Chapter 1 PDF

Chapter 1
Business Communication in
the Digital Age
Essentials of
Business
Communication 9e
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy

© 2013 Cengage Learning ● All Rights Reserved
Communication Skills and Careers
Jobs are few , competition is fierce.

Survey and studies confirm that recruiters rank
COMMUNICATION SKILLS at the top of the list of qualities

they seek in a candidate.
Communication Skills and Careers
Your ticket
to work...
OR
Your ticket out the door!
Chapter 1, Slide 3
Good Communication Skills Needed
▪ Job placement
▪ Job performance
▪ Career advancement
▪ Success in a
challenging world
of work
What Do Employers Want?
▪ Communication Skills
Verbal and non-verbal skills that allows information and ideas to
be transmitted from one entity to another.
▪ Professionalism
Employers demand professionalism and

other “soft skills” such as the ability to work
with others.
What are Soft Skills?
▪ Essential career attributes that include the ability to

communicate, work well with others, solve problems,
make ethical decisions, appreciate diversity, be fair,
objective, critical thinking skills, punctuality.
▪ Also called employability skills or key competencies.
▪ Desirable in all business sectors and job positions.

Writing Skills Matter
▪ According to Fortune Magazine, among people with four year
degree, those in the highest 20% in writing ability earn on
average more than three times what those with worst writing
skills make.
▪ One corporate president explained when faced with hard
choice between candidates, he used writing ability as the

deciding factor.
▪ Sometimes writing is the only skill that separates a
candidate from competition.
What is Communication?
“The transmission of information and meaning from one

individual or group to another.”
▪ The crucial element in this definition is meaning.

▪ Communication has as its central objective the transmission

of meaning.
▪ The process of communication is successful only when the

receiver understands an idea as the sender intended it.
Chapter 1, Slide 9
The Communication Process
1. Sender has an idea: The form of the idea may be
influenced by the sender’s mood, frame of reference,
background, culture, and physical makeup, as well as the
context of the situation.
2. Sender encodes the idea in a message: Encoding means

converting the idea into words or gestures that will convey
meaning.
▪ A major problem in communicating any message verbally is
that words have different meanings for different people.
3. Message travels over a channel: The medium over which
the message is transmitted is the channel.
▪ Messages may be sent by computer, telephone, letter, or
memorandum.
▪ They may also be sent by means of a report, announcement,
picture, video, spoken word, fax, or other channel.

▪ Anything that disrupts the transmission of a message in the
communication process is called noise.
▪ Channel noise ranges from static that disrupts a telephone
conversation to spelling errors in an e-mail or blog post.
4. Receiver decodes the message: The person for whom a
message is intended is the receiver.
▪ Translating the message from its symbol form into meaning
involves decoding.
▪ Successful communication takes place only when a receiver
understands the meaning intended by the sender.

▪ Often hard to achieve because no two people share the same
background.
▪ Success is further limited because barriers and noise may
disrupt the process.
5. Feedback travels to the sender: The verbal and nonverbal
responses of the receiver create feedback.
▪ Feedback helps the sender know that the message was
received and understood.
▪ Senders can encourage feedback by asking questions such as,
“Am I making myself clear?” and, “Is there anything you don’t
understand?”
▪ Receivers can improve the process by paraphrasing the
sender’s message, “Let me try to explain that in my own
words,” or, “My understanding of your comment is. . . .”
• Verbally or nonverbally
How may the sender
• By speaking, writing,
encode a message?
gesturing
What kinds of • E-mail, texts, memos,

channels carry letters, phone, body
messages? • Other?
Chapter 1, Slide 14
How does a receiver Hearing, reading,

decode a message? observing
When is When a message is

communication understood as the sender

successful? intended
How can a Ask questions, check
communicator reactions, don’t dominate
provide for feedback? the exchange
Chapter 1, Slide 15
Why Good Listening Skills Count
▪ Do you ever pretend to be listening when you are not?

