BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

Module 1
Overview:
Business communication involves constant flow of information. Feedback is integral part
of business communication. Organizations these days are very large and involve large
number of people. There are various levels of hierarchy in an organization. Business
Communication is regulated by certain rules and norms. In early times, business
communication was limited to paper-work, telephone calls etc. But now with advent of
technology, we have cell phones, video conferencing, emails, satellite communication to
support business communication. Effective business communication helps in building
goodwill of an organization.

Module Objectives:
After successfully completing the module, you should be able to:
1. Define communication in different ways
2. Appreciate and value communication in all areas of life
3. Apply the strategies of communication

COMMUNICATION
“You can have all the great ideas in the world and if you can’t communicate, nobody will
hear them.” -Kara Blackburn

What is Communication?
 Derived from the Latin word "communis," meaning to share.
 Communication is the exchange of thoughts, messages, or information by
speech, visuals, signals, writing, or behavior.
 It is the transmission of an idea or feeling so that the sender and receiver share
the same understanding.

“Communication is a process involving the selection, production and transmission of

signs in such a way as to help a receiver perceive a meaning similar to that in the mind
of the communicator.” -Fotheringham
Business Communication
 Business communication is the sharing of information between people within an
organization that is performed for the commercial benefit of the organization.
 the transmission of information within the business environment. The information
may be transmitted – sent and received – between or among individuals
 In the professional world, communication and related skills decide a person’s
career curve - better the communication skills, higher are the chances of
touching the zenith of success.
 The new global and diverse workplace requires excellent spoken and written
communication skills.

Importance of Business Communication

• Individuals spend most of their time communicating
• Promotions, salary increases, and productivity relate directly to communication
competence
• Businesses depend on communication
• Business communicate: • internally • externally

Goals of Business Communication

 receiver understanding
 receiver response
 favorable relationship
 organizational goodwill

Process of Communication
 Communication is a process whereby information is encoded, channeled and
sent by a sender to a receiver via some medium.
 All forms of communication require a sender, a channel, a message, a receiver
and the feedback.
 A hindrance in the communication process is called noise
Components of Communication
 Sender - Initiates the communication process by developing an idea into a message
known as encoding.
 Channel - The sender transmits the message through a channel, or a method of
delivery; eg. e-mail, phone conversations, instant messages, face-to-face discussion or
even a text message.
 Receiver – This message then moves through the channel to the receiver, who
completes the communication process by interpreting and assigning meaning to the
message known as decoding.
 Feedback - This is a critical component in the communication process as it ensures a
message was properly received and interpreted.
TYPES OF COMMUNICATION
One way Communication
 One-way communication involves the transfer of information in one direction
only, from the sender to the receiver.
 There is no opportunity for the receiver to give feedback to the sender.
Eg. weather report on television, newspaper, recorded music on the CD,
billboard messages.

Two-way Communication
 Two-way communication is a form of transmission in which both parties involved,
transmit information.
 Two-Way communication has also been referred to as interpersonal
communication.
Eg. Chat rooms and Instant Messaging, Telephone conversations,
classroom lectures etc.
Verbal Communication
 In this type of communication, the professional uses language as a vehicle of
communication.
 Oral communication – A face-to-face interaction between the sender and the
receiver. Eg. Making presentations and appearing for interviews
 Written Communication – The sender uses the written mode to transmit his/her
messages. Eg. Writing reports and emails.

Non Verbal Communication

 When a message is communicated without using a word, the process requires
non-verbal cues to be transmitted and received. Eg. facial expressions, posture,
eye contact, walk, person’s voice, sign language, body language volume, pitch,
voice modulation etc. Communication includes both verbal and non-verbal forms.

Formal Communication
 takes place through the formal channels of the organization structure along the
lines of authority established by the management.
 Such communications are generally in writing and may take any of the forms;
policy; manuals: procedures and rule books; memoranda; official meetings;
reports, etc.
Informal Communication
 arising out of all those channels of communication that fall outside the formal
channels is known as informal communication.
 Informal communication does not follow lines of authority as is the case of formal
communication.
 Such communication is usually oral and may be covered even by simple glance,
gesture or smile or silence.  Eg. Talking with friends

Formal Informal
Official Channel Unofficial Channel

Planned & Systematic Cuts across formal

relationships

Goal and task oriented Individual Goal and need

oriented

Impersonal Personal & Social

Stable and rigid Flexible and instable

Slow & Structured Fast & unstructured

Authentic – little chance of distortion Non- Authentic - bigger chance

of distortion

Grapevine
 It is an informal type of communication and is called so because it stretches
throughout the organization in all directions irrespective of the authority levels.
 It exists more at lower levels of organization.
 Thus, grapevine spreads like fire and it is not easy to trace the cause of such
communication at times.
Downward
 Communication in the first place, flows downwards.
 All information in this medium is usually in form of instructions, directions and
orders.
 This direction of communication strengthens the authoritarian structure of the
organization.

