BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

UNIT I

Communication- The exchange of information by speaking, writing or using some other

medium or the process of sending and receiving information between two or more
people.

The English word ‘communication’ is derived from the Latin communis, which means
common sense. The word communication means sharing the same ideas. In other
words, the transmission and interaction of facts, ideas, opinions, feelings or attitudes.
Communication is the essence of management. The basic function of management
(planning, planning, staffing, supervision and management) cannot be done effectively
without effective communication.

According to Newman and Summer, “Communication is the exchange of ideas, facts,

opinions or emotions between two or more people.”

Business Communication- Business communication is a process of sharing

information within and outside a company.

Nature and characteristics of communication: -

• It is a continuous process.
• Dyadic process (two way process)
• Inevitable (unavoidable)
• Facilitate changes
• Remove misunderstandings and conflicts.

Process of communication:-

Communication is an ongoing process that mainly involves three components namely.

sender, message, and recipient. The components involved in the communication
process are described below in detail:

Sender: The sender or contact generates the message and transmits it to the recipient.

Message: It is an idea, knowledge, opinion, truth, feeling, etc. produced by the sender
and intended for reference.

Medium: Means of transmission. It may be oral, written, physical or digital.

Receiver: The person who receives the message.

Feedback: The reply of the receiver.

Purpose of business communication:

• To issue orders and instructions

 • To communicate with superiors/subordinates/peers
• To convey the right information
• To receive suggestions
• To learn
• To achieve organisational goals

7 C’s of effective communication

The 7 Cs of Communication are:

• Clear
• Concise
• Concrete
• Correct
• Coherent
• Complete
• Courteous
Clear
(Clarity) Be clear about the goal of your message and the purpose of the message.
Present one idea at a time making it easier for the recipient to understand. Don’t leave
them guessing what the message is about and having to fill in the gaps themselves.

Set a goal or outcome for what you want to communicate and work towards that.

Concise
(Conciseness) Keep to the point and keep it short and simple. Don’t use unnecessary
words (use two words where one will do or 6 sentences when 3 will do). Don’t repeat
the same point in different ways.

This will also make any communication more engaging and easier to understand.

Concrete
(Concreteness) Be clear, not fuzzy. Ensure there is enough detail to get the message
across but not too much so that the recipient will be lost and that the message is
factual.

Adding too much ‘noise’ around your main points can mean these are missed. Make
sure your main points and any conclusions are clear to the recipient.
Correct
(Correctness) Check the information you are providing is accurate and, in written
communication, ensure it is free from grammatical and spelling errors. Check the
technical parts of your content are understandable by the person receiving the
information.

Preparation will help here to make sure you can be sure about what you are
communicating or a chance to read what you have written.

Coherent
Make sure your message flows well and is laid out logically. The points you make should
all be linked to the main topic and should help you to deliver the objective you originally
set out to achieve. Make sure the tone of the message is the same throughout.

Consider using a structure for your communication to help here.

Complete
(Completeness) Ensure the recipient has everything they need to understand your
message and take action if needed. If action is needed, ensure your message includes a
‘call to action’. Also, ensure that any specific details are clear and included. Don’t leave
the recipient with lots of questions to ask.

Think about how you will check for understanding. For example, you could ask
questions to check their understanding.

Courteous
(Courtesy) Your message should be polite, friendly, professional, open and honest.
Think about your message from the recipient’s point of view and you are empathetic
towards their needs. This will help you to deliver the message in a way that’s easy to
understand and buy into.

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION

The types of communication represent the different ways used to communicate

messages while the modes of communication focus on the mediums. Here are the 7
types of communication:
1. Verbal Communication

Verbal communication involves conveying messages through speech and spoken

words. It happens when we engage in conversation with others and can be either formal
or informal. When conducted in person, verbal communication is often accompanied
by non-verbal cues.

2. Non-verbal Communication

Body language, facial expressions, eye contact, appearance, and sign language. Non-
verbal communication complements verbal communication and also helps when
words don’t help. It is an important type of communication in interviews and
discussions as they value it a lot.

3. Written Communication

The use of written words to convey messages. Written communication happens

through email, memos, texts, posts, etc. While written communication helps you
share your thoughts well, sometimes it does not fully convey the emotion that you
are trying to share.

4. Visual Communication

Visual communication involves conveying messages through images, graphs,

objects, and other visual elements. It plays a vital role in modern methods of sharing

key information and is commonly utilized in presentations, television, and various

media formats.

External Communication

External communication refers to the transmission of information and data in and

outside an organization. This external mode of communication involves entities like
customers, suppliers, partners, investors, regulatory bodies, the media, and the
general public.

