communication skills

1. Communication Skills – VET 2015
1st
Semester
MODULE-1 – Communication in Business
By:
Dr.K.S.Naik

2. Quotes on Communication
Communication is any behavior that results in an exchange of
meaning
- American Management Association
Communication is the process involving the transmission and
reception of symbols eliciting meaning in the minds of the
participants by making common their life experiences.
- Baird Jr.E.John
Effective communication is purposive symbolic interchange
resulting in workable understanding and agreement between the
sender and the receiver
- George T Vardaman

3. Definitions of Communication
 Communication is a process of passing information and understanding from one
person to another
- Keith Davis
 Communication is any behaviour that results in an exchange of meaning -
AMA
 Communication may be broadly defined as the process of meaningful interaction
among human beings. It is the process by which meanings are perceived and
understandings are reached among human beings.
- D.E.McFarland
 Any act by which one person gives to or receives from another person
information about that person’s needs, desires, perceptions, knowledge or
affective states. Communication may be intentional or unintentional, may
involve intentional or unintentional signals, may take linguistic or non linguistic
forms, and may occur through spoken or other modes.
- Julia Valenzuela

4. Historical Communication
Napoleon:
Year : November 10, 1799
Place : Paris
Situation : Napoleon, armless and all alone,
surrounded by a troop of enemies
Outcome : Napoleon declared monarch
in the next few hours
Porus:
Year : 326 BC
Place : Punjab
Situation : Porus defeated by Alexander
Outcome : Porus back as a King

5. What is communication?
 The word ‘Communication’ is used in common talk
 Usually to mean speaking or writing or sending a
message to another person.
 In management:
 It ensures your message reaches the target audience.
 The receiver understands and responds
 Ensures that the sender also receives, understands,
interprets and responds to messages sent by the
receiver.
 Communication is an important aspect of behavior
 Human communication is affected by all factors that
influence human behavior.

6. Role of Communication – Importance
 A primary skill in management competency
 A skill central to everything we do – home, school, office…..
 A mortar that holds organisation together
 Most important foundation skill for anyone in the world – ability
to communicate – globally
 Communication in offices – ideas, persuasion
 Public relations
 Advertisement
 Aviation
 Space-science
 Communication to inform
 Communication to persuade

7. Importance of communication
 Communication is central to human activity.
 It is an integral part of our daily life.
 In daily life, we have to:
 Adaption:
 Adapt our communication to a variety of human
settings and or persons
 Based on the role we are assuming in the
interaction.
 Make Decisions:
 Make daily decisions
 About the appropriateness of the messages we
sent

8. Contd…
 Communication:
 Be aware that the manner and methods we choose to
communicate our messages.
 Have an impact on the effectiveness of those
messages.
 Evaluation:
 Interpret and evaluate messages received everyday.
 And decide what action to take on the basis of the
message.
 Interaction:
 Interact with people in groups
 At home and outside home and at work.

9. Contd…
 Education:
 Development of a person
 Family Life:
 Communication the best nurturing ground.
 Social Life:
 Social adjustment, psychological development
 Professional Life:
 Basic competence

10. Benefits of Effective Communication

11. Communication Skills Important to You
 Communication important to business
 Business wants and needs people with good
communication skills
 Communication ranks at or near the top of the business
skills needed for success.
 Employers must have a good communication skill to
advance professionals.
 To stand out from the competition, one must
demonstrate the unwritten requirements that are now
most in demand
 Leadership and communication skills.
 There is a high correlation between communication
skills, growth and income.

12. Goals of Communication in Organizations
 To inform
 To provide information for use in decision making
 But not necessarily advocating any cause of action
 To request
 To ask for a specific action by the receiver
 To persuade
 To strengthen or change a receiver’s belief about
something
 And act on the belief, if needed
 To build relationships
 To create goodwill with the receiver.

13. Business Depends upon Communication
 Every business is an economic and social system
 To produce and sell goods and services any business must
coordinate with
 Employees
 Suppliers
 Customers
 Legal advisors
 Community
 Government agencies
 This feet is achieved largely through communication
 Information is managed and exchanged through many oral
written and electronic forms
 Communication enables human beings to work together

14. Main Categories of Business Communication
 Falls into 3 categories of communication in Business:
1. Internal – operational communication:
 The communicating done in conducting work within
the organization.
 Such as giving orders for processing, assembling,
reporting, etc.
2. External – operational communication:
 Work related communication with people outside the
business.
 Such as personal settings, telephoning, advertising
and sending message.
 External message conveys an image of the company.

15. Contd…
3. Personal communication:
 Non-business related exchanges of
information and feelings among people
 Affect employee attitudes
 And attitudes affect employee performance
 Further, enhances internal and external
business communication

16. Communication Networks of Organization

17. Communication Networks in Organization
Information flow in a business can be said to form two complex
networks: Formal & Informal
1. Formal Network:
 Consists of the official
 More stable lines of communication.
2. Informal Network:
 Consists largely of personal communications which are
complex and keep changing
 Known as ‘grapevine’ in management literature
 Managers can not always control grapevine, but they can
influences it.

