Business Communication in the Digital Age

➢ Strong Communication Skills: Key to Success

○ 1. Most desirable competencies in employer’s view

○ 2. Critical to effective job placement, performance, and career advancement.

○ 3. “Career sifter,” leading to great job opportunities or out the door.

■ “Talk the talk”

■ Essential for collaborating & understanding

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

TRADITIONAL ABILITIES NEW REQUIREMENTS

1. Reading 1. Media savvy, credibility

2. Listening 2. Analytical thinking
3. Nonverbal skills 3. Teamwork
4. Speaking 4. Positions requiring people skills
5. Writing more likely to resist automation.

➢ DIGITAL REVOLUTION

○ Social media = increasing prominent role in business.

○ Life-changing critical judgements about people are being made based

solely on their writing ability.

○ Writing matters more; digital & social media require more of it, not
less.

○ Messages travel instantly to distant locations to potentially huge

audiences.

○ Work teams collaborate even physically apart.

➢ Workplace Survival Skills

○ “Communication makes the world go round.

 ○ It facilitates human connections and allows us to learn, grow, and
progress.

○ It’s not just about speaking/reading, but understanding what is being

said - and in some cases what is not being said.” - Richard Branson

➢ Digital Revolution + You

○ Reputation & personal credibility = vital assets

○ Technical fields require com skills.

○ Professional workplace writing is in your future.

➢ Employers want Soft Skills 5

○ 1. Ability to work in teams

○ 2. Positive social media presence

○ 3. Professionalism & work ethic

○ 4. Critical thinking & analytical reasoning

○ 5. Excellent oral & written comskils.

➢ Challenges of the Info Age Workplace 6

○ 1. Rapidly changing com techs

○ 2. Heightened global comp

○ 3. Flattened management hierarchies

○ 4. Self-directed work groups & virtual teams

○ 5. Anytime, anywhere availability & non territorial offices

○ 6. Renewed emphasis on ethics

➢ LISTENING: A CAREER-CRITICAL SKILL

○ Many poor listeners

 ○ Only 25 - 50% efficiency listening

○ Poor listening = affects professional relationships

○ Poor listening habits = costly errors

■ Barriers to Effective Listening

● 1. Physical barriers

● 2. Nonverbal distractions

● 3. Thought speed

● 4. Psychological barriers

● 5. Grandstanding

● 6. Language problems

● 7. Faking attention

10 KEYS TO BUILDING POWERFUL LISTENING SKILLS

1. Stop talking 6. Listen between the lines

2. Control your surroundings 7. Judge ideas, not appearances

3. Be receptive & keep an open 8. Avoid interrupting

mind
9. Take selective notes to ensure
4. Listen for main points retention

5. Capitalize lag time 10. Provide feedback & confirmation

➢ NONVERBAL CUES CARRY POWERFUL MEANING 6

○ Includes all unwritten & unspoken messages, both intentional & unintentional.

○ Nonverbal cues can speak louder than words.

■ 1. Nomverbal Behaviors Send Silent Messages

● 1. Eye contact
● 2. Facial expressions
● 3. Posture & gestures
● 4. Time, space, and territory
 ● 5. Eye appeal of business documents
● 6. Personal appearance

■ 2. Mastering Nonverbal Skills

● Establish & maintain eye contact.

● Use posture to show interest

● Reduce or eliminate physical barriers

● Improve your decoding skills

● Probe for more information

■ 3. Building Strong Nonverbal Skills

● Interpret nonverbal meaning in context

● Associate people from diverse cultures

● Appreciate the power of appearance

● Observe yourself on video

● Enlist friends & family

➢ What is Culture?

○ Complex system of values, traits, morals, and customs shared by a society

○ Powerful operating force that molds the way we think, behave, and
communicate.

CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH-CONTEXT & LOW-CONTEXT CULTURES

Japanese ● HIGH-CONTEXT CULTURES (implicit)

 Arab - Relational
Latin American - Collectivists
Spanish - Intuitive
English - Contemplative
Italian
French ● LOW-CONTEXT CULTURES (explicit)
North American - Logical
Scandinavia - Linear
German - Individualistic
Swiss - Action-oriented

➢ LOW-CONTEXT CULTURES (explicit)

○ Logical, linear, and action oriented

○ Explicitly stated so there’s no risk of confusion.

