BUAD 817 MBA Language

Module 1
Study Session 1 Overview of Business Language and Communication
✓ ITQ: With the aid of examples, what is the meaning of language?
✓ ITA: Language refers to words, written or spoken, in a specific sequence that someone uses to explain his thoughts,
desires, feelings or emotions. Examples are Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo, Nupe, Igala, Idoma etc.
✓ Communication is the process by which we converse meanings, facts, ideas, opinions or emotions with other people. It
is an essential condition of our existence and the most important activity of ours.
✓ ITQ: Define communication.
✓ ITA: Communication can be defined as the transmission of information or the conveyance of message from one person
to another or from one person to a group of people.
✓ Types of Communication:
✓ Verbal Communication (This is encoding of messages into words either written or spoken)
o Oral Communication: exchange of messages or information using spoken words and its commonly referred to
as communication by words.
o Written Communication: message or simply written messages or words in the form of business letters, reports,
research papers, articles, note taking etc.
✓ Non-Verbal Communication – This shares information by means of facial expressions, body language (postures,
gestures, nodes and shrugs) and even style of dress (casual, formal, conservative, trendy). It is the wordless form of
communication which takes the form of postures, body language, facial expressions, eye contacts, tension, breathing
and tones etc.
✓ Interpersonal Communication: This is a type of communication that occurs between individuals, mainly involves a few
number of persons. The messages exchanged are often a mix of feelings and ideas, a number of sensory channels are
involved and feedback is immediate because the physical distance between the individuals is often short.
✓ ITQ: What are the types of communication?
✓ ITA: The types of communication are verbal, non-verbal and interpersonal.
✓ Basic Elements of Communication
o Message
o Understanding
o Feedback
✓ The Seven C’s of Communication
o 1. Clear: In simple words.
o 2. Concise: Expressing much in few words; "a concise explanation".
o 3. Correct: Using proper sense in sentences.
o 4. Courteous: Characterised by politeness and gracious good manners.
o 5. Complete: Give a finishing touch for fullness.
o 6. Consistent: Keep data and source reliable.
o 7. Convincing: Causing one to believe the truth of something.
✓ Objectives of Communication
o 1. Stronger decision making Need help getting your
o 2. Increased productivity
o 3. Steadier work flow assignments done?
o 4. Strong business relationships & enhanced professional image
o 5. Clearer promotional materials
o 6. Provide advice
o 7. Provide order Call/WhatsApp Christian
o 8. Suggestion
o 9. Persuasion @08108772172
o 10. Education
o 12. Warning
o 13. Raising morale and motivation
o 14. To give and receive information
o 15. To provide counselling 16. To improve discipline
✓ ITQ: What is the principle of communication?
✓ ITA: The main principle of communication is to make the message(s) simple, short, understandable and straight to the
point.
✓ ITQ: What are some of the objectives of communication?
 ✓ ITA: Stronger decision making, increased productivity, steadier workflow, provide advice, provide order, suggestions,
persuasion etc.
✓ Six Rules of Effective Communication:
o 1) Organize your thoughts
o 2) Don’t think about it, think through it
o 3) Recognize that actions speak louder than words
o 4) Be concise
o 5) Always translate your message in to benefits for the other party
o 6) Listen carefully to the other party.
✓ The Importance of Good Communication
✓ 1. Effective communication enables managers and all members of an organization to gain competitive advantage.
✓ 2. Good communication facilitates managers increase efficiency by updating the production process to take advantage
of new and more efficient technologies and training workers to operate the new technologies and to expand their skills
✓ 3. Good communication can also help increase responsiveness to customers. When the organizational members who
are closer to the customers, are empowered to communicate customers’ needs and desires to managers, managers can
better respond to those needs.
✓ 4. Innovation in organization is increasingly taking place on a global level. Making effective communication at the cross-
functional teams will enable the organization perform effectively?
✓ 5. Effective communication allows better understanding of situations or people which goes a long way in resolving
differences or conflicts and problem solving.
✓ 6. Effective communication skills form the thin line between being hired and being rejected. This is because, most
successful graduates in terms of career progression and salary, exhibit interest in talking, working with others and desire
to persuade which form essential elements of good communication skills.