18. A Model of Business Communication Process
 Business communication is an interpersonal well-
directed process.
 Figure shows the basic elements of a business
communication event.
 This model focuses on what happens when someone
deliberately undertakes to communicate with someone
else to achieve business related goals
 Both parties in a communication event influence the
outcome of that event.

20. Channels of communication
Communication networks of organisation
 Downward
 Upward
 Horizontal
 Diagonal

21. Communication Forms
 Interpersonal face to face
 Group communication
 Speaker – audience communication
 Telephone/cell communication
 Written communication
Characteristics of Communication
 International as well as unintentional
 A dynamic process – ongoing, changing, develops
 Systemic – every component is affected by other component
 Both interaction and transaction

22. The communication Process
Stages of communication

23. The Business Communication Process

24. Contd…
Communicator – 1:
1. Senses a communication need
2. Defines the problem
3. Searches for possible solutions
4. Selects a course of action (message type,
contents, style, format, channel).
5. Composes the message
6. Delivers the message
Communicator – 2:
7. Receives the message
8. Interprets the message
9. Decides on a response
10. May send a responding message

25. The process of communication (Activities)
 What exactly occurs inside the minds of
communicators when they start communicating is
not fully known
 Researchers generally agree that the process
included the following activities generally in this
order:
1. Sensing a communication need
2. Defining the situation
3. Considering possible communication strategies
4. Selecting a course of action
5. Composing the message
6. Sending the message
7. Receiving the message
8. Interpreting the message
9. Deciding as a response
10. Replying to the message

26. What Makes Message Effective
 Good messages meet five criteria
 Good business writing is:
 Clear
 Complete
 Correct
 Saves reader’s time
 Builds goodwill
 The depth to which it meets the above criteria also
depends upon
 The interaction among the writer, the audience, the
purpose of the message and the situation
 No single set of words works in all possible situations

27. Analysis of Business Communication Situations
 Before we write or speak, we need to
understand the situation
 Obtain the answer to the following questions:
 What is at stake? To whom?
 Should a message be sent?
 What is the channel to be used?
 What one should say?
 How one should say it?
 Is the situation understood?

28. PAIBOC Question
Use the PAIBOC question before composing message/answers:
 P-What is your purpose in writing or speaking?
 A-What is the type of audience and their difference?
 I-What information must your message include?
 B-What reason or benefits to the reader can be used to
support your position?
 O-What are the likely objectives?
 C-How will the context affect reader response?

29. Basic Truths About Communication
Three fundamental truths and commonalities between
business communication and other kinds of communication
 The challenges is to make other share our views
 Skillfully plan and construct messages carefully.
1. Meaning is in the Mind and no two Minds are alike:
 All experiences come to us through various
filters-perception, frames of references, abilities
and circumstances.
 When a message is received – we use the mental
resources and construct a vision of the situation
and a sense of the purpose.
 The above controls our communication choices.
 Recipients of the message go through the same
mental process.
 Good communication spreads the message faster
between the communicator and receiver.

30. Contd…
2. The symbols for communicating are imperfect and so
also our best communication efforts:
 We often take for granted that the language we use
is dependable and has universally same meanings.
 But, meanings are unstable
 And imperfectly represented by symbols and
meanings
 A form of ‘bypassing’ takes place.
 No perfect solutions to communication problems.

31. Contd…
3. Communication is about information and
Relationships:
 Transfer of information is not the sole purpose
of business communication.
 Getting/collecting information forms one
source to another.
 Cultivating positive relationships is also critical
to successful communication.
 Communication involves human relations
 And therefore involve ethics.

32. The contexts for communication
Business communication always tales place within certain
contexts:
1. Large context:
 General business economic scenario
 The surrounding culture
 Historical timing of the communication
2. Relationship of the communicators:
 Moving information from one place to another
place.
 Interaction between human beings-competence
and continue.

33. Contd…
3. Communicator’s Particular contexts:
Organizational Contexts:
 Culture of the organization shapes communication choices
 What you communicate, how you communicate based on the
culture of your company.
Professional Contexts:
 Different professional focus on different context and
language.
 Example: Management as Finance; Engineers as Technology
 Successful communication should meet different professional
contexts
Personal Contexts:
 Who you as a person, genes inherited, family and upbringing,
life experience, education, personal contacts, success and
failure

34. The Process of Communication (One way & Two way)
Elements of communication:
 There are 7 elements or factors which make up the process of
communication:
1. Source/sender-the one who initiates the action of
communicating
2. Audience/Receiver-the person for whom the communication
is intended.
3. Goal/purpose-the sender’s reason for communicating the
desired result of the communication.
4. Context/Environment-the background in which the
communication takes place.
5. Message/context-the information conveyed
6. Medium/channel-the means or method used for conveying the
message.
7. Feedback-the receiver’s response to the communication as
observed by the sender.

