Business Communication Lectures PDF

**BUSINESS COMMUNICATION** First Semester \| A.Y. 2024-2025 Leo Jaranilla Gutierrez Imagine you are inside a company,...What do you see? *Managers and employees drafting emails, attending meetings, writing reports, conducting interviews, talking on the phone... in short making various forms of c...

**BUSINESS COMMUNICATION** First Semester \| A.Y. 2024-2025 Leo Jaranilla Gutierrez Imagine you are inside a company,...What do you see? *Managers and employees drafting emails, attending meetings, writing reports, conducting interviews, talking on the phone... in short making various forms of communication.* - **Communication** is the process of sending and receiving messages -- sometimes through spoken or written words. **COURSE OVERVIEW** Business communication is the process of sharing information between people inside and outside of a company or organization. It helps in achieving goals, coordinating efforts, building relationships, and making decisions in the business environment. As college students, mastering business communication helps you navigate academic, professional, and social environments by enhancing your ability to communicate effectively and meaningfully to influence the outcome of business activities. **PERSPECTIVES IN COMMUNICATION** **Employer's Perspective** **People who cannot write and communicate clearly will not be hired and are unlikely to last long enough to be considered for promotion.** **Personal Perspective** **Competence in writing and speaking will help you get hired, perform well and earn promotions, thus helping you find investors, promote your product/services and manage your employees.** ***TYPES of Business Communication*** - **Internal Communication** Communication among employees, departments, or management that includes e-mails, meetings, memos, reports and even SMS. - **External Communication** Communication with people outside the company, such as clients, customers, suppliers, or partners. It includes, customer emails, sales presentations, marketing materials, press releases and business proposals. *basically, Business Communication is...* - **Communicative** a process of exchanging of information inside and outside an organization - **Purposive** having or done with purpose/intentional which commonly to influence the outcome of business activities. **COMMUNICATION NEED** A communication need -- either from sender's mind or from an organizational situation -- starts the process of communication in organizations. **SENDER** - Interpret the communication context. - Identify and analyse the audience. - Determine objectives. - Choose the medium. - Create the message **MESSAGE** - The information to be communicated. - Oral messages might be transmitted through a staff meeting, individual meeting, telephone conversation, voice mail, podcast, conference call, videoconference, or even less formally, through the company grapevine. Written messages might be transmitted through an email, a report, a blog, a web page, a brochure, a tweet, a post, or a company newsletter. Non verbal messages might be transmitted through facial expressions, gestures, or body movement. **AUDIENCE** The receiver filters the communication and reacts by doing the following: - Interprets the message. - Provides feedback. **Response** The audience's response on communication begins the cycle again- and is subjected to the same complexities of the original process. **DIRECTIONS OF COMMUNICATION** **1. Formal Communication Network** *a. Downward Communication* -- the flow of information from managers to their employees. *b. Upward Communication* -- the flow of communication from lower-level employees to upper-level employees or managers. Upward communication provides management with feedback about their communication, suggestions for improving the business, and information needed for decision making. *c. Lateral (Horizontal)* -- the flow of communication among peers within an organization. Through lateral communication, employees coordinate work, share plans, negotiate differences, and support each other. **2. The Informal Communication Network** Employees share information through the informal network (or grapevine). Without good formal communication, the grapevine will take over. People need information, particularly when they fear change that may affect them: layoff, benefit cuts, or organizational restructurings. **COMMUNICATION BARRIERS** Considering the complexity of the communication process and the many communication channels, messages may not always be received exactly as it is intended. Verbal and nonverbal barriers can interfere with the communication process. **Verbal and Nonverbal Barriers to Communication** - Verbal Barriers to Communication - Inadequate knowledge of vocabulary - Differences in interpretation - Language Differences - Inappropriate Use of Expressions - Overabstraction and Ambiguity - Polarization **Nonverbal Barriers to Communication** - Inappropriate or conflicting signals - Differences in Perception - Inappropriate Emotions - Distractions **COMMUNICATION MEDIA CHOICES** As a business communicator, there are many options (channels or media) through which a message is communicated. **Traditional Written Communication** Traditional forms of oral and written communication still exist in all organization today. Organizations still print slick, colourful brochures; internal newsletters for employees without computer access; financial statements for customers who don't choose the