The process of

communication
 Sender or source
 Encoding: message creation
 Channel or medium
 Decoding
 Receiver
 Feedback
 Noise or interference x
 The objectives of
communication
To be received (heard or
read)
To be understood
To be accepted
To get action (change of
behavior or attitude)
When we fail to achieve any
one of these, we have failed
to communicate. This can
often lead to frustration and
resentment expressed in
phrases like ‘ don’t you
understand plain English?’
 Butwhat is plain English?
English after all is only a code
which we use to express the
thoughts in our head, and a
code can only be understood if
both parties give the same
meaning to the symbols that
are used.
 Words are only symbols that represent
things and ideas, and we attach slightly
different meanings to the words that we
hear and use. The meanings that we
give to the results from the way we
each interpret the world around use.
The meanings that we give to words
results from the way we each interpret
the world around use, and for each of
us that world is seen and understood
differently.
 The meaning of words
 Itis therefore our individuality
that is the main barrier to
effective communication. The
connection between the word
and the thing it represents is
whatever association a
particular group or people have
chosen to make
Dap, primsoll, tennis
shoes, pumps, keds,
trainer, running
shoes…
With concrete words- words
which describe things we
can touch, feel, hear, see or
smell- we may have fewer
difficulties in explaining
what we mean because if all
else fail we can point to
things.
 But what about abstract words- words
which describe sensations, feelings,
emotions, ideas?
 How can you be sure that someone
else gives the same meaning as you to
words like ‘danger’, ‘love’, ‘hate’,
‘beautiful’, and so on? The meanings
attached to these words will be the
result of each person’s past
experience.
Non-verbal communication
 Of course , we don’t only use words to
communicate. Every time we
communicate we are sending out
messages by means of all sorts of
other things. In fact, even when we are
not actually writing or speaking we are
still communicating, even if
unintentionally.
 List 15 ways we communicate non-
verbally. Exercise.
 Obviously we may use pictures
to communicate our message,
either to replace words or more
importantly to reinforce our
verbal message. But,
consciously or unconsciously,
when we speak we will also
communicate by other means.
 Check points: non-verbal
communicatio0n
 Facial expression-a smile, a frown
 Gestures- movement of hands and body to
help to explain or emphasize our verbal
message
 Body posture- how we stand or sit
 Orientation- whether we face the other
person or turn away
 Eye contact- whether we look at the other
person or not , and the length of time that we
look at the other person
 Body contact- a pat on the back, an arm
around the shoulder
 Proximity-the distance we sit or stand from
the person
 Head-nods- to indicate agreements or
disagreements or to encourage the other to
go on speaking
 Appearance- physical grooming and choice
of clothing
 Non-verbal aspects of the speech- variations
of pitch, stress and timing; voice quality and
tone of voice (these are sometimes called
paralanguage)
 Non-verbal aspects of writing- handwriting,
layout, organization, neatness and visual
appearance generally.
 All these non-verbal elements of
communication are some times
called ‘meta-communication’, from
the Greek word ‘meta’ meaning
‘beyond’ or ‘in-addition-to.
 ‘Metacommunication’ is therefore
something ‘in addition to the
communication and we must
always be aware of its existence
 Metacommunication which
accompanies any message is very
powerful. The receiver will use
these clues to help them to
interpret what you mean, but more
importantly they will often take the
meaning from the
metacommunication rather from
the words themselves, particularly
when what you are saying conflicts
with what you are doing.
The context or situation
 Just as the words (the verbal message)
and the non-verbal message may be
interpreted differently by different
people, so the person may attribute
differently meanings to the same words
at different times and in different
contexts. After all we don’t
communicate in vacuum; the art of
communication always takes place
within a situation or a context.
 Thesituation will have a history
and particular characteristics
which will make it different from
any other situation. In order to
communicate, we learn to
recognize similarities in situations
so that we can learn from our
experiences. This is obviously
essential or we would never know
what to do or what to expect.
Barriers to communication
Lets look at some factors
which can cause problems
for communication and
which we must be aware of if
we are to overcome them or
communicate in such a way
as to minimize their effect
 Differences in perception
 The way we view the world is largely
determined by our past experiences, so
people of different ages, nationalities,
cultures, education, occupation, sex,
status, personality, and so on, will each
have different perceptions and will
each perceive situations differently
 Differences in perception are often at
the root of many other barriers of
communication
Jumping to conclusions
We often see what we
expect to see, and therefore
hear what we expect to hear,
rather than what is actually
there. This may lead us, As
the saying goes ‘to put two
and two together and make
five’.
 Stereotyping
 Because we have to learn from
our experiences, we run the
risk of treating different people
as if they were the same:
‘you’ve met one cop/ student/
peon/ barber/ professor, you’ve
met them all!’ we often hear, or
words to that effect.
 Lack of knowledge
 Itis difficult to communicate effectively
with some one who has a very different
background from yours, or whose
knowledge of the particular subject of
discussion is considerably less than
yours. Of course it is possible, but it
requires skill on the part of the
communicator to be aware of the
discrepancy between the levels of
knowledge and communicate
accordingly.
 Lack of interest
 One of the greatest barriers to
overcome is the receiver's lack
of interest in your message.
You should always be alert to
this as a possibility, since it is
so easy to assume that
everyone is as concerned
about our interests as we are.
Where the lack of interest
is obvious and
understandable you must
work particularly hard to
angle your message to
appeal to the interests
and needs of the receiver
 Difficulties with self
expression
 If,as the communicator, you have
difficulty finding the words to
convey your ideas, this will clearly
be a barrier and you must; work at
improving your vocabulary. But
lack of confidence, which can also
cause difficulties in expression,
can be boosted by careful
preparation and planning.
 Emotions
 The emotions of either the receiver or
communicator can also prove to be barrier –
any strongly felt emotion is liable to prevent
almost anything but the emotion being
communicated
 The moral, of course is to try avoid
communicating when a strong emotion is
liable to make you incoherent or when it will
totally distort what you mean to say
 Some people use emotion to their advantage
at times
 Personality
 Clash of personalities is one of the
most common causes of
communication failure.
 We may not be able to change the
personality of others, but at least
we should be prepared to consider
our own personality to see if a
change in our behavior may result
in more satisfactory relationships
Thefirst golden rule is to
THINK AHEAD. If we can
predict some of the likely
problems BEFORE we
communicate, we may be
able to avoid them.
Why?
Who?
Where?
When?
What?
How?
 Whatever communication task
you are undertaking, asking
these six simple questions
Before you start will give your
communication a better chance
of success and make the task
easier
 Some check points
 Why? (purpose)
Why am I communicating?
What is my reason for
writing or speaking?
What am I hoping to
achieve? Change of
attitude? Change of
opinion?
 What do I want the reciever(s) to
do as a result of my
communication?
 What is my purpose? To inform?
To persuade? To influence? To
educate? To sympathize? To
entertain? To advise? To explain?
To provoke? To stimulate
thought?...
 Who? (Receiver)
 Who exactly is my audience?
 What sort ofpeople are they?
Personality? Education age?
Status?..
 What do they know already
about the subject of my
message? A lot? Not much?
Nothing? Less/more than I do?.
 Where and when? (place
and context)
Where will they be when
they receive my message?
In their office close to other
relevant material? Or
isolated from the problem so
that I may need to remind
them of the facts?
At what point in the total
matter does my message
come? Am I replying to
something they have
raised? Or will my message
represent the first they have
heard about the problem/
topic/ issue?
 What is my relationship with the
receiver? Is the subject of my
message the cause of controversy
between us? Is the atmosphere
strained or cordial?
 Answers to these questions will
help you to find answers to the
next set of questions more easily
than if you had jumped straight in.
 What? (Subject)
 What exactly do I want to say?
 What do I need to say?
 What do they need to know?
 What information can I omit?
 What information must I
include in order to be:
 The six C’s of effective
communication
Clear
Concise
Courteous
Constructive
Correct
complete
 How? (Tone and Style)
 Which medium of communication
will be most appreciated? Spoken?
A letter or a personal chat or an
interview? A report or an oral
presentation? A memo or a
telephone call?
 How am I going to communicate
my message/ with words? Or
pictures? Or both? Which words?
Which pictures?
 How will I organize the points I
want to make? Shall I use
deductive sequence (start with my
main points and then go on to the
explanation/ illustration)? Or
inductive sequence (start with the
explanation/ examples/
illustrations and then build up to
the main point at the end ).
How am I going to achieve
the right effect? What tone
must I use to achieve my
purpose? Which words
must I use/ avoid in order
to create the right tone?
 Insome cases the answers to
these questions will come quickly.
In fact, they may seem obvious.
 But beware - it is very easy to
jump to conclusions, to see the
problem from your point of view
and forget that your listeners or
readers may see things differently.
PLEASE ENGAGE
BRAIN BEFORE
OPENING MOUTH
PLANNING THE MESSAGE
Only when you have you
given some thought to
these six essential
questions are you ready
to plan your message
1.Write down your purpose
 Itis always a good idea to write
down (preferably in one or two
sentences) exactly what you are
trying to achieve by your message.
 You will then always have it always
before you to help you to organize
your material and avoid straying
from the point.
2.Assemble the information
 Jot down all the ideas or points
which you think you need to make
on notes paper, index cards or
notes on PC, especially if it is to be
a long message.
 At this stage select only the
essential relevant information and
reject the irrelevant.
3. Group the information
 Now consider your list and look
for links between the bits of
information. Rewrite your notes
in clear groups. It helps to give
each group a heading
 The groups will probably
become the paragraphs or
sections in your finished
message
4. Put the information onto
logical sequence
Your next task is to put the
groups of information (still
only in the note form) into
some sort of sensible order
which your reader can
follow
Some commonly used
methods of ordering
material
 Chronological order
Itis sometimes called
historical order and is
perhaps the most common
method, which merely
presents the material in the
order in which it occurred or
occurs in time
 Spatial (or place) order
 Effectivefor describing
machinery, buildings, furniture,
geographical location. Facts
are presented on the
geographical basis – from
place to place: from north to
south, top to bottom, left to
right, high to low, in and out, up
and down, or near and far…
 Order of importance
 Descending order of
importance (or deductive
order): starting with the most
important point to gain the
readers attention; or ascending
order of importance (or
inductive order) starting with
the least important point
Ascending order of
importance starting with the
simple and moving towards
complex or difficult
Descending order of
familiarity moving from the
known to the unknown
Cause and effect, put simply
it means ‘because of this,
then that’. In other words,
‘because this happened, that
happened
Topical-no real link or
sequence but just chunks on
a topic-by-topic basis
 5. Produce a skeleton
outline
By working through the
previous four stages you
will have produced in effect
a plan or skeleton outline of
your finished message
This is the basis for the
beginning of the final
product
 6. Write the first draft
 Now you are ready to start
writing. Write the first draft to
yourself
 Don’t worry at this stage about
the style and the words – that
can come later
 Starting to write is a big barrier
– the first draft helps clear this
hurdle
 7. Edit the first draft and
write the final draft
 Once you have written the first
draft you must put yourself in the
shoes of the receiver. Read your
draft through their eyes, checking
for ambiguities, errors, awkward
expressions, lack of signpost
words (‘first’ ‘second’, ‘finally’, ‘on
the other hand’, ‘consequently’,
etc.) which are essential to guide
your reader along
 Editing check-list
 Vary the length of the sentences but
keep them on the short side: 18-22
words should be the average
 Paragraphs should have only one main
idea
 Use words that the reader will
understand
 Avoid un-businesslike colloquialisms
(e.g. ‘to cut the long story short’)
 Omit unnecessary words
 Use the shorter rather than the
longer word or phrase, if
appropriate.
 Avoid hackneyed expressions
(‘please find enclosed’ ‘thanking
you in anticipation’…)
 Avoid needless repetition of words
and phrases- find alternatives
wherever possible
Use sincere words- don’t
overstate or exaggerate
Use positive words rather
than negative words if
possible
Use the active rather than
the passive
Writein detail what
you understand when
you hear/ read the
following- Vippy, the
door is open
Speaking
Effectively
Perhaps because we learn to
speak before we write, or
perhaps because speaking
is so much a part of our
everyday life, we are liable
to take speaking for granted.
It is not just the select or the
big occasion which requires
care and attention
Earlier we had a look at the
problems in
communication process.
The same principles apply
in the countless speaking
situations which present
themselves at work
Lets look first at the basic
skills of speaking which
apply in any situation:
a. Personal qualities and
b. vocal qualities –
enunciation and
pronunciation
 Basic speaking skills
Personal qualities
1. Clarity: to be a good
speaker you need first
and foremost to be able
to express your ideas
clearly
 Your language should be simple
 Your material should be organized so
that it can be easily followed
 Avoid trying to impress by using long,
complicated words
 At times you may need to use jargons
and specialized vocabulary
 Speaking clearly also means uttering
the words distinctly so that they are
recognizable
 Accuracy
 Make sure that the words you
use say exactly what you mean.
 So you need a reasonably wide
vocabulary so that you can
choose words with precise
meanings to suit your purpose
 The facts you use should be
correct
Don’t make statements
which go beyond facts or
might be challenged-
‘everybody thinks’… or
‘nobody in their right
minds would accept…’
 Empathy
 Always try to courteous and
friendly
 However angry you feel, try to
control your emotions and at least
remain calm
 Put yourself in the other person’s
place- it will help you being
courteous and polite besides
establishing empathy
 This doesn’t mean that you have to
agree with them ;or their ideas, but
it does help you to be
understanding and patient
 Facial expressions and tone of
voice are important here,
especially in group discussions
and interviews
 Sincerity
 This really means being natural.
 There is always a danger when
talking to strangers or people of
higher status of becoming stiff and
awkward, and trying to put on an
accent
 This usually stems from lack of
confidence
 Strive to be yourself in all
situations.
 Relaxation
 The best way of getting rid of
unnatural speech
characteristics is to relax
 When our muscles are tense,
we have difficulty expressing
ourselves naturally.
 Awkward movements are also
the result of tension
Try taking a deep breath.
This may help you to relax
If you freeze up with
tension, you probably
begin holding your breath
without realizing it.
 Eye contact
 Whenever people are speaking to
one another eye contact is very
crucial
 A speaker who never looks at his
listeners may be conveying
messages like ‘I am not very
interested in you’, ‘I don’t like you’,
or even ‘don’t believe what I am
saying’.
 So when you are speaking give
your listeners their fair share eye
contact.
 Don’t keep your eyes on the desk,
or in your lap or out of the window
and when you are talking to a large
group move your eyes around the
room treating your audience as
individuals.
They will prefer a slightly
hesitant speaker who
shows interest in them by
looking at them, than to a
highly fluent speaker who
reads with head down
over their notes
 Appearance
How you look can affect
how well others
understand you.
Your appearance reflects
how you see yourself-
‘self-image’.
 Since your listeners cannot help
but notice your appearance they
will receive meta communications
from the way you dress and your
general grooming
 In most speaking situations people
see the speaker and form
judgments about them even before
they speak.
 Attractive dress and good
grooming are obviously important
in formal situations: public
meetings, job interviews, and so
on.
 Personal cleanliness and tidiness
are also important
 Dress and appearance must be
appropriate to the situation
 Posture
 Good posture is also important.
 Someone who props up the wall or
slouches in their chair as they
speak conveys a message to their
listeners which may surprise them.
 Their attitude is showing. They are
either tired or bored or careless, or
all three! And the listeners are not
likely to be impressed.
Posture is also related to
voice quality as it affects
the breathing quality
Poor posture also affects
your voice
psychologically as well as
physically.
 By improving your posture
when talking, you can do much
toward instilling in your voice
and your whole manner four
characteristics of voice quality
 Alertness, pleasantness,
distinctness, and
expressiveness.
 Vocal qualities
 Don’t think that you can’t change
the way you speak. You can and do
control your voice all the time.
 You can improve your voice if you
want to, but you have to work at it.
 The first step is to be aware of the
factors which affect the sound of
your voice.
 The mechanics of speech
Speech involves many
mechanical skills.
It requires a complicated
manipulation of the
diaphragm, the lungs and
muscles of the chest as well
as vocal chords, mouth,
tongue and lips.
To ensure that the sounds
you produce are clear, your
throat muscles must be
relaxed, your jaw must not
be taut or rigid and your lips
must be flexible and capable
of assuming a variety of
positions
 Pitch
A person whose voice has a high
pitch may sound thin or squeaky
or shrill.
 A person with low pitch will sound
deep or throaty
 When your voice chords are
stretched tight, the sound will be
higher as the air is forced past
them causing them to vibrate (like
plucking a tight elastic band).
When people are frightened
or tense, their vocal chords
stretch tight and their voices
tend to squeak.
One way to relax your throat
muscles is to practice this
simple exercise:
 Take a deep breath then, as you
breathe out, say several short syllables
for example: ‘she gave us all a short
talk on art’.
 Try it. Notice how the tightness
disappears as you exhale. It is in fact
physically impossible to breathe out
and keep the muscles tight at the same
time. This is why deep breathing can
help you relax.
 volume
 Volume is more easily
controlled than pitch
 But practice is still required to
get the right volume
 Proper breathing is essential to
volume control and good
speaking
 Practice taking deep breaths
and letting out the air just
enough force to generate the
right volume.
 If you control your voice and
speak clearly without appearing
to strain or shout or run out of
breath, you will impress your
listeners by the quality of the
voice alone
 Learn how to project your voice
so that you can be heard at
great distances without yelling
or sounding strained
 The right volume depends on
the situation. You should
therefore note: where you are
speaking as the location will
affect how well your words can
be heard;
 The size of the group to whom
you are speaking;
 Background noise, e.g. the
noise of air-conditioning.
 Diction and accent
 Diction is the way in which you say
or pronounce words, and is
acquired
 To some extent it is affected by
your accent
 Diction depends on ‘articulation’
and ‘enunciation’, which are terms
used to describe how you
pronounce words:
Articulation
refers to the
way people pronounce
consonants
Enunciation refers to the
way people pronounce
vowels
Ifpeople articulate and
enunciate well, i.e. clearly,
they will have good diction.
Good diction is generally
considered to be the result
of being well- educated and
well- informed
However, it is important not
to confuse diction with
accent.
Whatever your accent, it is
important you pronounce
your words clearly.
Labratry-laboratory
Ave you go’ the le’er
Soon, seen, sand, sawn,
sow, such,…
 Speed and pause
 The speed at which you talk will
also affect the message you are
sending
 A good speaker varies the pace
according to the relative
importance of what he is saying;
thus unimportant words and
phrases are spoken more quickly
while important words or phrases
will be spoken more slowly.
 Pauses carefully used, can be
very effective device for getting
your message across.
 A good speaker will pause
briefly at the appropriate places
to give their listeners the
opportunity to take in what they
have said.
 Tone
 Your tone can convey whether
you are happy or angry or sad.
 You can sound humble and
frightened, or commanding and
patronizing.
 You can even make the same
word mean several different
things by the tone you give it.
 Qualities to aim for when
speaking
Pleasantness: is partly being polite,
but also striving to give a friendly
tone to your voice by smiling and
looking smart.
Alertness: gives your listener the
impression that you are of and
interested in what is happening
around you and what you are
saying. They are more likely to feel
it is worthwhile to listen to you
 Distinctiveness
Is listening clearly so that
your listener can hear and
understand your words
without straining. This
includes pronounciation
 Expressiveness
Isputting feeling into your
voice. To be expressive ,
you must avoid the low
droning monotone which
will turn off your listener.
Thank You
 Business writing
 Effectivewriting does not come
by chance. It does not just
happen. It requires a set of skills
to write SIMPLY, CLEARLY,
ACCURATELY, AND BRIEFLY.