Study Session 2 Overview of Some Grammatical Concepts.

✓ ITQ: What are parts of speech?
✓ ITA: They are categories in which words are classified. They includes: Nouns, Pronouns, Verbs, Adverbs, Adjectives,
Prepositions, Conjunctions and Interjections.
✓ A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought.
✓ You should know that complete sentences are usually divided into two parts – the subject and the predicate.
✓ You need to know that, the complete subject of a sentence may be simple or compound.
✓ Simple subject: This is the single most important noun or pronoun in the complete subject
✓ The compound subject consists of two or more words that are equally important.
✓ ITQ: Define a sentence.
✓ ITA: A sentence is a group of words that express a complete thought or idea. A sentence is usually divided into two parts
which are subject and predicate.
✓ Punctuation marks:
✓ The full stop or period ( . ) shows the end of a declarative sentence;
✓ the comma ( , ) separates items in a sentence;
✓ the colon ( : ) indicates that a list, an explanation or example(s) will follow;
✓ the semicolon ( ; ) is used to separate or join some elements in a sentence, or for itemising;
✓ the apostrophe ( ' ) is used to form possessives and contractions;
✓ the dash ( – ) is used to separate and show sudden change in thought or for listing;
✓ the diagonal (slant or slash) ( / ) shows a choice or an alternative;
✓ the hyphen ( - ) indicates that two elements are related;
✓ the parentheses [ ( ) ] are used to separate less important or additional information from the rest in a sentence;
✓ the quotation marks ( “ ” or ‘ ’ ) are used to show extract words or present special emphasis;
✓ the question mark ( ? ) is used to indicate direct interrogatory sentence;
✓ the exclamation mark ( ! ) is used after exclamatory sentence;
✓ the underscore, ( _ ) is used to provide special emphasis;
✓ and ellipsis ( … ) is used to indicate deliberate omission of element from a direct quotation.
✓ Please you should note that, if the omission is at the beginning or at the middle of a sentence/paragraph quoted from,
three dots is all that is required. But four dots is applied if the omission occurs at the end; the fourth indicates a full stop.
✓
Study Session 3: The Communication Process
 ✓ The process of communication varies and is exclusive to different writers. However, conventionally, the process should
include:
o The sender: has an idea; encodes the idea; turns the idea into a message; and then sends the message through a
medium.
o The receiver: accepts the message; decodes the message; responds to the message; and supplies a feedback to the
message.
✓ Three events have to occur for your receivers to favourably, respond to your message:
✓ the recipients of the message have to effectively remember the received message;
✓ the recipients must be able to respond to the message as you desire and;
✓ appropriate motivation mechanisms must be present that will make the recipients to respond.
✓ Key Components of Communication Process
o Sender
o Need for communication
o
o
Idea/information/opinion
Encode
Need help getting your
o Message assignments done?
o Medium
o Channel Call/WhatsApp Christian
o Receiver
o Decoding @08108772172
o Understanding
o Feedback
o Motivation
✓ Communication Process Model
✓ Phase 1
Sender has an idea, encode it (written, spoken, expression) and send it to the receiver through a channel such as phone
e.t.c
✓ Phase 2
The message will now enter in to the sensory world of the receiver. Sensory world means all the noise that surrounds a
person that the senses – sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch – can detect.
✓ Phase 3
From this sensory world, the receiver picks up the messages through his senses. But receiver senses cannot detect all that
exists in the world around him. Just how much they can detect depends on a number of factors. One is the ability of his
senses. Furthermore, receiver cultural background has sensitised him more to some stimuli than to others. Yet another
limiting factor is the receiver will. In varying degrees, the mind is able to tune in or tune out events in the sensory world.
✓ Phase 4
When receiver senses pick up sender message, they relay it to his brain, that is, as much or as little of the message as they
detect. But the sender message may not be all that receiver senses pick up. In addition to sender message, his sensory
world may contain outside sounds, movements of objects, facial expression, and the like. In fact, these senses are
continually picking up messages from the world around him. Sender message is just the primary one at the moment. The
others are there, and they might interfere with sender’s message.