35. One Way & Two Way Communication Process

36. Shannon – Weaver Model

37. Desmond Evans – Six stage of communication

38. Communication in organisation settings
 Internal communication
 External communication
 Formal communication Downward
 Informal communication Upward
Horizontal
Internal External
Formal
Planned communication among
insiders: letters, reports, memos,
email – follows chain of
command
Planned communication with
outsiders: letters, reports,
memos, speeches, websites
instant message, news releases
Informal
Casual communication among
employees: emails, instant
messages, face to face
conversations, phone calls; does
not follow company’s chain of
command
Casual communication with
suppliers, customers, investors,
others; face to face, email,
instant messages, phone calls

39. A Final Communication Network in Organisation

40. Differences Between General & Technical Communications
General Technical
 General contact
 General vocabulary
 No formal elements
 Both formal & informal style
 May not be actual
 Both objective and subjective
 Not always structured
 No specific exposition techniques
 Not always for a specific
audience
 May or may not involve graphics
 Technical content
 Specialized vocabulary
 Formal elements
 Always formal in style
 Always actual
 Objective
 Logically organised and
structured
 Complex & important exposition
techniques
 Specific audience
 Usually involve graphics

41. Technical Communication Skills
a.Listening Skills
General Academic Professional
 Casual conversation
 Formal
conversation
 Social interaction
 Public speeches
 Announcements
 Radio
 Television
programs
 News reports
 Lectures
 Tutorials &
practicals
 Seminars &
workshops
 Technical
presentations
 Academic
discussions
 Academic
interactions
 Viva voce
 Professional
interaction
 Meetings
 Conferences
 Interviews
 Professional
discussions
 Professional
presentations
 Teleconferencing
 videoconferencing

42. b.Speaking Skills
General Academic Professional
 Casual conversation
 Formal
conversation
 Social interaction
 Public speeches
 Small talks on local
topics
 Negotiating
meanings in social
situations
 Conversation tasks
in a given social
milieu
 Lectures
 Tutorials &
practicals
 Seminars &
workshops
 Technical
presentations
 Academic
discussions
 Academic
interactions
 Viva voce
 Oral interaction
 Oral reports
 Professional
interaction
 Oral reports
 Oral presentations
 Group discussions/
meetings
 Conferences
 workshops
 Interviews
 Professional
discussions
 Teleconferencing
 videoconferencing

43. c. Reading Skills
General Academic/Reading Professional
 Newspapers
 Magazines
 Journals
 Novels
 Stories
 Articles
 Personal letters
 Emails
 General books
 Entertainment
literature
 Text books
 Journals
 Research papers
 Scientific articles
 Classroom notes
 Lecture notes
 Thesis
 Dissertations
 Abstracts
 Business reports
 Proposals
 Business letters
 Memos
 Email messages
 Notes
 Notices/circulars
 Promotional
bulletins
 Catalogues
 Instruction manuals
 Corporate brochures

44. d.Writing Skills
General Academic/Writing Professional
 Personal letters
 Personal email
messages
 Notes
 Comments
 General articles
 Examination
answers
 Project reports
 Lab reports
 Synopsis
 Thesis
 Dissertations
 Abstracts
 Research papers
 Scientific articles
 Classroom notes
 Lecture notes
 Technical reports
 Industrial reports
 Project proposals
 Business proposals
 Business letters
 Electronic mailing
 Memos
 Notices
 Agenda
 Minutes
 Technical abstracts
 Job applications
 resumes

45. Difference between oral & written communications
Attributes Oral Written
1. Speed  Faster to speak, listen
to and understand
 Slower in preparation,
conveyance, reception
 Takes more time for draft, type,
dispatch, receive, read
 Feedback slower
2. Record  Can be taped for later
reference
 Authenticity of voice
can be questioned
 Tapes can be edited
 Messages distorted
 Serves as a record
 Can be used for future
reference
 Documentary proof
 Can be used as legal evidence
 Documents more reliable and
acceptable

46. Attributes Oral Written
3. Precision &
Accuracy
 Less precise and accurate
 Choice of words, phrases
may not be precise
 No time for seek and
consider words and phrases
 Has the support of vocal
tone, gestures and
expressions
 That enriches meaning of
words
 More precise and
accurate
 Choices of precise
words possible, since
the writer has time to
choose
 Draft revision possible
4. Length  Message may be longer
 Requires opening and
closing remarks
 Message usually
shorter
 Standard formats for
opening and closing
messages

47. Attributes Oral Written
5. Expense  Can cost a great deal
 Requires presence of two
parties
 Getting together costs money
 Modern technology like tele
& video conferencing
 Requires stationery,
preparation and
transmission
 Costs money.
6. Body
language
 Supported by the speakers’
body language
 Speaker can control the style
of talk, voice, facial
expressions, gestures
 They give different meanings
 Separates body language
 More control on the
reader
 Reader can respond in his
own moods
7. Feedback  Allows immediate feedback
 Listener’s face gives
feedback
 Speaker can modify the
message
 Clarifications immediate
 Feedback delayed
 Writer cannot see the
facial expressions of
reader
 Reader can give a
cautious and guarded
reply.
 Others do not know his
reactions.

48. Characteristics of Successful Communication
Message : Known & Understood
Rule of 5:
 Receive  Understand  Accept  Use  Give a feedback
Seven Cs of successful communication
1.Candidness 2.Clarity 3.Completeness
4.Conciseness 5.Concreteness 6.Correctness
7.Courtesy