 Youhave to learn and acquire

them as you have earned your
professional knowledge and
experience
 Purpose of writing
Writing to inform

Writing to persuade
 Writing to inform
 Presents facts, data,
statistics, reports,
accounts of facts and
written with maximum
objectivity.

 It
is also called expository
writing because it
expounds or expresses
ideas and facts.
 A check-list
 Does it focus on the subject
under discussion?
 Does it primarily inform rather
than persuade the reader?
 Does it offer complete and exact
information?
 Can the information be
ascertained?
 Does it present the information
logically and clearly?
 Does it make good reading?
Writing to persuade
 Persuasive writing aims at
convincing the reader about a
mater
 It is at times called
argumentative. The matter
has two or more sides to it.
The writer seeks to influence
and convince the reader
 It focuses on the reader and
does more than just state an
opinion
 A check-list
 Does it basically seek to convince
rather than inform
 Does it support its view point by
giving information or valid
reasons
 Does it clearly follow a logical
arrangement of thought and
reasoning
 Does it finally evoke the intended
response from the reader
 Does it focus on the reader
The audience/receiver
 Recognize the needs,
expectations, fears, and the
attitudes.

 Writtencommunication is
one-way till such time the
reader responds. So the
challenge is to get the
written communication right.
 Planning saves time
and effort
 Ingood business writing
carefully think about what
you plan to say, and spend
even a bit more time
thinking about the people
to whom you’re going to
say it.
Plan writing in writing
 Always plan in writing, not just
in your head. If you write your
plans down, you’ll not only
remember them more clearly-
you’ll also be less likely to be
thrown off when you do multiple
projects at the same time.

 Referto document planning

sheet till it comes as a reflex
Early criticism kills the
creative process
 We are often crass and cruel to
ourselves when we write. We tend to
feel and think that our thoughts are
not appropriate or phrased or spelled
correctly even before we put our pen
to the paper
 This early criticism is one of the chief
causes of writer’s block and of a
general dislike for writing. It is also a
costly waste of productive time.
 The brainstorming
attitude
 Like you brainstorm
among your colleagues
/friends/family for ideas,
you brain storm within
before you embark on
writing.
 Brainstorm now, organize
and perfect later.
 Brainstorming
guidelines
 Write as fast as you can
 Start anywhere
 Free yourself
 Accept every idea, even weird
ones
 Record as many ideas as possible
 Write everything down; use
abbreviations
 Ignorespelling, punctuation,
sentence structure, etc.

 Prevent all self- criticism

 Jump freely among ideas

 Write until you burn out;

rest; repeat till you achieve
what you set out to do
 Time for writing
 Writing business documents,
like any high-concentration
activity, is much easier if you
can work uninterrupted.
 A 1minute interruption from
a writing task might require
as much as 20 minutes of
recovery time before you can
resume the flow
Suggestions for reducing
writing distractions

Curtail internal phone

calls, meetings, and
visitors except for
emergencies.
 Come in early or stay late if you
can go to lunch half an hour late.
Find quiet time when you are
least likely to be disturbed

 Schedule writing appointments

with yourself. If someone asks to
see you during your scheduled
time, say “sorry, I have an
appointment. What other time
would be good for you?”
 Hang up a “do not disturb
until…” or an “in conference
until…” sign on your door,
and tell people you insist.

