PROFESSIONAL BUSINESS SKILL

Module 1
 Professionalism: Meaning – Definition – Traits and Qualities of a good
professional – Professionalism in business – Professional skills:
important soft skills for business success- Professionalism in
Communication: Verbal Communication: Professional Presentation –
Different Presentation Postures – Written Communication: Email –
Significance of Email in business – Email etiquette: format- rules – dos
and don’ts – Technical Documentation: Standards - Types

Chapter 1
Professionalism
Meaning and Definition

 Professionalism is the way an individual conducts himself at work to

represent both himself and his company in a positive way. It includes
standards for behaviour that might be required by an organisation.

 According to Eric Mochnacz “Professionalism is someone’s inherent

ability to do what is expected of them and deliver quality work because
they are driven to do so.”

 The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines professionalism as “the

conducts, aims or qualities that characterise or mark a profession or
professional person”.

Characteristics of Professionalism
 Specialised Knowledge:

Professionals work in a serious, thoughtful and sustained way to master the

specialised knowledge needed to succeed in their field. In order to deliver the
best work possible they keep this knowledge up to date.

 Competency:
 Professionals are reliable and don’t make excuses. They always focus on
finding solutions.

 Commitment and confidence:

To maintain reputation as a professional they interact with clients,

supervisors and co-workers with a commitment to the company and job.

They provide confidence in their organisation, role and self. Confidence gives
trust and credibility with internal and external people.

 Responsibility and Dependability:

Taking responsibly and fair in all work activities is important to

professionalism.

 Honesty and integrity:

Professionals never compromise their values and will do the right thing. They
are always ready to learn from others.

 Initiative and accountability:

Professionals show initiative by seeking new work and responsibilities.

Professionals are accountable for their thoughts, words and actions when they
commit a mistake.

 Self-Regulation:

Professional exhibit a high degree of emotional intelligence by considering the

emotions and needs of others. They behave as a true professional under pressure
situations.

 Image:

Professionals try to build a good image in the organisation. They dress

appropriately for the situation.

TRAIT AND QUALITY OF A GOOD PROFESSIONAL

 Excellence

 Organisational skill

 Time management
  Good communication

 Soft skills

 Positive Attitude

 Focus and hard work

 Ethical behaviour

 Continuous learning

 Seeks advice

 Advancing in profession

 Teaches new generation

 Appearance

 Demeanour

PROFESSIONALISM IN BUSINESS

Professional business is necessary for the long term success of a business

whether it is a big corporation or small business.

Professionalism help companies succeed in the following ways:

1) Establishes proper boundaries:

Work is prioritised in a professional environment over other things. A

professional acts with integrity.

2) Encourage personal improvement:

Discipline and focus aids improvement in a business environment.

3) Promote and maintain accountability

Professionally prepared communication helps businesses to present the

company in the best possible manner.
4) Establishes respect

Professionalism in business gives respect for authority, clients and co-workers.

5) Minimises conflict

Professionals try to understand each others points of view and try to minimise
conflict and resolve them.

6) Increased job satisfaction

It lessens distraction and thus leads to more satisfaction.

The sense of responsibility

A professional is skilled, dedicated and is an asset to the company

8) Personal growth

It helps in the creation of a confident and capable person.

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

 Communication Skills

- The ability to communicate effectively is very important for developing

business relationships

- Five components of successful communications are Verbal

communication, Non verbal communication, Aural communication,
written and visual communication.

o Decision making skills

- Making right decisions in business and work is one of the best qualities of
a real professional

o Problem Solving Skills

- Ability to use knowledge to find answers to problems and formulate

workable solutions
  Leadership Skills

- Effective leadership skills are a combination of many abilities like ability

to lead, to motivate, to inspire and to create.

o Interpersonal skills

- It include the ability to build and maintain relationships, develop rapport

and use diplomacy.

o Time management skill

- This quality can help a person to maintain a balance between work,

personal and family lives.

o Stress Management Skill

- A good professional never allows stress to influence his jobs and tasks.

 Teamwork

- Employees are part of a team or department or division and hence they

need to collaborate with other employees.

o Work Ethic

- Responsible, being punctual, meeting deadline and work is error free

o Flexibility

- Ability to adapt successfully to changing situation.

Important soft skill for business success

 Soft skills are the personal attributes, personality trait, inherent social
cues and communication abilities needed for success on the job.

