PG Diploma in Banking & Finance Guide

Post Graduate Diploma
(Banking & Finance)
Learner Guide
Business Communication
Syndicate – Nitte School of Banking
The Syndicate – Nitte School of Banking has been set up to train selected candidates of
Syndicate Bank for a period of one year. The training would help in imparting not just
the specialized knowledge on banking subjects but also build the overall personality of the
candidates. The course also includes an internship at the Syndicate Bank’s branch. The training
ensures that the candidates are 'Industry Ready' by the time of completion of the program. On
completion of the program, the students will awarded Post Graduate Diploma (Banking &
Finance).
Nitte Education International

Nitte Education International is part of the renowned Nitte Group, with more than three decades
of experience and expertise in managing institutions of higher learning. The Group offers
graduate, postgraduate and doctoral programs in disciplines like management, engineering,
medicine, dentistry, pharmaceutical sciences, hospitality services, communication etc. The
Group operates from its state of the art campuses in Mangalore, Nitte, Bangalore and Greater
Noida.
To address the needs of the banking industry, Nitte Education International has set up two
centres, wherein more than 6000 candidates have been trained for leading organizations like
ICICI Bank, Vijaya Bank, Corporation Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Allahabad Bank,
Syndicate Bank etc. The program from these centres range from Diploma programs to
specialised training programs in emerging and contemporary areas in banking and finance.
Syndicate Bank
Syndicate Bank was established in the year 1925 in a small town in Karnataka with a strong
commitment towards social welfare. The Bank stands with a global business of ₹ 4, 68,184
crore on 31st March, 2016. Besides having pan India presence, the Bank also has a branch in
London since 1976. Syndicate Bank has added 251 brick and mortar branches to its network
taking its total branches to 3,766 as on 31.03.2016. Branches include 1,219 branches in under
banked districts and 945 branches in minority concentration districts. The Bank has 3,730
ATMs and a card base of over 124.85 lakh for global access to ATMs and POS terminals. The
Bank has also installed 2,317 POS terminals as on 31st March, 2016. The credit for ferrying
digital banking to the Lakshadweep group of islands goes to Syndicate Bank.
Being true to its commitment towards social welfare, Syndicate Bank was the first Bank to
sponsor regional rural banks, promoting the Prathama Bank in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh in
1975. In line with its slogan ‘No man is too small for the Bank’, Syndicate Bank has initiated
small savings scheme - the Pigmy deposit - tailored to the needs of the common man thus being
recognised as the ‘Small Man’s Big Bank’. The Bank has human capital of over 32,000 strong
and committed personnel, serving its ever-growing clientele. With a view to further strengthen
its workforce, the Bank has been recruiting young talent, training them and making them job
ready before moving them to become the face of the bank across the country.
16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 1

Table of Contents
S. No Topic Page No
1. Unit details 3
2. Introduction 4
3. Unit 1 5
4. Unit 2 22
5. Unit 3 33
6. Unit 4 41
7. Unit 5 51
9. Unit 6 67
10. Summary 84
11. Reference 85

Unit details
A. BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Unit 1
 Verbal and Non-Verbal communication.
 Written Communication – Paragraphs.
 Basics of Paragraph Writing, Linking Words, Logical Flow, Summation.
 Feed-back on paragraphs.
Unit 2
 Email – Format, Do’s & Don’ts.
 Internal & External Emails.
 Writing Internal Emails.
 Feedback on Emails.
Unit 3
 Basics of Oral Communication.
 Extempore – Clarity of Thought, Logical flow of Content, Content for different
audience.
 Techniques for building content.
Unit 4
 Conversation Skills – Starting conversations.
 DO’s and DON’T’s of conversations.
 Conversing with different people and in different situations.
 Closing of conversations.
B. CUSTOMER ORIENTATION
Unit 5
 Image Building – Grooming, Social etiquette.
 Professional Outlook.
 Self Confidence.
Unit 6
 Customer Service – Need and Importance.
 Identifying types of customers.
 Observation and Listening skills.
 Initiating business conversations.
 Questioning skills to uncover unsaid needs.

Introduction
The nuances of Business Communication is covered in this module through six units. The
module introduces the learner to the basics of communication and its relevance in our everyday
lives. The module explains the importance and relevance of effective communication skills for
bankers, with special emphasis on written communication skills. The module is also an attempt
to skill learners on effective customer orientation as banking is a customer centric sector.
The module has been designed keeping in mind learner requirement and from the learners’
perspective.

Unit 1
This unit deals with:
 Communication.
 Written communication.
 Paragraphs writing.
Introduction
Communication is a social need and is the core of every organisation. Communication plays
an important role in the life of individuals as well as organisations as it brings together
people. Communicating the right way is important in every walk of life, be it personal,
professional or social. It is the key to building strong and lasting relationships.
Business communication prepares individuals for effective communication at workplace by
focusing on communications in business situations, techniques that help in accurately
communicating a message, use of appropriate tone and words. This unit deals with verbal/
non-verbal communication and written communication in particular.
Meaning and definition

The word “Communication” originated from the Latin word communis, which means
“common”. It refers to the natural activity to convey information, opinions, feelings and
ideas to others through words, body language or signs. Effective communication is purposive
interchange resulting in workable understanding and agreement between the sender and
receiver of a message.
According to Newman and Summer, “Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas,

opinions or emotions by two or more persons.”
Characteristics of communication
 Communication is a two way process, Process is complete only when the response or
reaction based on proper understanding is available. Feedback is a very vital part of
communication.
 Human activity will cease to exist without communication and hence it is a continuous
process.
 Creating mutual understanding by giving or seeking information, influencing others and
eliciting actions is the purpose of communication.
 Essential for all types of organisation and at all levels of management.
 Effective communication is ensured only when the receiver and sender both are aware
of the goal and its congruence. Hence it is goal oriented.
 Communication is influenced by changes in moods, thinking of sender and receiver and
depends on how active are the five sensory organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue and touch)
of the receiver. Hence it is a dynamic process.

 In communication sender and receiver is a must. If a person shouts in a forest when no
one around, it cannot be considered as communication.
 Communication is an inter-disciplinary science. Anthropology (study of body language),
psychology (study of persuasion, perception and attitude), sociology and political science
(study of voting behaviour) have provided insight and helped in making communication
effective.
Communication process
Communication is a two way process. It involves a group of people in completing the cycle
of communication, in which the receiver also acts as sender of feedback to the transmitter.
Communication is a process of exchanging information, ideas, thoughts, feeling and

emotions through speech signals, writing or behaviour. In the process of communication, a
sender encodes a message and sends it to the receiver using a medium. The receiver then
decodes the message and gives the sender appropriate feedback using a medium.
Example-
 Source: An organisation had a news bulletin that contained information about a new
policy to be circulated to all employees.
 Encoding: The person or editor who has formulated or written the policy.
 Channel/Medium: The medium used to pass the message, in this case it’s the news
bulletin.
 Decoding: The audience or employees who read the message and understood the same,
for whom the policy was intended.
 Feedback: effectiveness or impact of the communication, in achieving its desired
objective.
Forms of communication
The important forms of communication are-
 Interpersonal communication: Communication between two or more people is called
inter personal communication. It usually involves direct face to face communication.
 Intrapersonal communication: It is a process in which people communicate with
themselves either consciously or unconsciously.
 Extra personal communication: Communication between human and non-human
entities such as animals is known as Extra personal communication.

 Group communication: Communication between groups of individuals (3-20) is called
group communication.
 Mass communication: Communication through mass media like books, televisions,
internet, newspapers etc. that covers a large audience.
Barriers to effective communication

Communication is very important both from the personal as well as the organisational view
point. However in spite of best intentions to communicate effectively, communication is
found to be ineffective on several occasions. This can be attributed to several barriers to
communication.
Barriers to effective communication are-

A. Verbal barriers
Speaking fluently is an important aspect of communication. However there are verbal
barriers such as verbal attack, being unnecessarily loud and using complex words or phrases.
Whenever one interrogates, criticizes or blames others, verbal barriers are created.
Verbal barriers are created due to the following reasons-

a) Lack of proper planning: Talking or writing without proper thinking or planning results
in miscommunication or partial breakdown of communication process.
b) Selection of wrong variety of language: Wrong variety of language can lead to failure
of strategy which otherwise is effective and useful. For instance in case a lawyer uses his
argumentative skills to convince his wife to give him a cup of tea, the chances are he
won’t get his cup of tea. The reason being wrong variety of language chosen and hence
it fails to get the desired results.
c) Badly encoded and wrongly decoded messages: Choice of wrong words, absence of
punctuation marks or wrongly timed pauses, poor organisation of ideas, use of
unnecessary jargons etc. bring vagueness to the message and may never reach the
receiver as the message might have been improperly expressed.
d) Semantic gap: Semantic gap or distortion might be deliberate or accidental, for instance
an advertisement saying “We sell for less” raises many questions as ‘Less than what’, is
it less number of people. Hence a message with different connotations may leave the
recipient of message wondering about the real intention of message.
e) Differences in perception of message: Different people perceive a particular situation
in different ways as perception levels of people are different. For instance if there is a
dispute between a manager and his clerk, and if a third person is asked to enquire, it is
likely from enquiry that both manager and clerk will not recall the situation in exactly
the same way. This is because perception levels of people are different. Hence in business
situation one needs to be careful as the words we utter are open to variety of
interpretations.
f) Variation in language: Certain words and idiomatic expressions are culture specific. If
not used in appropriate cultural context, it might lead to miscommunication or non-

communication. For instance sidewalk in US, in Britain it is called pavement, in India it
is called platform.
B. Non-verbal barriers
When verbal and non-verbal messages clash, receivers often tend to trust the non-verbal
messages. Non-verbal messages such as flashing eyes, rolling eyes, quick or slow
movements or avoiding eye contact could become barriers to effective communication.
Raising eyes constantly suggests that the speaker is not convinced with the information
shared. When presenter keeps hands in pockets constantly, then he or she appears snobbish,
scared or deceptive to their audience. Hence awkward gestures used by speakers constantly
create blocks in the smooth flow of communication.
C. Listening barriers
Poor listening could result in incomplete, incorrect and inconsistent responses. People who
listen to others with dwindling attention fail to speak properly as well as listening is the
mother of all speaking. Listening requires concentration, patience, and focus. Sometimes
though we pretend to listen in meetings, we are usually occupied with the idea of speaking
at the earliest opportunity; it may be so because speaking is a human urge while listening is
a compulsion.
The following reasons may also cause listening barriers-

 Making listener feel as though he or she is wasting the listener’s time
 Getting ahead of speaker and completing his or her thoughts
 Being distracted by something that is not part of ongoing communication
 Topping the speakers story with their own
 Forgetting what is being discussed
 Asking too many questions
D. Other barriers
a) Premature evaluation of message: Jumping into hasty decisions, approving or
disapproving of what is being said is an undesirable tendency that leads to failure of
communication because the listeners evaluate the message without fully understanding
its real essence.
b) Information overload: Employees in key positions get unrestricted flow of information
resulting in information overload. This may lead to ignoring of important information
unconsciously.
c) Distrust, threat and fear: If behaviour of superiors is inconsistent and unpredictable it
leads to distrust and fear among subordinates. If an employee has been punished or
criticised in the past for presenting unfavourable but true pasts then he or she will never
again express ideas however innovative they may be due to fear. This will lead to
breaking down of communication process.

d) Less time for adjustment to change: Communication gets hampered and can affect the
performance of organisations severely if sufficient time is not given to employees to
prepare themselves to adjust to change.
e) Emotional reaction: The intensity of emotions, responses or reactions could also create
barrier to communication. For instance a senior manager who served for 30 years in a
bank was asked to speak a few words during the dinner that was arranged in his honour
on his retirement day. However, the senior manager spoke a few words but could not
continue as he was choked with emotions. Hence emotions such as anger, fear, joy, and
suspicion may act as hurdles in communication.
f) Right attitude: It is a known that we cannot learn anything unless we purge ourselves
of our pre conceived notions. For instance, an officer from the audit department joined a
branch in Mumbai, the manager of Mumbai branch had heard that the officer was very
rude and had several arguments with his earlier boss. Hence, the manager was concerned
of how he can cope with the officer whose behaviour was intractable and stubborn. This
concern may fixate the mind of manager and stop him from recognising opinions of the
officer who might feel like making amends to his earlier mistakes. Hence rigidity or
preconceived notions may hamper the real communication flow.
Characteristics of effective communication

Effective communication is essential for smooth organisational and personal interactions.
The Seven C’s of Communication has been advocated by Francis J. Bergin for effective
communication.
1. Candidness: Phrases that qualify observations with the words “my honest opinion” or
“frankly speaking” indicate an attempt to be candid, open hearted and sincere.
Considering the listeners interest is honesty. Sharing of thoughts should happen with
the “you” attitude. Self-confidence of speaker is also exhibited in candidness.
2. Clarity: Clarity is very important in face to face communication. Putting across ideas
accurately during on the spot presentations, conversations or any other form of oral
interaction is very challenging. Clarity demands the use of simple language and easy
short sentence structure in composing the message. Thoughts should be clear and well
organised. When there is clarity in presenting ideas, it’s easy for the receiver/decoder
to grasp the meaning being conveyed by the sender/encoder. It is also easy to seek
clarification from the speaker in case of any doubt due to lack of clarity.
3. Completeness: A complete message also ensures clarity. When messages are well
planned and structured it is well understood by listeners during oral presentation or
discussions. Hence speakers should ensure that all information that is necessary or
expected to be important has been provided. The message must bear all the necessary
information to bring the response you desire. The sender should answer all the questions
and with facts and figures, and when desirable, go for extra details.

4. Conciseness: Brevity is very important in a business communication. Conciseness, in
a business message, is achieved by avoiding wordy expressions and repetition. It is
wrong assumption that repeating whatever has been said in multiple ways adds
emphasis to the message. A concise message saves time for both the sender and the
receiver. Using brief and to the point sentences, including relevant material makes the
message concise. Achieving conciseness does not mean to lose completeness of
message.
5. Concreteness: Being definite, vivid and specific in describing events and things rather
than vague, obscure and general leads to concreteness of the message. One cannot draw
graphs and pictures to illustrate one’s point in oral communication. However, one can
speak with a proper tone and modulation and choose precise words to reflect the
meaning.
6. Correctness: Grammatical errors are quite common in the spoken form of

communication. Correctness also helps in building confidence.
Correctness means-
 Use the right level of language
 Correct use of grammar, spelling and punctuation
 Accuracy in stating facts and figures
7. Courtesy: It is essential to maintain proper decorum of speaking during meetings and

group discussions. In business, almost everything starts and ends in courtesy. Courtesy
means not only thinking about receiver but also valuing his feelings. Courtesy is all
about using polite words and gestures, being appreciative, thoughtful, tactful, and
showing respect to the receiver. Courtesy builds goodwill and strengthens relationships.
Types of Communication
Communication
Verbal Non Verbal
Oral Written
Different types of communication are diagrammatically presented above.

Verbal communication
The word verbal means “connected with words and the use of words”. Humans are the only
species gifted with the use of words that makes language. Verbal communication refers to
the form of communication in which messages are transmitted verbally, communication is
done by word, and words may be spoken or written. The objective of communication is to
have people understand what is being conveyed.
Types of Verbal communication-

 Oral communication: Spoken communication or communication employing speech is
known as oral communication.
 Written communication: Communication wherein sender uses written mode to transmit
messages is called written communication.
Written communication
Written communication is correspondence that is made in writing, the message may be
handwritten, printed or typed. In written communication, written signs, symbols or words
are used to communicate. Messages are transmitted via email, letter, memo, circulars, notices
etc. Written communication is influenced by vocabulary, grammar used, writing style,
precision and clarity of language.
Writing methodology
The following scenario will help learners understand the importance and need for method in
written communication.
Scenario
Ananya, who is a clerk, is asked to write a paper on decision making for the quarterly news
magazine of the bank. The objective is to motivate other colleagues to take fast and clear
decisions. Ananya settles down to write her paper after making a mental note of decision
making process. She looks at the blank paper for a couple of minutes and then writes the
heading on top of sheet “decision making”. Then she tries to understand if it should be
‘decision making’ or ‘decision taking’. The dictionary guides Ananya to understand that it
should be ‘decision making. Ananya begins to write by describing her upbringing as a child
where she was never allowed to make any choices. After a while Ananya feels that the
beginning is not right and strikes off the lines wondering how to begin correctly. At that
point her boss walks in and tells her that the only way to write is to first put down whatever
thoughts she has and then read, revise and then refine the language.
Three steps that can contribute towards effective written communication-

1. Prewriting: A prewriting plan helps explore the subject from different perspectives,
gives scope for the person to bring in creativity and ideas. It helps analyse the kind of
audience that needs to be addressed, the knowledge level of the audience, language to be
communicated etc.