 Turnyour writing space away

from the entrance to your
workplace. Especially if you
have no office door. This will
reduce interruptions
 Executive time
Listening-45%
Speaking-30%
Reading-16%
Writing-9%
 Use white noise
In noisy and open offices,
get a softly playing radio
or a small fan minimize
the distracting
conversations floating
over your partition
 Make your office less
appealing to visitors
 Sitin front of a bright window,
put books on visitors’ chairs, or
remove visitors’ chairs
altogether. Be very careful
when using such techniques to
be especially friendly to your
colleagues when you finish
your writing session
 Ignore the phone
Forward your calls, or
have a secretary screen
them, or take phone off
the hook, which signals
that you are busy- which
you are
 Promise call backs.
Ifyou are writing and
some one calls or pops
in, quickly say, “can I
get back to you in say
about 15 minutes”?
 Find a hiding place.
Tryan empty office, an
unoccupied conference
room, a storeroom, or
even your car in the
parking lot.
Don’t be an interruption.
Be sensitive to other
people’s need for private
writing time. Be observant
and flexible when
balancing your needs with
their time.
 Getting it right
The last phase in
producing a good
piece of writing is
revision.
“big-middle-little” revising
 Revising isn’t easy, partly because
writing isn’t easy. Written language
involves word choice, tone,
punctuation, spelling, organization,
connection, formality, ambiguity,
visual formatting, sequence of
tense, pronoun agreement,
conciseness, and technical
language- to name just a few
 All of these factors are elaborate
systems of constantly evolving
linguistic conventions.
 Are we supposed to think of all
that, as we read through
 No way. That’s why we need to
break up revising into three
manageable chunks.
 Big revising
 Skim through your document, looking
for the big picture- the overall content
and organization of your work. Eyeball
the text from a distance: does it look
easy to read (with lots of marginal
white space, clearly marked sections,
and so on) or does it look like a brick
wall of unbroken words?
 If a memo looks hard to read, it IS hard
to read, and it may not be read at all.
 Middle revising
 Next, quickly read for simplicity,
clarity, and conciseness. Do your
readers absolutely need to know
everything you’ve written? Can
you leave phrases, paragraphs, or
even whole sections out? Can you
simplify the language in what’s
left? Are your ideas clear and to
the point?
 Little revising
Next, look for the details- the
grammar, spelling, and
punctuation. Leave this
small but very important
detailing to the last. Why
correct the spelling of a
word you might end up
eliminating.
Headlines for instant clarity
 Headlines also known as subject lines
must be complete. For example
“MANAGEMENT MEETING.” What’s
this memo’s point? Is it an invitation to
a meeting? An agenda? A suggestion
for the next meeting? A complaint? You
can’t tell; you’d have to read the fine
print. In a way, this subject line is an
incomplete headline
 x
 Tomake your memos more clear,
think: subject line=purpose +topic.
For example: “request to cancel
the next management meeting.”
this headline is instantly clear
because it states the memo’s
purpose (request to cancel), then
the topic (next management
meeting).
 Add breathing space for
reader friendliness
 A true story: a few years ago an old friend
decided to start a new life. He just picked up
and moved from Chennai to Mumbai. He
arrived, wrote up a resume- a one-pager,
crammed edge-to-edge with everything he’d
ever done- and started looking for work.
Months went by: no job. Puzzled and worried,
he revamped his resume, spreading the
same information out over to two pages and
making the pages breezier, and much easier
to read. The next week he found a job
What happened?
Somebody finally read
his resume!
 Revise for reader
friendliness
 Frequent paragraph breaks: even use
occasional one- or two- line paragraphs
for important thoughts
 Lists: readers find listed information
easier to organize, so they look at lists
almost immediately. Lists can also
condense documents by allowing the
use of phrases instead of sentences
 c
 Wide margins: readers find shorter text
lines easier to read than long, edge-to-
edge text lines, and wide margins give
readers more room for writing notes
 Section headlines: headlines allow
readers to scan for main ideas, read
selectively or in any order they wish,
and easily review the document at a
later time.
 Simplify and clarify your
document
 Eliminate nonessential ideas:
distinguish what readers need to
know from what would be nice to
know.
 Write to express and not to
impress: the purpose of business
writing should not be to show off,
but to inform. Pompous writing
often alienates busy readers.
Write as if your readers
were 12 years old: Albert
Einstein said that
everything should be
made as simple as
possible, if not simpler-
sums it up
Think proverbial: proverbs
are memorable because they
are short and vivid. To make
your writing memorable,
plan to write simple, vivid,
memorable sentences rather
than long, abstract
dissertations.
 Reduce or eliminate big
words
 Beware of three-, four-, and five-
syllable words. Change “ our
contemporary organizational
structure possesses the
prerequisite autonomous
functioning capabilities” to “today
we have the strength we need to
stand alone”. Try to use the
simplest words that work.
Use personal pronouns
 Instead of, “it is recommended that
this procedure be implemented,”
write “WE recommend YOU
implement this procedure.”
personal pronouns can help make
sentences simpler, less abstract,
and more personal. They also
clarify the important issue of who
does what.
 There-it goes
 Reduce or eliminate
unnecessary uses of THERE
and IT in phrases such as “it
is”, “there was”, “it will,” “there
has been,” and so on. Change “
it is true that there was anger in
the crowd” to “true, the crowd
was angry.”x
 Advantages of E-mail
 E-mail, like death, taxes, and TV, is probably
here to stay. It is a wonderful medium- it’s
quick, immediate, generally inexpensive,
fairly easy to use, and even environmentally
friendly when it saves paper. E-mail is almost
universal among modern business
professionals, which adds another
advantage- the ability to send the same
message to many people at once. Moreover,
e-mail messages can often be kept
permanently in computerized files
Disadvantages of E-mail
 E-mailcan reduce live human
interaction, leading to oddly
impersonal business
relationships. Employees send
personal e-mails on company
time. E-mail encourages sloppy
writing. Communicating quickly
does not mean you don’t have
to communicate well
 Make your E-mails reader
friendly
To make the most of e-
mail technology and write
e-mail it is worthwhile
considering the following
suggestions
 Beware of confidential
subjects
You can never be sure
where your messages
will be forwarded, how
long they will be kept,
or by whom.
Know how to brainstorm
Maybe you’re most
efficient when you
brainstorm and organize
on paper first, then write
the e-mail. Paper is still
OK, you know. What
works best for you.
Assume high standards
Many readers are put off
by bad writing in any
form, e-mail as well as
hard copy. Write as well
as you can, whenever you
can.
 Select your readers
When messaging to
many, be selective: send
copies only to those who
absolutely, positively
need to see it.
Don’t assume what you see
is what you get
 Ifyour reader’s systems are
different from yours, your line
lengths may spill over and
cause an annoying text wrap
effect on their screens. To be
safe keep your line lengths to
55 or 60 characters, including
spaces.
Avoid typing in all caps.
 It’s
easier to type, but IT SURE
SOUNDS LIKE SHOUTING,
DOESN’T IT? Also, “all cap”
writing slows reading by
inhibiting recognition of
acronyms, proper names, and
sentence starts, which all
depend on upper/lower case
contrasts.
 Use informative subject
lines
 Readers may screen their e-mails by
scanning subject lines, discarding
without reading messages that don’t
seem relevant or clear. To get your e-
mails read, don’t use subjects like
“management meeting” or “project
xyz” if you can use “request to
reschedule meeting” or “how project
xyz will save $500000/year.” these
longer subject lines communicate even
if your whole e-mail isn’t read.
 Keep it short
Tryto get your whole
message on one
screen .it is one the
best ways to ensure
very high readership
 If you can’t keep it short,
forecast the structure
On your readers first screen,
summarize your message
and then forecast its
structure by listing all your
section headings. This helps
readers scroll quickly to
sections that may interest
them.
 Use emphasis devices
 Even though some e-mail
systems don’t yet allow many
word processing options, you
can still facilitate reading by
using headings, white space,
occasional all caps, indents,
lists, simulated underlines, and
other devices
 Beware of acronyms and
emoticons
Don’t over use e-mail jargon
or those cute little “smileys”
like  or . Even though
they can communicate
quickly, make sure your
readers accept them before
you them
 Print out long ones
Ifyou print out long e-
mails, your scanning for
important sections may
be easier than if you roll
or scroll on screen
 Reply quickly to your
messages
Don’t negate one of the
main advantages of e-
mail, which is speed.
Check your e-mail
frequently and reply
promptly
Change the subject line of
your reply
Your reply is not the same
message as the original e-
mail you were sent, is it? So
if you can change the
subject line. Reply to
“request to reschedule
meeting” with “meeting
rescheduled to May 30”
Presentations
 Presentations
Plan to speak to listeners
on their terms
Many professionals suffer
from a common
communication malady:
the “specialist’s fallacy.”
The Specialist’s Fallacy: How
Presentations Go Wrong
 The specialist’s fallacy assumes that
the listeners are just as familiar with
your subject as you are. If you assume
this you may lose your audience. With
this false assumption, presenters give
talks that are too long and full of
digressions, contain too much detail,
and over use specialized terms
 Presentations given this way may be
misunderstood- or even disregarded
 Where the Specialist’s
Fallacy Originates
 The specialist’s fallacy comes from
mistaking familiarity with a subject
for an intrinsic simplicity of the
subject. “if I understand it,
everyone under stands it”. We
assume that what we know is
common knowledge and that
everyone will understand us if we
just say what we know. The result:
they don’t understand us.
 The solution: Plan to Speak to
Listeners on Their Own Terms
 To avoid the specialist’s fallacy
and plan your presentations for
your listeners, use the
presentation planning form.
 This will help you create
presentations that tailor your
message to your listeners, avoid
the dreaded fallacy, and
communicate clearly.
 Use a recipe to begin with
confidence
Say hello and say your
name. Greet the audience
with a strong, clear voice.
If anyone in the audience
doesn’t know who you
are, say your name
 2. Name your topic
Tell them right away what
you will be discussing. Don’t
trust the technique of
starting with a joke. Humor
is tricky; you’re safest to get
right down to business and
name the topic.
 3. Give your topic
credentials
 Imagine that your audience asks
you, “why are you qualified to
speak about this topic?” don’t
detail your whole resume- just
enough to credential you in this
topic. Don’t brag about yourself,
either- just state your experience.
This section should take no more
than two or three sentences.
4. Emphasize the benefits
Emphasize the benefits
the audience will gain by
listening to you. This is a
sometimes neglected but
crucial part of an effective
business presentation
5. Forecast the structure of
your talk
Briefly outline the agenda
points you will cover.
Don’t detail them yet, just
list them. If you wish,
show the audience a
visual agenda to
accompany your words.
 6. Suggest question-
answer rules
Tell the audience when
you would like them to
ask their questions-
anytime, after sections,
or after the entire talk.
7.Start agenda item #1.
Simply say, “now let’s
start with point #1, and
you’re in.
 Think carefully about your
business audience’s interests and
concerns. Find ways your
presentation will benefit your
audience, and make sure they
know, right from the start of your
talk, what those benefits are. When
you see that your audience is
listening with interest, you’ll more
easily deliver a powerful,
persuasive presentation.
 Use “quick specifics” for
high credibility
 Remember mother Mary who knew
Latin or uncle Sam who is great at
bridge!
 We think this way because we have
a tendency to generalize from
specific experiences. We tend to
assume, rightly or wrongly. That
behind any specific behavior is a
general pattern of knowledge, skill
or similar behavior.
In presentations: the quick
specifics
 And so it is with professional
presentations, especially persuasive
ones: if you give your audience specific
names, facts, examples, statistics,
stories, or analogies-especially lots of
them in rapid-fire sequence – the
audience is likely to assume that for
each specific you gave you could have
had more to say, and therefore your
evidence must be overwhelming and
your point valid
 Think “many and quick,”
instead of “few and deep”
 Many audiences will respond best to
many specifics quickly stated, rather
than few specifics explored in depth.
Audiences are generally impressed
with a wide sweep, an over view of the
evidence. They may eventually require
more depth, so an excellent
presentation strategy might be to give
your wide sweep of quick specifics,
then go back and develop one of your
specifics in detail.
The audience will then
assume that every one of
your specifics could go just
as deep, and they will feel a
sense of the breadth and
depth of your point, even if
you don’t have the time to
detail all your evidence.
 A final word: know the breadth
and depth of your evidence
 The “many and quick” strategy could
lead to abuses. A few bits of knowledge
can be made to deceive
unsophisticated audiences. The best
presenters know their material broadly
and deeply and are always prepared to
offer fuller explanations. The wisest
audiences know that behind a
presenter’s quick, specific evidence
must lie a depth of understanding; if
they have any doubts about a
presenter’s knowledge, they must ask
for more depth or risk being misled.
 Use the BEST recipe to
organize your points
 After you have brainstormed
the evidence you want to use in
your speech, you need to
present these specifics in an
organized fashion. A handy
recipe for organizing a speech
is the BEST formula: bottom
line, evidence, summary,
transition.
 B= bottom line
 To open each section of your
speech, state in 25 words or
less the point you wish to make
in that section. Use a signpost
phrase like “ my next point
is…” or “point #3 of my
presentation is…”, this gives
the audience a clear sense of
where you are in your talk.
 E= evidence or examples
 Listthe best evidence, examples,
statistics, stories, and analogies you
have to support your point. A good
technique is to signpost these specifics
with a statement such as, “let me give
you some examples,” or “here are
some statistics you may find helpful.”
To support you may tell stories about
people you have met; tell jokes; and
mention shah rukh khan, mahatma
Gandhi, Bernard Shaw, Rajneesh… just
make sure your evidence is quick and
convincing
S= summary of bottom line
 Restate your point so the
audience knows that you are
emerging from specifics into a
general statement. You can
signpost your point’s summary
with ‘to summarize this point…(
do not say “in conclusion”
unless you are at the end of
your talk)
T= transition to next point
Lead the audience to the
next point with a natural
transitional statement,
such as “that leads me to
the next point,” or “now
let’s move on.”
 Use a recipe to conclude
with power
The most effective
conclusions are a
combination of logical and
emotional elements crafted
into a clear sequence. To
fashion a solid, uplifting
conclusion, try this recipe.
1.Announce a stop sign
A stop sign is an unmistakable verbal
signal that your talk is about to end.
Classic stop signs include the phrases
“in conclusion” or “in summary”. Say
your stop sign in a clear firm voice, and
your audience will perk up- not
because they’re glad you are finished,
but because they know that they are
about to hear an important statement :
your final words.
 2. Summarize your main
points
Recap the main ideas you
have covered in your talk.
Don’t say too much; just
give a brief bullet point
list of your bottom- line
points.
3. Motivate the listeners
Even in low key
presentations, you may find
that an optimistic, team
building feeling would be
appropriate as you
conclude. To achieve this
emotional, motivational
effect, experiment with the
following terms:
Challenge, difficulty, effort
Tellthe audience that the
ideas you have proposed
may not be easy to
implement. Challenge
them to take on the ideas
anyway.
 Optimism
Express as much sincere
confidence as you can. Be
willing yourself to take on
the challenges. Predict a
realistic success.
 The future
Referto times to come.
Even use the word
“future” as you predict
a brighter day
 Pronouns
 Make your talks personal. Use
the words I, me, or mine- refer
to your own commitment. Tell
how you feel; risk a bit of self-
disclosure. Use the word you
refer to the audience- or even
better, use we, us, or our to
refer to yourself and the
audience as a team.
 A final uplifting phrase
 Make the very last words you say
turn upward, not downward. Do not
end with a statement like, “we will
look forward to a brighter future
and avoid the serious problems of
the past.” Rather, say “we will
avoid the serious problems of the
past and look forward to a brighter
future”. Leave the audience
moving upward with your last
words.
4. Pause and say thank you
Thank you signals the
finish, and therefore the
moment listeners can
react. The phrase is, in
fact, an applause cue.
 5. Pause again and solicit
questions
Make sure your pause is
long enough to allow for
the listeners’ applause or
appreciative nods. Then, if
appropriate, solicit and
answer questions.
Handle questions with care
 Answering questions well can
be a major key to the success
of your presentation, because
the Q&A session is where the
audience finds out how much
you really know about your
topic and therefore whether
they can believe in your ideas
 Some useful guidelines
 Anticipate questions
Before the presentation,
brainstorm 10-12 tough
questions you think you’ll
be asked. Prepare good,
solid answers.
Specify when you want the
Q&A session
 Inyour introduction, request
questions any time, after
sections of the talk, or at the
end of the talk. Questions
during your talk may make your
talk longer and harder to keep
focused, but they can make
your talk interactive and more
engaging.
 Listen carefully to
questions
Don’t complete
questioner’s thoughts-
that can be insulting.
 Always support
questioners
Never put anyone down for
asking questions, even poor
ones. Put downs only make
enemies. Presenters can
insult questioners without
realizing it by making an
unintentionally hurtful
comment…
For example, suppose
someone asks a question
and you say, “I thought I
explained that, but I’ll go
over it again for you”.
 Beware of saying “good
question”
If you say to Kareena,
you’ll have to say it to
everybody, or risk making
people think their
questions aren’t as good
as Kareena’s
If appropriate, repeat
(or restate) the question
 …especially if the

