Professional Competencies for

Business Success

Diana Kawarsky
Class 2
Introductions

Self-Assessment:

Thomas Kilmann Inventory

Chapter 3
Intercultural Communication
 Intercultural Communication
the  idea  that  we  live  in  a  global  village

Characteristics and 
Definition of culture dimensions of culture
Cultures  are  learned,  are  inherently  logical,  the  basis  of  iden(ty  and  community,  combines  the  invisible  and  visible,
is  dynamic  

Enhancing intercultural Advantages and 
communication challenges of 
workforce diversity

both  mul(na(onal  companies  and  unina(onal  companies  are  looking  to  adapt  and  adopt  to  cultures
Robust Middle Classes in
Emerging Economies
• 70 percent of world growth will come from emerging
markets (e.g., Brazil, Russia, India, China).
• Less suspicion of foreign investment and free trade
• Growth due to advancements in transportation and
logistics technology
• Reach of information and communication technologies
Domestic Workforce Is Becoming
Increasingly Diverse
• Immigration makes intercultural communication increasingly 
necessary.
• Business communicators must learn to adapt to an 
intercultural workforce.
• Multinational companies and diversity at home require 
culturally competent workers.
Culture and Communication

• Culture is the complex system of values, traits,

morals, and customs shared by a society.
• Culture moulds the way we think, behave, and
communicate.
Characteristics of Culture

• Learned behaviour communica(on  made  up  of  choices  that  influence  our  behaviour  over  (me
• Dynamic and evolving
• Visible and invisible
• Shapes us and our community
• Inherently logical
Dimensions of Culture

Context

Communication 
style Individualism 
and 
collectivism
Culture
Power  Time 
distance orientation
Context

• Low‐context cultures tend  • High‐context cultures tend 

to be logical, linear, and  to be relational, collectivist, 
action‐oriented (e.g., North  intuitive, and contemplative
America, Germany,  (e.g., Japan, China, Arab
Scandinavia). countries).
sequence  of  predictability   communica(on,  though>ullness  
 High‐Context and
Low‐Context Cultures
High Context
Japanese HIGH‐CONTEXT CULTURES
Arabian • Relational
• Collectivist
Latin American
• Intuitive
Spanish • Contemplative
English
Italian
French
North American
LOW‐CONTEXT CULTURES
Scandinavian • Logical
German • Linear
Swiss
Low Context • Individualistic
• Action‐oriented
Workforce Diversity:
Benefits and Challenges
Advantages Challenges
Consumers Divisiveness
• Want staff to read trends better • Feeling of being
• Want to deal with organizations that disenfranchised
reflect their values and themselves Discontent
Work teams • Feelings of prejudice, sexism
• Are more creative and effective at Clashes
problem solving
• Feelings of discrimination in
Business organizations hiring, retention, wages, and
• Suffer fewer discrimination lawsuits, promotion
fewer union clashes, less
government regulatory action
 Business Communication
&
Professional Competencies

• Questions???
Chapter 10
Persuasive and Sales 
Messages
how  can  we  effec(vely  market  our  ideas?
 Persuasive and Sales Messages

Persuasion in  Persuasive
the digital age strategies

The 3‐x‐3 writing  Typical persuasive
process documents

Persuasive media
releases
Persuasion in the Digital Age

How persuasion has changed

• Volume and reach of persuasive messages have
exploded.
• Persuasive messages spread at warp speed.
• Many organizations are in the persuasive business.
• Persuasive techniques are more subtle and
misleading.
• Persuasion is more complex and impersonal.
Which Persuasive Techniques
Are Effective?
• Establish credibility.
• Make a reasonable, specific request.
• Tie facts to benefits.
• Recognize the power of loss.
• Expect and overcome resistance.
• Share solutions and compromise.
The Importance of Tone

• Avoid sounding preachy or parental.

