1. Communication Skills as Career Filters
Chapter 1
Communication Skills as Career Filters

2. Build Your Communication Skills
Textbook
Your Guide
Instructor
Your Coach
Bonus Resources
See
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 1, Slide 2

3. Advancing in a Challenging World of Work
Renewed emphasis on ethics
Anytime- anywhere and nonterritorial offices
Innovative communication technologies
Emphasis on
work groups and virtual teams
Flattened management hierarchies
Heightened global competition
Advancing in a Challenging World of Work
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 1, Slide 3

4. The Communication Process
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 1, Slide 4

5. Building Powerful Listening Skills
Stop talking.
Control your surroundings.
Establish a receptive mind-set.
Keep an open mind.
Listen for main points.
Capitalize on lag time.
Listen between the lines.
Judge ideas, not appearances.
Hold your fire.
Take selective notes.
Provide feedback.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 1, Slide 5

6. Nonverbal Communication
Eye contact, facial expressions, and posture and gestures send silent messages.
Time, space, and territory send silent messages.
Time (punctuality and structure)
Space (arrangement of objects)
Territory (privacy zones)
Appearance sends silent messages.
Business documents
People
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 1, Slide 6

7. Building Strong Nonverbal Skills
Establish and maintain eye contact.
Use posture to show interest.
Improve your decoding skills.
Probe for more information.
Avoid assigning nonverbal meanings out of context.
Associate with people of diverse cultures.
Appreciate the power of appearance.
Observe yourself on video.
Enlist friends and family.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 1, Slide 7

8. Culture and Communication
Good communication demands special sensitivity and skills when communicators come from different cultures.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 1, Slide 8

9. Dimensions of Culture: Context
High-Context Cultures
Relational, collectivist, intuitive, contemplative
Japan, China, Arab countries
Low-Context Cultures
Logical, individualistic, linear, action-oriented
North America, Scandinavia, Germany
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 1, Slide 9

10. Dimensions of Culture: Individualism
High-Context Cultures
Tend to prefer groups values, duties, decisions
Low-Context Cultures
Tend to prefer individual initiative, self-assertion, personal achievement
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 1, Slide 10

11. Dimensions of Culture: Formality
High-Context Cultures
Tend to place more emphasis on tradition, ceremony, and social rules
Low-Context Cultures
Tend to place less emphasis on tradition, ceremony, and social rules
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 1, Slide 11

12. Dimensions of Culture: Communication Style
High-Context Cultures
Rely on nonverbal cues and total picture to communicate
Low-Context Cultures
Emphasize words, straightforwardness, and openness
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 1, Slide 12

13. Dimensions of Culture: Time
North Americans
Correlate time with productivity, efficiency, and money
Some Other Cultures
See time as an unlimited and never-ending resource to be enjoyed
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 1, Slide 13

14. Intercultural Workplace Skills
Barriers
Ethnocentrism: the belief in the superiority of one’s own culture
Stereotypes: oversimplified perceptions of behavioral patterns or characteristics applied to an entire group
Overcoming Barriers
Tolerance: learning about and appreciating other cultures
Empathy: seeing the world through another’s eyes, being nonjudgmental
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 1, Slide 14

15. Communicating Interculturally
Oral Communication
Use simple English.
Speak slowly and enunciate clearly.
Encourage accurate feedback.
Check frequently for comprehension.
Observe eye messages.
Accept blame.
Listen without interrupting.
Smile as appropriate.
Follow up in writing.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 1, Slide 15

16. Communicating Interculturally
Written Communication
Consider local styles.
Consider hiring a translator.
Use short sentences and short paragraphs.
Avoid ambiguous wording.
Cite numbers carefully.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 1, Slide 16

17. Communicating Effectively With Diverse Audiences on the Job
Understand the value of differences.
Seek training.
Learn about your cultural self.
Make few assumptions.
Build on similarities.
Mary Ellen Guffey & Dana Loewy, Essentials of Business Communication, 9th Edition
Chapter 1, Slide 17

18. END