Business Communication and

Negotiation Skills
 Course Plan
Process of communication
Process Communication in the work place
Principles and process of communication
Barriers to communication
Perception and communication
Non-verbal communication
Listening and Reading skills
Effective oral communication and public
speaking
Negotiation skills
 Course Plan (Contd)

Writing for effect

Written communication in business
Business correspondence
Report writing
Group discussion and meetings
Effective presentations, interviewing
and public speaking techniques
 Communication ?
‘It is the transfer of information from one
person to another, irrespective of whether
or not it elicits confidence’
Or
‘It is the process of meaningful interaction
between human beings. More specifically,
it is the process by which meanings are
perceived and understandings are reached
among human beings’

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 “Writing is thinking on paper. Anyone who
thinks clearly should be able to write
clearly about any subject at all.”

--William Zinsser, Author

On Writing Well

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 The Objective and Plan

The objective is to improve communication skills

Topics will be discussed and analysed with
situational examples
Successful communication is the purpose of
communicating
Some writers try to entertain
Business Communication should seek only to
communicate
The stress will be on Ethical Communication
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 ABC of Good Communication
A – Accuracy, Appropriateness, Attentiveness
to your audience, and avoidance of ambiguity.

B – Brevity or conciseness, brightness and

buoyancy.

C – Correctness (of usage of words and

grammar), clarity, consistency and coherent.

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 Vocabulary
‘Happy’
Exuberant
Elated
Delighted
Cheerful
Blithe
Buoyant
Rapturous
Ecstatic
Jaunty
Sprightly
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 Simplicity

“ I am not so inebriated as to be incapable of

unassisted perambulation”
“I am not so drunk that I cannot walk without your
help”

“He is a sophisticated rhetorician, inebriated with

the exuberance of his own verbosity”
“He is a verbose speaker”

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 Punctuation
The teacher said, the parent is a fool.

The teacher, said the parent is a fool.

He went out to face the lion after taking farewell

of his wife wearing his hunting dress

I leaned back in my chair contentedly, watching

the baby playing and puffing away at my cigar.

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 Ambiguity
“we offer iced lemonade and tea to drink and
chocolate éclairs and biscuits to eat.”
- Are the biscuits all chocolate biscuits ?
- Is the tea also iced ?

“ We offer tea and iced lemonade to drink, and

biscuits and chocolate éclairs.”

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 Style
‘ A good style should show no sign of
effort. What is written should seem a
happy accident’

Sommerset Maughm
-

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 Brightness and Buoyancy

‘ He has occasional flashes of silence

that make his conversation perfectly
delightful’

Sydney Smith
-

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 Characteristics
 It is inevitable
 Meaning based
 Could be intentional or unintentional
 Systematic
 A two way traffic
 A social process
 A dynamic process
 Continuous process
 Involves interaction and transaction
 It is a process

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 Characteristics (Contd)
 A spiraling process
 It is contextual
 Needs proper understanding
 Leads achievement of organizational objective
 Dispels misunderstanding
 It is all pervasive
 It is life blood of business

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 Essence
‘Communication is the most used skill in almost
every job. How you communicate your
accomplishments to others is reflection of the
quality of your work. Sure you must know how to
do your tasks to accomplish great results but
that is only a portion of professional success.
Good communication skills are required to
report your success to others, persuade
colleagues to take action, and (most important
at review time) sell your success to the
management’
Don Zatyko

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 Overview
The importance of communication

Business needs good communication

Communication ability improves chances of
success

Communication vital to every part of business
Three forms of communication in
business

Internal-Operational
Orders, assembling reports, writing e-mails etc.

External-Operational
Work related communication with external
environment

Personal communication
Non-business related exchanges of information and
feelings / views among people

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 Overview (Contd)
Importance of communication

Business needs good communication

By improving your communication ability you
improve your chances of success

Communication is vital to every part of business
Three forms of communication
in business

Internal-Operational
Giving orders, assembling reports, writing e-mails etc.

External-Operational
Work related communication with people outside
the business

Personal communication
Non-business related exchanges of information and
feelings among people

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 Overview (contd)
Formal and informal networks

Formal Network –arteries in body
 Informal Network – veins in the body. A
secondary network, complex and continually
changing.
The process of communication
 Begins with a message
 Enters the sensory world of the receiver

Senses detect it and filter the message
 Receiver forms the meaning and sends the
response
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 Overview (Contd)

Basic truths about communication

 Meanings sent are not always received
 Meanings are in the mind – not in symbols
 Symbols of communication are Imperfect
The communication process
shows the need for adaptation
 Adaptation is an underlying principle in our study
of communication

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 Importance of Communication Skills as
Expressed by Business Authorities
“Top executives from Fortune 500 companies rate
communications skills as the most important quality for
business leaders.”
--Business Section
New York Times

“There may be no single thing more important in our efforts

to achieve meaningful work and fulfilling relationships than
to learn and practice the art of communication.”
--Max De Pree, Author
The Art of Leadership

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 Evidence of Communication
Weakness in Business (Contd)

“I’m surprised how so many people struggle

with communication.”
--Michael Rook, Production Manager
Hewlett Packard, San Diego, CA

“The first thing the Human Resources

Department did was to give me a writing
book.”
--Sam Reeves, IT Consultant
AMS, Denver, CO
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 Communication Networks

Formal Network
 well-established, usually along
operational lines
 planned

Informal Network
 complex
 dynamic

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 The Formal and Informal Communication
Networks in a Division of a Small Manufacturing
Company

Department
Manager

Supervisor Supervisor

Solid Lines = Formal Network

Dashed Lines = Informal Network (at a moment in time, for they change often)
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 Factors Affecting Volume of
Communication in Business

 Nature of the
business
 Operating plan
 People

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 A Model of the
Communication Process

--medium--

Sender Receiver
 How Oral and Written
Communication Differ

Written communication
Is more likely to involve creative
effort,
Has longer cycles,
Usually has fewer cycles.

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 Adaptation

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 Some Basic Truths about
Communication

 Meanings sent are not always received.

 Meaning is in the mind.
 The symbols of communication are
imperfect.
 Communication across cultures is
always difficult

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 ?

Thanks
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 Process of Communication

 Meaning and definition of business

communication
 Scope of communication
 Formal and informal communication in the
business organization
 Nature of communication
 Objective and Plan
The objective is to improve communication skills
Topics will be discussed and analysed with
situational examples
Successful communication is the purpose of
communicating
Some writers try to entertain
Business Communication should seek only to
communicate
The stress will be on Ethical Communication
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