Upward
 Upward Communication is the process of information flowing from the lower
levels of a hierarchy to the upper levels.
  The function of upward communication is to send information, suggestions,
complaints and grievances of the lower-level workers to the managers above.

Lateral/Horizontal
 This type of communication takes place between persons at the same level or
working under the same executive.
 The main use of this is to maintain coordination and review activities assigned to
various subordinates.

Interpersonal
 Interpersonal communication is an exchange of information between two or more
people.
 It is the process by which people exchange information, feelings, and meaning
through verbal and non-verbal messages.

Intrapersonal
 It is the communication which takes place within one’s own self.
 This implies individual reflection, contemplation and meditation.

Organizational
 A process by which activities of a society are collected and coordinated to reach
the goals of both individuals and the collective group.
 It is a subfield of general communications studies and is often a component to
effective management in a workplace environment.

Mass Communication
 It is a means of conveying messages to an entire populace.
 This is generally identified with tools of modern mass media, which include
books, the press, cinema, television, radio, internet etc. It also includes speeches
delivered by leaders to a large audience.
MODULE 2: SMRC MODEL OF COMMUNICATION

SMCR MODEL
 The SMCR (Source-Message-Channel-Receiver) Model is a standard in
communication studies.
 This model was originally developed by Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver,
and then altered by David Berlo, but the latest credit has been given to Wilbur

Schramm for his interactive interpretation

Source
The source is were the message originates.
 Attitudes – The attitude towards the audience, subject and towards one self for
e.g. for the student the attitude is to learn more and for teachers wants to help
teach.
 Knowledge– The knowledge about the subject.
  Social system – The Social system includes the various aspects in society like
values, beliefs, culture, religion and general understanding of society.
 Culture: Culture of the particular society also comes under social system.
Message
 Encoder: The sender of the message (message originates) is referred as
encoder.
 Content – The beginning to the end of a message comprises its content.
 Elements – It includes various things like language, gestures, body language etc.
so these are all the elements of the particular message.
 Treatment – The way in which the message is conveyed or the way in which the
message is passed on or deliver it.

Channel
 Hearing: The use of ears to get the message for e.g. oral messages,
interpersonal etc.
 Seeing: Visual channels for e.g. TV can be seen and the message is delivered.
 Touching: The sense of touch can be used as a channel to communicate for e.g.
we touch and buy food, hugging, pat on the back etc.
 Smelling: Smell also can be a channel to communicate for e.g. perfumes, food,
charred smell communicates something is burning, we can find out about which
food is being cooked etc.
 Tasting : The tongue also can be used to decipher e.g. Food can be tasted and
communication can happen.
 Decoder : Who receives the message and decodes it is referred to as decoder.
 Receiver: The receiver needs to have all the things like the source. This model
believes that for an effective communication to take place the source and the
receiver needs to be in the same level, only if the source and receiver are on the
same level communication will happen or take place properly. So source and
receiver should be similar.

Criticism of Berlo’s SMCR model of communication:

 No feedback / don’t know about the effect  Does not mention barriers to
communication
 No room for noise
 Needs people to be on same level for communication to occur but not true in real
life.
 The model omits the usage of sixth sense as a channel which is actually a gift to
the human beings (thinking, understanding, analyzing etc).
Shannon Weaver Model of Communication

Shannon- Weaver Model

 The Shannon–Weaver modelof communication has been
called the "mother of all models.“
 It embodies the concepts of information source,
message, transmitter, signal, channel, noise, receiver, information
destination, probability of error, encoding, decoding, information
rate, channel capacity, etc.
Elements of the Model
 Sender : The originator of message or the information source selects
desired message
 Encoder : The transmitter which converts the message into signals
For example: In telephone the voice is converted into wave signals and it transmits
through cables
 Decoder : The reception place of the signal which converts signals into
message. A reverse process of encode
 Receiver : The destination of the message from sender
 Noise: The messages are transferred from encoder to decoder through
channel. During this process the messages may distracted or affected by
physical noise like horn sounds, thunder and crowd noise or encoded signals
may distract in the channel during the transmission process which affect the
communication flow or the receiver may not receive the correct message.