question is complex, or
if the room is so big that
all listeners can’t hear
the questions posed to
you.
 Break out multiple-part
question
 Ifsomeone asks you a three- or
four- part question, don’t panic.
Answer only the first part if the
question and then say, “now,
what was your second
question?”
 Handling the questions one at a
time is much easier and just as
effective.
 Answer briefly
The fewer words you
say, the more of them
are remembered.
Involve the entire audience
in your answer
Even though one person
asked the question, you
should answer to every
one, with only a bit more
eye contact directed at the
asker
 If you don’t know the
answer, don’t bluff
 Simplysay you don’t know,
promise to get back to the
asker with an answer, and do it
ASAP. You may be better off
this way than if you knew the
answer right off; getting back
quickly shows a “customer
service” attitude.
 Techniques for using
Laptops or LCD’s
Don’t overdo visual
effects; don’t make a
visual for every single
thought.
If possible, index slides
for quick-reference
tailoring on the fly.
Rehearse carefully.
Get there early; check
everything twice
If using a TV monitor, use
at least a 27” screen
Ifusing a LCD panel and
reflective screen, try to
get a super-high
luminosity overhead
projector
Allow sufficient
setup/boot up time
 Ensure the image is large
enough to be seen at the back;
if necessary, use the image
sizer on the over head projector
 Make sure the image is bright
enough, but try also to leave
the room bright enough for
good eye contact
If presenting in a darkened
room, emphasize your voice
dynamics
If you anticipate long
discussions on any slides,
turn off the screen saver
feature
 For verbal- visual cooperation,
use cascading bullets or
progressive highlighting.
 For commands, use a remote
portable mouse as opposed to
tapping laptop
 Create a “dark slide” effect so
you can occasionally speak
without visual aids
Handshake
 Handshake
When, where, how and
whom to shake hands
with?
The following will answer
most of the questions on
the topic of hand shake.
 You would shake hands
Whenever you are
introduced to someone
the business or social
arena.
On meeting a business or
a social acquaintance.
When someone comes
into your office or home.
 When you are congratulating
someone-show your
enthusiasm but be aware of
shaking the arms of the socket!
 When you are offering your
sympathy or condolence-the
‘glove’ handshake is very
appropriate in this situation.
When you greet your host
and hostess.
While saying ‘goodbye’
taking leave.
Have a firm and not a
crushing handshake. A
word ofcaution here.
 Please do not shake the other
person’s hand off the shoulder
socket and also be aware of a
person’s physical inability to
shake hands firmly.
 Don’t hold back. Extend your
hands immediately to have a
distinct advantage
 Exception to this rule would be,
in the social arena, the man
waits for the woman to extend
her hands first, especially in
Europe.
 It is considered to be in bad
form for the woman not to
extend her hand
spontaneously.
 The socially savvy man knows
to wait for the woman to take
the initiative.
 But if the man holds out his
hand first, the woman should
take it graciously accompanied
by the proper verbal greetings!
Happy handshaking!
 Interesting thoughts
Why is it whether you
sit up or sit down, the
result is the same
Why isn’t phonetic
spelled the same way it
sounds?
Why are there flotation
devices under plane seats
instead of parachutes?
Why do fat chance and
slim chance mean the
same thing?
If you can’t drink and
drive, why do you need a
driver’s license to buy
liquor, and why do bars
have parking lots?
Why is so hard to
remember how to spell
If nothing ever sticks to
TEFLON, how do they
make TEFLON stick to
pan?
If you are in a vehicle
doing the speed of light,
what happens when you
turn-on the headlights?
You know how most
packages say “open
here”. What is the
protocol if the package
says, “open somewhere
else”?
Why do we drive on
Why isn’t “palindrome”
spelled the same way
backwards?
Why is it that when you
transport something by car,
it’s called a shipment, but
when you transport
something by ship, its called
 You know that little black
indestructible box that is used
on planes, why can’t they make
the whole plane out of the same
substance?
 Why is it when you are driving
and looking for an address, you
turn down the volume on the
radio?
If you have your finger
touching your rearview
mirror that says- “objects in
the mirror are closer than
they appear”, how can that
be possible?
If some invented instant
water, what would they mix it
Why is it called a TV “set”
when you only get one?
Why does your nose run
and your feet smell?
Why does your nose run
and your feet smell?
Why does an alarm clock
“go off” when it begins
ringing?
If pro is opposite of con, is
progress the opposite of
congress?
Why is it, whether you sit up
or sit down, the result is the
same?
 Interviewing weaknesses
Perhaps it is because we
are all involved in this
activity so often that we
tend to take all but the
most formal occasions for
granted.
We become complacent
and, as with so many
other communication
activities, interviews can
often be ineffective and
waste of time
 Check points: Ineffective
Interviews
Took longer than necessary
Rambled off the point into a
discussion of irrelevancies
One or other party talked too
much, not letting the other
get a word in edgeways
Left you feeling dissatisfied
in that the interview didn’t
achieve what you had
expected or hoped
Left you wondering what the
purpose of the interview
really was
Developed into an
argument or even a
slinging match
Did more harm than good
 In general terms, interviewing
consists of talking and
listening and forming
conclusions.
 Talking listening to other
people are the basis of good
communications at work and in
our personal relationships
But it is not a question of
encouraging people to talk
to one other more, but a
question of improving the
quality of talking and
listening that takes place.
 What is an interview?
“Any planned and controlled
conversation between two
(or more) people which has
a purpose for at least one of
the participants, and during
which both speak and listen
from time”.
 Chance meetings in corridors,
lifts or canteens often result in
conversations, but we shall not
consider these interviews as
such, since the definition we
are using contains the crucial
idea of “purpose”, as well as
the aspect of planning and
controlling the conversation.
 Inremembering the reasons why
some interviews you have taken
part in were unsatisfactory, you
may have deduced that many
interviews tended to become
merely meandering chats precisely
because no one seemed to be too
clear exactly what the interview
was intended to achieve
Check-points: The Effective
Interview
To be effective the
interview must have:
.purpose
.planning
.controlled interaction
Whether you are likely to be
mainly the interviewer or the
interviewee will depend, of
course, on your
circumstances, but you can
learn a great deal about the
art of ‘being interviewed’ by
learning how to ‘interview’
 From understanding the objective
of an interviewer and being aware
of the methods used to achieve
those objectives you can gain
insight into how best to perform as
the interviewee, and to cope with
or help the less-than-good
interviewer, of whom there are
many
 The purposes of the
Interview
 Thepurpose of the interview
may be very specific –
selecting someone for a job;
hearing about someone’s
complaint; reprimanding or
disciplining someone for a
misdemeanor; or determining
someone is progressing- and
there are many more.
But all interviews will be
concerned with:
.obtaining information
.passing of information
.clarifying information
In other words ‘ exchanging
information’
Itis the ‘reason’ why this
information is exchanged
which forms the of a
particular interview, and the
researchers normally
conceive of four basic
purposes of interviews.
1. Dissemination of
information (teacher-
student interviews, news
journalism interviews)
2. Seeking belief or behavior
change (sales, discipline,
performance appraisal)
3. problem- solving and decision- making
(employment interviews, performance
appraisal, medical interviews,
counseling, grievance procedures,
parent- teacher discussions)
4.Research and discovery of new
information (academic and social case
work, market research, polls and
opinion surveys, police interrogation,
academic and writer research)
Most interviews, whatever
there overall purpose, will
be concerned with eliciting
or exchanging information
of various kinds.
 Types of Interview
Information
1. Statements of
description
2. Statements of factual
knowledge
3. Statements of behavior
4.Statements of attitude
and belief
5.Statements of feeling
6.Statements of value
 Statement of description
The interviewee is required
to provide information
concerning something he
has observed or
experienced and may be
questioned much as a
witness is by lawer.
 Statements of factual
knowledge
The interviewee is required
to pass on an explanation of
information he possesses
(e.g. an interview with an
expert or specialist)
 Statements of behaviour
The interviewee defines
the previous, present and
future behaviour of the
interviewee
 Statements of attitude and
belief
 Information of a more subjective
nature revealing attitudes,
personality, ambition and
motivation; these statements
represents the interviewee’s
evaluation and opinion of the truth
and falseness about things, e.g. ‘I
think that may be true…’ ‘I believe
all staff should…’
 Statements of feelings
 These messages reveal physical
and/or emotional levels which
reflect the state of the individual,
e.g. ‘I am fed up with always
being ordered about by someone
for whom I’ve no respect’; ‘I’m
thoroughly enjoying this new
responsibility’ , etc.
 Statements of value
 These statements convey long-
standing belief systems that are
highly treasured by the
respondent, e.g. ‘the essential
quality in anyone is commitment- a
willingness to see things through
and stick at the job despite
difficulties. Without that, all the
qualifications in the world are
useless.’
LISTENING
Listening is the key
to success
Listening opens up
new horizons
Listening is the key
to learning
Listening begets
listening
 Why do we listen?
To gain information

To get feedback

Toparticipate in
another’s story
To hear of their
experiences and
insights
To be ‘in control’
(information is
power)
To broaden our
horizons, ie to
learn
To create a
relationship
To respect and
value others
Listening is perhaps
one of the most
important skills we
have, yet it is one of
the least recognized.
 A neglected skill
 Listening
in fact is how we
ourselves learn to speak.

 Researchreveals that
although we spend so
much of our time
‘listening’ we don’t
necessarily remember
all we’re told.
Shortly after a 10
minute oral
presentation the
average listener will
have retained only
half of what was said.
After 48 hours they
are likely to
remember only 10
percent!
Why don’t we listen?

1. Selective
listening
 Sit
still for about 5 minutes with
your eyes shut. Concentrate on
the things you can hear , and
identify as many different
sounds as you can. At the end of
the 5 minutes make a list,
independently, of these sounds.
Finally, discuss the results with
your partner. What conclusions?
Sounds which are
considered
unimportant are shut
out. We concentrate
primarily on what we
think is important.
 Go to the locker (no.252) at CST
station. In the locker you will
find a cash box which contains
the following:

1. 50xRs500,
2. 50xRs100,
3. 50xRs50

Please bring me half the money.

What is the number of
the locker ???
Why do people
listen selectively
only to what they
think is important?
Talking speed
versus the speed of
thought.
There is a considerable
difference between the
speed at which people
talk and the speed at
which they think ….
Theaverage
person speaks at
about 125 words
per minute…
Anaverage
persons thinking
speed is in the
range of 500 words
per minute…
Results….

Daydream
Tune out
Mental ‘walk about’
 You are the leader of the search party
looking for a plane which has crashed
in the wilderness. After searching the
area for some time you eventually
locate deep furrows made by the
plane as it crash landed. Following
the furrows you see the plane with its
back broken lying partially submerged
in the middle of the river. There is no
obvious sign of life. You realise that
there is no way you can carry the
dead back to civilisation and you
must choose where to bury
them. It would be easier to get
them to the far bank but the
ground is very rocky. To bring
them to the near bank would be
much more difficult because of
the depth of the water and the
speed of the current, but once on
the bank the job would be
relatively easier because the
ground is soft.
On which side of the river
would you bury the
dead???
 Lack of interest
 It bores you.
 It doesn’t concern you.
 You have other more
important things on your
mind- professional or
personal.
Some cues:

 Staring into the distance.

 Sitting on the edge of the
chair.
 Moving towards the door
 Packing the bag.
 Saying ‘yes’ ‘no’ or nodding
without conviction.
Beliefs and attitude
We all have opinions
on a variety of issues.
We feel strongly
about certain subjects
We value certain
behaviors.
You tend not to listen
when your beliefs and
attitudes are
challenged or
opposed .
Reactions to the
speaker
Emerson once said...
“ What you are,
sounds so loudly in
my ears that I can’t
hear what you say ”.
Some stumbling blocks-

 Accent

Mannerism

Use of certain words

Our preconceptions
Hierarchy
Education
Profession
Social Status
Race
Age/Gender
The words we hear
Pet Phrases
Over repetition of
words
Unfamiliar words
Jargons
English Language has
nearly half a million
words and an average
person uses a tiny
proportion, may be 3-4
thousand only.
A point worth
remembering is that
same words mean
different things to
different people.
A few of such words
are –
. Call it a day
. Help
. Back ground
. Condition
Physical Distractions
 Noise
 Dress
 Physical background
 Non-visibility of the
speaker
 Gestures
How we show we
are not listening…
. Turn-away
. Shuffle papers on
your desk
. Put papers in your
brief-case
. Have a glazed look
. Pick up a file and start
reading
.Turn and talk to someone
else
. Not respond to a question
intentionally
. Continue to look at the
monitor
At times signs of
concentration, deep
thought, comfort in
the proceedings by
leaning back in the
chair, ….. may at
times be construed as
not listening.
 Non-verbal
communication
 Metacommunication and
Paralanguage
 Non-verbal communication is
anything other than words that
communicates a message.
 The way we stand, walk, shrug
our shoulders; the clothes we
wear, the car we drive, or the
office we occupy; all
communicate ideas to others.
 All these things which we take into
account in interpreting what
someone is saying, over and the
actual words, are referred to as
‘metacommunication’.
 ‘meta’ is Greek and means ‘beyond
or ‘in addition’; hence,
metacommunication is something
‘in addition to communication’.
 However, if you get additional
communication from the inflection
of her voice, then she
communicated this by means of
what we call ‘paralanguage’.
 Frequently paralanguage conveys
the opposite of the words
themselves.
 When this happens, we usually
pick up the meaning of the
paralanguage rather than the
language being used
 ‘its not what
he says, but the
way he says it’.
Non-verbal channels
are the ones which
seem to be least aware
in ourselves, but most
aware in others
lets have a look at the
non-verbal language of
-silence
-time and
-body language
The language of Silence
You think you have made a
fabulous speech and you
ask your audience to ask
any questions – there is pin-
drop silence in the hall. How
do you feel?
“silence is golden’, so the
saying goes, but is it?
 A long period of silence may be
golden for some people in
certain circumstances, but at
times it can be embarrassing
and even rude
 It could be boredom, rejection,
disagreement, total
satisfaction,…very ambiguous!
 We are social creatures and our
society is made up of
responses to each other. We
keep on seeking reassurances
 One of the cruelest social
punishments is ‘solitary
confinement’
 Silence builds walls- and walls
are barriers to communication.
At times silence can bean
effective technique in
encouraging feedback, or a
real two-way communication
Silence is a powerful tool of
communication, but it must
be used skillfully
 The language of Time
 Itis easy to assume that we all
experience time in much the same way
 After all an hour is an hour
 Yet time is experienced differently by
different nationalities, societies, and
cultures.
 There is a Christian calendar, Muslim
calendar, Hindu calendar and so on
 Even in the same culture different
communities will divide time into
different time periods.
 Different businesses have different
weeks, seasons.
 Different professions have
different time scales
 Markets, schools/colleges, tourist
seasons, courts, agriculture…
 Different people attach different value
to time
 ‘one minute’, ‘never’, ‘as soon as
possible’, ‘let’s call it a day’,
 For some 9a.m. is sharp 9a.m. while for
the others it could be 10a.m., or 11a.m.
or even later
 Time is also used to show eagerness,
interest, enthusiasm, attitude,
seriousness…
 There are cultural differences in
the uses of time, which a business
traveler should be aware of
 At luncheon meetings the business
is discussed either before, during,
or after depending on that
country’s culture
 Local customs, cultures, manners,
etiquettes and such, vary from
place to place, caste, creed,
religion, income, education,
lifestyles, social status… the
variances are too many
Body language or kinesics
A favorite sport of many people is
‘people watching’ or, Desmond
Morris has called his very popular
book, ‘manwatching’
 What do you do when you are
waiting on a railway platform,
alone or at a busy doctors clinic…
 Possibly you can’t hear, so you are
actually listening/hearing/reading
their body language
 Whether we are aware of it or not,
each of us spends a lot of time
decoding body language, or as it
also known as ‘kinesics’
 The non-verbal communications
often come through louder than
the words that are actually being
spoken and are frequently the
means by which we reveal the
emotional side of our
communications.
 The non-verbal messages of a
speaker tend to reveal the degree
of presence of sincerity,
conviction, honesty, ability and
knowledge; they reveal, too, a lot
about the speaker and their
attitude and feelings about the
message they are transmitting.
 Body language of the receiver also
reveals a lot about them and their
feelings
 But, more important, it frequently
tells the speaker the extent to
which their audience is accepting
or not accepting the message.
 In other words, body language
provides instant feedback to the
speaker and tells them how they
are doing.
 It is needless to state that to be a
good body language reader you
have to sharpen your powers of
observation
 Space
 Before we try to understand the
movements of the various parts
of the body, we should first
examine our attitude to the
space in which that movement
takes place.
 Just the way silence and time
speak, so does space.
Not only does space affect
the way we communicate,
but we use space to
communicate
Each of us have space we
feel is our own
‘the three bears’ story
examples
Boss’s room/chair
Mom and dad’s bedroom
Juniors hostel
P.G. class
Ladies line
Members enclosure…
 Space and status
Your room- boss’s room
Small car- big car
1bhk-3bhk
Napean sea road- Dharavi
LLIM- IIM-A
 Territory
Seashore- towel
Train seat- hanky
Table no. 1
Front/back bench
 Assignment
How do you in a
hypothetical situation
stake your claim on a
particular territory?
How do you feel when
people invade into your
territory?
 Personal space
Intimate distance
Personal distance
Social distance
Public distance
 Touch
Touch is probably the
earliest form of
communication and still
is. However ,
society/cultures/surroundi
ngs/upbringing…bring in
inhibitions
Orientation and posture
We can influence
communication and signal
our attitude not just by
our proximity to others
but by the position and
posture we adopt.
Body language or kinesics
Exercise
Look at the drawings on
the board. Which of the
following adjectives
describes which posture?
 • Angry

