2. Live in Chino Hills, CA
Married with two yellow Labradors
Work for Abbott Laboratories
Travel for work—domestic and international
Graduated from Virginia Tech with Bachelors
in Human Development
3. Email
Memos
Reports
Instant Messenger
Texting
Sales Pitch
Press Release
Face to Face
What are some others???
4. Effective and Ethical Business Communication
Professionalism in the Workplace
Intercultural Business Communication
Writing Tips for Business Professionals
Business Communication in the Digital Age
Positive and Negative Messages
Business Presentations
Business Reports, Plans, and Proposals
5. How important are communication skills in
business?
Total estimate cost of employee misunderstanding:
62.4 millions dollars a year
Companies where leaders are highly effective
communicators have 47% higher total returns to
shareholders
Leaders who are highly effective communicators have
higher employee engagement leading to better
performance
Grossman (2011)
6. 12 components of effective communication:
◦ Relax
◦ Stay present
◦ Silence inner voices
◦ Be positive
◦ Focus on inner values
◦ Recall a pleasant memory
(Manning, Waldman, Lindsey, Newberg & Cotter-Lockard, 2012)
7. 12 components of effective communication:
◦ Maintain eye contact
◦ Be complimentary and express appreciation
◦ Speak with warmth in your voice
◦ Speak slowly
◦ Speak briefly
◦ Listen carefully
(Manning, Waldman, Lindsey, Newberg & Cotter-Lockard, 2012)
8. To be ethical, communication must be factually
accurate, non-deceptive, and complete.
Advertising claims?
Sales reports?
Product safety?
Environmental issues?
Ethical communication builds trust, while
unethical communication abuses or damages it.
9. “Employers want new workers to be
responsible, ethical, and team oriented, and to
possess strong communication, interpersonal
and problem solving skills. Wrap all these
skills together and you’ve got professionalism”
Department of Labor (2014)
10. Self Assessment on your Professionalism:
◦ Am I punctual?
◦ Am I honest?
◦ Am I hard working?
◦ Am I polite?
◦ Do I treat others with respect?
◦ Do I communicate effectively?
◦ Do I listen?
◦ Do I dress sloppy?
11. Global business requires that we adapt and
learn about cultural differences in
communication including:
How loud we talk
How we express emotion
Rules for turns of talking
Use or avoidance of silence
12. Posture
Eye Contact
Proximity
Touching
Kissing
Tone
Hand movements
13. Bowing is a sign of respect in Japan but not done in US
Slouching is considered rude in most Northern
European countries
Sitting with your legs cross is offensive in Turkey and
Ghana
Showing the soles of your feet is offensive in Thailand
and Saudi Arabia
In Latino cultures, men are very expressive with
emotion while American men hide emotion
Islamic & Hindu cultures typically do not touch with the
left hand
(Andrews University)
14. Business Writing is like a Road Trip
Know where you are going
◦ Clear vision of where you are headed so your
readers can follow
Follow the map
◦ Create an outline that lays out the path to your
destination
Take advantages of Breaks
◦ Use breaks as a time for rest and reflection. Breaks
can wake up creativity and deliver new ideas and
insight.
Lynda McDaniel (2013)
15. Guffey and Loewy (2011) developed the
business writing approach known as
3x3 process:
1. Prewriting
2. Writing
3. Revising
4. Proofreading
5. Evaluating
Define Audience
Plan Message
Draft Message
Revise for Content, Style, &
Correctness
Read, edit, re-read, edit again
Check for grammar, punctuation,
spelling, & word usage
Did you achieve communicating
your message?
16. 1. Mind Mapping
a. Start by writing one word or key idea
b. Take 10 minutes and map any associations,
thoughts, feelings, or anything else that comes to
mind
2. List of 20
a. Come up with a list of 20 options or new ideas
3. The Devil’s Advocate
a. Think beyond your own ideas and recognize
potential problems or opportunities
18. We all do it!
Email, Texting, Instant Messenger (IM), Blackberry Messenger
(BBM), Facetime, Skype
Step 1: Determine the appropriate method for message
Text to set up a call, do not text important details or entire
conversations
Avoid slang abbreviations (LOL, OMG) or emoticons
Stop and think about the paper trail and confidentiality
19. Step 2: Draft your message
Lost in translation?? Think about the tone of your message
Consider the context of your message
Check for grammar and spelling. It is easy to quickly send a
message and have an auto-correct mistake
Step 3: Follow up to your message
If a phone call or video chat, follow up with an email to
capture main points
If texting or IM’ing about a meeting, schedule the meeting
on the calendar
20. How do you communicate positive or negative
messages?
Determine the best method to communicate
Don’t hide the main message in fluff,
especially a negative message
Provide details and explanation, but only
what is relevant to the message
21. Delivering Positive Messages
◦ Be polite
◦ Provide information, as needed
◦ Express appreciation
◦ Make the message easy to respond to
Delivering Negative Messages
◦ Cushion the bad news
◦ Be empathetic
◦ Provide reasons
◦ Avoid negative words
◦ Stay professional
22. “Focus on how to get your message over to the audience clearly
and concisely” (Bratram, 2014).
What is the purpose?
Who is the audience?
Prepare tools and aids
Organize slides and talking points in a logical and easy to follow
structure
Provide strong examples to support and clarify ideas
Be conscious of time and engage with the audience
End with a highlight of the key take away points
Provide next steps
23. How to Handle the Public Speaking Jitters
Practice and feel comfortable with what you are talking about
Don’t expect perfection and roll with the mistakes…we all make
them
Accept that its normal to be nervous and embrace it
Gain experience by participating in clubs like Toastmasters
Pace yourself and slow down–you are speaking faster than you
think
Show energy but be professional by speaking at a brisk pace that
is understandable, smiling, and varying tone, pitch, and volume
24. Business Report
Convey information from one person, group, or
company to another and include facts, figures, and
information pertaining to business matters.
Analytical Reports
Informational Reports
Research Reports
Financial Reports
Progress Reports
Recommendation Reports
26. Business Proposal
A written document that proposes an idea or plan
to initiate a discussion. One of the most effective
ways to get business and continue growth.
Summary Introduction-quick overview of
objective and problem
Detailed problem statement
Work statement—proposal on what will happen
to solve the problem
Project management statement-logistical
information on solving problem
27. Business Proposal
Is it clear what you are asking for?
Detail your experience and your expertise
Formatting should look clean and professional
Follow a structure associated with type of
proposal
28. Andrews University. (n.d.). Non-verbal communication modes. Retrieved from
http://www.andrews.edu/~tidwell/bsad560/NonVerbal.html
Bartram, P. (2014). 8 ways to…improve your presentation skills. Financial Management, Feb
2014, 42-43.
Dinu, A. (Artist). Business Plan [Print Drawing]. Retrieved from lerablog.org
Grossman, D. (2011, July 17). The cost of poor communications. Retrieved from
http://www.holmesreport.com/opinion-info/10645/The-Cost-Of-Poor-
Communications.aspx
Guffey, M., & Loewy, D. (2011). Business communication: Process and product (7th ed.).
Independence, KY: Cengage Learning.
Manning, C., Waldman, M., Lindsey, W., Newberg, A., & Cotter-Lockard, D. (2012). Personal
inner values: A key to effective face-to-face business communication. Journal of Executive
Education, 11(1), 37-65.
McDaniel, L. (2013, Aug). Business writing is like a road trip. Communication World, 30(5),
9-11.