MODULE 3: BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

When there is a problem which might cause our communication to be distorted or
problematic, it is known as a barrier to effective communication.
There are 4 types of barriers to communication
1. Physical barriers
2. Psychological barriers
3. Semantic blocks
4. Organizational Barriers

Physical Barriers
 Distance: – communication is found obstructed in long distance. Like
communication between America and Nepal.
 Noise: – it is from external sources and affects the communication process.
Noise negatively affects the accuracy.
Psychological Barriers
  Perception: – it is the process of accepting and interpreting the information by the
receiver. People receive things differently for a various number of reasons.
 Filtering: –In this process, knowingly or unknowingly some valuable information
may be disposed.
 Emotions: – emotion also creates barriers to effective communication like anger,
hate, mistrust, jealousy etc.
 Viewpoint: – it also creates barriers to effective communication. It the receiver
doesn’t clear the message and ignore without hearing, the message may create
obstructions.
 Defensiveness: – if the receiver receives the message as threat and interprets
that message in the same way, it creates barriers to effective communication.

Semantic Barriers
 The use of difficult and multiple use of languages, words, figures, symbols create
semantic barriers.
 Language: – A meaning sent by the sender can be quite different from the
meaning understood by the receiver. Long and complex sentences create
problem in communication process.
 Jargons: – Technical or unfamiliar language creates barriers. The message
should be simple and condensed as far as possible so that no confusion is
created.

Organizational Barriers
 It is raised from the organizational goals, regulations, structure and culture. 
Poor planning: – Refers to the designing, encoding, channel selection and
conflicting signals in the organization.
 Structure complexities:- Difficult organizational structure is a barrier for free flow
of information.
 Status differences: – Superior provides information to the subordinate about
plans and policies. Different information is provided by different subordinates who
create barrier in communication.
 Organizational distance:- Distance between sender and receiver.
 Information overload: – If superior provides too much information to the
subordinate in short period receiver suffers from information overload which
creates barriers to effective communication.
 Timing: – Communication can be obstructed if the information is not provided in
time
MODULE 4: LSRW SKILLS

Listening Skills
 Listening is an everyday affair.
 We spend more time to listening than speaking
 It is a skill which is often taken for granted
 It is considered as a stressful task
 Successful listening is challenging and requires a lot of practice
 Effective listening is a dynamic activity that seeks out the meaning intended in
the messages sent by the speaker.
Listening Vs Hearing
 Hearing is an involuntary act that happens automatically. Eg. A truck rolling by on
the road in front of our house.
 Listening –
o voluntary activity,
o demands perfect coordination between the ears & the brain
o very creative
o Interactive and interpretive process.

Techniques for Effective Listening

 You should have an open mind.
 You should sit alert and look the speaker in the eye with a view to establish your
interest in him/her.
 Do not prejudge the speaker or his message.
 Summarize what the speaker is saying
 Take down notes
 Link what you are listening to what you already know.
 Do not interrupt the speaker unnecessarily.
 Ask relevant questions to yourself for clarity in your understanding.

Reading Skills
Skimming
 Skimming is used to quickly gather the most important information, or 'gist'.
 Run your eyes over the text, noting important information.
 Use skimming to quickly get up to speed on a current business situation.
 Examples of Skimming:
 The Newspaper (quickly to get the general news of the day)
 Magazines (quickly to discover which articles you would like to read in more
detail)
 Business and Travel Brochures (quickly to get informed)

Scanning
 Scanning is used to find a particular piece of information.
 Run your eyes over the text looking for the specific piece of information you
need.
 Use scanning on schedules, meeting plans, etc. in order to find the specific
details you require.
 If you see words or phrases that you don't understand, don't worry when
scanning.

Examples of Scanning
 The "What's on TV" section of your newspaper.
 A train / airplane schedule
 A conference guide

Extensive Reading
 Extensive reading is used to obtain a general understanding of a subject and
includes reading longer texts for pleasure, as well as business books.
 Use extensive reading skills to improve your general knowledge of business
procedures.
 Do not worry if you understand each word.

Examples of Extensive Reading

 The latest marketing strategy book
 A novel you read before going to bed
 Magazine articles that interest you

Intensive Reading
 Intensive reading is used on shorter texts in order to extract specific information.
 It includes very close accurate reading for detail.
 Use intensive reading skills to grasp the details of a specific situation.
 In this case, it is important that you understand each word, number or fact.
 Examples of Intensive Reading
 An insurance claim
 A contract of employment

Critical Reading
 This is a form of language analysis that does not take the given text at face
value, but involves a deeper examination of supporting points and possible
counter arguments.
 Critical readers thus recognize not only what a text says, but also how that text
portrays the subject matter.
 What a text means – interpretation — analyze the text and assert a meaning for
the text as a whole

Speaking Skills
Tone
 The tone of voice we use is responsible for about 35- 40 percent of the message
we are sending.
 Tone involves the volume you use, the level and type of emotion that you
communicate and the emphasis that you place on the words that you choose.
Pitch
 Pitch refers to the rise and fall in human voice. It plays a crucial role in
communication.
 Questions, for example, should end on a higher note.
 Affirmative statements should end in a level or slightly lower pitch. The ending of
statements on a high pitch can create doubt in your listeners.
 Vary your pitch throughout your presentation to establish and reinforce your
message.

