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Chapter 1 Succeeding in Business Communication and Management   Types   Purposes   Audiences   Benefits and Costs   Criteria   Goodwill   Conventions   Analysis   Problem Solving

Types of Communication  Verbal  Face-to-face  Phone conversations  Informal meetings  Presentations  messages  Web sites   Nonverbal   Computer graphics   Company logos   Smiles   Size of an office   Location of people at meetings 1-3

Communication Ability = Promotability Good communicators earn more Good communicators make good managers 1-4

Communication Purposes  All business communication has three basic purposes  To inform (explain)  To request or persuade (urge action)  To build goodwill (make good image)  Most messages have more than one purpose 1-5

Audiences  Internal  People inside organization  Ex: subordinates, superiors, peers  External  People outside organization  Ex: customers, suppliers, distributors 1-6

Example of External Audiences Competitors Trade assns. Distributors Wholesalers Franchisees Retailers Agents Legislators Gov. Employment agencies Organization Customers Clients Stockholders Investors Lenders Subsidiaries Suppliers Media Foreign governments and offices Courts Special interest groups General public Potential employees, stockholders, customers Professional services Unions 1-7

Benefits and Costs  Effective communication  Saves time  Makes efforts more effective  Communicates points more clearly  Builds goodwill  Poor communication  Wastes time  Wastes efforts  Loses goodwill  Creates legal problems 1. 1.Stiff, legal language 2. 2.Selfish tone 3. 3.Main point buried 4. 4.Vague requests 5. 5.Misused words 1-8

Criteria for Effective Messages  Clear  Complete  Correct  Saves receiver’s time  Builds goodwill 1-9

Goodwill = Positive Image  A goodwill message  Presents positive image of communicators and their organization  Treats audience as a person, not a number  Cements good relationship between audience and communicator

Fastest Ways to Lose Goodwill  Use improper courtesy titles  Employ bureaucratic and legalistic language  Convey a selfish tone  Bury the main point  Make a vague request  Misuse or misspell words 1-11

Conventions  Widely accepted practices you routinely encounter  Vary by organizational setting  Help people recognize, produce, and interpret communications  Need to fit rhetorical situation: audience, context, and purpose 1-12

Analyze Situations: Ask Questions  What’s at stake—to whom?  Should you send a message?  What channel should you use?  What should you say?  How should you say it? 1-13

 Gather knowledge  Answer six analysis questions in BAC  Brainstorm solutions  Organize information to fit  Audiences  Purposes  Context  Make document visually inviting Solving Business Communication Problems 1-14

Solving Business Communication Problems, continued…  Revise draft for tone  Friendly  Businesslike  Positive  Edit draft for standard English  Names  Numbers  Use response to plan future messages 1-15

Gather Knowledge  What are the facts?  What can you infer from the information given?  What additional info might be helpful?  Where could you get it?  What emotional complexities are involved? 1-16

Six Analysis Questions 1.Who are your audiences?  What are relevant characteristics?  How do audiences differ? 2.What are your purposes?  What must the message do?  What must audience know, think, or do? 1-17

Six Analysis Questions, continued… 3.What information must you include?  List all required points  De-emphasize or emphasize properly  To de-emphasize  Bury in ¶ and message  Write / speak concisely  To emphasize  Place first or last in ¶ and message  Add descriptive details 1-18

Six Analysis Questions, continued… 4.How can you support your position?  Reasons for your decision  Logic behind your argument  Benefits adapted to the audience 1-19

Six Analysis Questions, continued… 5.What audience objections do you expect?  Plan to overcome if possible  De-emphasize negative information 6.What part of context may affect audience response?  Time of year  Morale in organization  Relationship between audience and communicator 1-20

Brainstorm Solutions  Several possible solutions for every communication problem  First one you think of may not be the best  Measure solutions against audience and purposes 1-21

Organize to Fit Audience, Purpose, and the Situation 1.Put good news first 2.Put the main point/question first 3.Persuade a reluctant audience by delaying the main point/question 1-22

Make Message Visually Inviting  Use subject line to orient reader  Use headings to group related ideas  Use lists for emphasis  Number items if order matters  Use short paragraphs—six lines max. 1-23

Create Positive Style  Emphasize positive information  Give it more space  Use indented list to set it off  Omit negative words, if you can  Focus on possibilities, not limitations 1-24

Edit Your Draft   these details  Reader’s name  Any numbers  First and last ¶   spelling, grammar, punctuation  Always proofread before sending 1-25

Use Response to Plan Next Message  Evaluate feedback you get  If message fails, find out why  If message succeeds, find out why  Success = results you want, when you want them 1-26