Business communication is the transmission of ideas to accomplish business objectives through accurate replication. It is a two-way process involving both verbal and nonverbal communication like gestures and emotions. Effective business communication is important for planning, decision-making, training, motivation, coordination, leadership, and control. The communication process involves a sender encoding a message and transmitting it through a medium to the receiver who decodes the message. Feedback allows the sender to judge how well the message was understood. There are various methods of communication including oral, written, gestural, visual, internal, external, formal, informal, horizontal, and vertical. Barriers to effective communication can be semantic, physical, organizational, or socio-psychological.

1. Business Communications

2. What is Business Communication?
• It is the transmission of ideas that is ensured by
accurate replication for the purpose of bringing
out the accomplishment of the business.

3. Characteristics
• It is a two way process, i.e., it has to be received and responded to.
• It is based not only on verbal but also actions and emotions.
Eg: A victory sign may depict more than words.

4. Importance
• Planning and Decision Making
Eg. Preparing and planning for exams can happen when information of date,
portions, etc is communicated.
• Training
Eg: For the learning and understanding of the subject, it is essential for the
teacher to communicate the info and also for the students to understand.
• Motivation and morale
Eg. When teachers talk to students to raise their morale before exams when
there is a lot of pressure.

5. • Coordination and Teamwork
Eg. When the class teachers coordinate various activities of the class.
• Leadership
Eg. In the ID Fresh case, Mustafa’s brother had suggested that they make and
supply dosa batter. Mustafa took the idea forward.
• Effective Control
Eg. In our class, our teacher communicates with us and regulates our work.
The teacher can judge our performance and along with our feedback,
remedial actions are taken.

6. Sender
This is the source of the
message that needs to be
communicated.
Eg: In the office episode,
the boss had an idea but
it wasn’t arranged and
this had a backfire.
Message(Encoding)
It is when the sender
puts ideas in words,
graphs, etc.
Eg. When messages are
sent.
Medium(Channel)
It is the mode of transmission
of information.
Eg. In the movie ‘The Longest
Day’, Radio was an important
mode of com.
Receiver
This is the person or the
group to whom the
message is directed.
Eg. In the movie The
Longest Day-”This
message is for the
various countrymen
Decoding
It is when the receiver
interprets the message to
understand its meaning.
Eg.
Feedback
It is the only way to judge
the understanding of the
message. It indicates the
outcome of the
communication.
Eg. In the movie The
Longest Day, when they
capture the bridge, they
give a feedback of the
mission and that they
want more troops.
Process of
Communication

7. Methods of
Communication.
Oral/Spoken
and Written
Comm.
Gestural and
Visual
Comm.
Internal and
External
comm.
Formal and
Informal
Comm.
Horizontal
and Vertical
comm.

8. 1)i) Oral/ Spoken Comm.
It is the type of communication through spoken words.
Advantages
• Fast
Eg. If someone is feeling ill and cannot go to class, communicating orally is
the fastest mode rather than sending an email.
• Economical
Eg. Apart from recharging your phone, there is no other expense other than
time.
• Personal Touch
Eg. In the movie, The Longest Day, the speaking of the commander of the
para-commandos, to the commandos gives the feeling of the importance of
the mission they were going to carry out.

9. • Effective
Eg. In the movie, The Longest Day, before taking off for the mission, they
have a meeting where the commander speaks and also asks if there is any
questions.
• Immediate feedback
Eg. In the movie, The Darkest Hour, when Winston Churchill travels in the
train and talks to the public directly, there is an immediate reply by those
people to the communication between them.

10. Disadvantages
• Distance
Eg. In the movie, The Longest Day, the only mode of getting info for the
woman and the other men was through the radio and there was no mode
of communicating with the base.
• Misunderstanding
• Poor Retention
Eg. Since oral messages cannot be retained for a long time, they create
written notes or CHECKLIST.
• Lengthy Messages: As in the previous point, since it is difficult to retain
information, lengthy messages also cannot be retained.
Eg. In the movie the Longest Day, the messages communicated are very short
and are repeated again and again.

11. ii) Written Communication
Advantages
• Wide Access
Eg. In the earlier times, letter was a very important way of communication.
• Precise
Eg. In the movie The Darkest Hour, Winston Churchill has a typist and he
keeps editing his speeches and letters to people.
• Repetition
Eg. In the movie The Longest Day, all the interpreted messages are written
and also maintained for future reference.

12. • Legal Evidence
Eg. In the Indian Judiciary, the verdict is maintained so that it can be used
for future references.
• Lengthy Messages
Disadvantages
• Time Consuming
• Costly
Eg. For the Indian Govt., it is very costly to keep old records. Cost is
primarily on the space where the records are kept.

