Business Communication

1. UNIT-I
1. Introduction to communication: Classification
and methods
2. Communication Process
3. Importance of communication
4. Role of communication in organizations
5. Models of communication process
6. Barriers to communication
7. Making communication effective.

2. Communication
Introduction: Communication is the flow of
information and understanding from one
person to another at the same level or at
different level.
It is the process of sending and receiving
messages- sometimes through spoken or
written words and sometimes through such
non verbal means as facial expressions,
gestures and voice qualities.

3. Communication
• The word communication is derived from the
Latin term ‘communicare’ or ‘communico’, both
of which mean ‘to share’. But communication is
not merely transmission of meaning from one
person to another through symbols. It implies
that the system of communication is commonly
owned, accepted and recognized by the members
of a community. It enables them to acquire,
exchange, store, retrieve and process
information.

4. Communication
Communication
Verbal Para verbal Non verbal
(use of words) (how we say the words) (use of body Language)
Oral Written -tone -facial expressions
Face to face Memos - pitch -postures and gestures
Telephone letters -pacing of our voice -signs
Meetings emails
Seminars notices
Conferences reports
Dictation circulars

5. Communication Process
Step 1: sender conceives an idea depending on the
purpose.
Step 2: sender chooses appropriate symbols
encodes the idea and formulates the message.
Step 3: sender sends the message through a
suitable channel.
Step 4: receiver receives the message.
Step 5: receiver decodes the symbols and interprets
the message.
Step 6: receiver sends response to the sender.

6. Importance of Communication
• Social advancement has to be matched with
the development of efficient techniques of
communication in order to sustain the tempo
of growth. In modern professional
organizations a great deal of importance is
therefore attached to devising and
maintaining an efficient system of
communication. This enables the gathering
and marshalling of data which is necessary for
decision-making.

7. Direction of communication
1. Downward communication
2. Upward communication
3. Horizontal communication
4. Cross-channel communication

8. Downward communication and
Upward communication
1. Downward communication: In most organizations the
largest number of vertical communication move
downward- from someone of higher authority to
someone of lower authority.
2. Upward communication: Upward communication is the
flow of information from lower-level employees to
upper-level employees. It is important because (i) it
provides higher management with the info needed for
decision making (ii) it also cultivates employee loyalty
by giving employees an opportunity to be heard and
(iii) it provides the feedback necessary to let
supervisors know whether subordinates received or
understood messages that were sent downward.

9. Horizontal communication and
Cross-channel communication
3. Horizontal communication: It is the flow of
information among peers within the same work
unit. It is important to help coordinate work
assignment, share information on plans and
activities, negotiate differences, and develop
interpersonal support, thereby creating a more
cohesive work unit.
4. Cross-channel communication: It the exchange of
information among employees in different work
units who are neither subordinate nor superior to
one another.

10. Communication Network
Communication Network
A communication network is simply a diagram
showing all communication patterns or
relationship that are possible within a group or
among individuals.
1. Formal 2. Informal
CHAIN Grapevine
WHEEL
CIRCLE
ALL CHANNEL

11. CHAIN and WHEEL NETWORK
1. Chain: It rigidly follows the formal chain of
command. The CHAIN is a typical network
formation in a classical type of organization
where the information flows only up or down
in a hierarchical chain of command.
2. Wheel: The wheel network is also known as a
‘star’ network represents a supervisor in the
centre with four subordinates.

12. CIRCLE and ALL CHANNEL NETWORK
3. Circle: In a circle network, members of the group
interact with adjoining members and no more.
The group may have a formal leader or the
supervisor, the interaction is typically found in the
autonomous work groups.
4. All Channel: The All Channel network permits all
group members to actively communicate with
each other. Finally in the All Channel or the
completely connected network, each of the
members can communicate freely with the other
four.

13. Informal Network
The information flows along the well-known
grapevine and rumours can flourish.
The grapevine has three main characteristics:
i. It is not controlled by management
ii. It is perceived by most employees as being
more believable and reliable than formal
communiqués issued by the top management.
iii. It is largely used to serve the self- interests of
those people within it.

