Business Communication &
Report Writing
Communication
There
Are A Number Of Definitions Of The Term Communication. A Few of Them As Under;
- Communication Has Been “As The Transfer Of Information From One Person To Another Whether Or Not It Elicits Confidence”
- Communication Is An Exchange Of Facts, Ideas, Opinions, Or Emotions, By Two Or More Persons,
- Communication Is Defined As “the process of passing information and understanding form one person to another, it is essentially a bridge of meaning a person can safely cross the river of misunderstanding.
The
Process of Communication
The
process of communication requires at least six steps i.e. ideation. encoding,
transmission, receiving, decoding and action.
1. Ideation
The first step in communication is ideation. Here the sender thinks
of an idea, which is wants to communicate to the other party. This is the
content and the basis of the message. He must have something to say before he
really says it. The sender must also keep in mind the party to whom the message
is intended to be conveyed, and also the channel to be used.
2. Encoding
Under this step the messages are composed of symbols having a
certain meaning for the sender and the receiver. Encoding is, thus translation
of an already conceived idea by a sender into a message appropriate for a
transmission. Encoding includes selection of the mode of communication. A
telegram may be differently worded from a letter. A green signal and a whistle from the guard
are sufficient signals to train driver for starting the train, such signals are
not sufficient for an airplane to take off.
3. Transmission
The third step is transmission or conveying of the message as
encoded by the sender. Transmission conforms to the cathode selected by the
sender in the preceding step. The sender also chooses the channel or path of
communication through which the message is to travel from the sender to the
receiver. The channel may be mass media such as newspaper, radio, television,
films or interpersonal involving direct
exchange between source and receiver such as telephone correspondence or
non-verbal symbols like hands or facial gesture. Or other body movements
4. Receiving
the message
The next step is the receiving of the message by the receiver .The receiver must
pay due attention to the massage he receiver . Any neglect on the part of the
receiver may make the communication ineffective.
5. Decoding
Decoding is the reverse of encoding. It means translation of
symbols etc. encoding by the sender into
an idea for understanding. The receiver decodes the massage by changing the
symbols into a meaning. If the receiver
could not decode the massage. Correctly
to make it understandable. Or misunderstands it the communication id rendered
ineffective
6. Action
It is the response by the receiver of the communication. He may
ignore the massage completely or may store it or may acts directed by the
sender Thus it is an action or reaction on the part of the receiver in response
to the massage received by him from the sender. He may also send a message to
the sender in to the original massage from the sender
Types
of communication
There are two types of communication
- Verbal communication
- No-verbal communication
Verbal
communication
In verbal communication we use words both in writing and speaking.
Non-verbal
communication
Communication without the use of words is called non-verbal
communication This form of communication is a as import and common as the
verbal one.
Classification
of Nonverbal communication:
Non-verbal communication may be done by means of the following
Appearance and Surroundings
Body Language
Silence Time and space
1. Appearance
and surroundings
Appearance or the format neatness or language of the massage
affects the receiver attitude even before he receives the massage. Appearance includes
personal appearance and the appearance of the surroundings. It has a positive
or negative effect on the receiver’s attitude towards the massage personal
appearance includes clothing style posture stature jewelry cosmetics which
convey impression regarding occupation nationality, social and economic level
etc. Aspects of surrounding includes size of the room, location , furnishings,
machines, architecture , wall decorations, floor (carpeted or bare) lighting ,
windows and other related feature wherever people communication orally.
