door neighbours,
aunts and uncles, Father Christmas and Jack Frost. Our Parent is made up of a huge number of
hidden and overt recorded playbacks. Typically embodied by phrases and attitudes starting with
'how to', 'under no circumstances', 'always' and 'never forget', 'don't lie, cheat, steal', etc, etc. Our
parent is formed by external events and influences upon us as we grow through early childhood. We
can change it, but this is easier said than done.

2) Child

Our internal reaction and feelings to external events form the 'Child'. This is the seeing, hearing,
feeling, and emotional body of data within each of us. When anger or despair dominates reason, the
Child is in control. Like our Parent we can change it, but it is no easier.

3) Adult

Our 'Adult' is our ability to think and determine action for ourselves, based on received data. The
adult in us begins to form at around ten months old, and is the means by which we keep our Parent
and Child under control. If we are to change our Parent or Child we must do so through our adult.