Download Business People

Unit 1
Communication
• Main forms of
communication in business
• Fundamentals of business
writing
• Techniques for effective
communication
Part I Main forms of communication in
business
• Oral communication
— personal conversations,
speeches, meetings, voice mail,
telephone conversations,
videoconferences
• Written communication
— letters, memos, formal
reports, news releases,
e-mails, faxes, minutes
Communication:
meaningful
exchanges of
information
through messages
• Formal communication
— internal: memos, reports,
meetings, written proposals, oral
presentations, meeting minutes
— external: letters, written
proposals, oral presentations,
speeches, news releases, press
conferences, advertising
• Informal communication
— communication transmitted
outside formally authorized
channels without regard for the
organization’s hierarchy of
authority
• Verbal communication
— transmission of messages in
the form of words: meetings,
telephone calls, voice mail,
videoconferences
• Nonverbal communication
— communication transmitted
through actions and
behaviours rather than
through words: gestures,
facial expressions, posture,
body language, dress, makeup
Part II Fundamentals of written
business communication
Basic patterns
Letters (p.138): formal
Memos (p.140): less formal
Faxes (p.140): less formal
E-mails (p.139): least formal
Business reports: formal or less
formal
Techniques for writing
Keep paragraphs short (100 words
or fewer)
Use lists and bullets
— List items should be parallel in
structure
— place important ideas first or last
Make subject lines informative
 Tomorrow's meeting
 Bring consultant’s report to Friday’s
meeting
 Employee parking
 Revised schedule for parking lot
Use familiar words (Use plain
English)
– terminate  end
– utilize  use
– ascertain  find out
– discontinue  stop
More examples?
Convey different types of messages
Routine, good-news, and goodwill
messages
– In the opening, state your main idea
directly.
– The body provides all necessary
details.
– The close is cordial, emphasizing your
good news or making a statement
about the specific action desired.
Convey different types of messages
Bad-news messages
indirect approach: put the evidence first
and the main idea later.
– Open with a neutral statement that acts
as a transition to the reasons for the
bad news.
– In the body, give the reasons that justify
a negative answer before stating or
implying the bad news.
– Your close must always be cordial.
Convey different types of messages
Persuasive messages
indirect approach
– In the opening, mention a possible
benefit, referring to a problem that the
recipient might have, posing a question,
or mentioning an interesting statistic.
– In the body, build interest in the subject
and arouse your reader’s desire to
comply. Once you have them thinking,
you can introduce your main idea.
– The close is cordial and requests the
desired action.
Writing Business Report
Business reports help companies make
decisions and solve business problems.
– to oversee and manage company
operations
– to carry out company rules and ways of
doing things
– to obey government and legal
requirements
– to inform others of what’s been done on a
project
– to guide decisions on particular issues
– to get products, plans or projects accepted
by others
Reports may be classified in several
ways:
– voluntary or authorized
– internal or external
– short or long
– informational or analytical
Four formats:
– preprinted form: fill-in-the-blank reports;
relatively short; dealing with routine
information
– letter: including all the normal parts of a
letter; directed to outsiders
– memo: short, informal reports distributed
within an organization
– manuscript: reports that require a formal
approach
See p.144
Part IV Oral Presentations
• Review the relevant unit in
Learning Strategies
• Refer to p.35, pp.58-59 of
Book 3
Part V Nonverbal Communication
Types
• Facial expression
• Gesture & posture: revealing
a lot about a person’s
emotions and attitudes
• Vocal characteristics (tone of
voice, volume & speaking
pace)
• Personal appearance
• Touching behaviour
• Use of time and space
Part V I Cross-cultural
Communication
• Develop cross-cultural
awareness
• Accumulate relevant
knowledge and information