2. Writing: Once the audience is known and a strategy has been developed, data on the
topic can be gathered from various sources and ideas can be put on paper and also the
flow can be decided. All ideas and information gathered can be written down. Thereafter
the document can be reviewed by others for suggestions on improvement.
3. Reviewing: this is a stage of proof reading and evaluation. In this stage the document is
checked for errors, grammar, punctuations, order of sentences, linkage and flow. This
stage helps in evaluating if the document is as per the strategy, flow and connection from
one topic to another, check for wordiness, complex and incomplete sentences, clarity,
tone etc.
In addition to understand the learner will need to know some basics of written
communication so as to ensure that communication is effective and smooth.
Basics of written communication

As mentioned earlier, a person needs to know the nuances of written communication to be
able to communicate effectively.
Some basics are-

1. Wordiness: For effective communication it is important to try and omit needless words.
Example-
a) “I am sick and tired of the indifference my boss shows” (either sick or tired will
suffice).
b) “It is very important to get an account of that customer” (what is the difference
between important and very important).
2. Weak verbs/ ponderous nouns: Verbs are action words and vital part of forming a
sentence. It is important to note that singular and plural form of verbs should not be
mixed and should be in line with the subject.
Example-
a) Only one of the employees are present today – wrong usage. (‘Only one’ means
subject is singular but the verb ‘are’ is plural form). Only one of the employees is
present today- right usage.
b) The usage of verbs should be in agreement with the person (I is first person, the
person spoken to ‘you’ is second person and others like he, they are third person).
Example-
a) He ‘don’t’ like to play-Wrong usage. He doesn’t like to play – right usage
b) Past, present and future should be used in correct tenses as verbs indicate time of
action. It is always advisable to use the verb with same tense (present or past) in a
sentence.
Example-
He ‘gathered’ the information and ‘give’ feedback – wrong usage. He gathered the
information and gave feedback – right usage

3. Nouns: Use concrete noun as the subject rather than abstract noun. Concrete noun can
be visualised, however abstract noun cannot be visualised. Nouns ending in -tion; -ment;
-ence; etc. are heavy.
Example-
a) ‘Cancellation’ of the deal will happen at end of financial year (‘cancellation’ is an
abstract noun) – wrong.
b) The ‘deal’ will be cancelled at the end of financial year (‘deal’ is a concrete noun and
can be visualised).
c) That ‘decision’ can be made by the branch manager only.
d) Only the ‘branch manager’ can make that decision.
4. Tone/ meaning: In written communication tone refers to the way a statement sounds
which again depends on choice of words.
The following aspects can be kept in mind on the choice of words-
a) Adopt the tone appropriate to the occasion.
b) Be confident with tone.
c) Know your audience.
d) Be sincere (be yourself).
e) Engage the audience -- make them care.
Example-
a) “I told you not to do that” (instantly conveys tone).
b) “Don’t use that tone with me” (instantly conveys tone).
c) “You have failed to meet the sales target” – Negative tone
d) “With little extra effort, you could have achieved the target” – positive tone
e) “I hope that my skills and qualification will match your expectation” – Lacks
confidence
f) “I am sure that my skills and qualification will match your expectation” – confident
tone.
g) “Our bank is more interested in customer satisfaction, than profits” – does not sound
sincere as an objective of any organisation is profits.
h) “We value our customers and their support would make all possible efforts to ensure
customer satisfaction” – Sincere.
i) "Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome." – Not
appropriate at a funeral.
5. Plain talk: Write things that convey your meaning in plain English. The following are
some tips, however there are exceptions to these rules and are in order of merit.
Some things to remember while choosing words-
a) Prefer the familiar word to the far-fetched
b) Prefer the concrete word to the abstract
c) Prefer the single word to the circumlocution (circumlocution is unnecessarily large
number of words to express an idea)

d) Prefer simple words to complex words –words within receivers vocabulary
e) Prefer the short word to the long
f) Use neutral job titles.
g) Language should not be offensive, irrespective of gender, religion or race.
6. Neutral job titles: It is important to choose neutral job titles.

Some things to remember while choosing words with respect to job titles-
a) Use ‘Chairperson’ instead of ‘Chairman’ (it could be man or woman).
b) ‘Police officer’ instead of ‘Policeman’.
c) ‘Salesperson’ instead of ‘Salesman’.
d) If gender not known use salutation such as ‘Dear customer’ instead of ‘Dear Sir or
Madam’.
7. Misplaced modifiers: The word order is important for the meaning. A modifier is a word
or a phrase that describes something else. You should place the word as close as possible
to what it describes; otherwise the intended meaning may not be clear.
Example- Consider the meaning of the following sentences.
a) The young lady was walking the dog in a short skirt.
b) The dog was chasing the man with the spiked collar.
The dog isn't "in a short skirt" and the boy doesn't have a "spiked collar." Because the
modifier is misplaced, we have to think for a minute before we get the intended meaning.
The correct versions are:
a) The young lady in a short skirt was walking the dog.
b) The dog with the spiked collar was chasing the man.
8. Structure: Sentences should be structured as Subject-verb- Object. In the sentence

structure the subject comes first, the verb second, and the object third.
Example-
a) Lawrence climbed a ladder.
b) Those scientists row a boat.
c) Jennifer drank water.
9. Commas: This is the most common punctuation mark and hence has to be used
appropriately.
The usage of commas-
a) To separate words
b) Before conjunctions joining independent clauses (before “and, but, for, nor, yet,
so…”) (links 2 parts of a sentence)
c) In sequences where you need to prevent misreading
10. Plagiarism: Plagiarism means copying another’s work or ideas and presenting it as one’s
own. To avoid plagiarism, credit needs to be given to the owner whose ideas, opinion
and theory have been used.

In the business scenario, written communication can be in the form of email, memos and
write ups. In this unit, key aspects of Paragraph writing will be explained in detail.
Activity
1. Frame the following sentences in a better way.
a) He was the winner.
b) The ball went to centre field.
c) She is quick.
d) Extracellular matrix is generated by endothelial cells.
e) The stability and quality of our financial performance will be developed through the
profitable execution of our existing business, as well as the acquisition or
development of new businesses – can this be framed better.
2. Give simple words for the following-

a) Accomplish-
b) Interrogate-
c) Demonstrate-
d) Approximately-
Paragraphs
Before trying to understand the nuance of a paragraph, take a look and analyse the following
paragraph-
Rabindranath Tagore was a great man and a great poet. His poems were known for the lyrical
quality. Rabindranath Tagore was a multifaceted personality. His poems have a great musical
appeal. Tagore was born in Bengal. His life as a whole was dedicated to service of society
and literature. His poetry has been observed not just for melody but also has a message of
commitment to change the social taboos. Rabindranath Tagore was not just a poet but was
also closely associated with many other great Indian personalities. His songs are sung and
enjoyed by many even today. The fact that Bengal and its culture cannot be imagined without
the mention of Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore also shared his intellectual perspectives with
legends like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and many others. When Tagore finally left
this world, he left millions of people mourning for the legend.
Points that can be noted from the given paragraph-

 The passage begins with the introduction of Rabindranath Tagore; however the focus is
immediately shifted to lyrics that make the reader anticipate about his poetry.
 Again the focus shifts to his personality, when the reader looks forward to his personality
details, the paragraph talks about his poems having musical appeal.
 When the reader begins to feel that the paragraph talks about the poet and his music,
there comes another introductory statement stating where he was born.

 Another introductory statement follows stating he has committed his life to change social
taboos.
 Thereafter is another complete twist saying he was not just a poet.
 The paragraph continues to drift into incoherence by telling about Bengali culture and
suddenly changes gear towards knowing Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru.
On the whole the above paragraph clearly lacks continuity, focus, coherence and unity. The
passage makes it very difficult to keep track of the writers thought process.
The above paragraph can be rewritten as follows.

Born in Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore was a great poet. He is known for lyrical quality of his
poems. Hi poems had great musical appeal. However he was not just a poet. He was a
multifaceted genius whose whole life was dedicated to the service of society and literature.
Therefore in his poetry, we observe not just melody but also a commitment to change the
social taboos. Because of his intellectual eminence, he enjoyed association with other great
Indians. Mahatma Gandhi and Nehru was one of those Indians with whom Tagore shared his
intellectual perspectives. When Tagore died after years of service to the domain of
knowledge, intellect, art, music and culture he left behind millions of people mourning of
his loss. Tagore’s influence on Bengali culture is so significant that even today one cannot
imagine Bengal and its culture without remembering Tagore.
Now that the learner has seen the difference between a badly structured paragraph and a
structured paragraph, the learner can understand “Paragraphs” and the structure of a
Paragraph.
Definition of a Paragraph
A Paragraph is a collection of related sentences dealing a topic. Generally a well-structured
paragraph has a beginning, middle and an ending.
The major parts of a paragraph are-

1. Topic sentence: A Topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main idea of a
paragraph. It is usually the first sentence of a paragraph and is usually at the beginning
of the paragraph, however at times it does appear towards the end of the paragraph also.
Topic sentence contains the central idea of the passage and helps in guiding the reader to
understand what the topic is all about. Hence they are called introducers.
Examples-
a) In education, girl children drop out earlier than boys. Girls enrolment is just sixty one
percent compared to......
b) Syndicate bank is one of the leading Indian nationalised banks that provide....
c) There are three reasons why India is known as one of the best countries in the world.

2. Supporting details/developers: The concept of unity in a paragraph is measured in
terms of how the expectations set by the topic sentences of the passage are fulfilled by
the remaining sentences in a paragraph. The sentences that aim at fulfilling the promise
made by the introducers are called developers. They come after the topic sentence
making up the body of a paragraph.Supporting details or developers develops, explains
and supports the main idea of the paragraph. It contains facts, examples and details and
explains why the main idea is true.
3. The concluding sentence/terminators

The terminators are usually the last sentence of the paragraph. It restates the main idea
of the paragraph. The purpose of terminators is to conclude the discussion in such a way
that it fulfils and satisfies the reader in a psychological way. Terminators are used to
finish the paragraph or to prepare the reader for the following paragraph
Hence a paragraph includes an Introducer, developer and terminator. However, this

knowledge will only help us discover if a paragraph is properly structured or not. Just
understanding the structure is not enough, but it is necessary to learn new techniques in which
a paragraph can actually be developed and constructed.
Key aspects of paragraph writing

In addition to the words to be used in paragraph writing and the structure to be followed in
paragraph writing, there are some other aspects that the learner needs to understand to be
able to write a good paragraph.
Some such aspects are given below.

1. Linking words
Linking words are used to connect ideas and sentences, so that people can follow the
ideas as described in the paragraph. They are also known as transitions. Understanding
how to use them accurately is very important for developing good paragraphs. Linking
words are vital for writing to be natural and clear.
2. Logical flow
In order to maintain the logical flow in a paragraph, the paragraph needs to have-
a) Unity: A paragraph should have one main central idea, the topic sentence and the
subordinating ideas should help the main idea to come to the fore. In case the writer
has one more idea which he may feel is important then he should switch over to
another paragraph. This does not happen at times and hence affects the unity of the
paragraph.
b) Coherence: A coherent paragraph does more than simply lay down the facts but it
organizes them, creating a logical argument that makes sense from idea to idea.
Coherent paragraphs have a beginning, a middle, and an end. Coherence in a
paragraph is different from maintaining unity in it. Coherent paragraph helps move
words, phrases and sentences moves logically and smoothly from one to another.

c) Expansion and emphasis: Along with maintaining unity and coherence, it is
important that the sentences in the paragraph are clearly expanded and emphasised.
Some paragraphs fail to capture the reader’s attention as the passage does not lead to
a logical conclusion. Hence paragraph should not end with a feeble ending.
3. Summation
Summation is a very important aspect of a paragraph. It is very essential to sum up the
contents of the paragraph and the message that the person is trying to convey through the
paragraph by way of summarizing the paragraph. Summation is a key part of a paragraph
and should come just before the concluding part.
Non-verbal communication
Austrian writer and editor, Management Guru Peter F. Drucker said “The most important
thing in communication is to hear what isn’t being said.”
Nonverbal Communication is a system of symbolic behaviors that includes all forms of

communication except words. It is communicating without using words either spoken or
written. Non-verbal communication has a greater impact than verbal communication as
many a times we convey messages and feelings without words.
Example: You have been asked by your manager in branch to make a presentation and you
come well prepared for the same. However, during the course of your presentation you see
your boss yawning, frowning and clenching his jaw muscles on repeated occasions. At the
end of it he abruptly walks up to you, shakes hands and says ‘Thank you, great ideas’ in an
angry voice.
Hence words may sound right but the non-verbal signs convey a different message all
together.
Types of Non-verbal Communication

A. Kinesics (Body Language)
There are various ways to communicate and the body plays a most important role in
communication. Different body movements convey different emotions. Let us see how
different parts of the body send out signals.
1. Facial Expression: It is said that “The face is the index of mind”. Face gives an
indication of what you experience, your inner feelings while communicating with others
and hence has great significance to all involved in the process of communication. Since
the face cannot be easily hidden, it is an important source of nonverbal information and
communicates a variety of emotions. Hence it is vital to have restraint and control our
feelings, especially negative and adopt positive attitude in all situations. Face helps
express happiness, sadness, anger, fear and much more.

2. Head: In any face to face communication, meeting, or discussion, there is given a lot of
importance the way we hold our head. There is an old saying that says ‘Hold your head
high’ means respect and honour. If someone nods head up and down, it means he/she is
in agreement with you, it also means understanding and acknowledgement. Sideways
movement of head means “no “or not understood. A head bent low shows modesty or
politeness. Head drawn too far backwards and stiffly held up straight indicates pride or
haughtiness.
3. Eye contact: Eyes are the windows to the soul. While giving presentation nervousness
may cause the person to avoid eye contact with the audience but it can spoil the impact
of your well written speech. Eye contact during job interviews is likely to help you gain
confidence of the interviewer.
The following need to be kept in mind while communicating-
a) Maintain good eye contact with your listeners.
b) While other speak, observe them carefully and try to understand the non-verbal cues
they exhibit.
c) Ensure that you keep looking at all direction while addressing large gatherings.
d) Exhibit confidence through your eyes.
e) Feel and express willingness to connect and communicate through your eyes.
4. Gestures: Movement of arm, legs, hands, torso and head are called gestures. Just like a
picture speaks thousand words, gestures communicate a lot that the speaker feels
consciously or unconsciously.
5. Posture: Posture refers to the way we sit, stand and carry ourselves. What do we think
of people who keep their head down while walking? They lack self-confidence, and are
usually mocked or ignored. Hence, as professionals, individuals have to cultivate and
maintain elegance with their sitting, standing or walking postures.
6. Shape of body: Body shapes may be thin and tall, athletic and muscular or fat and round.
Nothing much can be done about it, however one can try to make the possible impression
with it. Care has to be taken that our body does not send out wrong signals. Always try
to be graceful and confident without appearing to be unduly self-conscious by regular
practice.
7. Personal appearance: Dress, makeup, shoes and hair style does not happen by chance.
For instance if someone attends an interview with rumpled clothes and hair, it will surely
spoil the chances of getting a job. It is important that the clothes worn are neatly washed,
properly ironed and fits well. Appearance reflects the person’s nature, interest and taste.
It can also point out religion and cultural values. Hence one should make it a habit to
dress well.
B. Haptics (Touch language)

Haptics is literally called the science of touch which under professional situations is
limited to a handshake, occasional hugging and patting. It is very important to maintain
proper distance in professional situations.
As professionals we must not hesitate while being offered a handshake by superior,
colleague or peers. Handshake should be firm and not clammy or limp. Extending a

lifeless hand for a handshake is similar to suggesting lack of interest or rudeness towards
others. Other forms of haptics such as hugging or patting are rarely practiced, However,
such signals are important where a professional has to show warmth and personal interest
particularly to subordinates.
C. Proxemics (Space language)

To communicate while keeping a distance is called proxemics.
Do we feel comfortable in a crowded room or bus or train? Are we comfortable if being
in prison or caged? We all require our own freedom, territory or space to feel relaxed and
enjoy comfort that is lost if surrounded by things or people. Hence, while communicating
in formal situations, it becomes very important to understand and respect others people
space and ensure they do not feel intruded. If one stands too close to people in formal
situations, they are likely to resist their presence. It is also not advisable to stand or sit
too far from listeners, as it may create a sense of alienation and lack of warmth. The
amount of space we need and the amount of space we perceive as belonging to us is
influenced by a number of factors, including social norms, situational factors, personality
characteristics and level of familiarity with others. Hence, it is vital to understand the
different zones of psychological territories of human beings.
Edward Hall says there are four different distances that we keep between ourselves and
other people-
a) Intimate distance-0 to 18 inches
b) Personal distance-18 inches to 4 feet
c) Social distance-4 to 12 feet; and
d) Public distance-12 feet to the limit of sight.
D. Artifacts environmental
Artifactual communication is an integral part of the nonverbal communication. It
includes the use of personal adornments such as clothing, jewellery, makeup, hairstyles,
scent and beards. People are apt to make inferences about us based on the way we dress.
E. Chronemics (Time language)

Chronemics is the study of how time is used in communication. From punctuality, to
expectations around waiting and response time, to general principles around time
management, time can be used as a communication tool in many ways.
F. Silence
Silence is also a part of non- verbal communication. Silence can mean any of the
following things-
a) Silence sometimes indicates hostility.
b) Silence can indicate respect.
c) Silence can indicate disagreement.
d) Silence can be intentional rudeness.

e) Silence can be creation of listening space.
f) Silence can be indication of empathy.
g) Silence can indicate profoundness, such as horror.
h) Silence can indicate the person is thinking.
i) Allowing silence in a conversation puts pressure on the other person.
G. Sign
Signs again form an important part of non-verbal communication.
H. Paralanguage /Vocalic
Para means ‘like’ or ‘similar to’, hence paralanguage means like language. Paralanguage
is closest to verbal communication. Attributes of speaking which include the pitch, tone,
volume, tempo, rhythm, articulation, resonance and even accent is collectively known as
paralanguage. Emotions and feelings can also be expressed with the help of different
aspects of voice. Paralanguage expressions help understand mood and situation.
Unit summary
The key learning in the unit have been:
 Communication.
 Written communication.
 Paragraphs writing.