14. Barriers to Communication
• According to the processes message formation
and delivery, we can indentify three types.
1. Intrapersonal
2. Interpersonal
3. Organizational

15. Intrapersonal, Interpersonal,
Organizational.
1. Intrapersonal: Individuals are unique because of
differences in perceptions, experiences, education,
culture, personality. Each of us interprets the same
information in different ways as our thinking varies. These
differences lead to certain inbuilt or interpersonal
barriers.
2. Interpersonal: occur due to the inappropriate transactions
of words between two or more people.
3. Organizational: Irrespective of size, all organizations have
communication policies which describes the protocol to
be followed. It is the structure and complexity of this
protocol that usually causes communication barriers.

16. Tips for Effective Communication
1. Always keep the receiver in mind.
2. Create an open communication environment
3. Avoid having too many transfer stations
4. Do not communicate when you are emotionally
disturbed
5. Be aware of diversity in culture, language etc.
6. Use appropriate non-verbal cues
7. Select the most suitable medium
8. Analyze the feedback.

17. The 7 Cs of Communication
1. Completeness
2. Conciseness
3. Consideration
4. Concreteness
5. Clarity
6. Courtesy
7. Correctness

18. Completeness
1. Completeness
i. A message is complete when it contains all facts the
reader or listener needs for the reaction the sender
desires
ii. Provide all necessary information
iii. Answer all questions asked
iv. Give something extra, when desirable
v. One way to help make the message complete is to answer
the five W questions: WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY
and any other essentials, such as HOW.
For example: to order merchandise, make clear WHAT you
want, WHEN you need it, to WHOM and WHERE it is to be
sent and HOW payment will be made.

19. Conciseness
2. Conciseness: it is saying what you have to say
in the fewest possible words without
sacrificing the other C qualities.
i. Eliminate wordy expressions
ii. Include only relevant material
iii. Avoid unnecessary repetition
Conciseness is a pre-requisite to effective
business communication.

20. Consideration
3. Consideration: It means preparing every message
with the message receiver in mind.
i. Focus on ‘you’ instead of ‘I’ and ‘we’
ii. Emphasize positive and pleasant facts
iii. In a broad but true sense, consideration
underlies the other six Cs of good business
communication.
iv. To create considerate, audience-oriented
message, focus on HOW message will benefit,
WHAT they will receive and what they want or
need to know.

21. Concreteness
4. Concreteness: Communicating concretely
means being specific, definite and vivid rather
than vague and general.
The benefits to business professionals of using
concrete facts and figures are obvious: the
receivers know exactly what is required or
desired.

22. Clarity
5. Clarity: Getting the meaning from your head
to your reader accurately is the purpose of
clarity.
i. Choose precise, concrete and familiar words
ii. Construct effective sentences and paragraphs
iii. At the core of clarity is the sentence.
Important characteristics to consider are
LENGTH, UNITY, COHERENCE and EMPHASIS

23. Courtesy
6. Courtesy
True courtesy involves being aware not only of
the perspective of others, but also their
feelings.
Courtesy stems from a sincere you-attitude.
It is politeness that grows out of respect and
concern for others.

24. Correctness
7. Correctness
i. All the information should be correct
ii. At the core of correctness is proper grammar,
punctuation and spelling
iii. Use the right level of language.

25. UNIT-II
Effective Listening and Reading:
1. Listening Skills
2. Listening Process
3. Levels of Listening
4. Types of Listening
5. Barriers to effective listening
6. Improving listening abilities
7. Reading skills
8. Reading process
9. Approaches/style of reading
10. Selective reading
11. Reading rate adjustment
12. Note taking
13. Improving reading skills

26. Listening
• Listening might be defined as the art of
hearing and understanding what someone is
saying.
• Listening is a very important skill. It is quite
similar to reading, as it involves the reception
and decoding of verbal messages from
another person.

27. Listening
• No communication process is complete
without listening. Several studies have
indicated that business people spend almost
45% of their working time in listening.
• Similarly, effective listening is extremely
important for students, as they spend most of
their time listening to lectures. While we may
not necessarily be born good listens, active
listening skills can be learnt and developed.

28. Listening: Definition
• We can define listening as follows: Listening is a process of
receiving, interpreting, and reacting to a message received
from the speakers.
• Listening in relation to communication refers to the ability to
understand an oral message. The listener is required to
understand what he/she has heard. The ability to listen
attentively and assimilate the information is very important,
in order to communicate effectively.
• Listening is also a mode of communicating one’s attitude- this
is done through the listener’s response to the message, which
can indicate interest, empathy, boredom.