UNIT 2
 Language of communication

Verbal and non verbal communication

Verbal Communication:- Verbal communication involves the exchange of

thoughts, feelings and ideas using spoken and written words. Its
effectiveness depends upon various aspects, including the choice of
words, tone and clarity of speech.

It is a two-way process in which the speaker transmits information while

the listener comprehends and interprets the message. It is of two types
oral and written.
Oral:- it is a specific form of information exchange relating to the
transmission of ideas verbally from one person to another. Oral
communication can be formal and they are used most often in business
meetings, classroom lectures or political speeches.
Written:- Written communication is the development and expression of
ideas in writing. Written communication involves learning to work in may
styles. It is often resorted by the management for messages that are
lengthy and have to be made permanent. It is also undertaken when oral
communication cannot reach each and every person concerned.
Advantages of verbal communication:
• Builds trust:- It helps to build trust, especially when paired with
non-verbal cues like effective body language.
• Effectively convey the message:- It helps to get the news
effectively using intonation and, thus, is an integral part of
customer service.
• Decrease chances of miscommunication:- Spoken
Communication helps avoid miscommunication since
clarification is faster than its written counterpart.
• Fastest mode of Communication:- Most businesses prefer calls
and video meetings over written guidelines, as they are much
quicker and more suitable for one-on-one doubt clearance.
 • Reach a wider audience:- It helps to reach a wider audience,
similar to how this article is accessible worldwide.
Useful for illiterates:- Verbal Communication transcends the boundaries of the
ability to read and write. For people, especially those who are illiterate and can
speak and understand but not read or write, speech is the best mode of
Communication to convey the message.

Disadvantages of Verbal Communication

Chances of its misuse to spread hatred:- Speeches and public debates can also
become tools for disturbing the peace for political agendas.

Nonverbal communication means conveying information without using

words.1 This might involve using certain facial expressions or hand gestures
to make a specific point, or it could involve the use (or non-use) of eye
contact, physical proximity, and other nonverbal cues to get a message
across.

These nonverbal communication types are:

Facial expressions
Gestures
Paralinguistics (such as loudness or tone of voice)
• Body language People may use it to control others:- Spoken words carry a
lot of power and can make or break someone. People may use it to gaslight
or manipulate others into going their way.
• Less creative:- Spontaneous creativity is rare, and most stand-up
performances require some level of non-verbal Communication to establish
a connection with the audience.
• Require attention throughout:- There is the possibility of missing out on
important information if one is unattentive or is a non-native speaker of a
particular language.
• A negative effect of mood:- A person under anxiety or anger may not
effectively convey the message to others. The pressure to speak in that state
doesn’t give the mind enough space to think clearly and present their ideas.
• Hard to be concise:- Verbal Communication requires being concise yet clear
enough to convey the intended message. However, most of the time,
conciseness may compromise quality.
• Hurtful remarks as sarcasm:- “Tongue is that sword that can cut deeper.”
Bitter and painful remarks under the pretext of sarcastic comments may
damage one’s confidence and self-esteem.
 • High chance of misinterpretation:- Verbal communication, especially using
phrases, can easily be misinterpreted due to varying individual perceptions.
For instance, someone’s apology for the inconvenience may be perceived as
an acknowledgment of a mistake, while the speaker might have intended it
merely to acknowledge the situation, not necessarily accepting any fault.
• Increases the chance of mistakes:- Compared to written, spoken verbal
Communication is spontaneous and gives less time to the speaker to think.
Besides, one has to be constantly attentive to grasp the details, which is not
always possible, especially when tired or sleepy. It thus can result in more
mistakes.
• No option to revise:- It is especially true for oral-verbal Communication. A
message, once sent, has no scope for revision or editing. However, after
much thought, one can compose the same message in written form.

Non-verbal communication:
Non-verbal communication means conveying information without using words. This
might involves using certain facial expressions or hand gestures to make a specific
point or it could involve eye contact, physical proximity and other non-verbal cues to
get a message.

Types of non-verbal communication:

Facial expression:- One important thing that many people are not aware of is
that facial expressions are universal. If you have watched the series Lie to Me,
you already know that there are seven basic emotions.

These are sadness, anger, disgust, fear, surprise, contempt, and happiness.
Even though our cultures can shape our worldviews and behaviors, facial
expressions are universal throughout the world.

Gestures:- There are many types of gestures, some of them are deliberate, such
as waving or pointing while others are not. For ex. There are adapting gestures
such as touching some body parts, clicking pen and so on. They are often
displayed when someone is in stress.

Sign language:- Using audio, visual and audio-visual signs and symbols to
communicate. For ex. Thumbs-up.