Unit 2
 Email – Format.
 Do’s & Don’ts of emails.
 Internal & External E mails.
Introduction
'Email messages' started in the last century with telegraph messages (by wire) and Morse
Code transmissions (via airways). Thereafter came the telex network in the mid 1920’s that
was used extensively by business on a world-wide basis. The telex network was secure and
was independent of the telephone network. These telex machines could connect with and
communicate with any other telex machine on a global scale, but was an expensive affair.
Companies which started using mainframe and mini computers during the 1960's and 1970's
also used email facilities on those systems. However, this enabled only the users of
respective terminals to send messages to each other. As companies began to connect their
central systems (hosts) to branch offices and subsidiaries then employees were able to send
email to other employees of that company on a world-wide basis.
In 1970’s with personal computers came the LAN based email systems with easier-to-use
interfaces and had more functionality, such as ability to send attachments with email
messages.
As the Internet became available to more people, both privately and through company
connections, email became the trend of communication.
Email
Email also known as electronic mail is a system of worldwide electronic communication in
which a computer user can compose messages at one terminal that is generated at the
recipient terminal when he or she logs in.
In addition to aiding in quick personal communication, the Email is the quickest channel of
written communication. It is a tool that is used to communicate within and outside the
organisation i.e. with the employees (internal) and the customers (external). It is the most
commonly used mode of interaction among departments, employees, executives, company
and its customers, clients, distributors, vendors etc. Email helps to send messages
electronically and instantaneously that the other person can access at his or her convenience.
The messages can be sent and accessed worldwide and are more informal than any other
form of written communication.

Like any other form of communication, especially a written communication, it is very
important to maintain certain decorum and etiquette in drafting and sending emails. Since an
email can reflect our personality and the perception about the kind of person we are to our
subordinates, colleagues, peers, superiors, customers and friends. Hence care needs to be
taken on the choice of words used and the contents of the email drafted.
Email etiquette
Email etiquette is very important and to a large extent reflects on the organisation and the
person by way of showing-
 Professionalism: By ensuring usage of proper email language, enterprise can convey a
professional image.
 Efficiency: Emails that get to the point are much more effective than poorly worded
emails.
 Protection from liability: Employee awareness of email risks will protect the
organisation from costly law suits.
Email format
Every organisation has its own process and protocol to be followed for communication both
within and outside of the organisation. However in general there are certain accepted
standards for emails.
An email has three basic parts-

1. The header: The header is a set of lines containing information about the message's
transportation, such as the sender's address, the recipient's address, or timestamps
showing when the message was sent by intermediary servers to the transport agents. The
header begins with a ‘From’ line and is changed each time it passes through an
intermediary server. Using headers, you can see the exact path taken by the email, and
how long it took each server to process the email.
2. The message proper:
This is made up of the following two elements-
a) The header fields are a set of lines describing the message's settings, such as the
following-
 From: The sender's email address.
 To: The recipient's email address.
 Date: The date when the email was sent.
b) It may contain the following optional fields-
 Received: Information about the intermediary servers and the date when the
message was processed.
 Reply-To: A reply address.
 Subject: The message's subject.
3. The message body: The message body contains the message, separated from the header
by a line break.

In addition to the above, an email will have to end with an appropriate close, depending on
the nature of the mail and the person it is being sent to.
Do’s and Don’ts of emails

In order to ensure that emails are concise, precise, efficient and effective, there are certain
to-be-done and certain not-to-be-done things that have evolved over time and usage. Some
of these are given below-
1. Start email with a brief and concise subject

The subject line of the message is as important as the subject itself, as it makes the initial
contact with the reader. People receive several mails in their mail box both personal and
official, with busy work schedules it is easier to identify a meaningful mail from other
trash mails. The subject line helps decide on the mails that need to be prioritised. Hence
the email should always have a subject line that portrays the content of the email and is
properly worded. The subject line must never be left blank.
Examples-
a) In case an email has to be sent to all colleagues at office informing them of a meeting
the following week. The subject line can be properly worded like “Schedule for a
meeting on Tuesday”
b) Suppose a change in mobile number has to be intimidated the subject line could be
“Change in mobile number”
2. Start and end email courteously with proper greeting

It is important to start an official email with proper salutation “Dear” and the name of
the person to whom the mail is being sent. It should also end with a complimentary close
such as “Thank you”, “Thanks and Regards” etc. Use a greeting that reflects the
personality of the sender. It has to be always remembered that though emails are a little
informal, courtesy and politeness should never be neglected. Proper salutation will help
the email appear decent and graceful.
Some common salutations-
1. Dear Dr.... 2. Dear Sir/Madam 3. Dear Customer
4. Dear colleagues 5. Dear friends 6. Dear Ms....
7. Dear Mr/Mrs.... 8. My Dear.....
Some common complimentary close-

1. Thanks and Regards 2. Best wishes 3. Sincerely
2. Warm Regards 5. Thank you 6. Bye for now
7. Soliciting an early reply 8. Good bye 9. With love
10. Feel free to call back anytime 11. Look forward to see you soon
3. Check content of the email

It is always advisable to use clear, simple and logical words. Messages should be concise
and to the point. Think of it as a telephone conversation, except that the message is typed
instead of speaking. One can never be sure if the mail will remain confidential. Once a
message is sent, record of the same is created. Hence do not use abusive language, threats
or any personal comments that could prove offensive. Never put anything on email that
you do not want others to know.
4. Avoid typing abrupt messages

A mail needs to be proper in all respects and should not leave the reader in a state of
doubt or confusion. It is not advisable to start mails which are very abrupt and jerky.
Take the example below to get a better understanding of abrupt messages.

A mail needs to be sent to a colleague who is a branch manager from another branch in
the same city regarding cancellation of a meeting that was scheduled between the two
branches in the evening.
Example of an abrupt email.

Hi,
Meeting needs to be postponed. Call me before you leave.
Bye,
V.P.Rao
Example of a better drafted email.

Dear Anil,
Appreciate your efforts in scheduling the meeting between our branches for this
evening.
However due to some urgent matter at branch, that needs to be settled on priority,
the meeting that we had planned between the two branches to be conducted this
evening might have to be postponed. Once the matter is settled at my office, I
will call you personally and we can decide if needed, on an alternate date for the
meeting.
Regret the inconvenience caused.
Thanks and Regards,
V.P. Rao.
5. Keep in mind the tone of the email

An email lacks in verbal and non-verbal clues. Eye contact, tone of voice and body
language essential for communication is missing in an email. Hence it should be ensured
that the email sounds friendly and courteous. Avoid making any assumptions or
accusations that would have to be regretted later. Avoid sending emails while in angry
or annoyed mood. An email can begin with or can even have some warm up sentences
that will display a pleasant TONE and TENOR and help build rapport with the reader.
Email should always sound more personal, warm and interactive.
Following are some introducers to help make emails sound more professional.
a) Thank you very much for showing an interest in our proposal. However, because of...
b) Thank you for Banking with us. It would be our pleasure to.......
c) Greetings from Syndicate Bank. We would like to inform you that....
d) Thanks for calling last evening. We can discuss the matter....
e) Thanks for your enquiry. However as per our service policy....
f) We are pleased to inform you that....
g) We trust that your experience of using our banking services has been enjoyable. We
are pleased to inform you that...
h) We thank you for giving us an opportunity to serve you. To help serve you better....
i) I hope this mail finds you in the best of health and spirits...
j) We thank you for your interest in our mobile banking services. You may......
6. Explain the attachments sent

Proper explanation as to what the attachment is about has to be explained in the mail.
Moreover attachments take lot of time to download and may not respect the other
person’s time. The fact that an unnecessary mail is a nuisance, so is an unrelated file or
an irrelevant file. Hence an explanation will help the recipient to decide if the same needs
to be opened. If the attachments are too large always compress or zip them before
sending. Make it a habit to zip anything above 200k (the file sizes can be viewed in the
windows explorer, just a right click on file name and choose properties will give the file
size). Photos and images should always be no more than 600 pixels. It is also better if
there is a virus scanner installed in the computer.
7. Give priority to important information

Most people do not have sufficient time to read lengthy emails. Hence the message sent
should be brief and it’s always advisable to put important information in the first three
lines of the message. It could be seeking for clarification, making a request or giving
instructions. Mentioning it at the outset helps get the message noticed by the recipient.
8. Use proper structure and layout

Email should be concise and short. Keep the paragraph short (six lines maximum) and
use proper spacing between paragraphs. Highlight main points in bold and underline.
Since reading from a screen is more difficult than reading from paper, the structure and

layout is very important for e-mail messages. When making points, number them or mark
each point as separate to keep the overview.
9. Use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation

Mails need to be concise and brief, however overdoing it can lead to unnecessary
confusion and take away the professional touch from emails. Chopping of words and
trimming spellings is not acceptable in official business communications. Improper
spelling, grammar and punctuation could give a bad impression about the individual and
also the company.
Avoid acronyms and abbreviations, unless they are very common ones as it may not be
possible for all to make sense of the acronyms as the meaning and their significance may
not be known to all - like using “IC” for “instructor in charge”, “BTW” for “by the way”,
“OIC” for “Operations in charge” “BM” for “branch manager” “FIN” for “Friend in
need”, “FAQ” for frequently asked questions etc. The recipient might not be aware of
the meanings of the abbreviations and moreover in business emails these are generally
not appropriate
Common mistakes done with mails, is that letters are omitted, acronyms are chosen,
abbreviated forms are written and letters are written in lower case even after a full stop.
E-mails with no full stops or commas are difficult to read and can sometimes even change
the meaning of the text. Hence, it is important that messages be conveyed properly.
10. Be aware of email jargons

Technical language used in particular field of study is called Jargon. Email writing has
some of its jargons too. It is always advisable to restraint ourselves to the minimum usage
of jargons. Nevertheless, being aquatinted with some commonly used ones will help
understand the terminologies employed.
11.Avoid all CAPITALS

Capitals indicate SHOUTING. It feels like the writer is actually screaming while writing
the mail. The mail written in capitals will look intimidating. This can be highly annoying
and might trigger an unwanted response in the form of a flame mail. Therefore, try not to
send any email text in capitals
12.Use emotions and smiley’s sparingly

Emotions are short symbols that are carved out of keyboard letter and signs, which are
perceived to add and display feelings in the mail. Some of the emotions used are listed
below.
 - Happy face
 - Sad face
@ - for shock and surprise
O- Expression suggesting realisation of error

These symbols can be used while writing informal mail to friends and relatives. However
they need to be avoided in business communications.
13. Avoid using coloured background for email

The recipient may not be able to read mail. Always stick to fonts and colour that make it
easy to read the mail.
14. Use templates for frequently used responses or external mails

Some of the queries that come repeatedly such as directions to the office, to apply for
certain benefits or how to subscribe to your newsletter. Save these texts as response
templates and paste these into your message when you need them. Such templates can
be saved in a Word document, or use pre-formatted emails. The same can be applied
when we respond to mails from customers; the salutation can be saved in the form of
templates.
15. Read and edit the email before sending

Many people do not bother to read an email before they send it out, as can be seen from
the many spelling and grammar mistakes in emails. Apart from this, reading the email
through the eyes of the recipient will help draft a more effective message and avoid
misunderstandings and inappropriate comments. Hence, the general tendency of
shooting mails the moment they are drafted has to be overcome for the fact that email
writing is a part of professional communication and needs to be revised and edited.
Use the spell check options to find any errors and correct the same.
16. Use “to”,” cc” and “bcc” buttons carefully

There are only three choices of addressing an email, i.e. “to”, “cc” and “bcc”. The
addresses in the 'To' box are for the people to whom the mail is directly addressed. The
“cc” option is for the people who indirectly addressed for a particular mail. Copy has to
be sent only those who need to be copied. Sometimes we do not see the other people
copied in the email and immediately forward to others creating unnecessary confusions.
The addresses in the 'Bcc' are like 'Cc' except that the addresses in 'To' and 'Cc' do not
know that the addresses in the 'Bcc' are included in the conversation. The 'To' and 'Cc'
addresses are blind to the 'Bcc' addresses.
17. Send from office, comes from office

Avoid sending personal emails from official email id. Personal e-mails sent from the
office, are regarded as official company communications regardless of content and could
possibly expose the sender and company to unnecessary risk.
18. Proper use of “Reply to all” button

The 'Reply to All' button is just a button, but it can generate tons of unnecessary e-mails.
For example, if boss has sent mails to 20 of his subordinates asking them to revert back

with their suggestions and if each person hits the "Reply to All' button not only will the
boss receive a dozen replies, but so does everyone else.
19. Respond promptly and swiftly to emails

Customers send e-mail because they expect to receive a quick response, if not
immediately. If they did not want a quick response they would send a letter or a fax.
Therefore, each e-mail should be replied to within at least 24 hours and preferably within
the same working day. If the email is complicated and needs consideration or will
consume time, just send an email back acknowledging that you are in receipt of the mail
and will get back to them later. This will put the customer's mind at rest and tendency
that customers will be more patient as it will display a caring attitude. It will also
strengthen our professional image and goodwill of the bank.
20. Do not overuse the high priority option

We all know the story of the washer man and boy who cried wolf. Over usage of the high
priority option, may lead to losing its function when it is actually needed.
21. Avoid sending junk messages and circulation of mails to all

Sending junk messages which are irrelevant or unrelated to work could lead to recipient
missing out on an important mail. The fact that it is an easy job to shoot a copy of mail
to all, sometimes we tend to send mails to people who are hardly or remotely concerned
with the information. Such actions could result in nuisance and could irritate busy
professionals.
If mails are received that promises incredible riches or asking help for a charitable cause.
Be cautioned, the content may seem to be bona fide, but the senders may not be. Since it
is impossible to find out whether a chain letter is real or not, the best place for it is the
recycle bin. Also do not forward chain letter, simply delete them as received.
22. Do not request delivery and read receipts

This could annoy recipients even before they have read the message. Besides, it would
not work if the recipient has blocked that function or if the software does not support it.
It is always better to ask the recipient to inform back, if the mail was received.
23. Avoid recalling of messages

Recalling of messages will not help if the same has already been delivered or read.
Always advisable to send an email apologizing for the mistake. This approach will look
more honest.
24. Do not use email to discuss confidential information

Sending an email is like sending a postcard. Avoid sending confidential information on
email as a record is created once sent and nothing can be done thereafter. Moreover,
never make any libelous, sexist or racially discriminating comments in emails, even if
they are meant to be a joke.

25. Add disclaimers to your emails
Adding of disclaimers to internal and external mails is very vital as it protects the
company from any liability. For instance if an employee accidentally forwards a virus to
a customer by email. Customer is liable to sue the company for damages, however a
disclaimer at bottom of every external mail stating that the recipient must check each
email for viruses and that company or individual sending it cannot be held liable for any
transmitted viruses, will help protect the company and the individual from any legal
issues.
Internal and External emails

All organisations including banks use emails to communicate and convey information and
share important details both externally (to customer/clients) and internally (Staff within the
enterprise). As internal emails are for the staff within the company, interaction happen
between colleagues, supervisors, peers and subordinates and hence emails can be less formal,
however they still need to be carefully written, understood and then sent. External emails are
usually sent to customers or vendors whose services are used by the banks and hence it is
very important that the email should sound professional. External emails carry the image and
goodwill of the company and hence it is vital that care is taken while sending any mail
externally.
General tips while sending mails internally as well as externally

1. Ensure the subject line clearly indicates what the message is all about.
2. Use simple, clear and logical words
3. Ensure that the message typed is easy to read, use appropriate tips of short paragraphs
and bullets.
4. Ensure the message is concise and to the point.
5. Ensure reference about the attachments made if any
6. Ensure the message is checked for any error before sending it.
7. Ensure any sensitive message being sent by email has to be read carefully for the tone
to make sure the intended message is being conveyed.
How to write a good E-mail?

Before writing an email ask yourself a few questions-
1. What is the objective of writing the E-mail?
2. What should be the outcome of this communication?
3. Who are the recipients of the E-mail?
4. Is it a formal or an informal E-mail?
The above questions will help the person structure his/her thoughts and enable him/her to
write an effective Email.