29. Levels of Listening
LEVEL 1, LEVEL 2 and LEVEL 3
Level 1: Non Listening: Listener may appear to be listening but
actually he is more occupied with his own thoughts.
Level 2: Passive Listening: Passive listening is more of hearing
than actually listening. The listener superficially hears the
words but does not understand in depth what is being said.
Level 3: Active listening: This is the most desirable form of
listening wherein the active listener gives full attention to
what is being said. An active listener not only comprehends
the message better but also is in a better position to
remember and recall the message.

30. Process of Listening
• In order to be a good listener, it is necessary to
understand the various stages of listening.
These are:
1. The sensing/selecting stage
2. The interpreting stage
3. The evaluating stage
4. The responding stage
5. The memory stage

31. The sensing/selecting stage and
The interpreting stage
1. The listener selects, from among a multiple
of stimuli, the only one that seems important
at that point in time and converts it into a
message.
2. The listener is engaged in the act of
decoding the message. It is at this stage that
the listener is faced with multiple barriers
that could be semantic, linguistic,
psychological, emotional or environmental.

32. The evaluating stage
3. A great deal of critical listening takes place at
this stage. The listener assigns a meaning to
the messages and seeks accuracy of
information and evidence. Often the listener is
disturbed by prior experiences, beliefs, and
emotions, which often come in the way of the
evaluation process.

33. The responding stage
4. This is the stage when the listener is ready to
respond. In addition, this feedback stage is
important for a speaker. The listener’s non-
verbal signals tell the speaker whether he or
she has been understood or not. The speaker
also has to be able to understand whether the
listener is faking attention.

34. The memory stage
5. This is the final stage of listening. Effective
listening helps listeners retain chunks of what
they have heard. Unfortunately, no matter
how brilliant a speaker is, most listeners can
retain only 10-25% of a talk or a presentation
the day after.

35. Types of Listening
1. Discriminative listening
2. Comprehensive listening
3. Evaluative listening
4. Attentive listening
5. Pretending listening
6. Selective listening
7. Intuitive listening

36. Discriminative listening and
Comprehensive listening
1. Discriminative listening is the most basic type
of listening, it involves indentifying the
difference between various sounds and the
typicality of a language can be identified by
this kind of listening.
2. Comprehensive listening involves attaching
meaning to what is being listened to, i.e.,
comprehending the message including non-
verbal message

37. Evaluative listening, Attentive listening
and Pretending listening
3. Evaluative listening involves not only
comprehending the message but also evaluating
and analyzing the message being received in the
light of one’s own background.
4. Attentive listening involves making a conscious
effort to listen attentively and decode the
message.
5. Pretending listening means pretending through
facial expressions that the communicated
message is being listened to when actually, it is
not.

38. Selective listening and
Intuitive listening
6. Selective listening involves selecting the
desired part of the message and ignoring the
undesired part of the message.
7. Intuitive listening means listening through the
intuitive mind by silencing the other forms of
internal dialogues going on simultaneously.

39. Tips for Effective Listening
Dos
1. Be mentally prepared to
listen.
2. Evaluate the speech, not
the speaker.
3. Be unbiased towards the
speaker by depersonalizing
your feelings.
Don’ts
1. Pay undue emphasis to the
vocabulary as you can use
the context to understand
the meaning.
2. Pay too much attention to
the accessories and
clothing of the speaker.
3. Prepare your responses
while the speaker is
speaking.

40. Tips for Effective Listening
Dos
4. Fight distractions by
blocking off sound sources.
5. Be open-minded.
6. Ask questions to clarify and
confirm thoughts.
7. Paraphrase from time to
time.
8. Send appropriate non-verbal
signals from time to time.
Don’ts
4. Hold preconceptions and
prejudices.
5. Get distracted by outside
influences.
6. Concentrate too hard.
7. Interrupt too often.
8. Show boredom even to an
uninteresting speaker.