▪ Do you know how to look attentive in class when your
mind wanders far away?
Chapter 1, Slide 16
Why Good Listening Skills Count
▪ An important part of the communication process is listening.
▪ Most of us are not very good listeners.
▪ Some researchers suggest that we listen at only 25 to 50

percent efficiency.
▪ Such poor listening habits are costly in business and affect

professional relationships.
Chapter 1, Slide 17
Building Powerful Listening Skills
▪ Stop talking and start listening.

▪ Control your surroundings.
▪ Remove competing sounds, choose a quiet room and
place for listening.
▪ Establish a receptive mind-set

▪ Expect to learn something by listening.
▪ Keep an open mind.
▪ Listen for main points.
Chapter 1, Slide 18
Building Powerful Listening Skills
▪ Judge ideas, not appearances.

▪ Hold your fire.
▪ Take selective notes.
▪ Provide feedback.
Chapter 1, Slide 19
Nonverbal Communication
Eye contact, facial expressions, body

movements and posture and gestures
send silent messages.
Chapter 1, Slide 20
▪ Nonverbal communication refers to messages that are
conveyed through something other than words—for example,
tone of voice, facial expressions, gestures, body language, or
other behavior.
▪ These forms of nonverbal communication can help you better

understand the nuances of a message and its emotional
content.
▪ Nonverbal cues speak louder than words.
▪ Nonverbal communication includes all unwritten and

unspoken messages, whether intended or not.
▪ Does a downward glance indicate modesty? Fatigue? Does a

constant stare reflect coldness? Dullness? Aggression? Do
crossed arms mean defensiveness? Withdrawal? Or just that
the person is shivering?
▪ Messages are even harder to decipher when the verbal and
nonverbal cues do not agree.
▪ What will you think if Scott says he is not angry, but he slams
the door when he leaves? What if Alicia assures the hostess
that the meal is excellent, but she eats very little?

▪ The nonverbal messages in these situations speak more
loudly than the words.
▪ Researchers believe that over 90 percent of a message that
we receive is nonverbal.
▪ Emphasis and tone of voice.
▪ Words carry different meanings depending on how they are
said.
▪ Imagine someone speaking the simple phrase “I called him.”
▪ Say that phrase three times, each time emphasizing a

different word: “I called him”—“I called him”—“I called him.”
▪ Emphasis and tone of voice.
▪ Words carry different meanings depending on how they are
said.
▪ Imagine someone speaking the simple phrase “I called him.”
▪ Say that phrase three times, each time emphasizing a

different word: “I called him”—“I called him”—“I called him.”
Appearance sends silent messages.

▪ Eye Appeal of Business documents
▪ Personal Appearance
Chapter 1, Slide 26
Building Strong Nonverbal Skills
▪ Establish and maintain eye contact.
▪ Use posture to show interest.

▪ Improve your decoding skills.
Chapter 1, Slide 27
Building Strong Nonverbal Skills
▪ Associate with people from diverse

backgrounds.
▪ Appreciate the power of appearance.

▪ Observe yourself on video.
▪ Enlist help from friends and family.
Chapter 1, Slide 28
Oral Communication Techniques
▪ Use simple English.

▪ Short sentences.
▪ Familiar, short words.
▪ Avoid puns, slangs and jargons.
▪ Speak slowly and enunciate clearly.

▪ Avoid fast speech.
▪ Don’t raise voice.
▪ Use pauses and full stops.
▪ Write numbers.
Chapter 1, Slide 29
▪ Encourage accurate feedback.

▪ Ask questions.
▪ Encourage listener to paraphrase what you say.
▪ Don’t assume that a yes/nod/smile indicates
comprehension.
▪ Check frequently for comprehension.
▪ Avoid waiting until you finish to request feedback.
▪ Make one point at a time, pause to check for
comprehension.
▪ Don’t move to B until A has been grasped.
Chapter 1, Slide 30
▪ Observe eye messages.