✓ Phase 5
When sender’s message gets to receiver brain, it goes through a sort of filtering or decoding process. Through that process,
the receiver brain gives meaning to sender’s message. Because people’s filters differ, the meanings they give to comparable
message may differ.
✓ Phase 6
After his mind has received meaning from sender’s message, receiver may react to the message. If the meaning he received
is sufficiently strong, he may react by communicating some form of response called feedback. This response may be
through words, gestures, physical actions or some other means.
✓ Phase 7
When receiver accepts to communicate a response, through his mind, he determines the general meaning encoding that
the response will take. This process involves the most complex workings of the mind, and we know little about it. There is
evidence, however, that ability, here and throughout this stage, is related to one’s intelligence and the extent that one
permits the mind to react.
✓ Phase 8
When receiver sends his message to sender, one cycle of the communication process ends. Now a second cycle begins. Now
the sender becomes the receiver and receiver becomes the sender.
Study Session 4 Barriers to Effective Communication
 ✓ Barriers resulting from individual’s frame of reference: These are normally problems that inhibit effective communication
between the sender and the receiver. The communicators’ frame of reference deters understanding of the message being
sent. Individual’s frame of reference include: personality, education, experience, culture, family background and upbringing,
gender, age, and expectations. When two or more people communicate, it is expected that their frame of reference comes
in between their perception of the message.
✓ ITQ: What are the components of individual frame of reference that deter the understanding of the message being sent?
✓ ITA: They are: personality, education, culture, experience, family background, gender, age and expectations.
✓ Barriers resulting from psychological/emotional problems of the communicators: in a situation where a person’s feeling is
of joy, anxiety, frustration, anger or such other distractions as lack of interest in what is to be communicated, it will be very
difficult for him to decipher meaning of any message. Similarly, sensory impairments such as difficulty in hearing, poor
vision etc.
✓ ITQ: What are situations that can make it difficult for someone to decipher meaning of any message?
✓ ITA: Joy, anxiety, frustration, anger, etc.
✓ Environmental barriers: the main factor that is easily associated with barrier to effective communication under
environment is noise. Noise of any form, not linked to the message, could be a barrier to communication. Other things that
distract good communication include: the weather, especially when it is too hot or too cold, lightening (excessive or low) of
the place where communication takes place, seating arrangements, general improper ventilation, and poor telephone
connectivity etc.
✓ ITQ: What are some of the barriers in communication?
✓ ITA: Barriers resulting from individual’s frame of reference, psychological or emotional problems of the communicators,
religious, language, gender differences, etc.
✓ Use of jargon: this happens when words or phrases that are not understood by an average person are used.
✓ Emotional or psychological barriers: this happens when emotions or mind sets influence communication.
✓ Religion, culture and taboo: often times, this results in communication breakdown because, some ideas and information
shared may be acceptable in one religion or culture but not in another.
✓ Language: this is one of the most common causes of communication breakdown. Messages or information in one language
may have completely different meanings in another and may be offensive.
✓ Gender differences: this refers to the difference in sex (male and female).
✓ Information overload: when too much information is communicated at the same time, there are chances that the recipient
may not understand this information.
✓ Inadequate information: this occurs when little information is given.
✓ Information distortion: this occurs when the original information or message is altered along the communication process.
✓ ITQ: Mention the barriers to effective communication.
✓ ITA: (A) Barriers resulting from individual’s frame of reference (B) barriers resulting from psychological/emotional problems
of the communication (C) environmental barriers.
✓ Rules for Good Communication:
o Be clear and transparent
o Use simple English
o Be well prepared
o Be generic
o Be assertive
o Do not assume things
o Pick a good time to talk
o Use good body language
o Listen and be attentive
o Be consistent, firm and fair.

Module 2
Study Session 5: Listening
✓ Listening
✓ ITQ: What is an important communication skill to managers?
✓ ITA: Types of Listening
o 1 Content listening: just focus on the information, the goal is to understand and retain the speaker’s message. At
this point, you are not evaluating the information, agree or disagree, approve or disapprove, the basic issue is that
you understand.
o 2 Critical listening: Critical listeners understand and evaluate the speaker’s message on several levels. If you are
skeptical, ask question to explore the speaker’s point of view and credibility
 o 3 Emphatic listening: This category of listeners understand the speakers feelings, needs and wants so that you will
appreciate his or her point of view, regardless of whether you share that perspective, don’t judge the speaker
feelings, and don’t try to tell people they should not feel that emotional, instead let the speaker know that you
appreciate his or her feelings and understand the situation.