online option; solicitation letters; and periodicals such as magazines, journals, and newspapers. Complex reports also may be printed because they're difficult to read on a computer screen. **Technology-Based Communication Media** Technology has changed workplace communication, providing many options for sending a message. There are a variety of communication technologies, including portable and mobile technologies. - Email, Phone, Voice Mail - Instant and Text Messaging - Social Media - Blogs - Microblogs - Multimedia **Choosing Communication Media** In choosing which media/channel is best for your message, always consider the audience and communication objective first. Nowadays, companies often use multiple communication channels as part of a large communication strategy. Sending multiple messages through a variety of communication media helps the company reach different audiences. **Potential Legal Consequences of Communication** Your company may provide the following guidelines: - Follow a copyright, fair use, and financial disclosure laws. - Don't publish confidential or other propriety information. - Don't cite or reference client, partners, or suppliers without the prior approval. - When communicating online, behave professionally and with the utmost respect for those individuals involved in the discussion. **BUSINESS COMMUNICATION** First Semester \| A.Y. 2024-2025 **CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION** To be effective in business communication, the speaker or writer must bear in mind the qualities that characterize effective business communication, which form the alphabet of business communication. A - Audience-centered B - Brief C - Consistent D - Direct E - Explicit F - Flexible G - Grammatically correct H -Holistic I - Institutionalized J - Jolly K - Keen L - Logical M - Mechanically N - Novel O - Objective P - Personalized Q - Quality-based R - Results-oriented S - Specific T - Time-bound U - Unambiguous V - Veracious W - Winsome Y - Yummy Z - Zealous **Audience-centered** A business communicator satisfy his audience not himself. Determine the **interests, knowledge, needs and experiences of the audience**, and after doing so, adapts the communication to the audience. **Brief** People engaged in business, particularly entrepreneurs, are busy people. They have little time for long talk and long reading. A business communicator sees to it that every word used in communication is important and that the time of his listener or reader is not wasted. The information he provides is necessary in any business transaction. **Consistent** Consistency is synonymous with unity, one of the principles of a good discourse, whether oral or written. Unity is achieved in any of the following ways: unity of subject, unity of gender, unity of person, unity of number, unity of tense, unity of voice, unity of voice, unity of mood, unity of language and unity of purpose. **Direct** To be effective, business communication should be direct. The communicator refrains from going around the bush. In writing, topic sentences must be written before the supporting sentences; in this way, the readers are immediately directed to the main idea or ideas. In speech, the speaker does not deviate from the topic; in this way, the listeners will not be at a loss. **Explicit** Whether in speech or in writing, all ideas in a business communication must be stated. The communicator avoids the use of figurative language or idiomatic expressions, which sometimes result to misunderstanding or misinterpretation. Ideas are not implied, but expressed. **Flexible** An effective communicator has flexibility in formulating and expressing ideas. He is good in communication repair in case there is a communication breakdown. Whether he is speaking or writing, he can easily adjust to different communication situations. **Grammatically Correct** Effective business communication is always grammatically correct. Errors in grammar, like other errors, are eyesores for readers and earaches for listeners. Errors such as those related to subject-verb agreement (Refer to Appendix A.), pronoun-antecedent agreement (Refer to Appendix B.), and the like, tend to let the speaker or writer lose credibility. More importantly, grammatical errors render the speaker or the writer a laughing stock. **Holistic** An oral discourse or a written one is a complete thing. A composition that lacks an introduction or a conclusion is not complete. For business communication to be holistic, a communicator sees to it that he includes all the necessary items. For example, if he is working on a feasibility study, he includes a markèt study, a technical study, a financial study, a management study, and a socio-economic study. **Institutionalized** Small enterprises, partnerships, and corporations adopt forms and styles for effective business communication. For instance, banks have the deposit forms, withdrawal forms, bank reconciliation forms, payment order forms, and so forth. News and information agencies and publishing companies have their style manuals. Colleges and universities have their distinct ways of presenting theses and dissertations. **Jolly** Business communication is inherently a serious matter; however, despite its serious nature, it does not necessarily mean business communication in either oral or written form is devoid of humor. **Keen** Effective business communication is marked by keenness or sharpness. It is a product of careful observation with the use of the five senses