▪ Be alert to wandering eyes and expressions.
▪ Accept blame.
▪ If misunderstanding occurs, accept the responsibility for not

making your meaning clear.
▪ Listen without interrupting.
▪ Smile when appropriate.

Written Communication Techniques
▪ Avoid ambiguous wording

▪ Use relative pronouns (that, which, who) for clarity.
▪ Avoid idioms (once in a blue moon).

▪ Slang (my presentation really bombed).
▪ Acronym (ASAP for as soon as possible).
▪ Abbreviation (TBA for to be announced).
▪ Jargons
Chapter 1, Slide 32
Written Communication Techniques
▪ Cite numbers carefully
▪ Use “figure 15” instead of “figure fifteen”.
▪ Always spell out the month, e.g., January 14, 2017.

Chapter 1, Slide 33
Communicating Do’s and Don’ts
▪ Understand the value of differences

▪ Diversity makes an organization innovative and creative.
▪ Sameness fosters an absence of critical thinking called

GROUPTHINK.
▪ Smart people tend to make dumb decision when thinking

collectively.
Communicating Do’s and Don’ts
▪ Make few assumptions

▪ In a workplace, don’t assume everyone is married or wants
to be.
▪ For invitations use “Spouses or Partners” instead of
“Managers and their wives”.
▪ Avoid the assumption of everyone is like you or wants to be

like you.
▪ Build on similarities
▪ Look for common ground.
Chapter 1, Slide 35
THANK YOU!
Essentials of
Business
Communication 9e
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy


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Chapter 1

Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy

Jobs are few , competition is fierce.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS at the top of the list of qualities

Your ticket out the door!

Employers demand professionalism and

▪ Essential career attributes that include the ability to

objective, critical thinking skills, punctuality.

▪ Also called employability skills or key competencies.

▪ Desirable in all business sectors and job positions.

choice between candidates, he used writing ability as the

“The transmission of information and meaning from one

▪ The crucial element in this definition is meaning.

▪ Communication has as its central objective the transmission

▪ The process of communication is successful only when the

2. Sender encodes the idea in a message: Encoding means

picture, video, spoken word, fax, or other channel.

understands the meaning intended by the sender.

What kinds of • E-mail, texts, memos,

How does a receiver Hearing, reading,

When is When a message is

communication understood as the sender

▪ Do you ever pretend to be listening when you are not?

▪ Do you know how to look attentive in class when your

mind wanders far away?

▪ An important part of the communication process is listening.

▪ Most of us are not very good listeners.

▪ Some researchers suggest that we listen at only 25 to 50

▪ Such poor listening habits are costly in business and affect

▪ Stop talking and start listening.

▪ Establish a receptive mind-set

▪ Judge ideas, not appearances.

Eye contact, facial expressions, body

▪ These forms of nonverbal communication can help you better

▪ Nonverbal communication includes all unwritten and

▪ Does a downward glance indicate modesty? Fatigue? Does a

that the meal is excellent, but she eats very little?

▪ Say that phrase three times, each time emphasizing a

▪ Say that phrase three times, each time emphasizing a

Appearance sends silent messages.

▪ Establish and maintain eye contact.

▪ Use posture to show interest.

▪ Improve your decoding skills.

▪ Associate with people from diverse

▪ Appreciate the power of appearance.

▪ Observe yourself on video.

▪ Enlist help from friends and family.

▪ Use simple English.

▪ Speak slowly and enunciate clearly.

▪ Encourage accurate feedback.

▪ Observe eye messages.

▪ If misunderstanding occurs, accept the responsibility for not

▪ Listen without interrupting.

▪ Smile when appropriate.

▪ Avoid ambiguous wording

▪ Avoid idioms (once in a blue moon).

▪ Slang (my presentation really bombed).

▪ Acronym (ASAP for as soon as possible).

▪ Abbreviation (TBA for to be announced).

▪ Cite numbers carefully

▪ Use “figure 15” instead of “figure fifteen”.

▪ Always spell out the month, e.g., January 14, 2017.

▪ Understand the value of differences