Writing Internal Email’s
Internal emails can be less formal than external emails, however it is important to remember
that email etiquettes have to be followed and professionalism maintained while writing
business emails.
It is vital to remember that a record of all business emails that employees have sent or
received both internally and externally are maintained by the organisation in their mail
servers. These mails are kept in the form of back-up files even though the employee has
deleted the mail from their mail box. Hence employees have to take due care while writing
any email and carefully consider what is been conveyed in the mail.
Tips for writing internal E-mails

1. Do not write anything in an internal mail that others should not read.
2. Do not send personal email from the company mail id.
3. Do not criticize any superiors or any fellow employee in an email, this could account to
bad mouthing.
4. Do not make any unjust comments that could challenge integrity, honesty or competence
of someone, because if the same is discovered, it could result in action against you.
5. The email must be addressed to a proper person or department in the company.
6. Keep the mail concise and to the point and also write an appropriate subject line.
7. Do not put mails on high priority unless it is an important one.
8. Read the email well before replying, a hasty answer to a complex issue might indicate to
the sender that the mail has not been read properly.
9. Delete all irrelevant mails on a regular basis, this will ensure good email housekeeping.
10. Make individual folders of emails from colleagues which are received very frequently in
your inbox.
11. Folders can be done for other important mails like important mails, emails that need to
be responded by day end, meeting mails, latest updates, circulars etc., this will ensure in
faster retrieval of mails if needed at a later date.
12. If the mail you are sending does not pertain to someone directly, however you want that
person to be kept in loop, then mark a ‘bcc’ to that person and mark ‘cc’ to only those to
whom the mail actually pertains to.
13. Attachments are one of the main sources of Trojans and computer viruses, hence never
open an attachment unless you are sure of the person sending it or there is some mention
of attachment and its contents in the body of the email.
14. Do not write or send jokes in official communication.
15. Strictly follow the company’s procedure, rules, regulations and policies pertaining to
sending and receiving emails.
16. Do not send unnecessary mails to colleagues who sit right next to you, at times an old
fashioned verbal conversation can be quicker than an electronic conversation.
Structure of an Internal email

1. Subject: Every Internal mail has to have a subject line that is composed well and related
to the body of the email.
2. Email Body: The email should always begin with an appropriate salutation, this gives
an impression of courtesy to the draft. In case the particular official email is intended for
a number of recipients then the mail should be initiated with “Dear All”.
3. Signature: The mail should end with an official signature of the sender so as to impart
a rational yet professional look to the email. This signature will have the name,
designation, company name, contact information etc.
Emails today combine the speed of telephone conversations with the crispness of a well
written memo. Email is most commonly used as a mode of written communication for
interaction among executives, departments, company and also customers. An email is fast,
instantaneous and also works as a tool of record keeping for the company. Any amount of
information, documents, pictures, files etc. can be sent in seconds to recipients, which bring
in a lot of ease in day to day functioning at offices. The informality factor of email has also
made it as a most sought after tool and is hassle free unlike the memo and drafts that were
physically written and sent by post earlier. Hence E-mails have become very popular form
of business communication today.
Unit summary
 Email – Format.
 Do’s & Don’ts of emails.
 Internal & External E mails.

Unit 3
 Extempore-
 Clarity of Thought.
 Logical flow of Content.
 Content for different audience.
Introduction
In this module so far, verbal and non-verbal communication has been described. The learner
has also been introduced to different forms of verbal-written communication. In this unit the
learner will learn about “Oral communication” as a form of verbal communication.
Oral communication is a form of verbal communication. It is the interchange of verbal

messages between the sender and receiver. It is more immediate than written
communication.
Speech has always preceded writing in the process of human development. Recent study
shows that an executive spends seventy percent of his time communicating, of which 45%
is listening, 30% is speaking, 16% reading and 9% writing. As 75% of communication is
oral (listening and speaking), It is important to develop the skills of oral communication that
this unit will brief us on.
Oral communication
Oral communication is when spoken words or language is used as a medium of
communication and involves two or more persons. It includes face to face conversations,
speech, telephonic conversation, video, radio, television etc. Interactions with people,
presentations, speeches, group discussions and interviews are all instances of oral
communication.
Advantages of Oral communication

1. Provides immediate feedback to participants, seeking clarification, justification or
elaboration while engaged in talk with somebody becomes easier.
2. Time saving as nothing is spent on stationary etc.
3. Brings individuals closer and helps build a healthy climate. Bonding between superior
and subordinate could increase.
4. An effective tool for persuasion.
5. Provides opportunity for the speaker to make necessary corrections and make oneself
clear by use of voice, tone, pitch etc.
6. Easy to understand the receivers or group reaction and arrive at satisfactory conclusion.

Limitations of Oral communication
1. Oral messages are retained less by listeners.
2. Speakers themselves may not recall what was said or meant.
3. Oral messages could lead to misunderstandings, if not carefully organised.
4. Oral messages do not have legal validity due to absence of record.
5. Sometimes meetings carry on for long hours without arriving at proper conclusions and
hence could lead to wastage of time.
6. Long messages may not be interpreted right in case of oral communication.
Now that learners have seen the advantages and the limitations of oral communication,
learners can now learn about the Principles of oral communication.
Principles of Oral Communication

1. Purpose: To be heard and understood by listeners is the primary purpose of talking
effectively.
2. Rhythm : Lively rhythm and tone are primary aspects of oral communication
3. Choice of words: It is always advisable to use commonly used words, short and simple
sentences.
4. Pitch: Pitch should be applied depending on the distance between the listener and
speaker.
5. Speaking pace: Thee inherent limitation of speech to listeners is that it cannot refer back
to the spoken words unlike readers who can refer back if something is missed out. This
limitation can be overcome if the listener listens closely and attentively and the speaker
converses slowly with proper pauses and clarity. There has to be a correlation between
the pace of speaking and rate of listening. Research says that an individual speaks nearly
125 words in a minute and the same is processed 4-5 times more rapidly by the listeners.
The gap between hearing and registering should not be too wide or too narrow, otherwise
comprehension could get affected. Hence one should speak fluently with appropriate
pauses and without rushing.
6. Tone and body language: In face to face communication, the message is heard as well
as seen. The listener, has the advantage of watching the speaker and take a subconscious
note of body language that could also contradict the intent of spoken words. Hence a
speaker has to be cautious about the choice of words as well as the way they are spoken.
Effective speakers should always control and use their tone and body language to support
their words.
7. Fluency: Fluency is “the quality of being able to speak or write a language easily and
well”. If a speaker is fluent, listener does not have to strain his mind to receive, register
and interpret the message as he can be heard with ease.
Types of oral communication

Oral communication can be classified into-

 Face-to Face oral communication.
 Non-face-to face oral communication, via electronic media.
Some forms of Oral communication

 Extempore
 Presentation
 Speeches
 Public speaking
In this unit learners will understand the art of Extempore speaking.
Extempore
An extempore refers to unprepared speech, given at the spur of the moment or on request.
An extempore speech is an impromptu speech that requires an individual to deliver on a topic
given there and then.
The word "Extempore" has its actual meaning lying in the context of stage or theatre
performances that are carried out without preparation or impromptu performances.
Extempore requires the use of knowledge we already have and a strong delivery, as at times
there is a panel that provides a minute or two for the individual to organise their thoughts
before speaking
Key factors that contribute towards a good extempore are-

1. Clarity of thought
Clarity of thought is very important for a good extempore.
For clarity of thought one can-
a) Always take time to think, gather thoughts point wise before speaking and then start
with the first point and carry on with the flow.
b) Understand the topic given.
c) Mentally make a note of the audience.
d) Make a note of time given.
e) Think of the various things one might have heard/read about the given topic.
f) Thing of a good beginning, body and a conclusion for the extempore.
g) Mentally make a flow for the extempore.
2. Logical flow of content

a) Once topic is given, consider it your own.
b) Grab a pen and a piece of paper.
c) Write down significant and interesting points pertaining to topic.
d) Freely acknowledge the fact that you are not prepared for a speech.
e) Keep structure in mind, begin with introductory, elaborate on it and work your way
to the end.

f) Concentrate on diction and tone while delivering.
g) Research the topic even though you have little time.
h) Never rush to start even in cases where the topic is well known.
i) Prioritise the points accordingly as the time limit for extempore is limited.
j) Do not spend too much time on introducing the topic and end up with introduction
itself due to shortage of time.
k) Think of other related points while speaking as it will help you speak more in case
the panel wants you to continue speaking on the subject.
l) Follow a particular structure, i.e. introduction, main body and conclusion.
3. Content for different audience

a) Effective extempore speaking always has the purpose and the impact on the audience
at its heart. In an extempore which is nothing but impromptu speaking, it is important
to speak to the purpose and consider the impact it will have on the audience. It is not
just choosing the right words at the point of delivery, without any kind of preparation.
b) Effective speakers, always consider the audience in their preparation at all times.
Audience can be internal or external or both.
c) Consider position, ranks or designation of members in audience. If they are
specialists, they may be interested if one talks on technical aspects. If they are non-
experts then technical details may be boring for them. Some insist on being formal,
while some may appreciate humour, some may want the talk to be speeded up etc.
d) Though it is difficult to know audience preferences, understanding what they like and
want, can make a huge difference between effective and ineffective presentations.
e) Keep in mind, the age, gender, cultural background and economic status of audience
before you start.
f) Keep in mind the size of the group, how much time it may take to answer questions
etc.
g) Try to analyse if the audience is hostile or friendly and how they feel about the topic.
h) Body language of the audience tells a lot as you start the speech.
i) Speakers need to ensure that they speak to the audience they have in front of them,
rather than the audience they would like to have in front of them.
4. Topics
Topics for extempore are generally relatively easy. Topics could be something very
personal like hobbies, academic background, a job role, a particular or recent incident, a
common saying or proverb or an issue of current affair. Hence one needs to be prepared
to speak on anything and everything.
5. Know direction of the speech

a) One needs to decide how the speech needs to be delivered before speaking. Should
the talk take a serious route, an inspiring one, or the hysterical, laugh-a-minute path?

b) The best way to decide on this is to get a feel of the audience. What type of people
they are? What would they expect? One handy tip is to speak in a language that works
with those listening. Anticipate the questions that could come up.
6. Prepare a backup plan

There is a possibility that one may forget or feel lost for words during an extempore. It
is important to prepare a backup plan to handle such situations. What separates a good
speech from a disaster is how well one manages such lapses. It is always ideal to have a
backup plan in case the mind goes blank. That makes it easier to manoeuvre out of the
situation gracefully instead of shaking in a nervous sweat. In serious situations one can
bail oneself out with a polite way of excusing themselves. If you're going for laughs, it's
okay to be candid. In case the train of thought goes blank then try out tricks, to be ready
with something ahead of time.
For instance-
a) Pretend to be pausing on purpose. Walk back and forth slowly, as if you're letting
your last point sink in.
b) Throw a question on the topic at audience and try to gather your thoughts during this
pause.
c) If you still can't remember what to say, make some reason to pause the speech, like
saying, "I'm sorry, but my throat is dry. Can I please get a glass of water?" or "Do
you have any questions," or "Can everyone hear me okay?"
d) Candid smiles can also help.
7. Plan an outline
One has to make a quick outline of what has to be said. The outline need not be in depth,
but just a guide to keep thoughts on track as it is a known fact that some of the worst
speeches came out of people who did not even take a moment to organize their thoughts
before opening their mouths.
8. Keep the speech concise

Impromptu speeches are not expected to be long. It should be kept as short as possible to
avoid any exposure of ignorance on a particular issue or subject. In fact, the more concise
it is, the better. Speaking clearly with simple and few words shows confidence in one’s
opinions. Effective public speakers are ones who do not rely on wide vocabularies.
9. Watch words before speaking

Avoid saying something that would lead to regret later. Do not use offensive words or
matter that might be private to people in the audience. Listen to your own words and
make sure that it is what audience wants to hear. Tone also affects reception of speech;
hence importance needs to be given to tone too.
10. Control on speech

Avoid getting emotional or personal about the topic. Do not get too personal on sensitive
matters. It is always better not to deviate from the topic and talk irrelevant. Hence use
knowledge in an intelligent way with control on speech that will lead to satisfactory
performance.
11. Make speeches interesting

In the professional world, a lot of speeches are delivered everyday but very few are
remembered - why? Do they lack information, data, and ideas? May not be, what they
lack is the quality of arousing interest and sustaining the interest of the audience. Keeping
audience interested is an art that needs to be carefully developed and inculcated.
Speeches can be made interesting by-
a) Making beginning catchy
b) Use humour and wit
c) Proper voice modulation
d) Using examples and illustration
e) Appropriate body language
f) End empathetically
12. Confidence, Competence, Enthusiasm & Adaptability is the key

Confidence along with knowledge helps display presence of mind, spontaneity and
analytical skills. The audience always observes enthusiasm and energy levels of the
speaker and draws conclusions on the speech and the speaker.
13. A good beginning

A good beginning helps establish a rapport and builds credibility with the audience and
hence the beginning is very vital. There are several ways to begin with an extempore
speech, however this is not a hard and fast rule, but gives the speaker ideas of how to
begin.
Some suggestions for a good beginning-
a) Begin with a Question.
b) Factual opening.
c) The Surprising Opening.
d) The Reveal Opening.
Other aspects for a good extempore

1. Body language displays the level of confidence.
2. Keep head raised and ensure the microphone is at constant position.
3. Expressions matter, express understanding about the topic while speaking.
4. Use audience oriented approach.
5. Use opportunity whenever possible to narrate personal experiences, examples and
illustrations, they help build rapport with audience.
6. Keep audience entertained during the speech.
7. Time yourself well. It may not be nice to be stopped in between sentences.

8. Have proper voice modulation to balance the intonation and the content being expressed.
9. Memorise quotations that can be used in any situation.
10. Conclude with summarising or by asking audience questions.
Oral Non-face-to face, via electronic media

In work situations we use telephone, voicemail, phone conferencing, video conferencing,
mobile and email in accordance with the need and purpose of the communicator. As face to
face advantage is missing in such communications, application of high level oral
communication skills is vital.
1. Phone: The telephone today is the handiest and most cost efficient mode of
communication. It can also be called as administrative assistant. In business, courtesy
counts and one will never know how important the caller is for the banks business. Hence
every call should be received with standard sequence of phrases.
One should never pick the phone and say “Yes who is it, what do you want?” instead the
receiver should be polite and say “Good morning, Syndicate bank, how may I help
you?”
Telephonic conversations for business purposes should be concise and to the point. In
case the speaker is going off topic, one can indicate that he or she wants to close the
conversation by summarising or repeating the decided upon action. However the call
should end with an expression of good will such as “Thanks for calling”, “It was
Pleasure talking to you” or “I will get back to you on this matter”. These days IVR
(Interactive voice response) guides callers to extensions and for call centre it even helps
the customer get his query resolved without any human interaction. However one can
always notice how they are programmed with pleasantries.
2. Voice Mail: Voice mail facility allows executives to attend to calls when they are free.
When one is busy at meetings or outside work, they can transfer the calls to voice mail
and check messages later or from time to time. It is a digitally recorded voice of the
receiver that the caller can hear and post a message. However, the caller should be able
to recognise the intended receiver’s voice and hence it has to be natural and courteous.
The recorded message can be something like “This is Vani Menon from the Forex
department. Please leave a message and I shall call you back. Thank you”
3. Conference calls: Conference calls are used by companies as a communication channel

for planning, updating, coordinating and monitoring activities without requiring an
employee to leave his work station or travel long distances for meeting that could last
few minutes or hours. Conference calling is a facility available in telephone as well as
mobile phone wherein several people can talk to each other simultaneously.
There are two types of conference calls-

a) One way closed circuits call that allows employees to tune in and hear
announcements; example daily morning reports, briefings etc. that is simultaneously
heard by many people.

b) An interactive call, where a number of people can be connected on the same call.
Here each member can interact with each other from their own location or work
station. This is one way of having non-face to face meeting and is useful when
employees working on a project or a given target or task working in different
locations or offices need to discuss matters. This saves on time and transport costs
and can happen whenever desired.
4. Mobile phones: Mobile phones are instruments of communication used worldwide.

