Verbal communication

Topic 1. Core Concepts in Business Communication

PLAN.

1. Communicating in organizations.

2. The components of communication.

3. Verbal communication.

4. Directions of communication.

5. Barriers to communication.

6. Ethics in business communication.

Communicating in organizations

Effective communication skills will help you succeed in business. Communication means the exchange of ideas using common symbols. You communicate only when your audience understands your message – communication is a two-way street. Becoming a good business communicator takes practice, but it’s worth the trouble.

An organization is a group of people working together to achieve a common goal. When are managers and other employees communicating? When they are reading reports, drafting email messages, attending meetings, conducting interviews, conferring with subordinates, holding business lunches, reading mail, dictating correspondence, making presentations, etc. Good communication skills are crucial to your success.

Communicationis the means by which information is shared, activities are coordinated, and decision making is enhanced.

Communication is the process of sending and receiving verbal and nonverbal messages – sometimes through spoken or written words and sometimes through such nonverbal means as facial expressions, gestures,, and voice qualities.

Typical characteristics of business communication:

· it is written for an audience who will find the information useful;

· it is written under time and money constraints;

· it often has more than one purpose;

· tone and attitude towards the reader is as important as the information conveyed.

The components of communication

The components of communication consist of the stimulus, filter, message, medium and destination. Ideally, the process ends with feedback to the sender.

A stimulusis an event that creates within an individual the need to communicate. Our knowledge, experience, and viewpoints act as a filter to help us interpret (decode) the stimulus. We formulate (encode) a verbal or nonverbal response (message) to the stimulus. To transmit the message to the receiver we must choose a medium, or the form of message to send. The message reaches its destination and, if successful, is perceived accurately by the receiver.

A COMMUNICATION MODEL

Two basic elements are necessary before any communication transaction can take place: a sender and a receiver. The channel is the means by which the message is transmitted. Feedback is the response or lack of it. The filter is the total of the communicator’s experiences leading up to the communication. Noise is anything that interferes with the free flow of information.

Decoding and encoding a message causes a lot of troubles in business communication.

· Denotation (dictionary meaning of the word) and connotation (the meaning people attach to the word).

· Cognitive dissonance.

· Cultural differences.

Verbal communication

Verbal communication is composed of words – either written or spoken.

ORAL COMMUNICATION

When managers attend meetings, ask questions and answer colleagues’ questions, make presentations and appraise performance, handle customer complaints or give instructions – they communicate and perform one of the most common functions in business activity.

· Advantages of oral communication over written communication.

· The importance of listening skills for effective oral communication.

WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

Writing is more difficult than speaking. Writing is crucial to the modern organization because it serves as the major source of documentation. Examples of written communication include emails, memos, letters, reports, contracts, notices, sales literature, etc. Also a crucial skill for managers around the world is the ability to write clearly expressed and logically argued reports, letters, fax messages, minutes of meetings, and memoranda in English. The task is to develop writing techniques in order to make the written transfer of this information as smooth as possible, leaving no possibility that the reader might miss or misunderstand any facts or points.

Date: 2016-03-03; view: 1943