Portfolio Questions

1. How do we recognize and differentiate business messages from other types of communication?
Create a table comparing a business message found in an email and in an advertisement, with
informal writing found in Facebook.

 The importance of the audience is acknowledged by all first-class communicators. Effective

business communications, on the other hand, bond to specified rules of media, format, style,
and tone norms in order to satisfy audience demands as effectively as feasible. (Braun et al,
2016, p.4). Communication refers to the exchange of information, ideas, news, and points of
view among individuals who are linked. In business communication, it is still the same exchange
but between persons participating in a business transaction. That is the main difference
between general communication and business communication. However, business
communication is more complicated. It is more formal and straightforward while general
communication is less formal and can be complicated and difficult to understand at times.
Business commutes frequently feature charts, graphs, pictures, and so on, but the others do not.

 Messages in business communication must follow the five Cs rule (Clear, Concise,
Comprehensive, Complete, and Correct). Firstly, the message must be clear. The writer selects
the information, as well as the structure and language used to express it, to guarantee that the
readers understand the writer's purpose. Secondly, the message must be concise. The fewest
words are used but the writer can give the readers the most information. Thirdly, the message
must be comprehensive. The writer can help the readers to read, grasp, and act better using the
message’s style, organization, medium, and visual impact. Fourthly, the message must be
complete. The reader has to be knowledgeable enough to analyze the message and take action.
Finally, the message must be correct. The message's information must be accurate and have no
punctuation, spelling, grammar, word order, and sentence structure error. (Braun et al, 2016,
p.10-11).

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 Table comparing a business message found in an email and in an advertisement, with informal
writing found in Facebook.

Comparison of a In an email In an advertisement In Facebook

business message
 Introduction/  Introduction/  Introduction/
Purpose Information offering Information offering Information offering
for sale of products for sale of products or for sale of products
or services. services. or services.
 Internal or external  A diversified range of  Facebook users.
people of a viewers and readers.
Audience company.
 Addressing specific
readers.
 Subject line  Headline  Headline
 A greeting  Sub-headline  Description
 Content about
 Slogan  Images with key
business
 Body copy messages
Components  A closing (thank you)
 Visualization  Usually has a link to
the shop’s website
 Layout
 Trademark

 Applying 5 Cs rule  Short and simple  Short and simple

 Using bullets or sentences sentences
Format numbers and lists  Illustrative images and  Illustrative images
 Short sentences and videos and videos
paragraphs
 Formal style starting  Concrete language  Informal and
with “Mr” or “Ms”  Accurate and errors diversified styles.
Writing style  Concrete language free.
 Accurate and errors
free.
 Polite  Polite  Friendly and
Tone  Fair-minded  Fair-minded colloquial language
 Formal  Formal
 Email  Television  Facebook
Medium  Flyers
 Social media
 Advertisement boards

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2. Describe a time when you experienced a breakdown in communication due to lack of clarity or
purposefulness of your, or someone else’s, verbal or nonverbal symbols. What did you learn
from this experience?

 A few years earlier, during a visit to my grandparents in Hue, I had a chance to make friends
with a lot of foreigner students who lived in the neighborhood. One of them was Jerry who was
from the US. We got on well with each other. One day, I came to his house and I met a friend of
him. I told him I was Jerry’s friend and he asked me “What do you go by?”. I thought he was
asking me how I got there so I said “By car”. He replied “Karl?” and I said “No, by car.” and this
went on for a while until Jerry called my name. A few moments later, I asked Jerry what the
meaning of his friend’s question was and he said it meant “What would you like to be called?”. I
felt then embarrassed because I misunderstood from the beginning but I didn’t try asking his
friend to clarify it. Later that day, I told Jerry to give his friend my apology for the breakdown in
our communication.

 After that incident, I learn that I should apply the five Cs rule (the Concise rule in that situation)
in my messages so that I won’t cause any misunderstanding and I should learn more about
foreign cultures so as to not misunderstand anything anymore.


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Self-Reflection

 Before receiving these lessons, I sometimes failed to communicate effectively and did not know
how to use suitable language and structure whether in writing a text or in conversing with other
people. The first two sessions made me aware of how to use communication skills and
appropriate language and understand how crucial they are in various situations. Thanks to the
information from the study material and the help of the two lecturers, I think I will be able to
communicate with others more easily and use the right language and tone in the right
circumstances in the future. Furthermore, I find the 5Cs rule is very important and useful in
written and non-verbal communication. After all, to have an effective business communication, I
need to practice apply the learned knowledge as well as try to control the emotions when
speaking.

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Reference List

Braun, K., Locker, K. O., & Kaczmarek, S. K. (2016). Business communication: Building critical

skills (6th ed.).
Cardenas, H. (2017, September 26). Ways that business communication is different from social
communication. Bizfluent. https://bizfluent.com/info-8263453-ways-communication-different-
social-communication.html
Watanabe, A. (2015, April 20). 10 tips on how to write a business email in English.
ILAC. https://www.ilac.com/10-tips-on-how-to-write-a-business-email-in-english/
Wiebe, J. (2020, August 14). A beginner's guide to writing Facebook ads. Copywriting for startups and
marketers. https://copyhackers.com/2016/06/writing-facebook-ads/