They are generally enhanced with GPRS (General packet radio services) technology that
allows radio transmission of small packets of data between mobile phones and internet.
This enables a mobile to do the work of laptops or computers and voice recorders.
5. Video conferencing: Video conferencing is an internet enabled electronic version of

face to face communication used by organisations for meeting, interviews or any other
interactions, without the need to change location or travel. It involves use of cameras for
images and phones for speech and sound communicated over the internet. As visual
communication also happens with audio, it requires natural speaking, positive body
language and active listening.
Unit summary
 Extempore-

Unit 4
 Conversation Skills.
 Starting conversations.
 DO’s and DON’T’s of conversations.
 Conversing with different people and in different situations.
 Closing conversations.
Introduction
Conversation is an art and an essential interpersonal skill that helps build a pleasing
personality. Effective communication helps in building relationships. It supports in
developing friendship and cooperation in social as well as professional circles. It is an
important part of socialisation.
Communication researchers suggest that communication style has more to do with whom we
talking to than who we are. Each person is capable of using different styles, depending on
the person they are conversing to and the situation that the person is in. Conversing with
people of same gender can differ from conversing with both men and women, conversing
with self, with strangers etc.
Hence there are different aspects to conversation and like any other form of communication;
conversations require a lot of effort, focus and practice. This unit will help us understand
those different aspects, the basics of conversation and as to how we can become good
conversationalist.
Communication skills are ranked FIRST among a job candidate’s “must have” skills and
qualities according to a 2010 survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and
Employers.
Conversation
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines conversation in the professional context as “an
informal discussion of an issue by representatives of governments, institutions or groups”
Longman dictionary of contemporary English defines conversation in the social context

which is the ordinary context of everyday life, as “an informal talk in which people exchange
views, feelings and thoughts”.
Conversations occur naturally and normally to most, but still there are times when one tends
to take for granted one’s ability to make conversation. Every time one opens one’s mouth to
speak, one reveal many aspects of oneself to others. This happens by not just what one
speaks, but how one speaks aswell. Conversation is a speech that happens informally for the

purpose of establishing social ties. The skills of a good conversationalist include knowing
how to speak as well listen.
Compared to other forms of oral communication such as debates, public speaking,

presentations or business discussions, conversation is more informal, in the sense that it is
not restricted by rules of formal behaviour and is relaxed and friendly. Conversation is not a
monologue, it’s a dialogue.
Starting conversations
Always begin conversations with greetings such as “good morning”, “ how are you “, “how
do you do”. “Nice morning, isn’t it” are utterances that do not carry any literal meaning as
such, however they help break the silence and initiate conversation. This is done not to
provoke disagreement but to bring in a shared feeling that can be instantly appreciated. With
each point of agreement, doubts about the new acquaintance wear away and possibility of
friendship increases. Small talk works as ice breakers and puts the people conversing to ease.
Example of how small talk can be started-

Scenario
Ajay Mehta a business man by profession wants to invest a few lacks into mutual funds, he
has called the branch manager of Syndicate Bank near his house and has requested him to
send someone to explain the various schemes and suggest amounts to be invested. Daniel
Jackson, a young energetic assistant manager who handles mutual fund clients has been
given the task of preparing an investment plan for Mr. Mehta, visits him to show him the
analysis done and gets his feedback.
Conversation
Daniel: “Good morning, Mr. Mehta, How have you been?”
Mr. Mehta: “Good morning, Daniel, Very well, thank you. Did you enjoy your weekend?”
Daniel: “Yes indeed sir, I met a couple of old friends and explored the beaches in Mangalore.
We had a good time. How was your weekend Sir?”
Mr. Mehta: “The beaches here are indeed nice. Yes I enjoyed my weekend too, found some
time to watch a couple of movies with family.”
Mr. Mehta: “Are you from Mangalore Daniel?”
Daniel: “No, I am from Noida Sir, But I like it very much here.”
Mr. Mehta: “Glad to hear that. Well now shall we get back to work, can I see the investment
plan you have drawn for me?”
Observations
The conversation has broken the ice between Mr. Mehta and Mr. Jackson and put both of
them at ease. It is increased the comfort level between them and bought about a certain
degree of trust between them. This would be the ideal environment for them to decide on an
investment plan together.

Tips to Start and end conversations
1. Be the first to say “Hello”.
2. Don’t wait to smile and shake hands when you meet someone.
3. Have two to three ideas to talk about while going to parties, functions or meets.
4. Make an effort to remember names of people and use them often.
5. Get the other person to speak by making some generic comment about the place or
location or any common open ended question. Example: if it is a wedding ask how he
or she knows the bride or groom, if it is a meet, ask if the person is visiting the city for
the first time.
6. Listen actively and show interest when someone is talking.
7. Maintain eye contact.
8. Have something interesting to talk. Keeping one updated with current events that can
help build good conversations.
Dos’ and Don’ts of conversation

The Dos’ and Don’ts of conversation are-
1. Spend unbroken time: It is essential to have time to indulge in meaningful conversation.
It is important to make time for meaningful conversation.
2. Listen more than speaking: It is important to listen more and speak less to be a good
conversationalist. This could be the reason that we are gifted with two ears and one
mouth. For conversation to be successful, listening is the most important of all skills. It
will take time and effort to be a good listener and as the general tendency is to do the
talking
3. Ask questions: Asking good open ended questions will encourage the other person to
talk more and thus making the conversation more interesting to both persons. Good
conversation skills are mastered when we learn to ask questions and listen attentively to
the answers.
4. Be less dominating: One should always try and resist from dominating the conversation.
Most of the time people are like boxers, waiting for the other person tol finish, so that
they can jump in with a quick verbal punch and take over the conversation. The art of
listening can be developed by those who can make the person speaking, feel they were
attentive and genuinely concerned and hence can be good conversationalists.
5. Use appropriate body language: Non-verbal signals such as a nod, smile, eye contact
and appropriate body posture also helps convey agreement to what the other person is
saying. It helps to convey total engagement in the conversation. A short pause of three
to five seconds in a conversation will help understand and also avoid running the risk of
interrupting others, in case they still want to continue talking.

6. Paraphrase the speaker’s words: Paraphrasing will indicate to the speaker that you are
paying attention and understanding his thoughts and feelings. This would make them feel
relaxed and happy and they would want to continue with the conversation.
7. Fluency while speaking: A good vocabulary along with good listening and regular
practice are essential attributes of a good conversationalist. Vocabulary can be improved
by reading good books.
8. Maintain right tone and tenor: Voice modulation and the right tone depending on the
topic of conversation is another essential aspect of effective conversation.
9. The three C’s: The key factor to become an effective conversationalist is to practice the
three C’s of friendship. They are care, courtesy and consideration. ‘People don’t care
how much you know until they know how much you care’. We can all come across as
good conversationalists if we can show the other person about how genuinely we care.
Another magic quality that makes people want you around them is courtesy. Respecting
people and being considerate towards them, will in turn make others be considerate
towards us.
10. Interpret signs and signals: People move their hands, legs, eyes and other parts of their
body or engage in non-verbal behaviour like frown, smile, nod etc. unconsciously while
conversing. These acts reflect their frame of mind and hence will help to understand
different aspects such as interest, boredom, urgency etc.
11. Exchange pleasantries: Greetings and pleasantries form a very important part of human
interaction. It sounds very abrupt and non-courteous if a conversation does not have any
greeting.
12. Use vivid and clear language: The desired impact from conversations is not felt if the
language employed is not clear, precise and vivid. If there is no clarity in what is being
conveyed, thoughts if not clear can confuse others and the entire conversation may turn
out to be futile.
13. Be concise: Avoid using lengthy and roundabout expressions while conversing, this may
take the conversation on to completely different route or even spoil the conversation.
Example-
Lengthy and roundabout expression Concise
On this day today, may I take this pleasure of I am pleased to inform all of you
informing all of you that our company that that or
values its customers the most has decided to. You will be pleased to know that

Last but not the least; I would like to suggest to Finally, I would like to suggest
all of you present here that... that
In the present moment of time.... At present...
14. Avoid abrupt ending: All conversations whether personal or professional has to start
appropriately, develop logically and end appropriately. The impact that was built
throughout the conversation may become useless if the conversation ends abruptly.
15. Identify cues and clues: Cue is a phrase or key word that the speaker uses to give an
indication to the listener that something is important to him or her. Clues are set of words
that someone else says or what we receive from other people.
16. To identify conversational clues-

a) Listen carefully when people use the words ’I’, ‘me’, or ‘my’. It indicates they are
speaking about themselves, the most important people in the world.
b) Secondly, listen to follow up comments about themselves with use of adjectives such
as pressured, disappointed, angry, worried, unhappy, excited, keen, inspired etc.
These are clues about the action that needs to be taken at the earliest. These words
indicate high energy levels.
c) Thirdly, listen to people when they express doubts and concerns that indicate they
are under pressure.
d) When words used suggest doubt or concern, it indicates the person has personal
problems. In such situations we need to talk to them and ask questions like what they
will do next, whom will they contact, what will they say etc. This approach will make
the person talk and consider options for action.
e) When there are natural pauses after others have said something, this is the time we
need to show the speaker our understanding of the issues raised by him by
sympathetically talking on those issues.
17. Avoid parallel conversation: Exploring facts, ideas, opinion and solution are the main
reasons people engage in conversations. Showing interest and listening to what the other
person has to say and asking appropriate questions in the beginning of the conversation,
when the goal is clearest, generally take the conversation in the right direction. But if
both parties just counter the original statement made by them, with another parallel
statement, the conversation may not reach any satisfying solution.
18. Practice sequential conversation: When two or more people are involved in a
conversation, they need to make statements that are in sequence with each other’s
statements with a logical link between them. The listener should listen to what is being
said and wait for an appropriate time to join the conversation and state his or her position
clearly. In this way by carrying the conversation forward in a connected and sequential
manner, ideas and thoughts can be developed in a short while with a structured pattern.

Sequential conversation is possible only when the listener reflects on what is been said
attaches some value to it and contributes to further exploration of the issue.
19. Reflect on what is being said: In a conversation people should learn to pick up cues and
reflect on their meaning carefully. For instance, if a person Aparna says to Archana “I
am tired of all this, I don’t think I am required in this organisation”, In this situation if
Archana reflects on what Aparna said and understands the frustration in her words, she
should be able to give Aparna a chance to express herself further by saying “You feel
your efforts are not recognised, what do you think can be done to change this?”. This
would give Aparna a chance to explore her feeling with more understanding and clarity.
One must always understand the underlying feeling between what is been said and then
respond by demonstrating empathy and understanding to the person. This will include
positive body language with words.
20. Speaker should have a sense of timing: The speaker should ensure that the words
spoken are planned judiciously to reach a properly evolved end. Pace of conversation
should not exceed 110 to 120 words per minute. Speaker should try not to speak very
fast or gloss over explanation. Speaker should try not to monopolise the conversation.
Conversation should be lively and participative to be meaningful.
21. Learn to be assertive not aggressive: At workplace, it is sometimes seen that being
assertive is perceived as being rude, hence understanding the skill of assertive
conversation is important. Assertive means being confident. Individuals can be assertive
by saying “no” in a positive and firm manner stating one’s point of view clearly without
hesitation. In business situations, if someone believes that a particular course of action
involves risk and danger and might have undesirable consequences that will hold the
individual responsible at a later date, it is always advisable to be assertive.
Conversing with different people

Conversations with different people need to be handled differently. Needless to say, the
topic, tone and method of speaking to a child and to an adult will be different. Following
points need to be considered while speaking to different people-
1. Age of the person.
2. Gender of the person.
3. Official position of the person.
4. Social standing of the person.
5. Cultural background of the person.
6. Professional position of the person.
7. Hobbies of the person.
8. Personal interest of the person.
9. Language inclinations of the person.

10. Frame of mind of the person.
Conversations in different situations

Conversational skills need to be applied for various situations. How an individual listens or
talks in different situations shows the extent to which the individual is able to exercise
conversational control. Unlike a conversation that is smooth and both parties are in accord
with each other, there would be circumstances where there will be distortion or
misunderstanding that will take the conversation in wrong direction. The skill of
conversation lies in realising the reasons for divergence, tensions and complications.
The three possible direction a conversation can move-

1. Away from the person.
2. Towards the person.
3. Against the person.
A skilled conversationalist should be able to judge in which direction the conversation is
moving and try to control the same with empathy and mutual understanding and agreement.
Charles J. Margerison in The Art of Effective Communication points out “Conversation

control does not mean you can control someone’s conversation. What it does mean is that
with practice you can control your own conversation, and in time be able to influence others
and encourage them to respond in a positive and relevant way”
In a banking scenario following are the situations where effective conversation skills are
useful-
1. Objection handling with customers.
2. At meetings, while interacting with people in a convincing way.
3. During interviews.
4. While reacting to criticism in a confident manner.
5. While learning to get correct information quickly.
Key conversation skills required to manage various situations-

1. Manage disagreement and rejection: Disagreement and rejection tend to disturb a
person’s cool. In such circumstances it is important to be patient and understanding and
try persuade the other party in favour of your argument by giving specific reasons for
disagreement. Negative responses need to be handled with a positive mind in the
following ways-
a) Convey that you do not doubt the positive intentions of the other person.
b) Do not use negative expressions while conversing, example, instead of saying “you
do not know” try “Perhaps, you know ......” using the phrase “perhaps” suggests
possibility but not certainty.
c) Assure the other person that you share their concerns and keep their concerns in mind.

d) Avoid completely rejecting the other person’s argument. Use expressions like “you
are right about that, but....”
e) When confronted with rejection try not to get angry, desperate or frustrated as
emotional reactions affect ability to convince logically.
2. Control aggressive communication: When a person is charged with negative feelings,

it is quite natural that he attacks back verbally to the person. But if the person opposite
is supervisor, customer or client it is necessary to control response as long term career
interest is at stake. Moreover, in business situations, rudeness, abusive language and
discourtesy should always be avoided, whatever be the reason for provocation. It is
always better to change the direction of conversation if possible and answer emotion with
cool facts in a level tone. Another way to respond is to listen to the person thoughtfully
so that the person knows that he is being heard. Hence, being calm, understanding and
rational is the best way to tackle such situations.
3. To handle stressful conversation at work: Most often, managers may find themselves
in conversations that involve unfortunate circumstances. These conversations carry a lot
of emotional load and can lead to embarrassment, confusion, anxiety, fear, pain or anger.
a) Difficult conversation can be improved if they are approached with greater self-
awareness and apply proven communication techniques. We can make stressful
conversation succeed by keeping in mind clarity, neutrality (tone) and temperance.
b) Clarity means letting the words do the work for us. If a message is put across skilfully,
irrespective of the fact that it is bad news, the content may still be tolerable. For
instance if an employee is directly told by supervisor that the promotion has gone to
someone else, the reaction could be disappointment, anger or anxiety. However, if
the content is clear and explained tactfully it will ease the burden substantially.
c) Another aspect that will help is the non-verbal aspect that is facial expressions,
conscious and unconscious body language. A neutral tone is the best thing to use
when a conversation turns stressful although it is difficult to have a neutral tone when
overcome by emotions.
d) Temperate phrasing of words is the final element that will help face stressful
conversations. (“If you don’t do the recovery by 3 pm today, I will have to call the
police” is an example of intemperate phrase).
4. To handle argumentative conversations: When we continue to oppose the comments

of listeners, there is a risk of making them feel wrong, stupid or uninformed. Regardless
of the intention, an argumentative communicator should be aware that his or her
communication efforts may be perceived as a fight. Hence the best way to deal with
argumentative communicator is to-
a) Suggest the person that, you do not enjoy arguing, but you are ready to discuss option
and ideas.
b) Inform the person that you would not like to continue discussing the subject because
it is personal.

c) Suggest politely to the person to frame his or her comments and views in a gentle
fashion.
d) For instance ‘I know you are not saying this to attack me, but it hurts when you talk
like that’ or ‘instead of yelling, can we sit calmly and talk this out’ or ‘Will you take
a seat please, let’s sit and talk peacefully, I am sure there is a solution to every issue’.
5. Conversations at meetings: Very often at meetings we hear “We are drifting away from
the topic” or “let’s stick to the agenda”. A carefully prepared agenda is the first thing that
needs to be done to control conversations at meetings. The agenda needs to be circulated
well in advance to enable attendees to understand the issues, read supporting papers and
prepare their view points. Agenda helps provide cue to the discussion and also allot time
for discussing each item well in advance.
Closing conversations
Summarising is the best form of expressing comprehension. Summarising is not repeating
what someone has said; it is about picking the central thought and requires a lot of practice.
In a written communication the entire document can be re-read when required and the logical
relationship between ideas can be understood to arrive at a proper conclusion.
Oral communication involves recognising cues and clues during the course of
communication and making them the basis of the considered response. It is process of mental
abstraction of the most central idea in the argument. It is important to close a conversation
with greetings and fixing the next time and point of contact.
Conversation is a very important form of oral conversation. For oral conversation to be

successful it is necessary to convey and understand the other persons point. The prime
requirement of a skilful conversation is that the other person is assured to have understood
the facts presented, whether there is agreement or disagreement.
It is necessary to analyse and evaluate what the other person has said before responding, and
hence the emphasis on being a good listener. Listening will help comprehend facts in terms
of its importance for the other person.
All skills of oral communication, whether the ability to speak personally, face to face,
meetings or presentations, depends on the key skill of conversation and controlling the same
which enables one to receive and understand the true meaning of the other person.
Unit summary
 Extempore-


CUSTOMER ORIENTATION
Unit 5
 Image Building.
 Grooming.
 Social etiquette.
Introduction
An important factor that contributes to a large extent to the success of both individuals and
organisations is the ‘Image’ of the entity. Image is nothing but what is perceived of an entity,
by the self and by outsiders. Building our brand image is vital in the business world today as
this is an important aspect that helps shape our self-confidence and our career on the road to
success. With the surge of social media, we have not only the ability, but we now have to
manage our own reputation, both online and in real life.
In this unit, learners will understand the importance of “Image”, factors that contribute
towards a good image and the consequences of a good image.
Image building
The term “Image” refers to how a person/entity is seen - seen by the self and by others. Image
building is a process wherein an individual/entity tries to visualize an “Image” of the self, or
in other words how the individual/entity would want to be seen by others and by the self and
strives towards making and keeping this “Image”.
Image can be of three types-

 Image resulting from how the individual sees himself or herself, the Self- image.
 Image resulting from how others see the individual.
 Image resulting from how the individual perceives others see him or her.
There are four factors that contribute towards an “Image” that is perceived and seen both by
the self and by others-
 Grooming: Appearance, body language, clothing attire and overall posture.
 Social etiquette: Personality, behaviour, communication skills and attitude toward
people.
 Professional outlook: The way one handles ones professional life.
 Differentiation: What separates us from others and leaves a lasting memory in the minds
of others.