✓ Listening Process
o Receiving: You start by physically hearing the message and acknowledging it. Physical reception can be blocked by
noise, impaired hearing or inattention
o Decoding: Your next step is to assign meaning to sounds, which you do according to your own values, beliefs,
ideas, expectations, roles, needs and personal history.
o Remembering: Before you can act on the information, you need to store it for future processing.
o Evaluating: Your next step is to appraise the message by applying critical thinking skills to separate facts from
opinion and assess the quality of the evidence.
o Responding: After you’ve evaluated the speaker’s message, you react. If you are communicating one-on-one or in a
small group, the initial response generally takes the form of verbal feedback. If you are one of many in an
audience, your initial response may take the form of applause, laughter, or silence. You may then react on what
you have heard later.
✓ Importance of Effective Listening
o 1 Listening to Customers: listening to customers is very crucial. Customers are the live wire of organization’s
survival
o 2 Listening to Employees: listening to employers implies that the manager wants to work with them, help in their
development and improvement of their work
o 3 Listening to Supervisors: the subordinate is always a subject of obedience. Listening to supervisor is an indication
of commitment to the job.
✓ ITQ: What categories of people do managers listen to?
✓ ITA: Managers listen to their customers, employees and their supervisors.
✓ Signs of Poor Listening:
o If the manager gets to know that the employer go behind him to talk to other employees about issues or problems
regarding the organization.
o If the manager learns about fundamental events long after he was supposed to take action
o 3.If the manager discovered that often, problems degenerate to crisis situations
o 4.If an employee realizes that his manager or colleague has to repeat information for him,
o 5.If an employee discovers that assignments once entrusted to him are now given to some other person
o 6.If an employee receives communication unnecessarily in written form such as letters or memos when oral
communication is more appropriate
✓ Causes of Poor Listening:
o Physical barriers such as noise, interference, visual distraction/impairment etc.
o Personal barriers such as deformity, illness, fatigue, psychological disorders, etc.
o Semantic barriers, largely because of different frames of references, we may give different meanings to different
statements.
o Bad listening habits such as, criticisms of speaker’s topic, interruption to challenge, trying to discover facts only,
pretense, creating distraction while the speaker is talking etc.
✓ How to Improve Listening Skills:
o Sensing stage: is the way you hear what is said to you, affected by gender, age etc.
o Interpreting stage: the stage of assigning meaning to what is heard,
o Evaluating stage: is when the listeners think about the message,
o Responding stage: is the stage whereby feedback is required
o Memory stage: is the stage where the listener decides what to retain and store in memory.
✓ Difference between Effective and Ineffective Listeners
 ✓ Overcoming Barriers to Effective Listening
o 1.Control whatever barriers to physical reception you can such as avoiding interrupting speakers by asking
questions
o 2. Avoid selecting listening by focusing in the speaker and carefully analysing what you hear.
o Keep an open mind by avoiding any prejudgment and not by listening defensively.
o Try to paraphrase the speaker’s ideas, giving that person a chance to confirm or correct your interpretation.
o Don’t count on your memory, write down or record important information.
o Improve your short term memory by repeating information or breaking it into shorter lists.
o Improve your long-term memory by using association, categorisation, visualisation and mnemonics.

Study Session 6: Non-verbal Communication

✓ ITQ: Define non-verbal communication.
✓ ITA: It is a way of presenting information whether intentionally or unintentionally without the use of spoken and written
means.
✓ Classification of Non-Verbal Communication
✓ KINESICS: Kinesics is the study of body physical movements. It is the way our body communicates without words and it
occupies a major aspect of non-verbal communication process. You can realise these expressions by face and eyes,
gestures, posture and physical appearance.
o Facial expression is the first way to communicate, particularly eyes and eye movement. We can express happiness,
surprise, fear, anger and sadness, everything through our eyes.
o The gesture is our body parts especially arms, legs, hands and head convey meaning.
o Body shape
 o Appearance includes clothes, hair style, jewelry, cosmetics.