41. Barriers to Effective Listening
Physical Barriers
• Noise, poor acoustics,
frequent interruptions and
uncomfortable seating
arrangement.
• People related barriers can
be both physiological and
psychological
-state of health
-impairment
-wandering attention
Psychological Barriers
• These barriers relate to
attitudinal and behavioural
aspects
• Unsure of the speaker’s
ability, personal anxiety,
attitude, impatience,
emotional blocks.

42. Improving Listening Abilities
1. Concentration
2. Preparation
3. Show interest
4. Listen for the whole message
5. Empathy
6. Listening before evaluation
7. Note taking
8. Paraphrasing
9. Body language

43. Advantage of Listening
• Listening is the highest compliment one human
being can pay to another. Some of the ways that
it helps us in our daily lives are:
1. It breaks up the barriers between people
2. We can understand each other more
3. It prevents miscommunication of objectives and
priorities among people.
4. It also prevents time lost because of having to
communicate a second or third time to get
things straightened out.

44. Questions
1. What are the types of Listening?
2. Briefly, discuss the importance of listening in
communication.
3. Listening is an art and like any other art, it
has to be cultivated consciously. Discuss.
4. List some of the common external and
personal barriers to listening. How are they
similar/ dissimilar to the general barriers to
communication.

45. Reading Skills
• Reading is one of the most important academic
tasks faced by students. It is equally important in
the commercial working world.
• Time spent by professionals on communication
activities:
Writing 9%
Speaking 30%
Listening 45%
Reading 16%

46. Approaches/Style of Reading
1. Scanning
2. Skimming
3. Critical Reading
4. Analytical reading

47. Scanning
1. Scanning: Scanning is a fast reading style in
which the reader examines the text to look
for specific information. This type of reading
is usually done for searching information
through a list of numbers or addresses for a
specific one.
Scanning is extensively used while browsing
the web pages to look for specific
information.

48. Skimming
2. This type of reading is done when one wants
to identify the core/ main idea of the material.
It is useful in selecting relevant material that
can later on be read in detail. It is also suitable
when a lot of material has to be read in a
limited time as one does not read word by
word. Generally, it involves going through the
chapter headings and sub-headings,
introduction and summaries.

49. Critical Reading
3. Critical reading involves evaluating the
arguments presented by the writer. To gain
deeper understanding of concept it is useful to
critically read the text. Critical reading provides
an answer to the following questions:
Are the arguments used logical?
Are the statements backed by adequate evidence?
Are both sides of the case presented evenly?

50. Analytical Reading
4. Analytical reading involves active reading in
which the reader gains an in-depth
understanding of what he is reading by
simultaneously analyzing it.

51. Reading Rates
• Reading rates vary depending upon the
reading material. As our eyes move across the
page they make a serious of jerky movements.
Whenever they come to rest on a word, it is
called a fixation.
• In order to increase our speed we must take in
more words with each fixation, rather than
make our eyes move faster.

52. How to read faster…
1. Try to avoid focusing on every word, but rather look at
groups of two to three words. For example: for
instance/this sentence/could be grouped/thus:…
2. Work on your vocabulary. Familiarize yourself with new
words so that you do not get stuck on them when you
read them again.
3. Read more. 15mins a day of reading an average size novel
equals about 18 books a year at an average reading speed.
4. Spend a few minutes a day at a faster than comfortable
rate.
5. If you have poor concentration when reading, practice
reading for only 5-10 minutes at a time and gradually
increase this time.

53. Note-Taking
• Note-taking is a process of summarizing information
from spoken material. The skill requires adequate
practice. [as a students, you do this exercise daily when you attend your
classes]
• First, one has to listen to what is being said with full
attention.
• Next, one has to recognize quickly the main points that
the speaker makes and note them down immediately.
• The speed of the speech is faster than the speed of
writing. So, some extra effort is required to keep pace
with the speaker.

54. Improving Reading Skills
• It is essential to read with a purpose. Preview
the material you are planning to read by
scanning the table of contents, heading,
introduction, and conclusion before you
actually start to read.
• When searching for specific information follow
the 80-20 rule i.e., 80% information in 20%
time.

55. Tips for improving reading skills
1. Underline/highlight the main points.
2. Put a question mark next to sentences that
you are unclear about.
3. Read a lot as this will help you read better.
4. Taking notes while reading helps one to
remain focused and also improves retention.