13. • Lack of Secrecy: It is difficult to keep written messages secret.
Eg. In the movie, Jason Bourne, many documents and projects are exposed
and its secrecy is gone.
• Rigidity: Written Messages does not have the freedom of clarification.
Eg. A message put up on the notice board does not give the liberty of
clarifications.
• Delayed Feedback
Eg. In the olden times, it was very difficult to keep track of the reply and it
was often very late as it took time to travel.

14. 2)i) Gestural Communication
Advantages
• Faster
Eg. In the movie, The Longest Day, direct communication between the
commander and the officer provides a lot of information.
• Inexpensive
• Supplements: Gestures can be used instead of words at times.
• Confidential
Eg. The drafting of the Indian Budget is in utmost secrecy and it allows to
have communication freely.

15. Disadvantages
• Misunderstanding
Eg. In the movie PK, he is misunderstood by the people of various cultures
and religions.
• Only Face-to-Face
• Depends on People: Some people may not be good at communiating
through gestures.

16. ii) Visual Communication
Advanteges
• Understanding: Pictorial presentations help in better understanding.
• Attractive: Diagrams and presentations help have stronger memory.
Eg. Hopefully this presentation may help you remember more and may help
you recall.
• Comparison of Data

17. Disadvantages
• Limited
• Misinterpretation
• Time Consuming
Eg. This presentation was time consuming.

18. Internal External
Advantages
• Keeps everyone informed
Eg. When the school sends mails to
parents and teachers to keep
them informed about the
happenings in the school.
• Mutual Trust
• Teamwork
• Various Methods: It can be
communicated through Spoken
and Written.
Advantages
• Providing Info.
Eg. It is a rule for a co. on the stock
market to keep the shareholders
informed about how the co. is
doing.
• Reporting Requirements: Can
be used to meet requirements
under different laws.
• Useful Feedback: It can be
useful to provide views and
expectations of the stakeholders.
• Improves the Image

19. Disadvantages
• Limitation: It cannot be used to
communicate to outsiders.
• Rumors: Gossip, rumors, etc.,
can spoil the work environment.
Eg. In “The Office”, one message by
the boss has affected everyone
and has an affect for all day and
people start talking among
themselves.
Disadvantages
• Time Consuming
• Expensive
Eg. When the school sends invitation
to outsiders, it can be expensive
as it can be through cards,
advertisement, etc.
• Misinterpretation: If the msg is
misinterpreted by outsiders, it
may affect the image of the
company.

20. Formal Comm. Informal/ Grapevine Comm.
Advantages
• Flow of Info
• Cover all systems of org.
• Consolidating the org.: it
satisfies the managerial positions.
Advantages
• Fast Transmission
Eg. Rumors spread very fast and
this is how info is sometimes
transmitted.
• Valuable Feedback
Eg. In the movie The Darkest Hour,
when Mr Churchill travels in the
train, he gets valuable feedback
in taking decision.
• Psychological Satisfaction: it
gives a sense of belonging.

21. Disadvantages
• Slow and Rigid
• Expensive: As it involves
writing.
• Distortions may occur: as the
message has to go through diff
levels.
Disadvantages
• Misunderstanding: rumors
may not be true and leads to
misunderstanding
• Damage to org.
Eg. In a school, if there is a rumor of
a reduction in the pay to its staff,
it creates a bad image of the
school.

22. Horizontal Communication: it
is the flow of information and ideas
between people at the same level of
authority.
Eg.: Teachers having a meeting.
Vertical Communication: It is
the communication between different
levels of authority.
Eg. Teachers and students having a
meeting.
Advantages
• Mutual understanding
• Coordination of diff departments
• Resolve Problems at lower level
• No Status Barrier
Barriers
• Threat to authority: If the
subordinates become too friendly,
they may be a threat to the org.
Orders
Instructions
Budgets
Rules
Policies
Reports
Suggestions
Requests
Feedback
Proposals

23. Disadvantages
• Time Consuming: as there are
many layers of authority
• Fear: Subs are afraid to communicate
freely as the superiors have higher
level of authority
• Status Gap: Due to top and lower
executives, communication may not
flow smoothly.
Advantages
• Enables Explanation: It helps
managers to explain rules, policies,
etc.
• Training: It helps to educate and
train employs.
• Feedback on employees: helps
inform employees of their
performance.

24. Barriers to Comm.
Semantic Barriers
Words with different
meaning.
Denotative and
Connotative
Bad Expression
Faulty Translation
Physical and
Mechanical
Noise
Distance and Time
Info Overload
Organizational
Long chain of
command
Faulty Arrangement
Inappropriate Medium
Socio-Psychological
Barriers
Attitudes
Emotions
Fear
Poor Retention