• Soften your words when persuading upward.
• Don’t pull rank.
• Avoid making threats.
• Be enthusiastic.
• Be positive and likeable.
• Maintain credibility and respect by being honest, fair, and
objective.
Applying the 3-x-3 Writing Process

• Analyze the purpose; know what you want to

achieve.
• Adapt the message to the audience to make your
message heard.
• Research and organize persuasive data.
• Use the AIDA strategy to persuade readers.
Blending Four Major Elements in Successful
Persuasive Messages
Four-Part AIDA Strategy

Gain the audience’s attention by opening with one of the

following:
• Problem
• Unexpected statement
• Reader benefit
• Compliment
• Related facts
• Stimulating question
Attention

• Use the indirect strategy rather than blurting out the

request immediately.
• The indirect strategy is appropriate for business
messages that request favours and actions.
Four-Part AIDA Strategy

Build audience interest by using the following:

• Facts, figures
• Expert opinions
• Examples
• Specific details
• Direct benefits
• Indirect benefits
Direct and Indirect Benefits

Direct benefit
If you accept our invitation to speak, you will have an 
audience of 50 potential customers for your products.
Indirect benefit
Your appearance would prove your professionalism and 
make us grateful for your willingness to give something 
back to our field.
Four-Part AIDA Strategy

Elicit desire by doing the following:

• Reducing resistance
• Anticipating objections
• Offering counterarguments
• Using what if? scenarios
• Demonstrating competence
• Showing the value of your proposal
Create Desire

• Minimize objections and provide counter-arguments.

• Establish credibility and expertise.
• Emphasize benefits; suggest what might be lost if
the request is not granted.
• In requesting favours or making recommendations,
show how the receiver or others will benefit.
How to Reduce Resistance

Example
Although your gift to Neonatal Care Centre is not tax‐
deductible, it would help us purchase one Intensive Care 
Ventilator. This unit would be put to use immediately in 
caring for critically ill and premature newborn infants.
Four-Part AIDA Strategy

Prompt action by doing the following:

• Describing specific request
• Sounding confident
• Making action easy to take
• Offering an incentive or gift
• Offering no excuses
• Repeating the main benefits
Action

• Suggest specific and easy-to-follow action with a

deadline and reason for the date.
• Don’t sound apologetic or supply excuses.
 “Before”—Ineffective Request
Dear Dr. Thomas:
Because you’re a local Guelph author, we thought it might not be too much trouble for
you to speak at our U of G banquet May 5.
Some of us business students here at Guelph University admired your book Beyond Race
and Gender, which appeared last spring and became such a hit across the nation. One of
our professors said you were now the nation’s diversity management guru. What exactly
did you mean when you said that Canada is no longer a blend of two cultures – that it’s
now a “smorgasbord of multicultural expectations”?
Because we have no funds for honoraria, we have to rely on local speakers. The
Reverend James R. Jones and Vice Mayor Rebecca A. Timmons were speakers in the
past. Our banquets usually begin at 6:30 with a social hour, followed by dinner at 7:30
and the speaker from 8:30 until 9 or 9:15. We can arrange transportation for you and your
wife, if you need it.
We realize that you must be very busy, but we hope you’ll agree. Please let our advisor,
Professor Alexa North, have the favour of an early response.
Sincerely yours,
 “After”—Improved Request
Dear Dr. Thomas:

Your book Beyond Race and Gender stimulated provocative discussion across the
nation and on our campus when it appeared last spring.

Business students at the University of Guelph now consider you the nation’s
diversity management guru, and for that reason they asked me to use all my powers
of persuasion in this invitation. Because we admire your work, we’d like you to be
our keynote speaker at the U of G banquet May 5.

As students at an expanding campus near a metropolitan area, we’re keenly aware

of diversity issues. In your words, “Canada is no longer a blend of two cultures–it’s
now a smorgasbord of multicultural expectations.”

We’d like to hear more about the future workforce and how managers can
maximize the contribution of all employees.
 Business Communication
&
Professional Competencies

• Questions???
Chapter 14
Business Presentations
 Business Communication
&
Professional Competencies
Homework Assigned to Learners:
Read:
Teams Team Teams BC pg 34 – 42
Running Effective Meetings BC pg 43 – 60
Diversity and Inclusiveness L pg 440- 474 (Ch 14)
Ethics & Leadership Morality L pg 173 – 201 (Ch 6)

SUPPLEMENTAL/OPTIONAL:

Conflict & Communication L pg 374 - 410 (Ch 12)

Developing Teamwork L Pg 270 – 301 (Ch 9)