✓ PROXEMICS: It involves how we arrange personal space and what we arrange in it. They create meaning in your mind and
others’ minds as well.
o TIME LANGUAGE: Time language is about the meaning we convey through time. In western countries, time
equates money because their business culture is like that. This may differ in other cultures. Therefore, time
language is associated with culture as well.
o PARALANGUAGE: It involves how we say something in different pitch, tone and voice modulation such as slow or
fast. Based on voice language, we infer people background and personality.
✓ PHYSICAL CONTEXT: It refers to our surroundings, colour, layout and design of our physical environment.
✓ Forms of Non-Verbal Communication
✓ Facial Expression, Gesture and posture, Vocal images ,Appearance, Touch, Time, Space
Study Session 7: Making Presentations
✓ ITQ: What are the important issues to address when preparing an effective oral presentation?
✓ ITA: The issues to be addressed include: deciding the topic to present, preparing for the event, introduction, body and,
conclusion.
✓ How to Prepare Effective Oral Presentation
o Deciding on the Topic to Present
o Preparing for the Event
o Introduction:
o Body
o Conclusion
✓ Methods of Oral Presentation
o Extemporaneous: this is a method whereby you prepare the speech in outline form, then subsequently prepare
notes that guide you to present the speech.
o Memorising: in this, the presenter remembers all the wordings of the speech to be delivered offhand, no matter
the length.
o Reading: this is the type that the presenter reads manuscript of the speech aloud to the audience.
o Instantaneous: this is where the presenter is asked to deliver his speech impromptu. He may not necessarily be
given time to prepare for it.
✓ Ways of Enhancing Successful Oral Presentation
o Have a positive attitude from the beginning
o Do not be nervous
o Choose appropriate aids
o Assess your progress from audience’ response
o Maintain positive attitude at the end
o Remain positive at question and answer session

Study Session 8 : Conducting Meetings

✓ Preparing for Meetings Need help getting your assignments
o 1 Identify your purpose:
o 2 Make consultation done?
o 3 Select participants for the meeting
o 4 Choose the time and prepare the facility
Call/WhatsApp Christian
o 5 Set the agenda
✓ Conducting and contributing to efficient meetings
@08108772172
o Encourage participation
o Follow agree-upon rules
o Keep discussion on track
o Participate actively
o Ensure that the meeting is on the right path
o Adhere to rules and regulations
o Close effectively
✓ Meeting-Enhanced Technologies
✓ Forms of virtual meetings
o Teleconferencing
o Instant messaging
o Video conferencing
o Online brainstorming
Study Session 9: Developing good reading skills
✓ Developing Good Reading Skills
✓ ITQ: List some of the materials that a manager encounters in his day-to-day activities for reading.
✓ ITA: Some of the materials include memos, manuals, reports, minutes of meetings, etc.
✓ Reasons for Reading
- Reading for assimilation
- Reading in search of a particular message:
- Reading for recreation
- Reading to be exact
- Reading for pleasure
- Reading to absorb information
- Reading for accuracy
✓ Improving your Reading Speed
- Limiting your eye movement.
- Avoiding reading words in isolation i.e. word by word reading.
- Trying to infer unit of thought (meaning) other than single word meaning.
- Reading regression i.e. going over words or units of thought repetitively.
- Do not attempt to move your speech organs i.e. do not try to pronounce the words being read – lip shaking,
gesture etc.
- Keep developing ones vocabulary.
- Practicing several times.
- Constantly practice.
Module 3
Study Session 10: The writing process
✓ ITQ: What is written communication?
✓ ITA: Written communication is the most common form of business communication. It is essential for business owners and
managers to develop effective written communication skills and to encourage same in all employees.