 Aloof
 Sad
Ashamed
 Self-conscious
Casual
 Resigned
Describing
 Self-satisfied
Dominating
 Shy
Doubtful
 Surprised
Impatient
 Suspicious
Modest
 Undecided
Questioning
 Uninterested
angry
Psychologists findings
Posture2
Posture 1
Uninterested
Self-satisfied
Describing
Impatient
Resigned
Describing
Doubtful
Casual
Questioning
Angry
Posture 4
3
Shy
Surprised
Self-conscious
Dominating
Ashamed
Suspicious
Modest
Undecided
Sad
Aloof
 Head nods
 We shake our heads up and down
or from one side to another
 In some instances it is done at
different speeds
 There are many reasons and
implications
 Could be a yes, no, go on, I want to
intervene and speak,
encouragement, disagreement,
agreement and so on…
 Facial expressions
 Of all body movements, facial
expressions are the ones we are most
able to control
 A person’s face provides a commentary
on the reactions- surprise, disbelief,
agreement, disappointment, anger and
so on
 At times there is a mis-match between
the verbal words and facial expressions
 If this is combined with body
movements it becomes that much more
complimented
 Eye movements
 In contrast to other body signals,
movements of the eyes have an effect
quite out of proportion to the physical
effort exerted
 Some eye movements are quite
uncontrollable but nevertheless send
out very strong messages which we
receive almost without being aware of
them.
 They perform many functions…
 To indicate interest
 When two people are engaged
in conversation they look each
other in the eye intermittently
 Usually each looks between 25
and 75 percent of the time
 The glances vary in length but
we tend to look twice as much
while listening as while talking
 The amount of look is related to
the amount and kind of interest; if
we are interested in someone or
what they are saying we will look at
them, whereas we will tend to
direct our gaze away if we are
uninterested
 At times, long periods of looking
may indicate a desire for intimacy
 When a general glance in a train or
a lift or a public place becomes a
second glance and then a stare it
means more than just a passing
interest
 To gain feedback
People look primarily to
obtain information: to get
reactions, to gauge their
interests
Believability, truth,
confidence and such
things get justified
To synchronies speech
Eye movements, like head
nods and grunts, are also
used to synchronies speech.
They need to see how the
other person is reacting,
thereby continue with
modifications if necessary
 How to create your
presentation?
S- situation
P- purpose
A- audience
M- method
 Situation
Check your venue
Organize your
schedule
 Check your venue
 Inorder to feel totally relaxed
during ;your presentation, you
must be completely familiar
with the room facilities and
layout. Where possible you
should visit the chosen venue
in advance, or talk the facilities
manager to thoroughly check
arrangements.
 Your venue checklist
 do you know how long the presentation
should last?
 Do you need to book the room?
 What is the start/finish time?
 Have you booked refreshments/lunch?
 What is the room size?- e.g. conference
room, class room or lecture hall.
 Will you need microphones/PA?
 Where are the doorways/ fire exits?
 Are there any practice fire alarms
scheduled/ do you know where the
assembly areas are?
 Where are the
toilets/restroom/restaurant?
 Have you checked the heating/ air
conditioning?- remember to set the
temperature slightly cooler than is
comfortable; a room becomes much
warmer when it is full of people. If you
make your audience too comfortable
they will fall asleep!
 Are there adequate power sockets/ will
you need extension cables or
adaptors?
 Is the seating plan adequate?-
consider arranging the audience
seats in a semi-circular pattern, as
this is by far the best arrangement
for acoustics and visibility.
 Have you tested the venue’s
presentation facilities?- if you
intend to use any audio-visual
equipment you must ensure that
you are familiar with it.
Is there adequate lighting?-
make sure you know how to
dim the lights if required.
Is speaking area well lit?
Are there windows/blinds?-
check they operate
correctly.
Organize your schedule
 Your goal is to organize yourself,
allowing you to concentrate on the
presentation at hand
 Prepare your presentation notes well in
advance.
 If your venue is not local, you must
plan your travel and book your
accommodation immediately.
 Always arrive at atleast an hour before
your presentation, to give yourself
plenty of time to prepare
 Finally,
every experienced
presenter has arrived at a
venue to find that the
equipment or materials which
were booked in advance have
not appeared.
 Always prepare for the worst
scenario, travel with your
‘presenter’s survival pack’,
containing enough essential
materials to carry out basic
presentation given any
circumstance.
 The presenter’s survival
pack
 White
Slide show-PowerPoint
board marker pens and/or vcd
 Chalk
Laptop
 Pre-prepared
Handouts/booksflip- chart –main
 headings
Audience exercises/tests
 Passport
 Notepads/audience pens
 Credit cards
Your schedule checklist
 Have you confirmed your method of
travel?
 Do you need book rail/air tickets?
 Do you need to book hotel/
accommodation?
 Have you packed all your personal
requirements, e.g. washing/ shaving
gear, clothing, alarm clock?
 Do you need to take any presentation
equipment with you- e.g. projector?
 Do you have your presenter’s survival
pack?
 Do you have a route map to your
hotel/venue?
 Have you got your passport/visa?
 How long will it take to get to your
destination?
 Will you need to allow time to recover
from jet lag?
 Do you have enough spare cash or
credit cards?
 Isyour cash of correct currency? –
you may need some for taxis,
restaurants etc.
 Have you contacted the venue
organizer to confirm your arrival
plans? – check for contact
numbers.
 Do you have a point of contact?-
phone number, e-mail address.
 Have you filled in your expenses
form?
 Purpose
Identifythe
aim/purpose
Choose your topic
Identify the aim/purpose
 When choosing the purpose or
type of presentation, first and
foremost you must ensure that you
tell the audience what they want to
hear.
 There are three types of
presentation:
.Informative
.Persuasive
.Entertaining
 Informative
 In a persuasive presentation, the
audience learns about a new topic or
gathers more information about a
particular subject. Informative
presentations can be delivered as a
brief, a review or a report.
 The style of delivery could be
explanation, demonstration,
description, or a series of actions or
instructions.
 Whatever you present should contain a
lot of information that is new to your
audience.
 Persuasive
 A persuasive presentation is
supposed to change the
audiences attitudes, opinions
or behaviours, or to sell. All
persuasive topics fall into one
of four categories, depending
upon the type of proposition or
claim that you are making
 An exploration of the worth of some
idea or selling pitch
 A confidence building exercise
 A recommendation of a specific course
of action
 Factual issues that usually involve
conflicting evidence. The audience may
be challenged or have to decide which
statement is true or false
 Entertaining
 If you are trying to entertain, do not
expect your audience to be responsive
if your delivery is dull and
unimaginative! You want them to have
a good time and to be amused or
interested by the presentation, so try to
gain and keep their attention using
rapport, feedback and involvement.
 If you don’t consider yourself to be
naturally funny, use long jokes and
stories sparingly!
 Choose your topic
 Ask yourself:
.does the topic address the audience needs?
.will you enjoy talking about this topic?
.will the audience be interested in your topic?
.are you sure the topic won’t offend some
members of your audience?.
.does the occasion for your presentation have
a special purpose?
Your interest in the topic will improve your
ability to create an effective presentation.
 Audience
 One of the most important rules of any
presentation is to know your audience.
 Your goal is to:
.be perceived by the audience as credible
and qualified to speak about your topic.
.build a rapport with them and listen to
what they have to say.
.most importantly- ensure that the
presentation fulfils their needs!
Your audience checklist
 What will they want to know and what do they need
to know?
 What is the size of the audience?
 What is the cultural make-up?
 Have you identified the ‘key’ members of the
audience?
 Do they anything in common?
 What will they already know about the topic?
 Will they leave the presentation well informed?
 How can you involve the audience in your
presentation?
 How can you best gain and hold their interest and
attention?
 Other factors
 Ifpossible greet the audience as
they arrive and chat to them. It is
easier to deliver a presentation to a
group of friends
 Don’t start your presentation with a
45-minute corporate video- it’s a
guaranteed turn-off!
 The time of day could also have
an affect on your audience:
.is the presentation immediately
after lunch?
.is the presentation late
afternoon or evening?
.is the presentation on the last
day of the week?
 Method
Organize your research
material
Select your audio/visual
aids
Choose your oral delivery
 Organize your research
material
 Do not be tempted to cover
material which YOU are familiar,
but that bears no relevance to the
audience’s needs.
 Try not to include too much
technical jargon or abbreviations,
as not every one will understand
the latest buzzwords
 Resources
Your research methods
should include:
.the internet
.company intranet/literature
.visit your local /industry
library
.personal networking skills
 Select your audio-visual
aids
 Presentations can be made far more
effective by the correct use of audio-
visual aids.
 Their primary function is to assist the
understanding of the audience.
 In addition, good realistic aids add
variety and make the presentations
more interesting.
 Your goal is to give the audience direct
sensory contact with your presentation,
to improve knowledge retention.
Examples of visual aids
 Photographs
People: body,and
clothing
pictures
actions,
 gestures,
Posters voice, facial expressions and
 demeanor…
Objects or models
 Sketches
 Audio-visual equipment: ohp,
 Pointer
slides/transparencies/PowerPoint..
 Handouts
 Films, vcd’s…
 Graphs: pie, bar, line…
Management of visual aids
 Relevant
Only select and use an aid if it
makes the topic easier to
understand. Avoid any
unnecessary distractions and
do not obscure the view of your
audience. Remove or cover the
visual aid when not in use
 Suitable
A readily available aid is not necessarily
the most suitable aid.
You must be imaginative.
If you do not have the real thing,
improvise using diagrams or models.
You must prepare text and graphics with
extreme diligence, as any spelling
mistakes, inconsistent font sizes,
wrong punctuation and errors will
divert attention away from your
presentation.
Do not use models that are dirty, broken
or unrepresentative of the real thing
 Entertaining the use of colours, good
layout, humor and realism will help to
add interest
 Audible/visible aids must be seen
and/or heard easily. Make sure that any
slide show projection is placed so that
it fills the screen (and isn’t crooked).
Check visibility by sitting in all
locations in the room. Ensure that the
volume of any audio equipment is set
to acceptable levels.
 Technique when demonstrating aids, a
useful three-stage technique is to
TOUCH the aid, TURN to make eye
contact with the audience, and then
TALK to them
PC/laptop and PowerPoint
slideshow
 The PC/laptop and the digital projector is the
most common form of audio-visual aid used
today; however it can also be the most
complex.
 You should ensure that you are thoroughly
familiar with any PC software, projector
equipment or associated cables that you may
be using
 Another commonly used visual aid is the
slide show.
 When used properly a slide show is a
convincing aid to your presentation, but be
careful not to overdo it.
 Most modern presenters seem to be more
concerned with using the best computer
visual effects rather than building rapport
with the audience.
 Be aware that people will not be
automatically impressed by a state-of-the-art
animated computer image, especially if the
content is confusing, illegible or contains
grammatical errors.
 Many companies and educational
establishments now have a built-in video
projectors and computers; as a consequence
audiences are suffering from over exposure
to identical clip arts and audio files
 PowerPoint is a very useful tool for the
presenter; however the slideshow should be
balanced and pleasing to the eye.
 As a general rule, keep it simple and relevant
and avoid using too many slides or speeding
up the presentation if you are behind
schedule.
 A general rule of thumb to determine how
many slides should be used during a
presentation is:
.10 minute presentation- one slide per minute
.40 minute presentation- one slide every 2/3
minutes
Standard PowerPoint slide
font sizes
Title : First slide in a
presentation (size 48
point)
.subtitle Centered (size
40 point)
 Title Centered size 40
point
Subtitle: Size 34 point,
Centered
Arial Bold – The ONLY font
used in a presentation
Bullets size 32 .
 Slide colours
 The selection of text colours is very
important.
 Text and colours that look impressive on
your laptop display may not be as legible on
a larger screen.
 Try to limit your selection to a maximum of
three colours.
 You must check your slide color scheme
using a large screen (preferably at the venue
itself)
 You should also check that the slide detail is
legible from all angles within the room
 Public speaking
‘All great speakers were
bad speakers once.’
-Emerson
 •The skills and
confidence of public
speaking come from
two things: hard
work and practice.
 So how do you go about the hard work
and practice?
 Let’s deal with the practice first.
Itis true that no amount of
reading and learning
techniques from a book will
turn you into a competent,
confident speaker.
Sachin Tendulkar then and
Sachin now is a living
example of what hard work
and practice can do.
‘but how can I get practice’
 Speak whenever you get the
opportunity
 This will help you find your own
particular strengths and
weaknesses
 Then learn to exploit your
strengths and avoid your
weaknesses
 Preparation
 There are techniques we can
learn from experienced
speakers
 Many a speaker has used
Thesaurus for word selection
 Many a speaker who speak
impromptu, do not.
 work has been done long
before they reach the platform.
 First questions
Aswith any other
communication, it is
back to Why? Who?
What? When? Where?
And How?
When will it take place?
Besure that you have
adequate preparation
time- for both written
material and visual
aids.
 How long?
Are you to speak for?
Is the time adequate for your
subject?
Remember that, contrary to
what may seem the case, the
less time you have to speak,
the more carefully planned
your talk must be.
 As one speaker said:
‘ If you want me to speak for
five minutes- I need two
weeks to prepare. If you
want me to speak for an
hour- I need a week to
prepare. If you don’t mind
how long I speak, I’ll get up
now and do it now,’
 Where is it to take place?
 Insurroundings familiar to your
audience? Familiar to you? If not,
try to visit the venue before you
speak and in any case check
before-hand the type and size of
the room, tiered seating or flat
floor, acoustics, lighting,
equipment available, etc. don’t
hesitate to ask if particular
arrangements are possible
Who are to be present?
Number, age and type of
people, male or female,
intellectual level, their
current knowledge of the
subject, their reasons for
attending and their attitudes.
These will, of course,
influence the ideas and the
language you use.
 Why me?
What special
knowledge or position
have you?
What will the audience
expect from you?
 How?
 Are you expected to give a formal
speech or lecture, or an
introductory talk to provoke
discussion? Will there be a
question session?
 If there is to be a discussion or a