and of an intelligent interpretation of situations. **Logical** Effective business communication does not violate the principles of logic. The communicator observes proper collocation or the putting of ideas that should be put together. Relationships of ideas (temporal, spatial, causal or cause-and-effect, conditional, categorical or genus-species, etc.) are correctly presented. For example, to show a conditional relationship, the speaker or writer states the if-clause before mentioning the then-clause. **Mechanically Correct** Effective business communication is not only grammatically correct but also mechanically correct. Thus, violations in margining, use of end stops and other punctuation marks, hyphenation of compounds, abbreviation, alignment, writing of numbers, italicization, indention, capitalization, spelling, spacing, and use of symbols must be avoided to promote understanding. **Novel** Effective business communication offers something new. This is particularly true in marketing of products. Competition is usually cutthroat so companies desiring to win in the competition think of novel ideas to keep their products selling. However, if there is nothing new about the product, there must be a novel way of communicating its sale so that the public will be induced to buy it. **Objective** Effective business communication is based on facts. Unlike a literary selection which is a product of the writer\'s imagination, business communication deals with things that really transpire in the business world. Thus, when a manufacturer advertises his products, he states those things that are true of the products. When an applicant writes his application letter, he talks of things that apply to him, not to another person. When a fire hits a business establishment, the fire incident is reported objectively, that is, without biases or prejudices. **Personalized** Effective business communication is personalized. As such, the communicator presents his speech or writing in his own unique way and adapts it to his specific reader or group of readers. While there is a style manual for writers, it is still the responsibility of the writer to create his written communication, not to copy from books and other materials. However, it does not mean that the writer excludes quotations, paraphrases, and summaries of ideas of other writers. **Quality-Based** To be effective, a business communicator should go for quality, not quantity. The number of words matters as far as brevity or conciseness is concerned. But what matters more is the kind of words used. To achieve quality, a speaker or writer carefully selects words such that all his ideas are presented in the shortest, yet clearest, way possible. **Results-Oriented** Effective business communication is results-oriented, that is, it is spoken or written in order to produce the results the communicator intends to effect. For example, an instructional manual is written to give instructions to the reader on how to use an appliance or equipment correctly. If some confusing items are contained in the manual, there is a possibility that the appliance or equipment will not function well because the user misunderstands some instructions. Therefore, there is a need to simplify or rephrase the wordings or clarify some statements in the manual. **Specific** Effective business communication involves a specific topic, a specific purpose, a specific audience (reader or listener), and a specific speaker or writer. Moreover, it uses specific words. For example. Instead of using \"attach\"\" one has the following choices: paste, glue, clip, staple, nail, tack, tie, etc. **Time-Bound** Effective business communication is time-bound, that is, limited by time. This is obvious in oral communication, in which the speaker is given a time limit in delivering his speech, an interviewee is given a time limit in answering the interviewer\'s questions, a business student is given a time limit to complete his report, etc. In written communication, time boundaries also apply. For example, a company is given a time limit to submit its proposal or its bid; an applicant is given a time limit to submit his application form and credentials; a recipient of an inquiry letter is given a time limit to send his reply to the inquiry; and so on. **Unambiguous** Effective business communication is clear. Clarity in communication brings about good results. When sentences are ambiguous, misunderstanding results. Thus, the sentence \"Breastfeeding babies can be a nuisance,\" which is interpreted as the act causing the annoyance or the babies causing it, can be made clear by stating \"Breastfeeding babies is a nuisance\" or \"Breastfeeding babies are a nuisance.