 Soft skill characterise how a person interacts in his relationship with

others.

 It include

- Communication

- Coping under pressure

 - Empathy and emotional intelligence

- Flexibility, the openness and ability to adapt to change

- A growth mindset

Professionalism in communication

 Professional and business communication involves interaction with those

we work with.

 Any spoken or written interaction that made with co-worker or supervisor

or represents workplace is professional communication.

 There are four types of communication between senders and receivers

- Writing

- Speaking

- Listening

- Conducting meeting

Verbal communication

 Verbal communication is the use of spoken words to share information

with other people.

 Oral communication used within an organisation includes personal

discussions, staff meetings, telephone discourse, formal and informal
conversation and presentation.

 Public Speaking

- It is a formal, face to face speaking of a single person to a group of

persons.

- A professional must be prepared to communicate with a particular group

of persons

- Speech must fit to audience

  Digital Communication

- Digital communications is any exchange of data that transmits the data in

a digital form.

For example, communications done over the Internet is a form of digital

communication

Factors of Effective Verbal Communication

 Wide Reading

 Preparation

 Listen Carefully

 Body Language

 Think in term’s of listener’s perspective

 Speak with confidence

 Develop skills

PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATION

 There are three primary skill in giving presentation:

- Verbal Communication skill

- Content

- Non-verbal Communication

ORGANISATION OF PRESENTATION

 Introduction

- It should provide an ideas regarding the scope and coverage, purpose clearly

 Body
- Emphasise the main points and the material supportive to a presentation

 Summary

- Brief replication of purpose of presentation.

- Include critical points

 Visual Aids

- Relevant to the subject of presentation

- Highlight an idea, simple, easy to read

PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES

 Gather Information

 Write down main ideas

 Develop introduction and conclusion

 Practice the speech

 Delivery style

 Use of podium

 Length of delivery

 Eye Contact

 Voice

 Speak calmly

 Question and answer session

DIFFERENT PRESENTATION POSTURES

 The position in which someone holds their body when standing or sitting.

1) Standing Posture
 2) Hands

3) Holding like a basketball

4) Palms up

5) Palms down

6) Steeple the hands

7) Change the position frequently

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

 Sending of messages, orders or instructions in writing through letters,

circulars, manuals, reports, office memos, bulletin etc.

 Formal method of communication

 Successful written communication requires careful thought and clear

planning

 Written communication used in business

- Email

- Internet websites

- Letters

- Telegrams

- Faxes

- Postcards

Forms of written communication

 Letters

- Most widely used form of written communication

- It is typed/ printed on company’s letterhead

 o Memo

- Short for memorandum

- Informal message between members of an organisation

- It relates to daily work.

o Notice

- Common method of mass communication

o Circular

- It is a detailed document giving information, instruction or orders on a

specific matter

- Issued by Government departments, univeristies

 Report

- A document prepared by an individual or committee entrusted with the

task of collecting information on a specific matter.

o Minutes

- Written record of decisions taken at a meeting

- Legal document

Common Errors to avoid to improve Writing

1. Confusing Language

- Confusing words that can mislead the reader

- Cause a communication breakdown

2. Verbosity

- The use of too many words

- Interrupts the reader’s understanding of message

3. Poor sentence structure

 - It relates to writing fragments instead of complete sentence

- Writing sentence that lack unity

4. Information Overload

- It means giving too much information

Advantages of written communication

 Permanent Record

 Authoritative Document

 Accuracy

 Legal document

 Long distance communication

 Easy understanding

 Delegation of Authority

 Suitable for long messages

 Less possibility of distortions

 Develops confidence

 Goodwill and image building

Disadvantages of written communication

 Time consuming

 Expensive

 No secrecy

 No instant feedback

 Less flexible

 Lacks personal touch

  Unsuitable for illiterate people

E-Mail

 It is sent via the internet to a recipient

Advantages

1. Fast client communication

2. Availability and portability

3. Reduce shipping and mailing costs

Disadvantages

1. Vulnerability to loss

2. Accessible to others

3. Difficult to interpret emotions

Significance of Email in business

 Easy and Fast

 Easy Retrieval

 Economical

 Marketing

 Privacy and confidentiality

 Security

 Internal communication

 Workgroups

 Alternate means of physical document

EMAIL ETIQUETTE

 It refers to the principles of behaviour that one should use when writing
or answering email messages