question session then you might
like to leave some things unsaid so
that you leave your audience with
some questions to ask and
yourself with something fresh to
say in answer to them.
Adjust to circumstances
 In many a case there is likely to
be a conflict between the
desired circumstances and the
given circumstances
 Hence usually some
modifications or compromises
will be necessary.
 It could be time, audience size,
equipment…
Developing the material
Stage one –Think
you have selected your
subject, now give the time
to grow.
# take time to gather and
arrange your thoughts..
 Think about the talk at any convenient
moment; a good time often presents
itself when you are doing some other,
usually manual job, like digging the
garden, decorating your flat, or perhaps
traveling to work or college.
 Discuss the theme with friends and
colleagues.
 Carry a notebook or a card, on which to
note ideas as they occur to you.
 Stage Two- Read
 Read as much as time permits
 Gather more material than you
can possibly use, not only on
the subject but also, for
example possible quotations
 Collect anecdotes and stories
from newspapers and
magazines.
 Stage Three- construct
your outline
As with any carefully
presented message, it will
require an introduction
and a conclusion
However you do it, it
should be logical and
systematic.
‘look after the beginning and
the end…and the middle will
take care itself.’
Of course the middle needs
to be well structured if you
are to achieve your goal
‘men perish because they
cannot join the beginning
with the end.’
 Opening the talk
 The first few minutes are very crucial
because:
-you may have to follow a speaker who
for whatever reasons has had a great
acceptance
-you may be the first or only speaker on
that occasion and you have to cut the
ice, so to speak, make the audience feel
immediately that their attendance is
worthwhile
-you may, like most other people, feel far
more nervous during the first few
minutes
 Check points: creating a
good opening impression
 Arrange the ‘stage’ on which you
are to perform. Take a little time
before you start speaking to
position your notes and visual aids
so that you can use them
comfortably. Make sure you have
room to move between the table or
lectern and the blackboard or OHP,
that your notes are high enough to
you to see without continually
dropping your head
 Don’t hesitate; start as soon as
the audience is settled, but take
a few seconds to survey the
audience and let them stock of
you.
 Don’t open with clichés or
hackneyed expressions, e.g. ‘it
gives me great pleasure…’I
want to thank you…(do this a
little later or even towards the
end of your talk)
 Don’t apologize. You may not that your
knowledge, subject, ability or even
presence is Upto the occasion but the
audience will be confident, if you start
with the confidence that stems from
being well prepared.
 The opening must be something
original and interesting enough to
make them want to hear what you have
to say
 Avoid too early a climax-
interest will fall if the high
standard of the opening cannot
be sustained.
 Remember it is only an
opening- an introduction. Don’t
make it too long. Keep it in
proportion to the total length of
the talk.
 Check-points: A Dozen
Ways to Start.
 Statement of subject or title- not
very inspiring: they probably know
your subject anyway.
 Statement of your objective and
the plan of your talk- a good safe
way to start if you have adopted a
deductive sequence, but if you are
trying to persuade , you don’t want
to give the game away too early.
Informal – for informal
occasions.
‘only the other day when I
was with Yuookta M…’
This has avoided giving the
impression of ‘making a
speech’
 Question- anticipate the type of
questions your audience might
want answered in connection
with your subject: ‘ are the
days of kapoors’ over’?
The audience instinctively tries
to arrive at an answer- and
gives you an opening
 Mind reading- similar to the use
of question. Anticipate the
audiences preconceived ideas;
bring these in to the open and
correct them if necessary
“if I were a member of the
audience today I would be
expecting to sit through
another boring lecture on
communication. But I have
something more interesting …”
Anecdote – must be well
told, relevant to the
subject, brief and, if
possible, personal ( the
willingness to laugh at
yourself will usually win
an audience)
 Joke- if your experience tells
you that you can do this well,
then it may be worth risking it.
But peoples sense of humor
differs radically, and if the joke
falls flat you are worse off than
before. Again, it must be well
told, relevant and brief
 Facts and statistics – used
sparingly they can get the
audience to rise to the occasion.
Most business or technical
subjects offer many facts which
will interest and inform your
audience.
choose them carefully, make sure
they are accurate and keep them
simple. Contrasting facts can be
particularly interesting: ”In 2003,an
average of15000 people died of
heart attacks while 25000 died in
road accidents”
Quotation – perhaps the
easiest method to use and
often most effective.
the quotation should be from
a well known person or
author known to the
audience, and strictly
relevant to your subject
 Shock – not just the gimmicky
opening, firing revolvers or letting
off explosions, which can often go
wrong and are always to sustain.
shock can be created through
effective use of words: ‘MBA is a
waste of time and money…only
fools do it…’
pause to allow the shock to take
effect, then: ‘ unless, of course, it
is aimed at…’
Topical story – as opposed
to the humorous story.
Everyone likes a story- but
only if it is skillfully chosen
and told. Ideally it should
have an intriguing twist and
must lead into the subject
 Closing the Talk
Just as you need to attract
the interest ;of the audience
at the beginning of the talk,
so you must finish on a high
note. The effect of the
speech which is other wise
good can be damaged by its
close
 Check- points: Pitfalls to
Avoid
 Avoid wandering towards the end.
End on a high note which is
relevant to all that has gone before
 Don’t make a second speech. Even
if you suddenly think of something
else which is relevant don't be
tempted. It is very easy, as the
tension relaxes, to start developing
a new line of thought which was
not there in the body of thought
earlier
 Avoid repetition. In summing up
the main points you have made,
don’t repeat details or labor over
points again.
 If you have finished before your
allotted time- sit down. Don’t pad it
out.
 Avoid having to rely on notes for
your final remarks. Learn your
closing words so that you can look
at your audience as you reach your
climax
 Don’t give too many closing
signals, e.g. ‘and finally’, ‘in
conclusion’, ‘one other thing
before I finish’, ‘then, before you
fall asleep’,…
 In fact, it is probably best to avoid
a closing signal altogether
 Your closing remarks should round
off your talk, and therefore by
implication your audience will
know that your talk is complete.
To avoid these pit falls, you
need to have a closing plan
which is an integral part of
the development of your
whole speech. In this way
you won’t get lost at the end
of your presentation.
 Check-points: 10 Ways to
Stop
Summary-a fairly
standard way to finish but
nevertheless effective. A
brief review of the
important points leaves
no doubt in the minds of
your audience
Questions-send the
audience away to think of
an answer. ‘This then is
what we have to do. The
question now is , how can
we best achieve it’.
 Story or anecdote-should be
brief and to the point. A story
can illustrate how your ideas
have worked out in practice
 Quotations- can indicate wide
knowledge and therefore lend
credibility to your performance.
Must be relevant and must not
be just tucked in for its own
sake
 Alternative-offer a choice of
alternatives, or different
solutions. The one you want
accepted should be obvious
from the way you have
constructed your presentation
and you can give this one more
weight than the others in the
summary.
 Dramatic- if you carry it off by
the dramatic use of your voice,
or dramatic content, can
certainly end things on a high
note
 Action- you want action now,
not later. So ask for it. Many of
your audience will respond
 Incentive-if
you can suggest
ways in which the audience can
benefit ,some sort of a reward
or an incentive, they are even
more likely to respond. An
audience is less likely to forget
your message if you offer a
reason for taking action
 Fear-use of fear to gain action
is risky because it can alienate
the audience. But since it is
often difficult to provoke the
audience to action, you may be
justified in using some element
of fear if the end result is
worthwhile. ‘you must act –
now ! Before it is too late!’.
 Conscience- pricking-same
effect as above but less risky
 Visual Aids
You do not have to be
a graphic artist, but it
helps!
please bear in mind the
following points
 How can visuals aid my
talk?
Hand-outs and or visuals
aid during the talk
Use pre- prepared visuals
for complex inter-related
ideas/ persuasive
communication
 Words alone are not visual
aids- where you do use them
provide visual impact by means
of graphic devices:
-underlining and boxes or circles
-bullets and dashes
-careful lay-out
-use of space
 Don’t use overcomplicated
visual aids – everybody in the
audience must understand
every aid and use by the time
you have finished with it.
 Visuals must complement what
you say.
 Make sure there are no spelling
mistakes
 You must have a visual for
everything you want your
audience to remember
 Don’t have a visual aid which
you don’t need
 You don’t have to be a
professional to produce good
visuals
 Computers today have made
things easy
 Use of Notes
 Why use notes?
-memories are faulty
-they guard against omissions
-they help to develop a
complicated close-knit
argument
-they prevent loss of sequence
 Practicing the Talk
 Thorough preparation
 Plenty of practice
 Practice the whole talk
-out loud
-in a similar-sized room
-using a tape recorder
-checking the timing
-do a dry run in front of
friends/colleagues
 Room and platform
Room –seating plan,
windows, lighting, OHP,
blackboard/whiteboard
Platform – room to move,
supply of clean, covered
water and glass,
microphone, sit/stand
 Delivery of the Talk
 Be yourself! And look at the audience!
 Concentrate on the preparation and on
the four qualities below
-conviction/sincerity
-enthusiasm
-power of speech
-simplicity
These are the basic ingredients of all
effective communication
 Punctuation and style
 Pauses, gestures, body language,
volume- these and many other tools we
use in speaking are not possible in
writing.
 We can’t “write louder” to show how
we speak in expressing strong feeling.
 We don’t write something above the
base line to show how we raise the
pitch of our voices in asking a
question.
 Instead, as we write , we use marks of
punctuation.
 Punctuation marks provide signals to
readers
 Punctuation marks help a reader group
words or separate words to organize
meaning.
 Punctuation marks also help reader
interpret meaning by indicating
questions, exclamations, pauses,
interruptions, and stops.
 PERIODS, QUESTION MARKS,
AND EXCLAMATION POINTS
The period, the question
mark, and the exclamation
point are marks used to
end sentences.
Lets look at their basic
use and discuss a few
problem areas
 The period
Usea period after
declarative and imperative
sentences, indirect
questions, and requests
phrased as questions
 After declarative and
imperative sentences
A declarative sentence
makes a statement, and
an imperative sentence is
an order or a command.
Use a period after each
Ms. Freeman wants to
attend the computer
seminar. (It simply makes
a statement)
Send Ms Freeman the
brochure of the seminar.
( a polite command)
After indirect questions
An indirect question is really
a statement because it
simply rephrases a question
in a statement form
Use a period after indirect
questions. Of course, use a
question mark after a direct
question.
 “Does anyone know,” asked Jim,
“when the revised procedures manual
will be distributed?” (Jim’s actual
words are in quotation marks. His
actual words constitute a question and
require a question mark.)
 Jim asked whether anyone knew when
the revised procedures manual will be
distributed. (This is not Jim’s original
question; it is a restatement of his
question. This restatement is an
indirect question and requires a
period.)
 After requests phrased as
questions
 Sometimes, as a matter of
courtesy, a request is phrased in
question form. Use a period when
such requests clearly indicate that
a specific action is expected.
(requests that end with q period
are called polite requests) Use a
question mark when such requests
are direct requests that require a
“yes” or a “no” answer.
 Will you please send us your
payment. (An action is being
requested. This is simply a polite
way of saying “send us your
payment.”)
 Will you be able to ship the
merchandise in time for our Fourth
of July sale? (A genuine question-
can you ship it in time?)
Do not use a closing period
after the following items:
 Numbers or letters in
parentheses
 Headings or titles appearing on
separate lines
 Roman numerals
 Even dollar amounts
 Abbreviations ending with a
period
 Three reasons for the delay: (1) the
recent strike, (2) the backlog in
shipments… (not (1.), (2.),…
 Summary
BIBLIOGRAPHY …no period after
headings that appear on separate
lines
 Mark Turner III will be the new
CEO. ( not III. Will be…)
 Ms Hauser suggested $20 as a fair
price. (not $20. as a …)
 Store hours are from 9 a.m. until 8
p.m. ( not 8 p.m..)
In addition, do not use
a period after items in a
list unless the items
are complete
sentences.
 Nancy discussed three
problems:
1. The profit margin
2. Increased competition
3. Government regulation
Now notice how the items in the
following example are complete
sentences:
Nancy will discuss the following
problems at our next meeting:
1.Profit margins over the past
three years have steadily
declined.
2.Increased competition has
eroded our market share.
3.Government regulations have
inhibited market expansion.
 Period pitfalls
A common error in using
periods is to place a
closing period before the
end of the sentence,
thereby stranding a group
of words and creating a
fragment.
 Next year we will launch an advertising
campaign for our video recorders. The
most expensive and extensive
campaign we have ever developed.
(Here the second group of words
makes no sense unless it is joined to
the first sentence.)
 Next April we will launch an advertising
campaign for ;our new video recorders,
the most extensive and expensive
campaign we have ever developed.
A second common error related to the
period use is to place a comma where a
period (or a semicolon) should be used.
In other words, a sentence that should
with a period should not be joined to
another sentence by a comma.
Ajax Car Leasing has been offering
exceptionally attractive leasing
agreements, it’s still not too late to
apply. (A period or a semicolon should
follow agreements. They have been
joined–incorrectly-by a comma.)
 The question mark
 The question mark is used after a
direct question. It is also used after
a short direct question that follows
a statement.
Who has the orders from Owens
Chemicals? (direct question.)
Have you seen today’s closing
market prices? (direct question.)
The car is too expensive, isn’t
it? (The sentence begins as a
statement and ends as a
question. Use a question mark
to conclude the sentence.)
All the fax machines come with
a one-year warranty, don’t
they? (Use a question mark
because question is joined to
the statement.)
 When a series of questions is
included in one sentence, use a
question mark after each
question. Do not capitalize first
words in the individual
questions.
Will you be opening branches in
England? In Japan? In Germany?
The exclamation point
 To express strong feeling, use an
exclamation point after a word, a
phrase, or a sentence. Do not,
however, over use the
exclamation point- especially in
business correspondence.
 Note that the need for the