Proxemics:- Study of physical space between individuals. It deals with

necessary space two people should maintain between each other during
communication.
 Chronemics:- It reflects the function of time in the communication process. If a
person is late for an interview then it is perceived that the person cannot use the
time effectively and create a negative impression.

Haptics:- It is the language of touch.

Silence:- a person accused of a crime can be assumed guilty if he remains silent

when he asked to present a defence.

Advantages

• Establishes trust: Non-verbal communication can build trust and

establish relationship Ess between people. It can help create a
sense of understanding and comfort between two people and
make them feel more connected.
• Enhances verbal communication: We use Non-verbal
communication to improve verbal communication. Using body
language or facial expressions to emphasize a point can help
make a point clearer or more memorable.
• Allows for quick communication: Non-verbal communication is
often faster than verbal communication. Creates an engaging
atmosphere: Non-verbal communication can create a more
engaging atmosphere.

• Conveys emotion: People use Non-verbal communication to

convey emotion and feelings. It can be especially useful when it is
challenging to express emotions verbally, such as in a business
meeting or when talking to a stranger.
• Improves relationships: Non-verbal communication can build
relationships and foster understanding between people.
Responding to non-verbal cues shows that you listen to and
understand someone.
• Effective in a noisy environment: Non-verbal communication can
make it easier to understand a message in a noisy environment.
 • Bridges differences: Non-verbal communication can bridge
cultural differences.
• Helpful in conveying subtle messages: Non-verbal
communication can convey subtle messages that may be difficult
to express verbally.

Disadvantages

• Can be misinterpreted: Non-verbal communication can be

challenging to interpret, and we can easily misinterpret it. For
example, facial expressions, body language, and tone of voice are
not present in an email. Thus, we can misinterpret the message.
• Language barriers: Non-verbal communication can be challenging
to interpret across cultural and language barriers. Something
considered polite in one culture may be regarded as rude in
another, making it hard to communicate effectively with someone
from a different background.
• Difficult to express complex ideas: Non-verbal communication
can be challenging to use to communicate complex ideas. For
example, a speaker could only explain a complicated
mathematical equation using words.
• Lack of accountability: Non-verbal communication can make it
difficult to hold people accountable for their actions. For
example, if someone is rude to someone else in a non-verbal way,
such as rolling their eyes or making a face, it can be hard to prove
that they were being rude.
• Culture: Non-verbal cues vary significantly from one culture to
another, making it challenging to interpret non-verbal
communication from someone from a different culture.
• Inability to Clarify: Non-verbal communication does not allow
clarifying questions or statements, making it difficult to
communicate complex ideas effectively.
 • Difficulty in Disagreeing: Non-verbal communication, such as
facial expressions, can make it difficult to disagree with someone
without offending them.
• Hard to control: Non-verbal communication can be hard to
control, as it is often an unconscious behavior.
• Failure in a virtual environment: Non-verbal communication can
be difficult to interpret in a virtual environment.
• Manipulative: Non-verbal communication can manipulate or
deceive, leading to misunderstandings.

Difference between verbal and non-verbal communication

Aspect Verbal Non-Verbal

Communication Communication

Body language, facial

Spoken or written
Medium expressions, gestures,
words
etc.

Channel Auditory and visual Primarily visual

Language proficiency More universal,

Language Barriers can affect transcending language
understanding barriers.

Faster in conveying Slower, allowing for

Speed of Delivery
information more subtle nuances

Often requires
Often unconscious and
Conscious Control conscious effort and
spontaneous.
articulation

Can be more precise Can be ambiguous and

Ambiguity
and explicit open to interpretation.
 Facial expressions and
Tone of voice conveys
Emotional Expression body language convey
emotions
emotions.

Non-verbal cues can be

Easier to remember and
Memory Retention challenging to recall
recall
accurately.

Non-verbal cues can

Language may have
Cultural Differences vary significantly across
cultural nuances
cultures.

More effective for

Covers a broad range of
Scope expressing feelings and
topics
attitudes.

Spoken and written communication

Spoken:- Oral communication refers to the transmission of messages through
speech. This form of communication is the most common and used in our daily lives.
Oral communication is the oldest way humans have had to express themselves. The
need to express information, knowledge and ideas made our ancestors begin to
establish communication between them.
Advantages of Oral Communication
Oral communication has several advantages, such as:

• Interactive and engaging.