2. Body
Language (Kinesics)
Body language include the:
- Facial Expressions
- Gestures , Posture and Movement
- Small and Touch
- Voice and Sounds
All
these things exercise definitions influence
on the receiver and determine his attitude toward the message conveyed . They
are discussed below;
a) Facial
Expression
The
face and eyes are especially helpful in conveying the message non-verbally. It
is said that face is the index of mind . Our face and eyes reveal our hidden
emotions include anger, love, fear, joy, surprise , confusion respect ,
superiority , uncertainty and other . By Smiling , shaking hands nodding the
head and by raising or lowering .our eye-brows, we can express our approved or
disapproved of things. Successful speakers always maintain more eye contact
than the unsuccessful ones.
b) Gesture,
Posture and Movement
Gesture
and movement of a person reflect his state of mind. One can easily judge from
the gesture and movement of a person if he is confident or nervous. It is said
that actions speak louder than words. They are the silent expression of a
person ,s feelings. The posture of a person projects his personality . It
conveys his self- confidence , status and interest . The way a person stands,
sits, leans, or shift, expresses his interest in the matter under discussion .
An interested listener may lean forward toward the speakers ; one who is
bored may lean away, slump , or glance
at the clock. Therefore, one should avoid such such postures and movements as
can cause a bad impressions on others.
c) Smell
and Touch
It
has been observed that different odors and smells sometimes conveys the
emotions of the sender and sometimes affect the reactions of the receiver ,
especially if the receiver is sensitive to scents. Similarly , the touch of a
person can convey warmth , comfort , friendship , love approval , hatred ,
anger etc. even most casual contact can tact can create positive or negative
feelings.
d) Voice
and Sound (Paralanguage)
The
quality volume and pitch of voice and the extra sound a person make while
speaking are also a very important part of nonverbal communication. The voice
of a person can tell you a great deal of the speaker’s emotional state. A loud
voice is indicative of urgency or anger, a fast speech may suggest haste or
nervousness and speechless sound mat reduce credibility and a sudden variation
may sound artificial or overly dramatic. The speaker should use effective
pitch, speak expressively instead of being boring and use warm and pleasant
tone to speak slowly enough so that he may be understood easily.
3. Silence, Time
and Space
Silence, time and space communication very accurately and
effectively. If a request is met silence, it may arouse confusion or frustration.
Similarly, time and space are very important factors. Time taken by a person in
making a response is important in many ways.
The space maintained between the two communication indicates their
status and position. Distance between two persons also speaks of how far close
or intimate they are with one another. Space may be described in term of public
space, social space, personal space and intimate space.
Principles
of Business Communication
To compose effective written or oral messages, we must apply certain
communication principles. These principles provide guidelines for choice of
content and style of presentation, adapted to the purpose and receiver of your
message. These principles are called seven “C’s”. They are as under;
- Completeness
- Conciseness
- Consideration
- Concreteness
- Clarity
- Courtesy
- Correctness
1. Completeness
A message must be complete in every respect. A message is complete
when it contains all the facts the reader or listener needs for the reaction
you desire. Both the senders and the receivers differ in their mental filters.
They are influenced by their backgrounds, needs, experiences, viewpoints,
attitudes, status and emotions. Therefore, the senders need to assess that
their message include all the relevant information.
Complete message are more likely to bring the desired result
without the expense of additional message. They can do a better job of building
goodwill.
A message is complete when it answers five “W” questions, Who,
What, When, Where, Why and other essentials such as How. This is particularly
useful in writing requests, announcements or other informative messages. For
example, while placing order the correspondent should make it clear wants he
wants, when he needs it to whom and where it is to be sent, and how payment
will be made.
2. Conciseness
A letter must be as simple and brief as possible. Time is valuable
for both the writer and the reader. One should not beat about the bush in a
business letter. Vague words and roundabout ways of expressions should be
avoided. However, businessmen will always be busy. They may not generally waste
time in going through long letters. Completeness should never be sacrificed of
brevity.
The writer should strictly adhere to the purpose of hot message
without repetition. The writer should avoid long introductions, unnecessary
explanations, excessive adjectives and prepositions. Wordy message do not
create a positive impression. Therefore,
use single words instead of phrases whenever possible without change in the
message. For example, instead of using “due to the reason that “, simply use
“because”.