Grooming
Grooming means feeling and looking our best. Grooming includes taking care of oneself and
the articles one wears and the items one carries on oneself. Grooming consists of basic
guidelines about looking and feeling confident and being hygienic. Grooming is the process
of making one look neat and attractive.
Importance of Grooming
Clothes and manners do not make the man; but, when he is made, they greatly improve his
appearance. This first impression is critical, not only with employment, but also in our social
life. On meeting a person for the first time, in just a few seconds with a brief glance, an
unfamiliar person evaluates the other person based on his appearance.
It is important to identify, enhance and integrate the importance of the elements that create
a positive impact into our personal brand. By strengthening these elements, the “Image” is
to a large extent built. This can be further augmented by our behaviour.
Being well groomed influences the opinions of people around us and this is further
strengthened by our professionalism, intelligence and behaviour.
Grooming includes-
 Personal hygiene.
 Dressing sense.
We will discuss each of these for men and women as they differ with the gender of the
person. It also differs with the age and position of the person.
Grooming for men

Personal hygiene and dressing sense, which influence the image of men and women, are
different and some such areas are given below.
A. Personal hygiene
Key areas of personal hygiene are-
Hair
 Wash hair regularly, at least twice a week.
 Hair should be neatly combed and appropriately trimmed at a style that can be
maintained.
 Avoid fancy hairstyles like spikes, long hair or straightened hair.
 Use natural hair colours and avoid streaking.
 Hair sprays, hair oil or gels with strong odour to be avoided.
 Facial hair should be neatly trimmed (moustache, sideburns), beards are not
recommended.
 Shave regularly to office.

 Avoid fancy big moustaches.
Nails
 Clip nails short, along their shape.
 A healthy body ensures healthy nails.
 Brittle or discoloured nails show up deficiencies or disease conditions
 Keep hands and nails clean at all times, as hands are used for many non- verbal
gestures.
Teeth
 Brush teeth twice a day and rinse well after every meal.
 Be aware of bad breath, if so, use mouth freshener often.
 Rinse mouth after every meal.
 For those who smoke it is important you rinse your mouth after every smoke and use a
mouth freshener.
Face
 Clean shaven (except for religious requirements).
 Well-trimmed moustache.
 Clean and white teeth.
Body
 Use mild deodorants or perfumes regularly at office during breaks.
Hands
 Wash regularly with soap after all meals.
 No marks or stains.
B. Dressing sense
Key aspects of dressing are-
Shirt
 Always wear well washed and ironed.
 Light colours like white, blue, cream etc. are ideal.
 Avoid rolling up of shirt sleeves during banking hours.
 Always ensure to button the shirt collar and cuffs at all times during office hours.
 Avoid stuffing pockets with things that will make it look bulky, for instance heavy
wallet, visiting cards, mobile phones etc.
 Always wear ID cards.
 Avoid keeping pens in the shirt pocket as the same could leak.
Trousers
 Ensure trousers are washed and ironed.

 Colours that match the shirt preferably dark colours like blue and black.
 Trousers need to fit well and should be of appropriate length.
 Avoid stuffing trouser pockets that will distort shape of the trousers.
Tie
 Tie adds on to the corporate look and demands respect.
 Tie needs to be worn properly not too loose or tight and should not be too long or short
either.
 The tip of the tie should touch the top of the trouser waistband.
 The collar button needs to be closed while wearing a tie.
Belt
 A belt is an integral part of corporate attire and must be worn every day.
 The belt should be of leather and always match the colour of the shoes.
 Ensure that the belt and buckle are not worn out and are of the right shape and size.
 Avoid wearing belts with fancy buckle.
Shoes
 Conservative shoes with lace are the most appropriate.
 Shoes should be in good condition and polished.
 Wear polished and clean shoes.
 Preferably wear black, dark brown or burgundy leather shoes to office. During
monsoons, shoes can be worn of material other than leather, however is should be black.
 Attire does not look formal with sports shoes, floaters or sneakers, hence has to be strictly
avoided.
 Shoe colour should match with the trouser.
Socks
 Socks should match the shoes colour.
 Should be much above the ankle and should not reveal bare skin.
 Socks need to be washed every day.
 Do not wear white socks.
Watch
 Wear Smart and simple watches.
 Avoid athletic, coloured straps or sports watches.
 Black leather or steel strap watches are preferred.
 Avoid large and flashy dials.
Accessories
 Accessories include watch, ring, and handkerchief.
 Wear minimal accessories to office.

 Avoid wearing multiple rings.
 Avoid Ear piercing or studs.
 Avoid flashy bracelets and necklaces.
 Avoid wearing coloured or fancy spectacles.
 Tattoos should never be visible.
 Avoid wearing flashy chains with huge pendant; in case a chain is worn avoid
displaying the same.
 Turban can be worn as per religious customs, however stick to dark colours such as
black and navy blue.
 Wear your id card at all times.
Grooming for women

Personal hygiene and Dressing sense, which influence the image of men and women, are
different and are as given below.
A. Personal hygiene
Key areas of personal hygiene are-
Hair
 Tie hair in a neat hairstyle with hair pulled back from face.
 Hair can be maintained better if trimmed once in every 2 months.
 Hair should be well groomed with a neat appearance at all times.
 Hair holding devices should be plain and of natural colours.
 Perms and other funky hair styles to be avoided.
 Long hair to be tied up in a single plait or French braid or bun.
 Hair should not be falling over eyes and face.
 Avoid using excessive hair oil or use of hair sprays and gels with strong odour.
 Hair colours used should be of natural colours not shocking colours like red, orange or
yellow.
 Flowers in hair will definitely not go with a professional look.
Face
 Eyebrows should be neat and well-shaped.
 Skin should be well cared for.
 Facial hair should be bleached or removed regularly.
Hands
 Hands should always be clean and well- manicured.
 Henna designs should be avoided.
 Nails should be well shaped with a light to medium color application of nail polish.
Feet

 Heels should appear clean and uncracked.
 Toe nails should be well shaped.
 Low/high heeled shoes or sandals.
 Shoes and sandals should be in good condition.
Make up
 Light basic makeup is a must for office wear.
 Makeup should be natural looking and subtle.
 Use good branded makeup to avoid allergies and rashes.
 Nail polish and lip colour should not be too trendy or bright.
 Mild fragrance.
 Avoid using heavy or shiny face and eye make-up.
 Looking best at working hours is essential hence keep re-doing makeup and hair at
regular intervals.
 Use only black eye liners.
 Avoid bright lipstick colours, preferably use light shades or shades of brown.
Nails
 Keep nails clean.
 Use natural nail colours.
 Avoid nail art.
B. Dressing sense
Key aspects of dressing are-
Saris
 Preferably wear cotton or synthetic simple saris.
 Sari should be ironed, draped well and should look comfortable.
 Pallu should be neatly pleated over the shoulder and pinned.
 Basic jewellery looks good with sari but should not be overdone.
 Saris should be worn long enough and should not be short making the feet visible.
 Fancy and zari saris to be avoided.
Salwar Kameez
 Salwar kameez should be simple without much of glitter.
 Salwar kameez should be of proper fit and not too tight or loose.
 Strictly avoid wearing sleeveless salwars.
 Avoid fancy salwars.
 Duppatta to be draped neatly across both shoulders.
Footwear
 Foot wear should be clean and well-polished.
 Black closed toe shoes preferably with trousers, socks to be matching the shoe colour.

 Open footwear could be worn with sari and salwar kameez.
 Avoid heels above one and half inches like stiletto heels.
 Avoid wearing worn out footwear.
Accessories
 Jewellery should be kept minimal and simple.
 Remove all facial piercing except earrings
 The 5 Piece Rule: Wear only 5 accessories - earrings count as 2; watch counts as 3,
allowing 2 additional accessories.
 Avoid wearing bold and hanging earrings.
 Avoid flashy bracelets and coloured bangles.
 Do not wear jingling anklets.
 Avoid wearing more than 2 finger rings and flashy nose rings.
 Spectacles worn should look smart and suit the face.
 Avoid coloured contact lenses.
 Avoid visible tattoos.
 Keep watches simple with leather or steel strap and avoid fancy ones.
In addition to grooming self, behaviour in society enhances ones “Image”.
Social etiquette
Etiquette refers to standards that govern socially acceptable behaviour in a given situation.
It is something that distinguishes human beings from animals. Etiquette is about behaving in
an acceptable manner and being considerate towards others. Social norms for personal and
professional behaviour are changing with times, however it does not mean that etiquette
needs to be forgotten. Organisation is all about people, and there is no shortage for reliable
and competent people in the business world today and manners can make a huge difference.
Basic social etiquette is a must in a business environment.
The importance of social etiquette can be seen from the following-

 Technical skills can help get a job, but it is etiquette and soft skills that will help to keep
climbing the ladder of success.
 People often speak about good manners as an accomplishment; instead one should speak
of them as duty.
 Goodwill, kindness and politeness are laws that every individual should observe, as it
promotes both beauty and gentleness in the person who possesses it.
Need for etiquette

 Etiquette speaks a lot about one’s personality.
 Etiquette enables individuals to earn respect and appreciation in society.
 Etiquette helps individual to value relationships.

 Etiquette helps create the first impression.
 Etiquette helps to interact with colleagues, friends and family in a better way.
 Etiquette teaches to talk, walk and behave in society.
 Etiquette changes a person into a cultured individual.
Key factors that contribute towards good social etiquette

1. Respect people around you
No matter how old people are, what position they hold, what job function they do or what
skill they possess, every individual expects to be respected. A true professional treats
others with respect and expects the same from them. It does not mean that we need to let
others step on us but it does mean showing concern for their feelings.
2. Introduce others
Whenever an opportunity arises introduce people to others, unless it is known that they
are already acquainted. It helps breaks barriers between genders and age groups and also
gives a feeling of being valued, regardless of status or position. Introducing others shows
that the person is etiquette savvy and helps to build contacts. When meeting people for
the first time, always address them by formal name, unless they were introduced by first
name or they have asked to be addressed by first name. It gives a professional approach
and exhibits respect.
Key aspects-
a) Proper introductions help to establish good rapport when meeting people.
b) Authority needs to be given importance. Say the name of the most important person
first and then the name of the person being introduced.
c) One can introduce people in the following order:
d) younger to older
e) non-official to official
f) junior executive to senior executive
g) colleague to customer
h) Keep the introduction basic.
i) Remember names for future reference.
j) Provide some information about the people you are introducing to clarify your
relationship with that person.
k) Always carry business cards.
3. A handshake - The professional standard

Be the first to shake hands with people and look at the person in the eye when you shake
hands. This simple gesture of handshake demonstrates that the person is courteous,
polite, confident and approachable, and also sets the tone for any potential future
professional relationship. Sometimes in casual work atmosphere, we might just try to
suffice with a nod or a hello, but it is worth to make the extra effort to offer a hand shake.
This act of courtesy goes a long way in making sure all people work well together.
Key aspects of a handshake-

a) Develop a comfortable handshake and keep it consistent.
b) Hand shake should be firm and not too hard or too soft.
c) Make a solid connection of the web skin between the thumb and forefinger.
d) A good handshake says “Welcome, I am open to engage in conversation with you”
e) The host or person with the most authority usually initiates the handshake.
f) Work on your handshake, a limp handshake can show lack of confidence.
4. Build eye contact

Eye contact is one more critical factor when we meet people. Eye contact increases trust.
It also shows confidence and good interpersonal skills. Eye contact shows respect for the
person and the business situation.
5. Use the golden words “Please” and “Thank you”

These words of courtesy help people understand that whatever they have done, or what
they can do has been appreciated. Forgetting to use these words shows lack of concern
and appreciation for others. Even a thank you by e-mail is well appreciated. For instance,
say thank you when someone hold or opens the door for you.
6. Never interrupt people

In casual work atmosphere, basic courtesy is always forgotten and interruption is quite
common. People are so eager to offer their opinions that they interrupt others mid-way.
Never attempt interrupting others when someone is trying to make an important point or
is addressing a group. It is very difficult task to stay away from interrupting others,
especially when the discussion is heated. Interrupting when others are speaking is rude
and shows disrespect for the opinions of others. It is all about being assertive, not
aggressive. Walking uninvited into someone’s office or walking into a colleague’s cabin
or cubicle without knocking when they are busy are interruptions we need to consciously
avoid. It is always ideal to call, email and schedule a good time to meet.
7. Kindness
One is wrong if he thinks that kindness is not necessary in today’s work environment. It
is one of the most important skills. Help others whenever possible, extend a helping hand
towards juniors or subordinates rather than bullying them.
8. Value time
Value other people’s time by being punctual. Being late is being inconsiderate.
9. Avoid gossip
Would you like someone to gossip about you? It is difficult at times to resist engaging in
a little “harmless” gossip, but it reflects poorly on the person engaged in gossip. It is
human tendency to be curious and interested in what other people are doing, but talking
about someone in his or her absence is disrespectful. Stay away from spreading rumours
or for that matter do not encourage rumours. One should always keep gossip to
themselves.
10. Avoid eavesdropping

Each individual is entitled to private conversations, in person or over the phone. Give
each individual their space as we expect space for ourselves. It is rude to eavesdrop. The
same goes for e-mail; do not stand over someone’s shoulder and read their e-mails.
11. Stay out of office politics and religion

Do not encourage or indulge yourself in any politics or religion at workplace as it is
against the norms of etiquettes. Leave them at the office door.
12. Maintain integrity at all times

Work with integrity for trust is fragile and can be broken easily. One should not get
involved in false practices that would lead to repenting later. If a promise cannot be
fulfilled, be prepared to make amendments and set things right. Integrity need to be kept
in mind while handling customers also. Customers rely on our expertise and knowledge,
hence do not mislead or cheat customers. Be honest and helpful towards them.
13. Acknowledge others

Acknowledge others presence when they are approaching you. If one is in the middle of
some important work and doesn’t have time to talk, it is fine to ask them to wait for a
minute. If you pass someone in the hallway or on the street, and is busy, at least wave a
hand and say hello.
14. Mind your language

One should choose words wisely in a professional atmosphere as well as in public. Rude
or offensive language is unacceptable, and so is slang. Using derogatory or obscene
language will not help put across points. Talk like a professional.
15. Choose your company

We can always choose the people with whom we would want to associate, the people in
whose company we want to be with. It is always great fun creating a group with friends,
cracking jokes and speaking loudly but it could create wrong impression on others.
Moreover office is a place to get work done and not be boisterous.
16. Socialising at office parties

It is important to remember at parties that we are surrounded by co-workers, supervisors,
and subordinates, so it should be ensured that alcohol consumption is to a minimum.
What we say or how we act can affect our job. In case one does not socially drink alcohol
then it is fine to stick to soft drink or juice.
17. Use visiting cards appropriately

Hand over visiting cards with both hands and ensure that the name on the card is visible
or facing the person to whom it is been handed over. Do not hand out cards too freely so
as not to seem desperate for a new job or too much of self-promoting.
18. Ensure high productivity levels

Do not waste time in office by playing games or sitting idle. Office pays people to work.
19. Practice gender equality

Be sensitive towards female colleagues. Leave gender out of equation be it with co
workers, subordinates or peers. Stay away from dirty jokes, off colour remarks and

certain private matters. Allow equal opportunities to female colleagues acknowledge
their contribution and do not discriminate against them. Do not tolerate or encourage any
sexual harassment at workplace instead speak out against it.
20. Handle office equipment with care

Handle all office equipment carefully; it is there to make work easier. Misuse will lead
to breakdown affecting our productivity. Avoid using any office equipment for personal
work as we need to respect the trust the employer has placed in us.
21. Avoid using phone during meetings or discussions

It is annoying and disrespectful to take calls, text or check email while in meetings or
important discussions. Such behaviour might make meetings take longer time and also
could lead to participants losing focus.
22. Other Social etiquette in public

a) Avoid talking while driving or crossing road.
b) Avoid smoking in public.
c) Wear headphones while listening to music in public.
d) Make seat for ladies, disabled persons and children while travelling in bus and train.
e) Talk quietly.
f) Avoid spitting in public places.
g) Do not pick your nose in open.
h) Use tissue or napkin while sneezing or coughing in public places.
i) Do not talk behind others back.
j) Do not point fingers at others.
23. It is all about attitude

Attitude is a decision we need to make.
Besides grooming and social etiquette, professional outlook contributes to a large extent
towards “Image Building”.
Case study
Go through the scenario given below and analyse the situation.
Austin is working as a clerk in a bank at Pune branch. Austin is good at his work however
he does only what he is told to do, no more and no less.
One day, one of Austin’s colleagues knocked over the desk at office and all the display
brochures and stationery got scattered all over the floor. Austin colleague also tripped and
fell over. At the time, Austin was working at the desk close by and witnessed the whole
incident. However, he just ignored the scattered boxes as well as his colleague who needed
help. Austin left his workstation to tell others what had happened.

