ĐẠI HỌC FPT CẦN THƠ

Chapter 1
Effective Business Communication
 Chapter objectives
1. Recognize the importance of communication in gaining a better
understanding of yourself and others.
2. Explain how communication skills help you solve problems, learn new
things, and build your career.
3. Define communication and describe communication as a process.
4. Identify and describe the eight essential components of communication.
5. Identify and describe two models of communication.
6. Identify and describe five types of communication contexts.
7. Discuss and provide several examples of each of the two main
responsibilities of a business communicator.
 Chapter outline

1. Why Is It Important to Communicate Well?

2. What Is Communication?
3. Communication in Context
4. Your Responsibilities as a Communicator
 Why Is It Important to Communicate Well?

Communication Skills
 Communication skills are the abilities you use when giving and receiving
different kinds of information. Some examples include communicating new
ideas, feelings or even an update on your project. Communication skills involve
listening, speaking, observing and empathy.
 Being able to communicate effectively is one of the most important life skills to
learn. Communication itself is defined as transferring information to produce
greater understanding.
 Why Is It Important to Communicate Well?

Influences your Thinking about Yourself and Others

We all share a fundamental drive to communicate. Communication can be defined as the process
of understanding and sharing meaning. You share meaning in what you say and how you say it,
both in oral and written forms.
1. If you could not communicate, what would life be like?
2. A series of never-ending frustrations? (disappointment)
3. Not being able to ask for what you need or even to understand the needs of others?
 Why Is It Important to Communicate Well?

Influences how You Learn

As you study business communication, you may receive

suggestions for improvement and clarification from speakers
and writers more experienced than yourself. Take their
suggestions as challenges to improve; don’t give up when
your first speech or first draft does not communicate the
message you intend. Stick with it until you get it right. Your
success in communicating is a skill that applies to almost
every field of work, and it makes a difference in your
relationships with others.
 Why Is It Important to Communicate Well?

Represents You and Your Employer

You want to make a good first impression on your friends and
family, instructors, and employer. They all want you to
convey a positive image, as it reflects on them. In your career,
you will represent your business or company in spoken and
written form. Your professionalism and attention to detail will
show positively on you and set you up for success.
 Why Is It Important to Communicate Well?

Skills Are Desired by Business and Industry

Oral and written communication proficiencies are consistently ranked
in the top ten desirable skills by employer surveys year after year.
The top five personal qualities or skills potential employers seek:
1. Communication skills (verbal and written)
2. Strong work ethic
3. Teamwork skills (works well with others, group communication)
4. Initiative (innovation)
5. Analytical skills
 Eight Essential Components of Communication

1. Source
2. Message
3. Channel
4. Receiver
5. Feedback
6. Environment
7. Context
8. Interference
(noise)
 Two Models of Communication

Transactional process
Two Models of Communication

Constructivist model
 Communication in Context
 Intrapersonal Communication
 Interpersonal Communication
 Group Communication
 Public Communication
 Mass Communication
 Communication in Context
Intrapersonal Communication
Intrapersonal communication involves one person;
it is often called “self-talk.” (Wood, 1997) Donna
Vocate’s book on intrapersonal communication
explains how, as we use language to reflect on our
own experiences, we talk ourselves through situations.
For example, the voice within you that tells you,
“Keep on Going! I can DO IT!” when you are putting
your all into completing a five-mile race; or that says,
“This report I’ve written is pretty good.” Your
intrapersonal communication can be positive or
negative, and directly influences how you perceive
and react to situations and communication with others.
 Communication in Context
Interpersonal Communication

Interpersonal communication normally

involves two people, and can range from
intimate and very personal to formal and
impersonal. You may carry on a
conversation with a loved one, sharing a
serious concern
 Communication in Context
Group Communication

“Group communication is a dynamic process

where a small number of people engage in a
conversation.” (McLean, 2005) Group
communication is generally defined as
involving three to eight people. The larger the
group, the more likely it is to break down into
smaller groups.
 Communication in Context
Public Communication

Public communication, one person speaks to a

group of people; the same is true of public written
communication, where one person writes a
message to be read by a small or large group. The
speaker or writer may ask questions, and engage
the audience in a discussion (in writing, examples
are an e-mail discussion or a point-counter-point
series of letters to the editor), but the dynamics of
the conversation are distinct from group
communication, where different rules apply. In a
public speaking situation, the group normally
defers to the speaker. For example, the boss speaks
to everyone, and the sales team quietly listens
without interruption..
 Communication in Context
Mass Communication

How do you let everyone know there is a sale on

in your store, or that your new product will meet
their needs, or that your position on a political
issue is the same as your constituents? You send a
message to as many people as you can through
mass communication. Does everyone receive mass
communication the same way the might receive a
personal phone call? Not likely. Some people who
receive mass mailings assume that they are “junk
mail” (i.e., that they do not meet the recipients’
needs) and throw them away unopened.
 4. Your Responsibilities as a Communicator

Communicator Is Prepared
 The Prepared Communicator Is Organized
 The Prepared Communicator Is Clear
 The Prepared Communicator Is Concise and Punctual (brief, on time)
 4. Your Responsibilities as a Communicator

Communicator Is Ethical

 The Ethical Communicator Is Egalitarian

 The Ethical Communicator Is Respectful
 The Ethical Communicator Is Trustworthy
 The “Golden Rule”
 Key takeaway
 The communication process involves understanding, sharing, and meaning, and it
consists of eight essential elements: source, message, channel, receiver, feedback,
environment, context, and interference.
 Among the models of communication are the transactional process, in which actions
happen simultaneously, and the constructivist model, which focuses on shared meaning.
 Communication contexts include intrapersonal, interpersonal, group, public, and mass
communication. Each context has its advantages and disadvantages, and its appropriate
and inappropriate uses.
 As a communicator, you are responsible for being prepared and being ethical. Being
prepared includes being organized, clear, concise, and punctual. Being ethical includes
being egalitarian, respectful, and trustworthy and overall, practicing the “golden rule.
21