✓ The Writing Process
✓ In business, you do not write to impress your readers with your beautiful style and elegant vocabulary but you write to
bring out the concise meaning of the message you want to pass across to your audience
✓ Prewriting Stage: Prewriting is the first stage of the writing process, and includes all the things you do before you are ready
to write out the first version of your text
✓ Important Questions in prewriting stage:
o What shall I write about? (Topic or theme)
o Why do I want to write about it? (Purpose e.g. to explain, to inform/instruct, to describe, to narrate, to persuade,
to move,to amuse/entertain.)
o What kind of writing shall I do? (Genre such as poen, short story, letter)
o Who am I writing it for? (Audience)
✓ Prewriting process involves:
o Planning to write:
o Collection of facts:
o Analysis of the facts gathered
✓ Writing Stage:
✓ This is the stage when the intended message is drafted. At this point, the writer puts his pen on paper. The drafting phase
of the writing process entails the actual composing of the text. During this phase, writers use prewriting activities to
generate a piece of writing in rough form.
✓ Rewriting Stage:
✓ At this stage, the writer critically and thoroughly looks for where points have been omitted or where points raised are
incomprehensive
✓ Editing Stage:
✓ At this stage you are to proofread your message after being satisfied with all the necessary changes you might have made
at the rewriting stage
Study Session 11: Writing business letters, memos and routine messages
✓ Writing Business Letters
✓ ITQ: Why do people write business letters?
✓ ITA: They write them to complain, compliment or give suggestions.
 ✓ Business letters are still fundamental in carrying out business. They are particularly important in that, they:
help to establish permanent record in their physical nature.
provide formality against other forms of electronic media.
are more secure to carry out sensitive messages.
are more structured and mostly, more explicit.
✓ How to Present Good Letters
✓ Good quality of content, appealing tone and appropriate format
✓ Features of Business Letters
✓ ITQ: What are the features of business letters?
✓ ITA: They are: the date, reference number, address of the receiver, salutation, title, body, complimentary close and
signature
✓ Characteristics of Effective Business Messages
Provide practical information
Give facts rather than impression
Clarify and condense information: Business messages frequently use tables, charts, photos, or diagrams to clarify
or condense information.
State precise responsibilities: Business messages are directed to a specific audience.
Persuade others and offer recommendations: Business messages frequently motivate employees/employers,
customers, or clients to purchase a product or service or adopt a plan of action.
✓ Memorandums/Memoranda
✓ ITQ: Define memorandums.
✓ ITA: Memorandums are informal messages, especially one sent between two or more employees of the same company
concerning company’s business.
✓ Memorandums usually have the following features:
Mostly organisations have specially printed papers for memorandums. These papers are letter headed. At the top,
the word memorandum is boldly printed, then followed by Date, To, From, Subject, then the content/purpose.
Objective of the message is normally presented at the beginning.
The intended message to be conveyed is presented in sequential order.
It usually ends by applying courteous language.
It is normally straight forward with less concern about word effect since senders and receivers know each other
well.
✓ Memorandums are needed for the following reasons:
Request information
Request and confirm appointments
Reply to someone else request
Transmit materials
Acknowledge receipts for materials
Report information on sales, progress schedules, assignments etc.
Clarify a procedure, solve a problem, make a suggestion etc.
✓ Writing Routine Messages:
✓ ITQ: What are the steps to be adopted when writing a message?
✓ ITA: Consider the reason for the message, evaluate the receiver(s) of the message and draft the message.
Study Session 12: Employment communication: writing resume; writing application letters.
✓ ITQ: What is a resume and why do you prepare a conventional resume to an employer?
✓ ITA: A resume is a brief summary of your skills, accomplishments, and history as it relates to a particular job. You prepare a
conventional resume to an employer because s/he will see what you have to offer and this can put you above your
competitors.
✓ What to Do as a Prospective Job Searcher
✓ Obtain Information about Employment Sources
✓ Applicant should search the following means for information on his job search:
o Print and electronic advertisements
o State and private employment agencies
o Individual companies
o The internet
o Asking relatives and friends for jobs hints
o Direct approach (i.e. calling on the employer)
o Universities, polytechnics and colleges placement office (Clarke, 1999).
✓ Prepare a Conventional Resume
 o The Chronological Resume: this is the one which applicants mostly use, and is organised by dates in a chronological
order
o Functional Resume: for those applicants who wish to show their qualifications and impress on areas of
achievement by functions such as skills, knowledge and other remarkable achievements that make the applicant to
stand out.
o Combined Resume: This type emphasises on combining the strong features of the chronological resume and the
functional resume.