 Code of conduct for email communication

 Professionals must follow email etiquette in their communication

 Improves public perception and personality

Format, rules, do’s and don'ts

 Before Compose

1. Identify the relevance

- Decide whether email is the right medium for this communication

The first step include the following

- Identify the purpose of the message

- Focus on objective

- Focus on content

2. To line

- Recipient’s email address

- It can be used for many addresses

. Cc line (‘carbon copy’)

- An e-mail that is copied to one or more recipients

- Both the main recipient and Cc recipient can see all the addresses the
message was sent to

4. Bcc line: ‘blind carbon copy’

- Recipient are invisible to other recipients

- Neither the main recipients nor the Bcc recipient can see the address in
the Bcc field
5. Subject line

- Convey the main point of our message

- For clear understanding of the objective of the message

Salutations

- Begin email with formal salutations

- The reader must be comfortable

7. Content

- The message should be clear and brief

- Sentence should be short and to the point

- Use paragraphs

8. Tone

- Be polite, choose the words wisely

- Use proper punctuation

Language

- Language used must be grammatically sound and spelt correctly

- Review the messages

10. Writing a complaint

- State the history of the problem and the attempts made to resolve them

- Offer suggestions

11. Attachments

- Name of the file

- Compress large attachment

. Privacy

- Confidential information can be sent in locked format like PDF, password

protect it and encrypt it
 - Corporate email should be used for work only

13. Check and review

- Editing and proofreading

- Review and spell check the email

14. Response time

- Good email etiquette includes responding to business communication as

soon as possible

- Reply within 24 hours

15. The Closing

- Sign off with the name of the sender at the end of the message

- Include title and organisation

DO’S

1. Be concise and to the point

2. Write in a positive tone

3. Address all the questions or concerns to avoid delays

4. Write about a single subject

5. Use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation

6. Read the email message before send it

7. Provide all supporting information

8. Keep language gender neutral

9. Use active instead of passive

10. Avoid using URGENT and IMPORTANT

11. Use proper structure and layout

12. Keep flaming under control

13. Add disclaimers to in emails

 14. Check your inbox just before you leave office

Don’ts

1. Do not copy a message or attachment without permission

2. Do not use email to discuss confidential information

3. Never respond if you are upset

4. Don’t attach unnecessary files

5. Don’t forget to attach documents

6. Never use sarcasm or rude jokes

7. Don’t sent emotional emails

8. Do not write in CAPITALS

9. Do not overuse Reply to all

10. Do not use abbreviations

Technical documentation

 Technical documents use facts, proof and evidence and are designed for
use by technicians.

 Present specific information and know how needed to develop, produce,

maintain or use a form of technology.

 Types of technical documents in business

- Investment analysis

- Cash flow projections

- Tenders

- Marketing research statistics

- Annual general reports

Types of documents
Technical writers prepare documents for different types of users.

1. Description Document

- It provides information on the system requirements and the services

offered.

- Offer a detailed overview of the software.

2. Installations

- It provides information on how to install the system.

- Description of the system files and the hardware configuration required

- Meant for system administrators

3. Configuration

- For the system administrators or users

- Provides information on how to configure the system or the software for

end use

4. User Manual

- It should introduce the audience to that particular system

- It should provide instructions on how to get started and how to use

various applications.

5. System Reference

- Provide information on system facilities, how to use those facilities, list of

error messages and how to recover from errors.

Standards

- Standards provides guidelines on what content to include, the writing

style and format of the document.

- Documentation standards provide guidelines for producing documents

Industry Standards

 It is adopted by organisations to ensure documentation they produce is of

good quality.
  Such standards become organisational policy.

 Standards relating to design and production of technical documentation

- Australian Standards for Editing Practice

- World Wide Web Consortium

Standards of documentation

1. Clarity

Good Technical documentation conveys subject matter without errors or

ambiguity.

2. Simple language

3. Avoid Jargons

Avoid using overly specialist term

4. Indexing

The information should be well mapped and indexed to allow users to find a
particular fact

ATTRIBUTES OF GOOD DOCUMENTATION

 Content Listing

 Stated Purpose

 Navigation tools

 Accuracy

 Accessibility

 Clarity

 Coherent

 Concise

 Complete and comprehensive

 Consistent