• Facilitates active listening and understanding.
• Immediate feedback and clarification.
• Allows for spontaneous conversations.
• Builds rapport and interpersonal connections.
• Fosters better comprehension and retention.
• Enables quick decision-making.
• Promotes collaboration and teamwork.
• Adaptable to the needs of the audience.
• Provides opportunities for persuasive communication.
• Builds public speaking and presentation skills.
• Encourages effective negotiation and conflict resolution.
Written communication:-
written communication refers to exchanging information, ideas, or messages through
written words.
Prehistoric humans communicated by painting pictures or signs on walls or floors
that conveyed an idea in written form. Today, emoticons, emojis, etc., convey
emotions in written form and provide emotional context to text messages, emails, or
social media posts.
Written communication is exchanging information through a physical channel, such
as a piece of paper, a screen, or even the ground.
An example is all the messages we send daily through WhatsApp or social networks.
This type of communication is characterized by not being simultaneous and being
planned. In addition, the message generated by written communication is for the
long term.
Advantages of Written Communication
• Provides a permanent record of communication.
• Allows for careful organization and revision of content.
• Provides a clear and precise message.
• Enables communication over long distances and time.
• Can be read and responded to according to one’s convenience
• Facilitates the sharing of complex or detailed information.
• Supports documentation and record-keeping.
• Can reach a wider audience and be distributed widely.
• Allows for careful editing and proofreading.
• Provides a platform for formal and official communication.
• Can be referenced and reviewed at a later time.
• Allows for effective communication when verbal communication is not possible.
Personal Communication
It refers to the exchange of information, idea and emotions between
individuals in their personal lives. It involves interaction with family
members, friends and acquaintance, Personal communication is
typically informal and relaxed, allowing individuals to express their
thoughts, feelings and expressions. It plays a crucial role in building
and maintaining personal relationships and is essential for social
connections and emotional wellbeing.
Importance of personal communication: -
• Building relationships
• Improving understanding
 • Sharing information
• Providing support
• Important for growth
• Career development
Social Communication
It encompasses interactions that occurs within a broader social
context such as in social gatherings, community events or
online platforms. It involves communication with a wider range
of individuals including acquaintance, colleagues and members
of various social groups. Social communication can be both
formal and informal depending on the setting and the nature of
the interaction.
Importance of social communication: -
• Building social relationships
• Academic success
• Language development
• Life satisfaction
• Boosts confidence

Inter-personal communication
Inter-personal communication is the process of exchanging information, ideas and
feelings between two or more people through verbal and non-verbal communication.
It often includes face to face interactions in form of voice, facial expressions, body
language and gestures. The level of one’s inter-personal communication skill is
measured through the effectiveness of transferring message. It is commonly used
within an organization include daily internal employee communication, client
meetings, employee performance review and project discussions. In addition, online
conversations today make a large portion of employee’s interpersonal
communication in the workplace.

Intra-personal Communication
It is the process of communicating with yourself or having a conversation with
yourself in your head. It is a continuous process that involves both conscious and
subconscious thoughts. It plays a key role in shaping your personality. For ex.
Thinking to yourself, imagining a conversation with your boss before leaving
workplace early, planning, problem solving and resolving internal conflicts,
evaluating and judging others.
It can help you to better understand your needs and feelings. Develop a more
positive self-image, reduce negative self talk and improve your wellbeing.

Group Communication
It's common for groups within a business to work together on projects. When
groups work toward a shared objective, it's important to have a functional
means of communication in place to help everyone understand how they can
work together to accomplish that goal. Effective group communication can help
members understand their responsibilities, navigate potential setbacks and
encourage each other while working together to complete a task.

Benefits of group communication

Group communication has many benefits in the workplace, including:

• Providing a way for group members to generate ideas and solutions to

achieve their common goal.
• Encouraging members to make decisions as a group.
• Creating a way for the team to build rapport with one another.
• Establishing mutual respect and understanding among group members.
• To ensure clarity and transparency about goals and expectations.

Barriers to effective communication

A communication becomes successful only if the receiver understands what the
sender is trying to convey. When your message is not clearly understood, you
should understand that your message is facing a barrier. Following are some of
the barriers to effective communication:-
1. Semantic barriers

2. Psychological barriers

3. Organisational barriers

4. Cultural barriers

5. Physical barriers
6. Physiological barriers

Let us study in detail about the various types of barriers to effective

communication.

Semantic barriers: Semantic barriers are also known as language barriers.

These barriers are caused due to improper communication between the

sender and the receiver. The following instances of semantic barriers can

be witnessed in communication.

Poor quality of message: Message when communicated should be precise

and easy to understand, that makes it easy for the receiver to grasp the

information conveyed.

Sometimes, due to the lack of clarity or complexity of the way of providing

information from the sender, there can be a case of semantic barriers.