\" **Veracious** Effective business communication is truthful. To be effective, a speaker or a writer must be credible. Credibility is achieved by being truthful. No listener or reader will believe a message sender who is dishonest. An evaluative and critical audience can sense a lie or falsehood. A speaker or writer known for his lies will lose not only his audience\'s trust but also them (listeners or readers). **Winsome** Effective business communication is winsome, that is, it is able to win the attention of the audience, as well as its interest. The best salesman is not the one who renders the longest sales talk; he is the one who delivers the shortest talk, yet affects the sale of his product. He has a way to attract the listeners\' attention and interest and eventually persuade the customer to buy his product. In written business communication, a writer who fails to attract the attention of the reader, will have no readers. **Yummy** Effective business communication pleases. Business letters are not friendly letters, yet they must be written in a friendly manner. Words that are not pleasing tend to offend; therefore, they should be avoided. In oral business communication, the same holds true. To turn a hostile audience into a friendly one, a speaker makes use of words which are palatable to the taste of the listeners. Therefore, euphemisms are used to replace offensive words, and gender-free words are used to replace sexist (gender-biased) words. (See page 80.) **Zealous** Effective business communication is zealous. Whether in oral or written communication, a communicator should exhibit enthusiasm. Such trait makes the listeners or readers eager to engage in communication. Enthusiasm is what perks up the communication. **ELEMENTS, STYLE, AND FORMS OF BUSINESS LETTERS** **Definition of Business Letters** Business letters, as the term suggests, are letters used for business purposes. These purposes are to sell, to buy, and to promote business relationships. Ordinarily, they are written by people who intend to effect business transactions, by people whose ultimate goal is to prosper in business and industry. **Differences Between Business Letters and Social Letters** Business letters and friendly letters are the two main types of letters. While they share similarities, they differ in many ways. Their differences are enumerated in the table that follows. +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | **Point of Contrast** | **Business Letters** | **Social Letters** | +=======================+=======================+=======================+ | **Element** | **basic parts** | **basic parts** | | | | | | | heading, inside | heading, salutation, | | | address, salutation, | body of the letter, | | | body of the letter, | complimentary close, | | | complimentary close, | and signature. | | | and signature) and | | | | miscellaneous parts | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | **Form/Format** | Purely block, | Indented and | | | modified block, | semi-block styles | | | semi-block, hanging | | | | indented, indented, | | | | simplified, and | | | | memorandum styles. | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | **Purpose** | Business purposes: to | To promote or to | | | sell, to buy, and to | cease friendship, | | | promote business | love, and other | | | relationship | social relationships | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | **Language** | Business and | Layman's language | | | technical | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | **Style** | impersonal | personal | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | **Point of View** | Usually third-person, | Usually first-person | | | sometimes | or second-person | | | first-person or | | | | second person. | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | **Emotionality** | Devoid emotions | Emotion-laden | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | **Objectivity** | Objective/impartial | Subjective, with | | | | prejudices and biases | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | **Subject/Contents** | Commerce and | Family, love, and | | | industry, | other non-business | | | business-related | topics | | | subjects | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | **tone** | Serious/heavy | Light/amusing | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ **Elements of Business Letters** **Basic Elements** Unlike a social or friendly letter whose parts are limited to heading, salutation, body of the letter, complimentary close, and signature, a business letter is composed of basic and miscellaneous parts. Its basic elements (Menoy, 2009) are the following: 1\. **Heading** - consists of the sender\'s address and the date line (month, day, and year); 2\. **Inside address** - consists of the name of the addressee (recipient), his designation, his company and its business address; 3\. **Salutation** - serves as the welcome part of the letter; 4\. **Body of the letter** - gives the details of the communication and consists of the introduction (purpose), the body (discussion/ elaboration), and the conclusion (token of appreciation/call for action/building of goodwill); 5\. **Complimentary close/ending** - serves as the farewell part of the letter; and 6\. **Signature** - consists of the name of the signatory (sender) and his designation. **[Sample Business Letter]** 1234 Bagong Lipunan Street, Tambo Parañaque City, Metro Manila June 5, 2008 The Regional Technical Director Land Management Services Department of Environment and Natural Resources INSIDE ADDRESS National Capital Region L&S Building, 1515 Roxas Boulevard Ermita, Manila Dear Sir: **SALUTATION** This serves to request your good office to issue us a letter of certification attesting to the rightfulness of our claim to the land once occupied by the house of Mr. Arsenio Dizon, our neighbor. Based on the attached photocopy of the land title and the map designed by the geodetic engineer who resurveyed our lot, Mr. Dizon extended his house to occupy the lot which belongs to us. The marker that was placed on the corner where our lot extends was removed. For several years, we have been telling him to demolish that part of his house which extended to our lot, but he did not do anything about it. For the past three or more years after