Rhythm
 Rhythm is the pattern of the sounds you produce.
 Stressing and de-stressing syllables and words gives us rhythm in English.
 Rhythm is the music of English Language – the ups and downs and the linking of
words, which together, change how we say sentences.
 Use rhythm to carry meaning.
 Slow the pace to emphasize certain ideas.
 Quicken the pace to show excitement or humor.
  Pause to give listeners time to absorb a complex idea. Pause also when you're
about to transition to another idea.

Writing Skills
 Effective writing is not a gift that you’re born with, rather it is a skill that you
cultivate. Clear writing means clear thinking.
 Think before you write: Before you put pen to paper or hands to keyboard,
consider what you want to say.
 Ask yourself: What should my audience know or think after reading this email,
proposal, or report?

Steps to Improve your Writing Skills

 Be direct
 Make your point right up front.
 By concisely presenting your main idea first, you save your reader time and
sharpen your argument before diving into the bulk of your writing.
 If your opener is no good, then the whole piece of writing will be no good.

Avoid Jargons
 Business writing is full of industry-specific buzzwords and acronyms.
 And while these terms are sometimes unavoidable and can occasionally be
helpful as shorthand, they often indicate lazy or cluttered thinking.
 You should also avoid using grandiose words.
 Writers often mistakenly believe in using a big word when a simple one will do

Read what you write

 Put yourself in your reader’s shoes.
 Is your point clear and well structured?
 Are the sentences straightforward and concise?
 Don’t be afraid to ask a colleague or friend to edit your work.
 Welcome their feedback; don’t resent it.

Practice Everyday
 Writing is a skill, and skills improve with practice.
  Read well-written material every day, and be attentive to word choice, sentence
structure, and flow.
 Most importantly, build time into your schedule for editing and revising.
Coherence
 Coherence in writing is the "logical glue" that allows readers to move easily and
clearly from one idea to the next.
 Coherence in writing is much more difficult to sustain than coherent speech
because writers have no nonverbal clues to inform them if their message is clear
or not.

Business Letters
 formal paper communications between, to or from businesses
 also called snail mail
 the overall style of letter will depend on the relationship between the parties
concerned • includes: · Letter · Memo · Fax · Email
 a way for businesses to communicate with other businesses or their
customers/clients
Example:
 Nissan writes a letter to their customers informing them of a sales promotion
 Dove writes to their delivery company to inform them that 5 shipments in the
past month have been late

Types of Letters
• Inquiry
• Special Request
• Sales letters
• Customer relations letters
– follow up
– claim
– adjustment
– collection

Classification of Business Letters

• Positive
– customer relations letters responding favorably to a writer’s complaint or request
– sales letters

• Negative
– customer relations letters refusing a request, saying no to an adjustment, etc.

• Neutral
– letters requesting information about a service/product, placing an order, responding to
some action or request

Why write Business Letters?

· To persuade · To inform · To request · To express thanks · To remind · To
recommend · To apologize · To congratulate · To reject a proposal or offer · To
introduce a person or policy · To invite or welcome · To follow up · To formalize
decisions.

Benefits of Letters
 represent company’s public image and competence
 more personal than a report, yet more formal than memos or e-mail
 more permanent than e-mail
 constitute an official legal record of an agreement
 follow up on telephone calls and other types of oral communications
 provide a wide range of corporate information
 can support action

Planning a Business Letter

• Who am I writing this letter to?
• Formal / Informal • Why am I writing this letter?
• Objective / Purpose
• Are there specific details I need to include?
• Facts / Data
• Do I require a response?
• How can I organize my points logically?

Writing a Business Letter

• An effective letter in business uses short, simple sentences and straightforward
vocabulary.
• The easier a letter is to read, the better.
• You will need to use smooth transitions so that your sentences do not appear too
choppy.

Heading–return
address

Complimentary
Close
Signature
line
Parts of a Letter
 Date Spell out the month!
 Letter Address- Address that you are mailing to
 Salutations -Greeting!
 Body - Each paragraph is SS but DS between paragraphs The body is typically 3
paragraphs in length Parts of a Letter
 Complimentary Close - e.g. Sincerely, Cordially (NO COMMAS!)
 Writer’s Name and Title - e.g. Jessica Kline, Manager
 Signature
 Reference Initials - If you typed the letter but did not write it - e.g. JST/lei
 Enclosure Notation - xWhen sending something with the letter - e.g. concert
tickets, rough draft of drawing plans, pictures, etc)