Later the same day, Austin was taking stock of inventories at branch. The item he was
stocking belonged in another part of the safe. A colleague trying to help Austin told him he
was making a mistake. Austin insisted he was right and started an argument with him to
prove his point.
One night when Austin was leaving for home from office, he overhears a personal
conversation between two colleagues and his supervisor. Austin hears the entire conversation
hiding behind the door and the next morning, he tells everyone what he had heard. The entire
bank is now talking about what Austin told them.
When Austin’s supervisor found out what had happened, He calls Austin into his office for
a meeting.
Questions
1. Does Austin have a good attitude toward work? Why or why not?
2. If you were the colleague who knocked over the display brochures and is unable to get
up, what would you have said to Austin?
3. Was Austin right in arguing with his colleague? What could Austin have done
differently?
4. Was Austin right? Should he have discussed the personal matter with others? What will
others think of Austin?
5. How do you think his boss handled the situation? What do you think was said to Austin?
6. If you were one of Austin’s colleagues, what advice would you give him?
7. If you were his supervisor, what could you do to help him become a better employee?
8. Does Austin display good professional outlook?
Professional outlook
Professional outlook is all about taking rational decisions that would benefit the individual
as well as the organisation as a whole.
During our working life we may come across different jobs, each requiring a different level
or set of skills. Irrespective of the industry – from customer service to an office job to
construction and the trades – all of these jobs have one thing in common: in order to succeed
and move ahead, one needs to demonstrate professionalism. Professionalism does not mean
wearing a suit or carrying a briefcase; rather, it means conducting oneself with responsibility,
integrity, accountability, and excellence. It means communicating effectively and
appropriately and always finding a way to be productive.
Professionalism is all about conforming oneself to technical and ethical standards of his or
her profession. Professionalism needs to be exhibited in all ways, be it in dealing with
customers, pees, superiors or subordinates.

Advantages of exhibiting professionalism-
 It reflects positively on customers and helps win their trust and confidence resulting
towards better productivity and sales.
 Employers will consider the individual as an asset.
Key aspects that contribute towards a great professional outlook

1. Be Competent: Develop the skills and knowledge that will enable to do well in the job.
Be good at what you do. No one is perfect, but by striving towards perfection, one can
become excellent.
2. Be Reliable: Be punctual and proactive. Do not engage in any risky behaviour outside
workplace.
3. Be Honest: Be upfront about where things stand and avoid telling lies. Uphold ethics of
the profession.
4. Integrity: Be known for your consistent principles. One should be always be looked
upon for his or her integrity.
5. Respect Others: Treat all people as if they matter.
6. Upgrade your skills: Always look at ways of upgrading or enhancing skills rather than
letting skills or knowledge become outdated. Seek out resources to remain competent.
7. Be Positive: No one likes a constant pessimist. It makes a big difference to others if one
tries to be a problem solver and has an upbeat attitude.
8. Be supportive: Take time to show others how to do things right, and lend an ear when
necessary. Share your spotlight with colleagues. Have the best interest of others at heart.
9. Be work focused: Avoid spending time at work on personal matters, do not let personal
matters impact your job.
10. Listen Carefully: Give others a chance to be heard.
11. Keep social etiquettes in mind: Follow social etiquette, as right etiquette demonstrates
professionalism.
12. A good professional outlook is one, where:

a) A professional is always positive, focused, and energetic
b) A true professional radiates competence and confidence.
c) A professional keeps his/her personal business personal.

d) A professional avoids engaging in gossip or rumours.
e) A thorough professional is one who exhibits self-confidence.
Self confidence
Faith and trust in anything is confidence, faith and trust in oneself is self-confidence. Self-
confidence is the foundation to success. Secret to success lies in the art of gaining confidence
of others, and only confident people can inspire confidence in others, be it your friends,
peers, subordinates, superiors, customers etc.
Self-confidence can be developed and worked upon. Self-confidence is exhibited in a lot of

ways - body language, the way one speaks, what one speaks and so on. Low confidence can
be destructive and is filled with negative thoughts and opinions. A sense of worth and self-
confidence comes when there is belief in oneself.
Self-confidence lies between the two extremes of over confidence and low confidence. Over
confident people take too much risk and people who lack in confidence are too scared to try
anything. Balance lies in having the right amount of confidence that can be founded in reality
and true ability. With the right amount of self-confidence, people can take informed risks,
stretch themselves moderately and try hard.
The difference between people who exhibit self-confidence from those who show low
confidence is given below.
Exhibits self confidence Exhibits low confidence
Doing what you believe in is right Taking decision based on what others
despite of criticism from others. think.
Ready to go the extra mile and open to Avoid taking risk with fear of failure.
taking risk. Hence prefer staying in comfort zone.
Accepting compliments graciously Offhandedly dismissing compliments
“Thank you so much”, “I am happy you “Oh that was nothing, anyone could have
appreciate my work”. done it”.
Admitting mistakes and learning from Tries to cover up mistakes hoping nobody
them. would know by then.
There are two key factors that contribute towards self-confidence-

1. Self-Efficacy: When one masters skills and achieve the goals set, there comes a sense of
accomplishment amongst us. We begin to feel confident that if we try to work hard then
we can succeed, and this confidence leads to accepting difficult challenges and sail
through hardships.
2. Self Esteem: Self-esteem is a person's overall sense of self-worth or personal value. It
comes from a feeling that people around us approve and appreciate our work. It gives a
feeling of being competent at what we do.

Building self confidence
Building self-confidence will also build success. Self-confidence need not be inherited but
can be built by persistently setting and achieving goals.
Steps to build self confidence

1. Take a stock of the present and prepare yourself: The first step is to prepare for the
journey towards self-confidence. Prepare for change, commit to achieving the set goal
and stay with it.
a) Pen down your success: Write down ten things that one has achieved so far, some
prize one might have won or did something that made a difference in the life of others
or topped in exams. This success list when written down can motivate a person to do
even better and also increase self-worth.
b) Do a SWOT analysis: A person’s strengths and weakness as identified by friends
are to be written down. From these also think about the opportunities and threats you
face. Spend some time reflecting on the strengths and look at ways to overcome
weakness.
c) Set specific goals: Set goals that will help exploit strengths, minimize weaknesses,
realize opportunities, and control the threats faced.
d) Manage the mind: One has to think rationally, and not let negative thoughts come
to one’s mind and discard all negativity. At the end of each day reflect on what has
been achieved and forget and forgive if something has not gone right. Imagine and
create strong mental images of how one feels when ones goals are achieved. By doing
this major goals will seem achievable.
e) Commit towards achieving goals: Make a promise to be committed towards
accomplishing set goals.
2. Build knowledge needed to excel: Identify the skills needed to achieve the goals and
look at ways to acquire those skills. It could be a program or a certification course that
will help you achieve your goal. Ideally, go for a certification course or qualification you
can be proud of. Do not get into anything very elaborate or strive for perfection, just start
with simple basic things.
a) With the goals identified in step 1, start by setting small goals; don’t make goals that
are challenging at this point. Set small goals, achieve and celebrate them. Little by
little you can pile up your success.
b) Learn to handle failures and accept mistakes. Everyone learns from mistakes. In fact,
the habit of treating mistakes as a learning experience, will help to start seeing
mistakes in a positive light.
3. Accelerate towards success: At this stage one can feel ones self-confidence building.
With some new skills learnt there is more confidence and more success to celebrate. Start
stretching yourself a little more. Set bigger goals, learn to face tougher challenges. This
is where people tend to get over-confident and overstretch themselves. Keep yourself
grounded. Remember self-confidence lies in the balance.

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope
and confidence”
Tips to boost self confidence

1. Think positively about yourself.
2. Set realistic goals
3. Reward/praise yourself when you DO well.
4. Be aware of your thoughts.
5. Think logically about the situation, DON’T react
6. Dwell on your strengths.
7. Do not attribute your achievement and accomplishments only to luck. Give yourself
credit for your own personal achievement.
8. Learn to be assertive.
Needless to say, Image building with improvement in the self and the way one behave with
others will go a long way in paving for success and more self-improvement and self-
confidence.
Unit summary
 Image Building.
 Grooming.
 Social etiquette.

Unit 6
 Customer service – Need and Importance.
 Customer service in Banks.
Introduction
In the module, so far learners have learnt the concept and importance of communication and
image building. The objective of any organisation is profit oriented and this means the
organisation needs customers to whom it can sell its products or services. Without takers for
its products or services an organisation becomes redundant.
This unit will help learners understand the need, importance and effective way of giving
customers service.
Customer service
In the words of Mr. M. K. Gandhi, the father of our nation “A customer is the most important
visitor on our premises; he is not dependent on us. He is the purpose of it. He is not an
outsider in our business. He is part of it. We are not doing him a favour by serving him. He
is doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so.”
Key points to be noted-

 A customer is a person who has an account with the bank and whose dealings with the
bank are in the nature of banking business.
 A person, not having a bank account, but availing ancillary services from bank like
purchasing a draft, remitting money, hiring a locker cannot be strictly termed as customer
since such “dealings are casual dealings and are not in the nature of banking business”.
 A customer can be a person, or any legal entity.
Customer service has got two dimensions

 For benefiting customers: To ensure that customers are taken care in a positive manner
that has been promised and ensure the customer experience exceeds expectations.
 For benefiting Bank: To gain competitive advantage resulting into better productivity
and profits and hence maximising total value of the customer.
Customer service is all about focusing the systems, people, processes, facilities and
information towards meeting the customer's needs and building lasting relationships.
Customer service plays an important role in an organisation’s ability to generate income and

revenue. A customer service experience can change the entire perception a customer has of
the organisation. Good customer service is the life blood of any organisation.
In order to give good customer service, it is important to know customer expectations.
Customer expectations
A Customer who looks for a product or service expects-
 Accuracy.
 Friendliness.
 Timeliness.
 Efficiency.
 Courtesy.
 Honesty.
Statistics has it that most customers are lost or leave because of bad customer service. Out
of the entire customers lost-
 1 percent dies.
 3 percent move away.
 9 percent go away for cheaper prices.
 19 percent are chronic customers.
 68 percent leave due to bad service.
From the above, the need for customer service can be clearly understood.
Importance of customer service

 Increases profits and reduces costs, wastage, and complaints.
 Reduces staff stress (and therefore attrition) as services and relationships improve.
 Enables instant market research.
 Customers stay on longer.
 Referrals to new customers increase from satisfied customers.
 Demand reduces fire-fighting and trouble-shooting staff, and improves organization's
service flows.
 Teams work more efficiently and more happily.
The following analogy depicts customer service at different levels.

Good Customer Service
What customer expects What customer gets
Bad customer service

Excellent customer service

+
Types of customers
Customers are of two types-
 Internal—colleagues within the branch.
 External—account holders and people who come for some specific service.
Internal customers are colleagues within the branch or bank. Due to departmentalisation
there is a need for cooperation and use of services of various departments in the same
organisation on a day to day basis. Needless to say, for the smooth functioning of an
organisation and more so of a bank, it is essential to have good inter personal relationship
within the organisation, an internal customer also needs to be handled with care, as the
internal customer also is looking for some service. It is important to remember here, that

with internal customers, it should always be a give and take policy and the fact that when
one expects service could be in a position to give service on some other occasion.
However, internal customers are not as diverse as external customers.
External customers are customers who are looking for some service and come to us only
for such service. The service could be varied as already mentioned above. Whatever may be
the nature of the service required, external customers need to be identified and serviced
accordingly.
Identifying different types of customer

Type of Customer How to identify Handling methods
Knowledgeable  Demands for  Have a rational approach with
customer clarification and actual facts and figures.
answers before  Listen carefully to their tone and
agreeing to a product. their remarks will tell you more
 Aware of most than the actual words.
financial products,  Have knowledge of all products
services and processes. and services of your bank.
 Clear about needs.  In case you are not aware of a
product or process, promise to get
back.
 Convince on technical grounds.
Business minded  Speaks to the point.  Make a good impression.
customer  Has limited time on  Handle professionally.
hand.  Be brief and precise in giving
 Does not deviate from information.
the subject discussed.  Ensure his time is valued.
 No nonsense type.  In case a transaction is going to
 Relies more on figures take time, inform the customer
rather than and ask him to come later or get
commitments. the required delivered to him.
Friendly  Affectionate and  Be friendly with them.
customer helpful.  Allow him to speak, however
 Humorous. ensure the conversation gets back
 Loves to talk a lot, most to business without hurting their
of the time anything feelings.
apart from business.  Can use his friendly nature to get
 Always smiles and more leads of fresh customers as
wishes pleasantries. these customers are always
willing to share their contacts.

 Believe that being nice
will get them good
service.
Shy or fearful or  Takes time to decide.  Needs constant reassurance.
timid customer  Insecure.  Show interest in them.
 Look for more safety.  Smile and use their name often.
 Are conservative.  Need to do lot of follow up with
 Finds it difficult to such customers as they do not
explain problems. decide things easily.
 Vague.  They need to be assured time and
again that they have taken a right
decision of banking with us.
Egoistic  Keeps praising  Give personalised service.
themselves.  Be patient.
 They feel the bank runs  Maintain eye contact.
because of them.  Acknowledge their achievements
 Very aggressive and at and give personalised service.
times offensive.  Boost their ego.
 Tells problems to  Praise them, these customers can
anyone who lends a ear. give you potential business
provided they feel important.
Ignorant  They get confused fast  Probe and find out their needs.
customers if too much of  Show them that you are there to
information is given. help.
 Do not have much  Show concern.
knowledge of the  Summarize your understanding.
industry and services.  Do not use any abbreviations.
 Not clear of their  Confirm resolution.
requirements or how
you can help.
 Anxious.
Customer service-skills
Customer service is vital for procurement and to retain customers, without which an
organisation cannot reach organisational goals. Every organisation recognises this and
invests in recruiting staff that are customer oriented and further invest in skilling staff on
customer service.
Skills required for good customer service-

 Attentiveness.
 Patience.

 Clear communication skills.
 Product knowledge.
 Ability to use positive language.
 Time management skills.
 Observation skills.
 Goal oriented focus.
 Persuasion skills.
 Listening skills.
 Questioning skills.
 Closing ability.
Explained below are some key skills required to deliver good customer service-
Observation skills
Observation is a method of gathering data, it is about getting information about people,
objects, events, moves, attitudes etc. using one or more of our senses
Advantages of observation
 Observation helps identify the non-verbal cues.
 It provides direct information.
 Saves a lot of time.
Observation during customer interaction

This approach is very useful during the interaction with the customer and you may observe
the following-
 A keen observer may be able to spot some interests of customer.
 Find opportunity to talk and elaborate on further to get the conversation started.
Observation helps identify common topics of interest

Many common topics may be discovered as part of conversation. Politics, philosophy,
religion, industry are common passions but stay away from controversial topics like politics
or religion.
Listening Skills - Listening as a communication tool

“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.”
“The better you listen, the luckier you will get” –Kevin murphy
No oral communication can be effective without proper listening. Speaking and listening go
hand in hand. Poor listening could defeat the purpose of oral communication. It has been
found that generally people can retain only one fourth of what they listen after two days. Not
all are good listeners. Hence it is important to develop the habit of good listening.
Listening

 Listening is with the mind/ Hearing with the senses.
 Listening is conscious.
 An active process of eliciting information.
 Ideas, attitudes and emotions
 Interpersonal, oral/ verbal exchange.
Importance of listening
 50% of the day is spent in listening to someone and hence is an important part of
communication process.
 Listening helps discover the need of people.
 Effective listening will help reduce misunderstandings and wrong perceptions.
 Listening builds trust, as we trust people who listen to us.
 No listening no learning, listening will help our mind and heart to be more receptive to
learn new ideas and opinions.
Poor listening Vs. Effective listening

Poor listener Effective listener
Considers subject to be dry or blames Shows interest, thinks and mentally
speaker. summarises.
Is distracted easily. Concentrate and fights distraction.
Finds difficult to listen to complex Listens on regular basis, not averse to
material. listening about matter that requires critical
listening.
Tendency to get into arguments, resists Takes notes and listens for ideas.
new ideas.
Waits for his or her turn to speak. Patiently listens and responds only when
required.
Pays attention to only appearance and Pays attention to body language and non-
delivery. verbal cues like tone, style, movements along
with the message conveyed.
Active and passive listening

Listening can be active or passive.
Active listening involves verbal feedback, it involves questioning and paraphrasing. One
may ask for additional questions to clarify the speaker’s message. For instance one may ask
question like” What do you mean?”, “Can you please elaborate further?” etc. these questions
prompts the speaker to be more elaborate. Another type of feedback is paraphrasing, wherein
we rephrase the speaker’s ideas in our own words. For instance “What I hear you say is......”,
“Did you mean to say ....” etc.
These types of feedback help demonstrate that one understands the speakers concerns.