○ Favor explicit messages = objective, professional, and efficient.

➢ HIGH-CONTEXT CULTURES (implicit)

○ Relational, collectivists, intuitive, and contemplative.

○ Communication focuses on underlying context, meaning, and tone in the

message, and not just the words themselves.

○ Leave much unsaid & transmit com cues by: posture, voice reflection,
gestures, and facial expressions.

INDIVIDUALISM & COLLECTIVISM

LOW-CONTEXT CULTURES HIGH-CONTEXT CULTURES

● Prefers initiative, self-assertion, and ● Prefers group values, duties, and

personal achievement. decisions
● Believe in individual action & ● Emphasize membership in orgs,
personal responsibility. groups, and teams.

● Desire a large degree of freedom in ● Encourage acceptance of group

their personal lives. values, duties and decisions.

TIME ORIENTATION

LOW-CONTEXT CULTURES HIGH-CONTEXT CULTURES

● Time is precious. ● Time = unlimited & never-ending

● Time correlates with: productivity, ● Time = opportunity to develop

efficiency & money. interpersonal relationships..

● Keeping someone waiting is

considered rude.

➢ POWER DISTANCE

○ HOFSTEDE’S POWER DISTANCE INDEX

■ Compares societies on how far the less powerful members of orgs &
institutions accept an unequal distribution of power.

COMMUNICATION STYLE

LOW-CONTEXT CULTURES HIGH-CONTEXT CULTURES

● Emphasizes words, directness, and ● Rely on nonverbal cues & the total
openness. picture to communicate.
● People tend to be informal, ● Meanings are embedded at many
impatient, and literal. sociocultural levels.

➢ HOW TECHNOLOGY & SOCIAL MEDIA AFFECT INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

○ Social media may potentially bridge cultural differences as well as reinforce

them

○ The online environment may deepen feelings of isolation.

○ Global businesses adopt technology to a varying degree, revealing each

culture’s values & norms.

○ In real life as online, we gravitate toward people who seem like us.

➢ SOCIAL NETWORKING: ERASING OR DEEPENING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES?

○ Regional & cultural differences persist.

○ Media designers adapt to cultural preferences.

■ Aside from language, regional differences on FB & Twitter seem minor.

➢ IMPROVING INTERCULTURAL EFFECTIVENESS

○ Understanding generalizations & stereotyping

○ Curbing ethnocentrism

○ Building cultural self-awareness

○ Remaining open-minded

○ Practicing empathy

➢ HOW WE FORM JUDGMENTS

○ STEREOTYPE

■ An oversimplified perception of a behavior or characteristic applied

uncritically to groups.
➢ ENHANCING INTERCULTURAL ORAL COMMUNICATION

○ Use simple english

○ Encourage accurate feedback

○ Speak slowly & enunciate clearly

○ Check for comprehension

○ Listen without interrupting

○ Observe eye messages

○ Smile when appropriate

○ Accept blame

○ Follow up in writing

➢ IMPROVING INTERCULTURAL WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

○ Consider local styles & conventions

○ Hire a translator

○ Observe titles & rank

○ Use short sentences & short paragraphs

○ Avoid ambiguous wording

○ Citing numbers carefully

➢ GLOBALIZATION & WORKPLACE DIVERSITY

○ North-American corporations operate globally.

○ The domestic workforce is becoming more diverse.

➢ DEFINING DIVERSITY
 ○ Age, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, Religion, National origin, Physical ability, sexual
orientation.

➢ GROWING WORKFORCE DIVERSITY

○ Benefits to consumers, work teams, and businesses

■ A diverse staff is better able to respond to an increasingly diverse

customer base locally & globally.

■ Team members with various experiences are more likely to create

products that consumers demand.

■ Consumers want to deal with companies respecting their values.

➢ TIPS FOR COMMUNICATING WITH DIVERSE AUDIENCES ON THE JOB

○ Seek training

○ Understand the value of differences

○ Learn about your cultural self

○ Make fewer assumptions

○ Build on similarities