For e.g. A manager is conversing in English to a group of workers who

understand and speak Bengali. It will create confusion among workers as

they will not be able to understand what is being conveyed by the

manager.

Technical language: Language barriers also arise when the sender of the

message is speaking in technical terms while the receiver is unaware of

the terms. It creates confusion and misunderstanding between the sender

and receiver by acting as a barrier to effective communication.

Psychological Barriers: Psychological barriers play an important role in

interpersonal communication as the state of the mind of the sender or the

receiver can make it difficult to understand the information that is

conveyed, which often leads to misunderstanding.

Here are some instances where psychological barriers to communication

can be seen.

1. Premature evaluation of information by the receiver even before it is

transmitted can lead to barriers in communication, as it will create

premature conclusion to the message, which withholds the original

message.

2. Inadequate attention from the receiver’s end at the time of

communication can lead to barriers of communication as the information

conveyed by the sender is not properly received by the receiver.

3. When information is passed within multiple sources, the final information

is distorted as the receivers of the message are not able to retain

everything that was conveyed. This can cause communication barriers.

Organisational barriers: Organisational barriers are those barriers that are

caused due to the structure, rules and regulations present in the

organisation. The various types of barriers that can be encountered due to

superior subordinate relationships where the free flow of communication is

not possible.

Sometimes the complexity of organisational structure and multiple

managers make it difficult to convey information properly, and the

information gets distorted leading to miscommunication.

 Cultural barriers: Cultural barriers are those that arise due to lack of

similarities among the different cultures across the world. A term that can

be harmless in one culture can be regarded as a slang in another culture.

Moreover, various beliefs can differ from one culture to another.

Physical barriers: Physical barriers to communication are those that arise

due to certain factors like faulty equipment, noise, closed doors and cabins

that cause the information sent from sender to receiver to become

distorted, which results in improper communication.

Physiological barriers: Physiological barriers arise when a sender or the

receiver of the communication is not in a position to express or receive the

message with clarity due to some physiological issues like dyslexia, or

nerve disorders that interfere with speech or hearing.

Strategies to overcome communication barriers:-

Barriers to communication can be overcome by:

• checking whether it is a good time and place to communicate with the person
• being clear and using language that the person understands
• communicating one thing at a time
• respecting a person’s desire to not communicate
• checking that the person has understood you correctly
• communicating in a location that is free of distractions
• acknowledging any emotional responses the person has to what you have said.
Importance of feedback in communication process
• Feedback generates direct business advantages by improving overall
performance. Identifying strengths and weaknesses allows employees to
focus on improvement and become more effective in their roles.
• Regular feedback fosters personal and professional development.
Thoughtful input helps employees track their progress toward goals, keeping
them motivated and focused on achieving desired outcomes.
• Feedback increases engagement. Employees who receive regular feedback
feel more valued and recognized for their contributions. It fosters a sense of
ownership and engagement in their work.
• Feedback maintains alignment. It benefits everyone engaged in various
activities, such as working on projects.
• Feedback strengthens relationships and teamwork. It encourages honesty
and trust. Although it may involve constructive criticism, it builds rapport
between team members and managers. As a result, feedback creates a
more collaborative and supportive work environment.
• Feedback helps teams avoid significant errors. Fostering open and honest
communication during teamwork minimizes the time spent on corrections
and reduces miscommunication-induced errors.

Shannon and Weaver’s model of communication

In 1948, Shannon was an American mathematician, Electronic engineer and Weaver
was an American scientist both of them join together to write an article in “Bell
System Technical Journal” called “A Mathematical Theory of Communication” and
also called as “Shannon-Weaver model of communication”.

This model is specially designed to develop the effective communication between

sender and receiver. Also they find factors which affecting the communication
process called “Noise”. At first the model was developed to improve the Technical
communication. Later it’s widely applied in the field of Communication.

The model deals with various concepts like Information source, transmitter, Noise,
channel, message, receiver, channel, information destination, encode and decode.
Sender : The originator of message or the information source selects desire
message

Encoder : The transmitter which converts the message into signals

Note: The sender’s messages converted into signals like waves or Binary data which
is compactable to transmit the messages through cables or satellites. 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

Note : The receiver converts those binary data or waves into message which is
comfortable and understandable for receiver. Otherwise receiver can’t receive the
exact message and it will affect the effective communication between sender and
receiver

Receiver : The destination of the message from sender

Note : Based on the decoded message the receiver gives their feed back to sender. If
the message distracted by noise it will affect the communication flow between sender
and receiver

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
Note : The model is clearly deals with external noises only which affect the messages
or signals from external sources. For example: If there is any problems occur in
network which directly affect the mobile phone communication or distract the
messages.