3. Consideration
one correspondence expert says,” When writing a letter put yourself
in your correspondent’s shoes , sense his feelings and anticipate his reaction”
.The reader should know that writer is aware of and is doing something for the
reader’s needs and take into account his
problems, and convenience, Consideration comes from courtesy.
In fact , consideration refers to the writer’s attitude ,
understanding of human nature m personal touch and sympathy for the reader.
This mode of consideration is called the “you-Attitude”. The following points
should be observed:
The writer should focus on ‘you ‘instead of “I” and “we “. As a
simple illustration, it may not be desirable to say “we offer the printer
cartridges in three colors: blue and green “. Instead it should be worded, as
‘Select your printer cartridge form three colors: black, blue and green “.
The writer should emphasize the positive and pleasant facts. For
example, “We never exchange damaged goods”. Can be stated as “We are happy to
exchange merchandise that is returned to us UN god condition”.
Avoid referring to failures, problems or shortcomings. Focus
instead on what the person can do to improve. Do not say, “You filled out the
order form wrong. We can’t send you the paint until you tell us what color you
want.” This should be stated as, “So that your order can be processed properly,
please check your preferences on the enclosed card”.
4. Concreteness
It
means giving the fullest possible information consisting of facts and figures.
Correlated information, suggestions, experimental results, etc. It is very
important in sales letter, of introduction, etc. The idea or the information
you writer in your letter must be unchangeable.
Sometimes
.a letter fails to convey the exact sense of the message. This happens when the
message is not concrete enough to evoke a clear picture of its contents in the
mind of the reader. In order to make the communication concrete, the writer
should be specific, definite, and vivid rather than vague and general in his
expression. For example, “Oleos send you’re chewed in full as soon as possible”
is a vague statement. It may be improved and made concrete as, “please send
your cheese for RS.25, 000 before July15”.
The
following guidelines should be followed to compose concrete and convincing
message:
Use specific facts and figures
Be definite and clear.
Use vivid, image- building words.
5. Clarity
Once of the most important elements in effective communication is
clarity. Clarity means that your message is understandable to your recover. It
involves the way you put words together in a sentence as well as the general
structure and organization of the message. Clarity can be attained only when we
have a clear idea of what we went to say. In order to lend the clarity to your
communication you should choose precise, concrete and familiar words. Do not
use technical terms and business jargons when you communicate with a person who
is not acquainted with the terminology .Try to insert no more than one main
idea into a sentence. Use the active voice than the passive voice way of
expression.
6. Courtesy
In business, courtesy is a must. Courtesy letters win friends
enroll new customers, retain old ones and win similar other favors. They also
win sympathy, respect and mutual understanding. A discourteous letter is
provable more detrimental than personal disco courtesy because a written word
is permanent. “Everyone gains where courtesy regions” .No amount of money and
advertisement can promote goodwill as courtesy does. Courtesy is a goodwill
builder. A courteous message not only pleases the reader but also strengthens
the present business relationship. The following guidelines should be observed
to make the message courteous:
Be tactful, sincere and appreciative. Courtesy stems from sincere
attitude towards others. While refusing something or referring to some mistake,
the waiter should be very careful so that the reader may not feel hurt. Bad
news should be reported honestly, realistically and regretfully.
Answer the mail promptly and politely. Decay in replies may cause
serious loss to the business.
Omit expressions and ideas that may hurt the feelings of the reader
and put down him.
7. Correctness
A good letter is always correctly written and is always in correct
form. The letter must be free from mistakes, errors of punctuation,
misspelling, grammatical incorrectness, etc. The information you write must be
accurate. Inaccuracy destroys confidence. Whatever is stated in a letter should
capable of being believed by the by the reader.
A correct massage is one which cannot be misunderstood. Sometimes,
the message may be correct grammatically and yet it may lack correctness.
Correctness means accuracy of contents, format, language, an expression.
Correctness exercises pleasant and fruitful impression on the mind of the
reader.
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