✓ Prepare a Letter of Application
✓ The followings are advised when writing effective resume:
o The most important information should be presented.
o It should be neatly prepared.
o It should be made easy to read.
o It should be very brief.
o Only the most basic information should be included.
o Only include the most related job information.
✓ ITQ: What is an application letter?
✓ ITA: An application letter, otherwise called a cover letter is a letter written to an employer when seeking for an
employment.
✓ Preparation for Employment Interview
o Preparatory things to do include the following:
o Have advance information about your prospective employer.
o Know your qualification off hand.
o Investigate almost everything about the job.
o Ensure that your qualifications and experience are suitable for the job.
o Have confidence and be positive
o Present good impression
o Prepare for any type of panel
o Prepare for any type of interviewer e.g. The non-structural interviewer, Structural interviewer and The hostile
interviewer
✓ ITQ: What is an interview?
✓ ITA: An interview is a two way exchange, a conversation, in which both participants have same goals.
✓ Writing Business Reports
✓ ITQ: Why do we write business reports?
✓ ITA: Report writing is an essential skill for professionals in many fields.
✓ Types of Business Report:
✓ Informative: facts and statistics such as naira volume, average, cost, estimate, percent increase and decrease
✓ Analytical: using the information gathered to determine potential trends, and project forecasts which are based on those
hard facts.
✓ Parts of Analytical Reports
✓ Most analytical reports contain the following sections:
o Letter of transmittal which:
o specifies the main reason for writing the report
o identifies the report
o Acknowledges sources of information and help.
o Summary: This includes:
o the purpose of writing the report
o the methods used in collecting data for writing the report
o conclusions based on the data collected
o Recommendations based on the conclusions.
o Body normally include the following:
o Purpose – explain what the report findings hope to achieve.
o Scope – tells the (areas) of coverage of the report.
o Limitations – tell geographic location, dates, general information the report could not include.
o Justification – list of the beneficiaries of the report and reasons on how they could benefit.
o Related publications: the list of materials the writer consulted for the report.
o The present study: this represents the important and relevant information that have been gathered for the report.
o Conclusion and Recommendations:
o Appendix:
 ✓ Format for Analytical Report
o Cover
o Title Page
o Letter of Transmittal
o Table of Contents
o Summary
o Body
o Conclusions and Recommendations
o Bibliography
o Supplementary Material or Appendix

Study Session 13: Creating messages through electronic media: email; instant messaging; text messaging; business blogs;
✓ Email
✓ ITQ: What is an email?
✓ ITA: email is an electronic media which is used to communicate.
✓ Email features: TO, CC, BCC, Subject, Attachment and Body
✓ ITQ: Why is email widely used than letters?
✓ ITA: It is widely used because it has numerous advantages than letters.
✓ Instant Messaging (IM)
✓ ITQ: What is instant messaging?
✓ ITA: Instant messaging is a computer-based technology that allows routine exchange and communication of views and ideas
when online meeting are taking place.
✓ Advantages:
o There is immediate and rapid response to messages that need instance response.
o It has minimal costs than emails and calls on phones.
o IM is present on several devices including PCs, mobile phones and PDAs.
o It is difficult for IM to get misused in that, in close reality, it functions like actual conversation.
✓ Disadvantages:
o Computer viruses may pose as a security problem to the PCs.
o Outsiders may block and lay their hands on important messages, etc.
o Others could hack into your account and use it to defraud people.
✓ Text Messaging
✓ Advantages:
o The sender may feel a call could interfere or disrupt the receiver’s attention in what he is doing.
o There may be an urgent message that needs to be received immediately.
o When actual figures, names and facts are needed.
✓ Business Blogs
✓ This is a webpage that consists of short, frequently updated posts which are placed one after the other.
✓ Blogs are classified into two types:
o Personal Blogs: this type combines research connections, customers and other stakeholders’ opinions and personal
diary.
o Business Blogs: this is an organisation’s superb way of having contacts with customers or employees with a view to
brainstorm and eventually share skills and expertise.
✓ Podcasts
✓ This is an electronic means of communication that replaces current audio and video messages use in business
communication

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