Five steps to active listening
1. Maintain eye contact with the speaker or follow his or her movements.
2. Summarise what the speaker is saying.
3. Take notes.
4. Link what you are listening to what you already know.
5. Ask and answer questions mentally for clarity of understanding, regarding the problem
under discussion.
Passive listening happens when the listener does not verbally respond to the speaker. Here
listener will only be listening and will be responding consciously or unconsciously by
sending non-verbal messages through eye contact, smiles, yawns or nods. Passive listening
is at times necessary when one wants to ease back mentally and be entertained. For example
when someone is telling a story or narrating an incident, or listening to radio while cooking
or cleaning the house, watching TV or listening otherwise without responding is passive
listening as the communication here is one way.
Listening at managerial levels

Listening as a model, has three levels. As managers or individuals move from Level III to
Level I, their potential in terms of understanding, retaining, awareness, creativity and
effectiveness in communication will increase.
 Level I: Understanding, awareness of the moment, respect and spirit of cooperation

happens at this level. It helps people be empathetic to others feelings, It means people in
this level are able to see things from others point of view. At this level people listen to
the total communication, the entire content and understand the intent of what is being
said. At his level the mangers attitude of mutual respect helps suspend negative personal
labels.
 Level II: This is a level of partial awareness, wherein listening happens without
completely understanding the meaning of the message. Here the main focus is on words
and much of the non-verbal communication is missed.
 Level III: It is kind of an auto turned off mode and is quite dangerous. It includes internal
distractions like day dreaming, thinking of something else, and finding fault and negative
feelings. Managers generally face concentrating problems that results in difficulty while
making decisions. The major factor here is blaming attitude that perpetuates negative
feeling of frustration, worry, anger and impatience, this could lead to fatigue and stress
that may reduce alertness and creativity.
Tips for effective listening

 One should have an open mind, and be alert.
 Maintain eye contact or look at the speaker to establish interest in the conversation.

 Take interest in the discussion and have desire to listen.
 Do not prejudge the speaker until you have listened to completely.
 Employ critical thinking while listening.
 Admit your biases.
 Observe non-verbal cues as this will help understand the message completely.
 Accept responsibility for understanding.
 Encourage others to talk and do not interrupt the speaker.
 Be a physically involved listener.
 Avoid negative mannerisms.
 Take advantage of lag time and small pauses between two different ideas.
 Take notes effectively or paraphrase message in simple words.
 Exercise your listening muscle.
Initiating business conversations

Business conversations are interactions with a purpose. The degree and depth of conversation
implies the degree of success of a business conversation. It is always in the hands of the
individual to make a conversation interesting, inspiring and influential. People love doing
business with those who care about them, are trustworthy and with whom they feel emotional
bonding. Hence conversations need to be meaningful and healthy.
Conversation management
1. Involve everyone: A good conversationalist is one who involves everybody in the
conversation, unlike those who hold listeners spell bound by their speech. It should be
remembered that others also need to be given a chance to speak. This brings in a feeling
of participation and satisfaction of knowing the fact that each one has contributed their
bit. Involving everyone makes a conversation informative, interesting and resourceful.
2. Use verbal cues appropriately: The following has to borne in mind to involve
everyone-
a) Encourage: Encouragement works as a great tool, when you want more information
about ideas, facts or feelings or when the other person is hesitant. It promotes the
other person to explore on an idea or can help initiate speech from others.
How to encourage: Saying things like “go on”, “Tell me more”, “uh- Huh”, nodding
head, hand gestures, eye contact, appropriate body language
b) Acknowledge Ideas: Acknowledging gives the other person an idea that you are
actively listening to him. It summarises understating, clears misunderstanding and
helps establish rapport.
Acknowledging of ideas is necessary when-
 One wants more information.
 When confused or unclear.
 To ensure what is heard and understood is right.

c) Question:
The intent of questioning is to-
 Seek information.
 Clarify information.
 Get additional information
 Help lead others to gain insight.
There are two types of questions, Open ended and closed ended. A closed ended
question gives a “yes” or a “no “as an answer, whereas an open ended question helps
get elaborate answers from respondents and opens up the conversation.
Open ended questions
 How you would like this money to be invested Sir?
 How were your requests for demand drafts processed in the past?
 Can you share something about yourself Sir?
 What kind of investment would you be interested in?
Closed ended questions
 Are you happy with our service Sir?
 Can you submit the records on time?
 Do you have any policies Sir?
d) Inform: Informing is sharing information. The receiver processes the message and
gives back own information. Information is needed for explaining, moving the
discussion in a particular direction, stimulate discussion, build on another’s idea or
change the subject under discussion.
e) Direct: Direction involves giving instruction to another. It helps to guide someone

and clarify expectation. We need to direct when-
a. We expect compliance from the other person.
b. While teaching.
c. Believe the other person has skill and knowledge to carry out directions.
d. To delegate responsibility.
f) Criticise: Criticising is done to redirect negative behaviour to positive and is

important in business conversation as people do mistakes and should be done
tactfully as criticism, increases defensiveness in the receiver. It helps improve
conditions and can promote mutual satisfaction.
How to criticise positively-
 Avoid blaming.
 Specify acceptable and unacceptable behaviour clearly.
 Be certain the other person understands the corrective action and consequences
Example: “Priya the audit report you prepared doesn’t follow our banks guidelines,
would you please review the page three of the report and revise it by 3 pm today?”

3. Arouse and Sustain interest: Conversations peppered with questions, answers,
statements, views and expressions make it quite interesting. Conversations can get
interesting by having a good idea about the personalities and attitude of people present
in the group, who can be easily drawn into discussion that will help strike a balance and
arouse and sustain interest of everybody in the group.
4. Engage in Active listening: Active listening is about responding to what was been said,
asking appropriate questions or paraphrasing so that there is a clear picture and help clear
doubts if any. Active listening involves-
 Inquiry: Open questions that provide more information. For example: “What did you
think?”, “what did you notice?” etc.
 Paraphrasing: Checking the understanding. Example: “When you said this, did you
mean ....”
 Acknowledgement: Acknowledging another person’s irritation, frustration or anger
goes a long way in defusing the emotional charge that blocks communication.
Example, “I can understand how upset you are ...”, “I would feel just as frustrated, if
I were in your shoes.....”
5. Make effective requests: Making effective requests involves the following-

 Say exactly what you want.
 Say exactly who you want it from.
 Say exactly when you want it.
 Make sure you have the same assumptions about what is needed to ensure the desired
outcome.
After observation skills, listening skills and business conversation skills, it is very important
to have the right questioning skills. As only the right question will help the person to
understand customers’ needs.
Questioning skills
Questioning is a probing tool that will help uncover needs of customers. To be able to
understand customer needs from the answers given by customers, it is very important that
the right kinds of questions are asked. Questions are of different kinds.
They can be broadly classified based on answers required-

 Open ended questions.
 Close ended questions.
Open ended questions

Open ended questions encourage the client to talk freely, highlight issues which are most
important. It makes them to open up and respond freely. It helps gather valuable information
on the topic of discussion and helps reveal desires.

Purpose of open ended questions-
 Helps to generate discussion.
 Make the customer explain the issue.
 Helps to know views, opinion, likes and dislikes.
Example
1. Why do you think that?
2. How do you feel about that?
3. Where do you see yourself ten years from now?
Closed ended questions

Closed ended questions are structured so that the customer has to provide short specific
answer. The customer’s response is restricted to ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘a specific fact’, or ‘a specific
amount’.
Purpose of closed ended questions-

 To help confirm some information.
 To check for agreement or disagreement on the topic.
 Never to be used for initiating a discussion.
 When a choice needs to be done among alternatives.
Example
1. Are you currently employed?
2. How many children do you have?
3. Are you married?
Tips to efficient questioning

 Ask relevant questions.
 Questions need to well-placed and appropriate to the situation - do not ask the question
too early or too late.
 Question should help get answers required.
 Questions need to be worded well and tone should not be too aggressive or threatening.
 Questions should be logically framed to help customer use rationality while answering.
Have an element of thinking and logic so that customer uses rationality.
Classification by purpose : When questions are classified by purpose, questions can be

either open or closed and include questions that-
 Seek information.
 Explore and collect additional information.
 Check meaning or understanding.
 Confirm points already agreed.
 Commit the client to action.

Example-
Classification Open-ended questions Closed-ended questions
based on purpose
Information-seeking Tell me about your children How many children do you
questions have?
Questions for What plans do you have for your Do you wish to provide
collecting additional children’s future? professional education to your
information children?
Questions to check When you say that you want to When you say you want to
meaning or provide professional education, provide medical education, do
understanding would you like to send them you mean for them to be a
abroad for further studies? doctor or pharmacist?
Questions to Just refresh my memory as to You did say earlier that you
confirm on points how concerned you are about would like to send your
already agreed your children’s education children abroad for higher
studies?
Questions for You really want to do something Can I assume that you wish to
committing the about your children’s education? make an investment for your
clients to action child?
Types of questions
Types of questions that can be asked to collect information can be-
 Background question.
 Specific problem question.
 Effect question.
 Agreement to need question.
1. Background question: These questions help to know about the customer, his
background, family details, qualifications, and many other potential area information
regarding the customer.
Example-
a) May I know about your family Sir?
b) What kind of business are you doing?
c) How do you transact in your business?
Such questions give the current information about the customer and will help decide if
the discussion needs to be taken further. It also gives a picture about the potentiality of
the customer.
2. Specific problem question: These questions are based on the background information
gathered, they help us find about specific problems, difficulties that customers are facing
during the need identification process.
Example-

a) Are you happy with the services being provided by your current bank?
b) What happened that you made a decision to change your bank?
c) What made you transfer your funds to the other bank?
Such questions give the customer an opportunity to voice their issues and problems and
make them feel valued.
3. Effect question: Any problem that customers have related to their banking needs will
have impact on various aspects such as cost, time and business. Such questions will help
discover the intensity of the problem and help us give appropriate solutions. However,
to ask these questions and to provide resolution banker should have a thorough
knowledge of product, process and competition.
Example-
a) Does the cost of sending cheques and cash with your employee to our bank increase
your administrative costs and time?
b) What impact does delayed crediting of outstation cheque have on your working
capital?
c) Does waiting in queue to get higher amount of cash lead to difficulty and delays?
Such questions help understand the magnitude of problem that customers are facing. It
also brings out other problems like manpower, cost etc. It becomes easy for bankers to
check if any solution can be provided and ensure customer satisfaction.
4. Agreement to need questions: These questions are like paraphrasing to what customer
has already agreed to. These questions bring both the customer and the banker on the
same wavelength and ensure there are no miscommunications.
Example-
a) So you agree that our multicity cheque facility will solve the issue of outstation
collection of cheques?
b) Do you agree after seeing the various services available with our bank that Syndicate
Bank will be the best that suits all your business needs?
Such questions help uncover customer needs, possible area of customer dissatisfaction
and aids in building strong relationships.
Customer service in banks

Customer in Banking
“There is no statutory definition of a “Customer”. According to Sir John Paget “to constitute
a customer there must be some recognisable course or habit of dealing in the nature of regular
banking business.....”
Need for customer service in banks

Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase.
Excellence is the state or quality of excelling. It is superiority or the state of being good to a
high degree. In today’s competitive environment, it is important for banks to procure

customers and equally important is the need for banks to retain customers. This is possible
only with excellent customer service.
Banks today undertake so many promotional initiatives and launch innovative products to
procure new customers and bring them to the banks fold, but unless initiatives are taken to
ensure that these customers stay with the bank in long term, business may not be profitable
for long. Effective customer service is all about bringing customer back, retaining the
existing ones and making them so happy that they become brand ambassador of the company
and propagate positive information of the bank, its services and products.
Some reasons why banks lose customers

 Customers go elsewhere because the people they deal with are indifferent to their needs.
 Unlike a product sale, the bank does not make money from the sale.
 We make money only if the customer stays with us.
 Customers BUY because of successful selling.
 Customers STAY because of good service.
Role of employees at banks

Transaction banking--------- Sales and Service------Relationship building
The focus of banks has changed from traditional transaction banking towards relationship
banking. With this shift in focus, it very important for banks to concentrate on customer
service as it takes ten times the cost to gain a new customer than it does to keep the current
customers happy.
In order to ensure customer service in banks the following steps can be followed-
Steps of customer interaction in banks
1. Welcome the customer
a) The way by which conversation is initiated with the customer is a clear indication of
the direction the conversation is headed. Conversation can be started-
b) Greet the customer, it makes them feel important.
c) Smile.
d) The initial smile and words create an eagerness in customer to continue talking.
Example-
 Good Morning Sir, please take a seat.
 Good Morning Mr. Nayak, how may I help you?
 Good Afternoon Mr. Rao. How are you sir?
 Good Morning Madam, let me check if your account is activated or not?
 Good Morning Sir, nice to see you.
2. Understand customer needs

It is important to understand exactly what the customer wants and the purpose of this
interaction. Customer needs can be understood by the following-
a) Listen and observe
 Indulge more in active listening.
 Try to observe the customers verbal and non-verbal cues.
 Try to understand customer feelings.
b) Acknowledge facts and feelings
 Paraphrasing.
 Tone of voice.
c) Gather information
 Get customer information from data available.
 Probe for more information.
d) Confirm understanding
 Summarise.
While acknowledging customer needs, the following has to be kept in mind-

 Acknowledge both the facts and feelings of customer.
 Do not show any irritation in voice, ensure tone of voice is positive.
 Before understanding customer needs, understand which emotion he/she is bringing
to the branch.
 Paraphrasing communicates to customer, that efforts have been taken to understand
and respect him.
 It is important to understand when to paraphrase, inappropriate paraphrasing could
irritate customer.
3. Serve the customer

a) Give complete information to the customer.
b) Products and services should be explained.
c) Identify the need of client and give alternate solutions when needed.
d) Provide the best possible solutions as per the customer's requirement.
e) Empathise with the customer's need and act accordingly.
f) Paraphrase customer request to make sure of his need.
g) Give speedy solutions as promised.
4. Close the interaction pleasantly

a) This will ensure that the customer's requirement is met on time.
b) Timely service and resolution will lead to customer delight.
c) Keep up to commitments.
d) Ensure trust is not misplaced.
Unit summary

 Customer Service – Need and Importance.
 Customer service in banks.

Subject summary
In this module on Business Communication the learner has been introduced to the various
aspects and the importance of communication, image building and customer service.
Learners are now well acquainted with different methods of communication. Learners also
have been initiated on the different aspects of customer service and the importance of
customer service to organisations and more so to them as future bankers.

Reference
 Bhatia R. C., Business communication, Ane books Private Limited, New Delhi., 2014, PP.
243-280
 Chatturvedi P. D; Chaturvedi Mukesh., Business communication, Pearson, New Delhi.,
2013, PP. 77-93
 Pushplata;Kumar Sanjay., Communication Skills, Oxford university press, New Delhi.,
2011, pp-612- 628
 http://www.helpscout.net/blog/customer-service-skills/
 http://www.skillsyouneed.com/general/customer-service-tips.html
 http://etiquette.about.com/od/Manners/a/Social-Etiquette-Tips.htm

PG Diploma in Banking & Finance Guide

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Originalbeschreibung:

Originaltitel

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

PG Diploma in Banking & Finance Guide

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Post Graduate Diploma

(Banking & Finance)

Nitte Education International

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 1

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 2

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 3

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 4

Meaning and definition

According to Newman and Summer, “Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas,

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 5

Communication is a process of exchanging information, ideas, thoughts, feeling and

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 6

Barriers to effective communication

Barriers to effective communication are-

Verbal barriers are created due to the following reasons-

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 7

The following reasons may also cause listening barriers-

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 8

Characteristics of effective communication

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 9

6. Correctness: Grammatical errors are quite common in the spoken form of

7. Courtesy: It is essential to maintain proper decorum of speaking during meetings and

Verbal Non Verbal

Different types of communication are diagrammatically presented above.

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 10

Types of Verbal communication-

Three steps that can contribute towards effective written communication-

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 11

Basics of written communication

Some basics are-

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 12

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 13

6. Neutral job titles: It is important to choose neutral job titles.

8. Structure: Sentences should be structured as Subject-verb- Object. In the sentence

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 14

2. Give simple words for the following-

Points that can be noted from the given paragraph-

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 15

The above paragraph can be rewritten as follows.

The major parts of a paragraph are-

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 16

3. The concluding sentence/terminators

Hence a paragraph includes an Introducer, developer and terminator. However, this

Key aspects of paragraph writing

Some such aspects are given below.

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 17

Nonverbal Communication is a system of symbolic behaviors that includes all forms of

Types of Non-verbal Communication

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 18

B. Haptics (Touch language)

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 19

C. Proxemics (Space language)

E. Chronemics (Time language)

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 20

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 21

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 22

An email has three basic parts-

16SYNB1.1V1 Business Communication 23

Do’s and Don’ts of emails

1. Start email with a brief and concise subject

2. Start and end email courteously with proper greeting

Some common complimentary close-