exclamation point must often be

determined by the writer.
 Congratulations! John and I are
delighted to hear of your promotion.
(Exclamation point after a word. Note
that the sentence following the
exclamation is punctuated in the usual
way.)
 Another best-seller! How pleased I was
to learn that…(Exclamation point after a
phrase)
 Why didn’t we think of this sooner!
(Exclamation point after a sentence.)
 Why didn’t we think of this sooner?
(Now the sentence does not show as
strong emotion as with the exclamation
point.)
 Commas- basic uses
The comma is certainly a
versatile and often-used
punctuation mark.
Commas may be viewed as
leading the reader along a
map; errors in comma usage
may force the reader to take
an unnecessary detour.
 Introductory words
 Among the most commonly used
introductory words are the following.
Use a comma after each.
also- fortunately- moreover- obviously-
consequently- furthermore- namely- of
course- finally- however- naturally-
otherwise- first- in addition-
nevertheless- therefore- for example-
meanwhile- no- yes- …
First, we must assess…
Second, we must survey…
Finally, we must choose…
 Introductory phrases
A comma is needed after any
introductory phrase that contains a
verb form.
 Introductory phrases appear before and
introduce the main thought unit
To qualify, you must be…
To get your copy, just complete…
Knowing the exact cost, Karen tried…
Alerted to the problem, the boss…
 Most writers omit commas after
short introductory
prepositional phrases to make
the transition to the following
group of words smoother.
In July we will move to …
During the next month she plans
to travel to …
With the additional clerical help
now available to us, our
department …
 Introductory clauses
 Clauses contain a subject and a verb.
Introductory clauses begin with one of
the following words, which signal you
to use a comma after the clause.
after- even if- since- whenever- although-
if- so that- where- as- in order that-
unless- wherever- as soon as-
inasmuch as- until- while- because-
provided- when- …
In a compound sentence
A compound sentence is one that
has two or more independent
clauses (main clauses, each of
which could stand alone as an
independent sentence.)
 Use a comma between
independent clauses joined by
and, but, or, or nor.
Carla bought this property in
1992, and she plans to build
a home on it in the future.
Our boss always approves
these purchase orders, but
he is out of the office this
week
 Commas-special uses
With two or more
adjectives
When you use two or
adjectives and each
separately modifies the
same noun, use a comma
between the adjectives
Lisa needs a trustworthy, reliable
assistant to help her manage the
branch office. (an assistant who is
both trustworthy and reliable)
This attractive, sturdy, inexpensive
cabinet is ideal for storing video
cassettes. (each adjective modifies
the noun cabinet: note that the
commas are used between the
adjectives and not between an
adjective and a noun)
 With that, which, who, and
whom clauses
That and which clauses
Careful writers use that to
begin a clause with
essential information and
which to begin the clause
with non-essential, or
extra, information.
We sent Ann a copy of our latest sales
report, which shows sales by units.
(because the sales report is clearly
identified- the latest ;one, the which
clause can obviously give only extra
information about it.)
Compare it with the following:
We sent Ann the sales report that shows
sales by units.
 Talking on the telephone
Nowadays, even with e-mail
and the internet, the
telephone is still probably
the most common means of
communication in business,
and used efficiently it has
two advantages.
 Advantages of the
telephone
 It is fast
 It allows people to converse even
when they are unable to meet.
 It is a great leveler: status, physical
appearance and surroundings
don’t show
 It is a great focuser: it removes the
social and emotional distractions
of face-to-face encounter
 Telephone problems
 The telephone, for all its
convenience and speed, also
has the power to convey
rapidly a poor impression of
the efficiency of individuals and
the organizations and create
considerable confusion and
irritation.
 cost
 Certainlytelephone calls seem
cheaper than sending a letter.
Many organizations calculate that
the average cost of sending a letter
taking into account the staff time
involved and the overheads as well
as postage/courier, is about 25Rs,
which would buy quite a lot of
telephone time even at current
rates.
 We have all suffered from the irritating waste
of time caused by bad telephone manners:
 Trying to get a line
 The person required not being available
 Being left hanging on( albeit to the sounds of
the latest popular classic tunes) by an
operator who appears to have gone to lunch
 Being passed from department to department
(or even diverted from phone to phone
without our knowledge!) in an effort to find
someone who can answer the query
 Wrong or engaged numbers
 A caller who has all the time in the
world to chat when we are busy
 Of late get plugged on to CRM software
who will keep on giving you instruction
to keep on dialing without ever getting
to a live person on the other side
Any of these time-wasters can take
longer than it takes to write or dictate a
letter.
First impressions count
 But the telephone can exact other
costs. Frequently, the first contact a
caller has with an organization is with
the person who answers their first call.
 That person, either through a lack of
courtesy, lack of knowledge about the
organization, or how to use the
telephone itself can, however
innocently, create an initial bad
impression of the organization which is
difficult to correct.
 The faceless voice
Perhaps the principal cause of
much of this apparent
inefficiency is that although the
standard telephone allows oral
communication, it does not
transmit visual communication
(non-verbal messages like facial
expressions, gestures and
postures) which are important
giving way to problems like:
 Words are missed
 Words are misheard
 The message is misunderstood
because, the visual cues and
feedback are missing
 The conversation somehow
doesn’t seem so immediate
 Not only does this lack of visual
communication cause messages to be
received incorrectly, but it can also cause
messages to be transmitted incorrectly by
putting callers at what they feel to be a
psychological disadvantage.
 Many people have developed a positive
dislike of the telephone because they cannot
see the person to whom they are talking, with
the result they lack the confidence to make
and answer calls clearly and efficiently.
 The proliferation of the answering machines
has, for many people, made this fear even
worse
 Given the importance of the
telephone in modern business
operations and the prevalence of
bad telephone habits (of which we
are all guilty at times) , it is
surprising that very few books or
courses on business
communication offer more than a
paragraph or two on the subject of
telephone technique.
 For this reason, this is just an
attempt at correcting the
balance somewhat by:
 Providing guidance on making
and answering calls efficiently
and therefore
 Cutting the cost of telephoning
 Picking up verbal clues
 The telephone is not merely a second-
rate communication channel
 For most purposes, a telephone
conversation is as effective as a face-
to-face meeting
 Indeed, given the saving in travel time
and costs and the facility of audio- and
videoconferencing, it is set to replace
most meetings
Being a verbal detective
 Trust your intuition when picking up
clues about the other person’s
personality, feelings and mood
 Stay relaxed and allow ideas about the
speaker to drift into your mind-
unforced impressions can prove to be
remarkably accurate
 Look out for hesitations, self- mocking
comments and other clues about the
speaker’s state of mind.
 Check your hunches by replaying your
impressions to the caller, use
‘reflecting back’ phrases like ‘what you
seem to be feeling is…’
 Use ‘anticipatory feedback’ to guide
your conversation: imagine the other
person’s response to a statement you
are about to make and then modify
what you actually say to achieve the
intended result
 Basic telephone rules
 Be brief: but not at the expense of
making yourself clearly
understood and not to the extent of
being abrupt and discourteous.
Lack of telephone confidence
often causes people to talk for
longer than they would face-face
conversations
 Be courteous
This is specially important when
telephoning to avoid creating a bad
impression which is so difficult to
correct.
Your tone of voice is crucial in
conveying a courteous, cheerful
impression as the words you use
Remember too, that even if you are not
yet using a video phone, your facial
expressions affects the tone of your
voice. Smile!
 Be resourceful
 Don’t be clueless.
 Always think of ways in which you can
be most helpful.
 If you are taking a message for
someone else, use your local
knowledge to suggest helpful ways of
getting the caller and recipient of the
message in touch with one another so
that the caller can judge in an informed
way what they want to do.
 If the caller has been put through
to your department but no one in
your department knows anything
about the matter, think quickly,
who else in the organization might
know something and be able to
help?
 If you are really unable to help,
sound sincerely concerned, not
uninterested.
 Speak clearly
 Enunciate and articulate your
words particularly clearly to
counteract both the poor acoustic
quality of the telephone line and
the absence of lip movements to
help the listener.
 When giving names and numbers,
if there is any ambiguity use the
phonetic code used by all
emergency services to clarify
messages.
H A for Alpha
Hotel
 IBfor
forIndia
Bravo
J C for
for Juliet
Charlie
K D for Kilo
Delta
L E for Lima
Echo
M F for
for Foxtrot
Mike
N G for November
Golf
 O for Oscar
P for Papa V for victor
 Q for Quebec  W for Whisky
 R for Romeo  X for X-ray
 S for Sierra  Y for Yankee
 T for Tango  Z for Zulu
 U for Uniform  Remember
that 5 and 9
sound similar.
Spell them.
 Speak more slowly
 When you are talking on the
telephone it is a good idea to slow
your speech down.
 When your voice is being
mechanically transmitted, the word
seem to move together faster.
 That is the reason TV announcers
often speak at a slower than is
normal in everyday conversation
 Remember too that someone may
be trying to take notes as you talk
 This is particularly important when
talking to an answering machine.
 Don’t rattle off your phone number
at a rate of knots- remember the
poor person on the end trying to
write it down.
 Building a positive
telephone personality
 Don’t worry what you look like
when you’re on the phone; use as
much as little body language as
you wish
 Focus your concentration on what
you’re saying and what is being
said to you
 Mirror positive feelings in your
facial expressions; if you smile
while you speak, you’ll put a smile
in your voice
 Try to relax; stretch to loosen your
muscles and breathe evenly-
tension can feed straight into your
voice and create a negative image
 Don’t use specialized language
(company or professional jargon):
what’s jargon to you may be a
foreign language to the other
person
Avoid clichés that say one
thing and clearly mean
something else
Remember, when you tell a
lie your voice rises
involuntarily; on the phone
this easily detected
 Punctuate your conversation with
‘you’, ‘your’ and the person’s name
 Replace some of your body
language (head nods, quizzical
expressions) with verbal
equivalents: ‘yes’, ‘of course’, I’m
not sure I understand that last
point. Could you…
Switch board operators
 Although telephone operator
training was at one time standard
practice in business some
organizations seem to put their
least able employee on the switch
board.
 The operator is typically regarded
by callers as the representative of
the whole organization.
 Qualities of the switch
board operator
 Verbal intelligibility
 Speed
 Courtesy
 Accuracy
 Discretion
 Resourcefulness
These qualities are just as essential
in anyone who is allowed near a
business telephone
 Help the operator
 The good switchboard operator is
indeed an organization’s
ambassador: they welcome your
callers, introduce you, apologize
for your absence or try to get you
on another line, often take
messages- and are frequently
blamed for your shortcomings.
 Seven points can help the operator
 Making your system work
 Understanding how the
telephone system used in your
organization works.
 Giving the number you
want( including the STD)
 Not disappearing immediately
you have asked her to ring a
number for you
 Answering the phone after the first
ring( when they call you back)
 Acting upon the messages without
delay
 Telling them in advance when you
are likely to be absent
 Providing your potential callers
with your direct line number so
that they don’t have to go through
the operator
 Making a call
 Before
1. Answer the six questions of
effective communication- Why?
Who? Where? When? What?
How?
2. Make notes of what you want to
achieve, the main points/ queries
you must include and any dates,
facts, etc. you may need to refer
to.
3. Have ready any files,
correspondence, etc. which you
may need in the course of the
conversation; don’t keep your
receiver waiting while you ferret
around for the relevant papers or
turn your computer on and find the
right screen
4. Have ready a plain piece of paper
for your own notes
6. Know the name of the person to
whom you need to speak;
sometimes this may be impossible
but, atleast, keep a personal
telephone directory of names and
numbers you ring regularly.
7. Dial the number carefully( or tell
the operator clearly); wrong
numbers are the most common
cause of frustration and time-
wasting, but are usually the fault of
 During
 Give a greeting (‘good morning’,
etc.); state your name (and
organization) and the name of the
person to whom you want to
speak
 Wait patiently to be put through;
you may be put through to a
secretary or the department
telephone, in which case you will
have to go through step 1 again
 Ifyou are cut off, replace the
telephone receiver, wait for a few
seconds and ring again
 Keep it short: most calls can
achieve their purpose in 20
seconds- 20 seconds… time to run
200 yards! Time for a jet to fly 4
miles!
 State your subject/ query clearly-
enough to put the recipient in the
picture
 Refer periodically to your notes
 Pause occasionally to get feedback
that your message is understood
 Spell names and addresses; repeat
numbers
 Take notes, especially the name
and number of the person to whom
you are speaking
 Summarize main points of a long
conversation at the end and always
conclude by confirming any action
required or date to be met
 If you have to leave a message for
someone else, help the person
who answered the phone to take
the right message; don’t just
ramble on making them to get the
gist of it; tell them which are the
main points to write down
 Be polite: thank the receiver for
their help, even if you haven’t got
the information you wanted-
fostering goodwill is not just a part
of being courteous, but will help
future relations.
 Telephone etiquette officially
requires that if you are the caller
you decide when the call ends but,
since not every knows this, use
your judgment.
 After
Immediately, before you forget:
 Fill in your notes so that they will
be comprehensible at a later date.
 Date the note and file it
 Put any relevant dates for future
action or follow- up in your diary
 Pass on the results of your call to
any one concerned with he matter
 Controlling the flow of
conversation
 Be sure you understand exactly
what you want the call to achieve.
 Take the initiative; this gives the
right to take the lead and choose
when to the end the call
 Begin every call with a verbal
‘handshake’ by telling who you are
and why you are calling
 Mirror the conversational style and
vocabulary of the other person to
generate rapport
 Keep your line of argument simple:
state your case and persist until
the message gets through
 Keep the conversation flowing by
asking plenty of questions, but
also be generous with information
of your own
 Search for the areas of
agreement rather than points of
difference
 Use silence for emphasis and
to prompt the person to
respond
 Use alternatives when seeking
agreement
 Gathering information by
telephone
 Ingathering information for the
preparation of a report, or merely as a
part of your day to job, you may need
to contact original or primary sources
of information, or someone else who
has access to secondary information
you need. Telephone calls are widely
used by business and industrial firms
who may need certain information very
quickly, and made correctly these calls
can be very effective.
 Before
1. Work out exactly what
information you need
2. Frame a series of increasingly
specific questions which will give
you what you want to know, e.g.
‘do you have the unemployment
figures for the Bristol area over
the last six months”?
‘does this include a breakdown
by age groups and sex”?
‘
 ‘can you tell me the unemployment
figures for girls aged 16 to 25 for
each month since June?’
…..and so on, to the level of details
you need.
3. Decide which firm, individual,
office, government agency,
organization or business might
possibly have at hand the
information you need.
 During
 When you get through, be polite
but specific. Don’t say: I wonder if
you happen to have anyone there
who knows something about
unemployment…’ etc. instead say:
‘I need some information
concerning the unemployment
figures for the Bristol area over the
last six months. Can you help me?’
(Remember politeness and
courtesy can be conveyed in your
tone of voice.)
 Then, depending on the response,
go on to ask more specific
question. If they can’t help say:
‘could you please give me the
name of someone who can?’
 Don’t be discouraged if the first
place you try can’t help you; try
another place- you will eventually
get what you want if you keep
trying (providing that it is not your
telephone technique which is
putting them off!)
 Make sure you are talking to the
right person; ask to speak to the
‘personnel manager’ or ‘the person
in charge of buying’ or whatever is
appropriate.
 Write down the information
immediately- don’t rely on your
memory; read it back to the person
you are questioning.
 Remember to say ‘thank you’.
 Answering the telephone
 In some organizations the job of
answering the telephone is given
to the most junior employee.
 This is unwise as far as the
organization or department is
concerned, and unfair on the
junior, who through lack of
confidence and lack of experience
in the organization usually creates
a poor impression
 However, more senior
employees may be just as
guilty: through laziness, apathy
or thoughtlessness they can
create equally poor impression
 Anyone who answers a
telephone anywhere must be
courteous, helpful and efficient
 Before
Know how the telephone
system in your organization
works, especially how to
transfer a call. (being cut off
is probably one of the most
frustrating experiences- it
wastes time and creates a