his tenants left, he turned that portion (the extension) of his apartment into a huge garbage dumpsite. Just recently, our neighbors and my family complained about the foul smell of the dumpsite that the barangay captain ordered us to remove the garbage and to put a fence after the garbage removal. The order was made after Mr. Dizon asserted that the portion of his apartment which he turned into a dumpsite was not his. So we spent a big sum of money for the clean-up. However, seeing that the area (lot) is clean and is no longer stinking, he is once again claiming that it is his. With this development, the barangay captain told us to secure a certification coming from your office to supplement the land title and the map which we presented to him. The certification will somehow help in expediting the barangay captain\'s approval of our application to construct a house on the vacant lot. We hope for your prompt and favorable action on our request. Very truly yours, **COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE/ENDING** ELEUTERIA ZAMORA-MENOY **SIGNATURE** EZM/jzm Enclosures: Photocopy of the Land Title and of the Surveyor's Map cc: File *Note:* *EZM: These are the initials of the person who authored or signed the letter (in this case, Eleuteria Zamora-Menoy).* *jzm: These are the initials of the person who typed or prepared the document, often an assistant or secretary. EZM* *Cc: File means that a copy of the letter is being kept in the file for record-keeping purposes.* **Miscellaneous or Optional Elements** The miscellaneous parts are considered optional and therefore may be absent. The miscellaneous elements (Menoy, 2009) are as follows: 1\. **Reference line** - indicates the sequential number of the letter which is used for reference or filing purposes; 2\. **Attention line** - bears the name of the addressee intended to read the letter if such name does not appear on the inside address; 3\. **Subject line** - contains the topic of the letter or the title of the message elaborated in the body of the letter; 4\. **Identification notation or reference initials or typist line** - consists of the initials of the sender in all caps and the initials of his secretary/typist in small letters; 5\. **Enclosure notation** - refers to the item or items placed inside the envelope, other than the letter; 6\. **Carbon copy notation or distribution indicator line** - refers to the persons going to receive the letter other than the addressee; and 7\. **Postscript** - contains some items that are omitted from the body of the letter and should be included. ART APPRECIATION CLUB OF CENTRAL COLLEGES OF THE PHILIPPINES 52 Aurora Boulevard, Quezon City Reference No. 2-AACCCP ) **REFERENCE LINE** February 16, 2009 Jollibee Foods Corporation Aurora-Araneta Branch Corner Aurora Boulevard and Araneta Avenue Quezon City Attention: MS. LALA DEL CORO **ATTENTION LINE** Store Manager Subject: \"SCHOOL-TURA VII\" Diorama-making Contest) **SUBJECT LINE** Dear Ms. Del Coro: The Art Appreciation Club of Central Colleges of the Philippines (AACCCP), together with my Humanities class, is extending its deepest gratitude for your invaluable support to the diorama-making contest forming part of the semestral \"SCHOOL TURA\" project. As I promised you last week, I am submitting the list of winners in the said contest. They are as follows: First Place - Maria Cecilia O. Saguit, Liezl T. Lizada, and Mark Jason A. Dimarucot Second Place - Jonathan S. Bautista, Rodel D. G. Gutierrez, and Ma. Elena S. Sagun Third Place - John Carlo R. Borromeo, Charles D. Uy, and Lady Anne Rose M. Sigua I have also attached the article regarding my Jollibee Kids Meal toy collection. As you promised, you will have the requested article published in your official newsletter. I hope that the partnership between the AACCCP and Jollibee will grow stronger. Again, thank you very much for your support. Very truly yours, PROF. JESUS Z. MENOY Adviser, AACCCP /jzm **IDENTIFICATION NOTATION** Enclosure: Article **ENCLOSURE NOTATION** CC: File **CARBON COPY NOTATION** **P.S.:** The winners of the diorama-making contest will go to your store as a group to claim the prizes. **C\'s of Business Letter Writing** Letters must be written effectively for business transactions to take place. Hence, it is imperative on the part of the business writer to know what it takes to produce the desired results. A thorough understanding of the C\'s of letter writing or the properties of effective business letters is what he needs. So called because of their initials, these C\'s are as follows: 1\. Coherence - sticking together of ideas---Use transitional or pivotal words. 2\. Clearness/Clarity - no ambiguity-Use simple and familiar words. 3\. Consistency - unity- Use English words consistently. 4\. Conciseness - brevity-Use short words and construct short sentences. Avoid the use of unnecessary words. 5\. Completeness - thoroughness-Use full words and avoid omission of necessary words and ideas. 6\. Concreteness - specificity-Use specific words, not generic words. 7\. Correctness - accuracy-Use precise words and edit your letter before sending it. 8\. Courteousness/Courtesy - politeness-Use polite and tactful words. 9\. Consideration - kindness-Use euphemisms (good-sounding words) and kind, not rude, words. 10\. Character - personality/individuality-Use your own words. 11\. Cheerfulness - friendliness-Use \"smiling\" and encouraging words. 12\. Conversational quality - letter talk--- Use words in a conversational manner.