1. Communication Skills
Discussion Starter: How do you know when someone isn’t being a good listener?

2. Learning Targets (Section #1)
I can explain why business managers need effective communication skills
I can identify skills needed to listen actively
I can identify ways that business managers can improve their oral communication skills

3. Communication as a Management Skill
Direction needs to be given to employees
Managers must be able to motivate people
Convince customers to do business with them
Managers must absorb the ideas of others
Managers must be able to persuade other people
Communication is the act of exchanging information. It can be used to inform, command, instruct, assess, influence, and persuade other people.
Managers spend as much as ¾ of their time communicating.
Communicating effectively is an important management skill for several reasons:

4. Learning to Communicate
Understanding the Audience
Developing Good Listening Skills
Listening is one of the most important communication skills a manager can possess. What happens when managers fail to listen carefully?
Understand the importance of nonverbal communication
What does the audience already know? What does it want to know? What is its capacity for absorbing information? What does it hope to gain by listening? Is it hoping to be motivated? Informed? Convinced? Is the audience friendly or hostile?
Good listening skills enable managers to absorb the information they need, recognize problems, & understand other people’s viewpoints. Also, managers need to learn to listen actively.
2a. They fail to absorb information, fail to recognize problems, and fail to understand other people’s viewpoints.
People communicate in many subtle ways...establishing eye contact, using facial expressions, and raising or lowering their voices. The way they dress and the way they walk also communicate information that other people use.
Business managers must learn to use nonverbal means of communication effectively. They must also learn to read the nonverbal cues of others. Nonverbal cues are pieces of information acquired by observing rather than listening to other people. Nonverbal cues sometimes provide more information than verbal cues.

5. Are You A Good Listener?
Are you open to what other people say to you, or do you make up your mind about things before you hear other people’s views?
Do you become bored when other people speak?
Do you interrupt people when they are speaking?
Do you daydream at meetings?
Are you hesitant to ask clarifying questions?

6. Using Active Listening to Handle Customer Complaints
Listening - Helps managers understand why customers are dissatisfied
Responding - Always be courteous & friendly when dealing w/customers.
Making sure the customer is satisfied
2. The way managers respond to complaints can be just as important as the way they solve the customer’s problem. Managers should demonstrate interest in determining what went wrong and figuring out what they can do to solve the problem.
Other things to consider...Note the speaker’s tone as well as his/her body language. Is the speaker nervous? angry? confident?
Respond to the speaker with appropriate comments, questions, & body language. Use facial expressions and body language to express the emotions you want to express. Establish eye contact, sit up straight, & lean toward the speaker to show interest. Ask a question or make a comment from time to time to show that you are listening attentively.

7. Learning Targets (Sect. 2)
I can explain why business managers need to have excellent verbal communication skills.
I can identify techniques for improving written & verbal communication skills
I can explain how to determine which method of communication is most appropriate

8. Types of Communication
Written communication
Principles of good writing
Types of business documents (memos, letters, reports)
Oral Communication
Importance - (Most communication is done orally)
Developing Oral Communication Skills
1a. Write as simply and clearly as possible. Avoid writing in a way that is difficult to understand. Be sure that the content and tone of the document are appropriate for the audience. Finally, proofread the document.
1b.Memos - inside the company. IE announce staff changes or changes in a company policy.Letters- audience is customers and suppliers on the outside. Reports- documents that provide a lot of information on a particular topic (sales reports, financial statements, etc)
2. Successful managers use their oral communication skills to give clear instructions, motivate their staffs, & persuade other people.

9. Rules of thumb when speaking
Make emotional contact with listeners by addressing them by name where possible.
Avoid speaking in a monotone.
Be enthusiastic and project a positive outlook
Avoid interrupting others
Always be courteous
Avoid empty sounds or words, such as “uh,” “um,” “like,” and “you know”
2. Use your voice to emphasize important words within a sentence.
3. Focus on what is going right rather than what is going wrong
4. Even if you know what the other person is going to say, avoid cutting other people off or finishing their sentences for them
5. Avoid getting angry when other people are talking, even if you disagree with what they are saying
6. Sprinkling your speech with empty fillers will make you sound unprofessional.