bad impression)
 Never answer a telephone without
a pencil and a paper
 Keep near your own telephone:
A pencil and a pad
An internal telephone directory
An appointment directory (if
appropriate)
 Stop talking to anyone else and
reduce any other noise before
picking up the telephone receiver
 During
 Think about the needs of the
receiver and give them (as fast as
possible) every thing they need to
know, e.g.
Announce your name and
department or section (in a
cheerful voice!)
If the call has come through the
operator, the receiver will already
have been given the name of your
organization
If the call is directly from outside,
announce the name of your
organization first, and then your name
and the department (if relevant)
 A common fault is to start speaking a
second or two before picking up the
receiver or, more commonly on the
switch board, before pressing the
button on the console. I have heard half
the name of more organizations that I
can remember e.g.’….oyce ltd.’ ‘Good
morning’ ‘…ons ltd.’..
 Many organizations have a standard
practice of greeting a caller- know your
house rules, e.g.
‘Simmons, Personnel manager,
speaking’, ‘Mrs. Gandhi’s secretary
speaking’,…
Don’t rush this greeting. Because you
have to say it so often it is tempting to
rattle it off, with the result that at best it
sounds completely insincere and
monotonous or at worst it is
incomprehensible to an outsider and
there fore pointless
 Many people are amused or even
irritated by the common greeting:
‘Whittaker and company. Tracy
speaking. How may I help you?’
make it sound as sincere as
possible.
 Be prepare to answer the query, or
take a message for someone who
can, or transfer the call.
 If
you are acting as a secretary you may
be expected to filter calls for your boss;
know whether:
They may wish to be unavailable
They want some people put straight
through to them( if so know who they
are)
They want you to deal with certain
routine calls yourself( if so, know which
types of calls you should deal with)
You will therefore have to
ask for the name of the
caller and politely ask the
purpose of the call. But use
tact. Don’t be over-
protective or you might
cause resentment in the
caller and your boss
 Listen carefully to what the caller
has to say and take notes; they will
form the basis either of your action
or of a message if you have to
pass one on. Check that you have
the right facts in the message- do
not assume the eventual recipient
of the message will know what it is
all about
 Don’t hesitate to ask the speaker to
slow down or spell names and
addresses if they are unclear, and
always read them back
 Compensate for the lack of visual
communication: the nods of normal
conversation must be conscientiously
replaced by verbal equivalents, e.g.
‘yes, I see…’, ‘fine, I’ll let him know…’,
‘I’m not sure I agree with that…’, ‘really?’
 But avoid using over- familiar or slang
expressions like ‘you’re not serious!’,
yeah’, ‘good god!’- and if the message
is for someone else, avoid speaking for
them, committing them or imagining
negative attitudes on their behalf,
unless you are authorized to do so; for
instance: ‘oh he’ll be over the moon
about that !(said either sincerely or in a
sarcastic tone of voice)
 Don’t be distracted by anything
going on around you, or
someone else trying to attract
your attention never try to hold
two conversations at once.
 Be just as keen as your caller
should be to save time and
money
 Avoid asking the caller to ‘hold the line’
while you go on a paper chase; offer to
call back.
 If you are cut off. Put the telephone
down and wait for the caller to call you
back.
 Before the call ends, repeat back the
main points of the conversation and
always read back any names,
addresses, numbers, dates and times,
to give the caller a chance to correct
any errors or omissions
Agree what happens next, if
you are taking a message
for someone else, e.g.
‘I’ll tell her that you’ll ring
again on Thursday morning’,
or ‘I’ll ask him to ring you
back as soon as possible.’
Telephone etiquette requires
that since the caller is
paying, they should be the
one to decide when the call
ends; however, since not
everyone seems to be aware
of this, be prepared to use
your judgment.
 Dealing with difficult calls
 Things to remember
Always volunteer to help rather wait to be
asked
Always personalize the conversation by
introducing yourself and getting the caller’s
name
Always let the caller let off steam without
interruption until their anger is spent
Always show you are taking a serious interest
by playing back the details of the complaint
in your words
 Always offer sympathy to the caller (‘I can
understand how annoying that must have
been’) but without overdoing it
 Always encourage callers to voice all their
complaints before starting to deal with any of
them
 Always finish by summarizing what you have
offered- and agree it with the caller
 Always call the customer if there’s a further
problem; don’t risk angering the customer
twice
 Things to avoid
 Don’t attempt to reason with someone
while they are still angry
 Don’t suggest or agree a solution (or
take blame) until all the facts have
emerged
 Don’t offer excuses or look for
sympathy; don’t dump the blame on
some third party (‘the supplier let us
down’) or unusual circumstances
(‘everyone had the flu’) –those are your
problems, not the customer’s
 Don’t take the complaint personally; be as
objective as you can and avoid getting angry
yourself
 Don’t assume the complainer is unique
(suggest that they are the only person to
have had a problem)- research shows that
every person who rings to complain, there
are six who don’t
 Don’t agree to do something you are not in a
position to deliver; if necessary, offer to call
the customer back after you have taken
advice
 After
 Fillin your notes so that they will
be comprehensible to you later and
particularly to the recipient if have
taken a message
 Act on notes immediately, telling
anyone else who is concerned;
write any letters or memos now, if
possible, while the matter is clear
in your mind
 If you have a message for
someone else, put the date and
time of the call on the message
and deliver it immediately or place
it in a prominent position on the
person’s desk if they are out;
remind when you return
 Update any documents necessary;
write dates in your diary.
 Be a good telephone
listener
 Don’t listen on ‘auto pilot’ or while
doing something else; make a
conscious effort to pour all energy into
listening
 Eliminate as many internal distractions
as possible; ignore what is going on
around you
 Erase internal distractions as well;
stray thoughts about other maters
should be curbed as they occur
 Take notes to keep your ‘eye on the
ball’; jot down your reactions as well
points of hard information
 Demonstrate to the speaker that you
are paying attention by making regular
‘continuity’ noises; don’t let them have
to say: ‘are you still there?’
 Keep a hold on your emotions; getting
emotional interferes with your ability to
listen carefully
 Analyzing a case study
 As the name suggests these were
used primarily by the law schools
earlier
 Today, many business educators
use case studies because their
narratives are so valuable in
developing analytic and critical
thinking abilities, as well
organizational and
communicational skills
 You can memorize lists,
procedures and attributes. You
can occasionally guess
successfully at the answer to a
multiple-choice question. But
you cannot memorize the answer
to a problem you have never
encountered, nor can you guess
at the options available to a
manager who must resolve a
complex, difficult, often
ambiguous situation.
 For the most part case study is about:
asking good questions and seeking the
answers on behalf of the stakeholders
 Case studies are never about identifying
heroes and villains, nor are they written
for the purpose of highlighting inept or
skilful handling of an administrative
situation.
 They are always written for the purpose
of gathering information that will help a
student of management make better
decisions.
 Good case studies provide as much
accurate, current, and relevant
information as possible about an
incident, a problem, an event, or an
opportunity.;
 No two such problems, events, or
opportunities are ever precisely the
same, so knowing what happened in one
will only be partially helpful in deciding
what to do in the next.
 Times change, circumstances differ,
stakeholder interests shift.
 Types of cases
 Although each case is different,
you are likely to encounter three
basic types of case studies,
depending on the subject you are
studying:
.field cases
.library cases (sometimes
referred to as public record cases)
.armchair cases
 Field cases
 Field cases are written by professors and
students of business with the cooperation of
managers and executives who experienced
the events and problems described in the
case.
 They involve extensive interview with people
who are often identified by name as narrative
unfolds.
 Information contained in these cases is
known best- and sometimes only- to insiders
in a business
 Extensive interviews with employees,
managers, and executives will often reveal
more.
 Careful examination of business records and
data bases can provide background and
context for the events.
 And, frequently, the active cooperation of a
company is the only way a case author will
ever know exactly what happened with any
measure of certainty
 Field cases are often more extensive and
thorough than other case types, but present a
dilemma for the case writer: what does the
company have to gain by granting access to its
premises, its records and its employees
 Library cases
 Unlike a field case, library cases do not
involve special access to the business
being studied.
 They do not involve interview material
or direct quotes which are available
elsewhere.
 And they most often do not include
figures, data, or information which are
not somehow a part of public record,
available to anyone with a library card
and basic research skills
 Companies that have failed somehow-
blown a great opportunity, overlooked
the obvious, chosen the wrong path, or
failed to act when they should- are
understandably reluctant to permit
case writers to speak with their
employees or look at the evidence.
 If they have done something terribly
wrong- committed a crime or imperiled
the public welfare- a company may do
all it can to withhold, obscure, or cover
up what has happened.
 That is precisely the challenge facing most
business reporters as they gather
information for publication each day.
 Journalist David Brinkley once said, ”News
is what you don’t want to tell me. Everything
else is public relations.”
 Writers who produce library cases, however
have a wealth of information available to
them.
 Besides others, annual reports, prospectus
etc. are public records which are read by
them to cull out the unwritten information,
which cannot be falsified by the companies.
 Armchair cases
 These are fictional documents about
companies that don’t exist and events that
have never occurred.
 While they some resemblance to authentic
cases, they are often lacking in the richness
of detail and complexity that accompany the
real events.
 They may be useful, however, in introducing
basic concepts to students or in provoking a
discussion about key issues confronting
businesses.
 Business educators produce armchair cases
when they are denied access to the people
and data of real businesses, or when they
wish to reduce very complex events to a
series of simple decision opportunities.
 Armchair cases are often useful to begin a
discussion and about change management,
the introduction of technology, or a rapidly-
unfolding set of events in other cultures.
 A principal advantage of these cases is that
they can be modified and updated at will
without securing the permission of the
fictional companies and managers they
describe
Producing a case solution
Toproduce a case
solution that
demonstrates you are
ready for management-
level responsibility will
involve the following
steps:-
1.Read the case 8.Select a solution
2.Take notes 9.Decide how to
3.Identify the business implement the best
problem solution
4.Specify an objective for 10.Explain how to
the managers involved communicate the
5.Identify and rank the solution
critical issues 11.Write it up
6.Consider relevant 12.What you should
information and expect
underlying 13.what you should not
assumptions expect
7.List possible solutions
to the problem
 Read the case
 The first step to successful case solution is
to read the case, carefully and with an eye for
detail- more than once.
 After you have read and thought about the
issues in a case, if you are uncertain about
what to do, read it again.
 As you mature in the experiences of
business school, you will get better at this,
but at first, your best defense against being
surprised or frustrated by a case is to read it
thoroughly.
 Take notes
 College students  Case studies , however,
typically want to either are constructed a bit
underline or highlight differently
much of what is
contained in a book
chapter, reprint, or
essay.
 Text book chapters are  Not so with case
typically organized in a studies, which are often
hierarchical fashion, simply arranged in
with key points and chronological order.
sub-points listed in
order of importance,
carefully illustrated and
summarized
 Textbooks  Case studies on
usually proceed the other hand,
in logical fashion, are seemingly
with one concept chaotic: many
building on events happen at
others that came once, order and
before it. discipline are
sometimes
missing, and key
issues are not
always self-
evident
 Case studies may also contain
substantial amounts of information in
tabular form: annual revenues, product
shipment rates, tons of raw material
processed, or cost data organized by
business units.
 To know what such data mean, you will
have to read the tables and apply what
you have learned about reading a
balance sheet, or about activity based
costing
 You may find crucial information
contained in a sequence of events or a
direct quote from a unit manager.
 Sometimes you will discover that the
most important issues are never
mentioned by the principals in the
case- they are simply ideas or tools
that they weren’t clever enough to think
of, or didn’t think were important At
that time
 Your notes should focus on the
details you will need to identify the
business problems involved the
case, the issues critical to solving
those problems, as well as the
resources available to the
managers in the case.
 These notes will be helpful in
producing a case solution
 Identify the business
problem
 In each case, at least one fundamental
business problem is present.
 It may be small tactical issue, such as how this
company will collect money from a delinquent
customer
 But the issue may be broader in nature: “How
can they reduce accounts receivable ageing to
30 days or less?”
 Larger, more strategic problems might involve
the company’s chronic, critical cash-flow
difficulties.
 “If this company were no longer cash-starved,
what long-term opportunities might open up?”
 You may identify more than one
problem in a case.
 Complex cases often involve
several such problems
simultaneously.
 They might relate to accounting, or
technology, or supply-chain, or
marketing deficiencies or/and
motivation, communication…
Specify an objective for the
managers involved.
 Think about the outcome(s) you would most
hope to see for the company and people you
have read about.
 If you were asked to consult on this
company’s problems- and that is the role
most business students are playing as they
read the case study- what results would you
hope for
 Don’t limit your thinking to what the
company should do, but what the most
successful outcome would look like
Identify and rank order the
critical issues.
The issues are the heart
of the case. If you miss a
critical issue, you may not
be able to solve the case
to the satisfaction of your
professor
Some issues are
interdependent
Some issues are more
important than others
Each issue has a time
dimension
Some issues are merely
symptoms of a larger or
deeper problem
 Consider relevant information
and underlying assumptions
 Accept the fact much of the
information contained in the case
will not be useful to your analysis
 You should also accept the fact
that you will never know all that
you would like in order to produce
a solution.
 Life is like that! …so are case
studies.
 Identify the relevant facts contained in
the case and think carefully about
them.
 Identify additional information you
might like to have- that might be part of
your solution-but don’t dwell on it
 Separate facts from assumptions
 Recognize that there are some things
you will know for sure and others that
you will not
Recognize further that you
may be required to
subjectively interpret some
evidence and to assume
other evidence not directly
stated in the case.
The more suppositions you
make, however, the weaker
your analysis becomes
 List possible solutions to
the problem
 Every problem lends itself to more than
one solution.
 Keep looking for good ideas, even
when you have thought of one that will
solve the problem.
 Listing possible solutions is a form of
brainstorming that will later permit you
to assign values or weights to those
ideas: is one solution less expensive
than the other?
Will one be more
effective than another
Will one of these ideas
have a more enduring
effect ?
 Select a solution
 After assigning weights and values to
the various solutions you have thought
about, select the one you like the best
and prepare to defend it.
 Show why the ideas you have thought
about are superior and how they will
work.
 If you have rejected other, more
obvious ideas, you may want to explain
why.
 Decide how to implement
the best solution
 Having good ideas is insufficient.
 You must be able to put them to work.
 Graduate students of business are
often praised by executives for being
theoretically well grounded, but
criticized for lacking practical
application.
 “A team of young MBAs told me that
we needed to sell this division of the
company but they couldn’t tell me what
to do, or how to go about it “
 Explain how to
communicate the solution
 Ina management case study, you
will be asked to identify key
audiences for your message.
 That means identifying which
groups you want t communicate
with and the means you will use to
reach them
 You should also think of the timing
and the sequencing of the
messages
 Write it up
 Different professors will have
different expectations about what
they want from you in a written
case solution
 Just provide your professor with
your best thinking and be as
detailed as you think you can
within the page limits you have
been given.
 Summary
 Your task is to read, identify and
understand the business problems in
the case.
 By identifying, rank-ordering, and
exploring the critical issues it contains,
you should be able to propose a
workable solution, identifying how to
implement and communicate it.
 From that point forward, you might
explain your choices in writing, be
ready to defend them in the classroom.