COMMUNICATION GENERAL AND BUSINESS By Neeta Relwani Garg

What is communication? Input or output or exchange of information between two or more persons in an oral / verbal, non verbal or written manner to elicit a response or for the purpose of knowledge The communication process depends on: THE SENDER y Medium: Formal/informal or Oral / written / visual y Context y Setting: Personal / social / professional / circumstances y Time y Target audience: Family / friends / acquaintances / peers / seniors / juniors THE RECEIVER y Medium: Formal / informal or oral / written / visual y Attentiveness y Listening y Frame of mind y Past experiences y Circumstances WAYS y y y y OF COMMUNICATION One way: Speech / Lecture / Seminar Two ways: Chat / Talk Multiple: Group discussion / Interactive Many-to-one: Parents to child / Superior to subordinates

PATHS OF COMMUNICATION y Downward communication y Communication from management to employees

y y y y y y

Upward communication Communication from employees to management Horizontal communication Communication between person/s of the same level Diagonal communication Supportive communication: can take the form of vertical and / or horizontal communication

TYPES OF COMMUNICATION Spoken / Oral / Verbal

y y y y y y y y y y y y y

Interactive Telephone calls Meetings Teleconferencing Conversations Discussions Interviews Public Address Speeches Lectures Presentations Briefings Training sessions

Written either internal or external y Emails y Letters y Facsimile messages y Inter office correspondence y Minutes of meetings y Internal memos y Reports y Articles Audio y y y y y y
y y y

visual Directions Signage Diagrams Films Photographs Announcements Multimedia Radio Television Internet

IMPROVING VERBAL SKILLS The dictionary defines it as : DICTION It may also be explained as : The clearness and crispiness of a persons voice during speech delivery Good enunciation leads to clearness of the spoken words and understandability

BITE THE LOWER LIP FOR THE ROUND THE MOUTH FOR THE

The silent alphabets: H : HEIR HONOR R : AIR SERVICE PARTY FURTHER

HONEST CHAIRMAN ORGAN

HOUR URGENT MARGIN

VOWELS y Use THEE before a word starting with a vowel y Use THE before a word starting with a consonant

MAY : seeking permission CAN : the ability to

LISTENING IN COMMUNICATION PREPARATON FOR EFFECTIVE LISTENING 1) Positive attitude 2) Be aware and alert of your environment 3) Indicate interest when being spoken with 4) Be sensitive to the speakers non verbal indications to respond accordingly 5) Concentrate on what is being said not what you are thinking of 6) Be patient and do not interrupt or finish the speakers sentence 7) Questions if unclear 8) Do not hesitate to ask for a repeat 9) Decode, comprehend, analyze and provide your own understanding of the conversation 10) Think before you react BARRIERS TO LISTENING 1) Lack of interest 2) Lack of training 3) Body language : eye contact, excessive gesticulation, confidence, nervousness, knowledge, monotony 4) Differences in : speed, culture, language, accent, sound 5) Interruptions 6) Message overload 7) The rush for action 8) Attitude / arrogance

NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION

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Proxemics: The study of how we communicate with the space between us. Posture: How we stand, sit, position ourselves impacts our communication. Posture and breathing are also related. Facial expressions: Those that are made on our face communicate much more than we think! Kinesics: Gestures, head shakes, bodily movements all add up to the communication package. Para linguistics: Tone, speed, volume, pitch, intensity, pauses, silence are all collective essentials to the communication

y y y

TELEPHONE ETTIQUETTE  Always keep a pen and note pad near the phone  When at the office, always answer the phone with the name of the company, location and time of the day greeting : ABCD Limited, good morning  Introduce yourself and ask what assistance you can provide  Use We and not I  Always use please may I and not can I  Do not use:  - I have no idea  - Hes busy  - Hes in the toilet / cloakroom  Do not use jargon or impolite words  If you are unable to hear the person, politely ask the person to repeat him/herself  Listen and do not interrupt when the person is speaking  Politely ask for the name of the caller, greet the person and then proceed to reveal information about the person s/he wishes to speak with  Call the person asked for by covering the mouthpiece and indicate the callers name  Write down messages and pass them on efficiently if the person is unavailable: - the name of the caller - telephone # - time of call - reason of call - time to revert

MAKING A CALL  Prepare yourself before you pick up the handset, therefore note the name, number of the person to call and any questions that you may need to ask  Rehearse the conversation mentally if you feel nervous  Clear throat before speaking  Keep the tone polite  Greet the person  Establish your identity and the name of the company you are calling from, state the reason for the call in a polite and clear professional manner and ask if it is a good time to talk  If it is not a good time for the person to speak, do not hesitate to ask what would be a good time to call back  If you are unable to hear the person, politely ask the person to repeat him/herself  Listen and do not interrupt when the person is speaking  End the conversation with a definite conclusion and with thanks  Do not use jargon or impolite words RECEIVING A CALL  Clear all answering machines / voice mail messages  Return all calls within 24 hours  Call back if you do not receive a response within 48 hours  Use private numbers only in an emergency  Do not pass on contact #s without permission from the owner of the # MOBILE PHONES  Choose an appropriate ring tone and caller tone  Use an appropriate place to make call and not in company  Speak softly, there is no need for the person/s in the same space to hear what you are speaking about  Switch to silent / voice mail at any meeting or event or celebration or place of worship  If you receive or have to make an urgent call, please announce the same at the start of the meeting if possible  Excuse yourself if you have forgotten to turn off the phone and it rings  Politely ask the other persons to turn off their phones if they are ringing incessantly  Do not use the phone at hospitals / airports / in the airplane USING A TELEPHONE  Speak softly when on the phone  Move away to a quiet space when receiving or making a call  Do not conduct any conversation in company  Do not reveal vital information over the phone  Quickly complete the conversation and prevent idle talk  Do not sneeze or cough into the phone WRITTEN COMMUNICATION: INTERNAL: Inter office correspondence Minutes of meetings Notices / Circulars Reports Emails EXTERNAL: Facsimile transmissions Emails Business letters Business envelopes

TIPS : EMAIL : 1. Use your official email ID to make all communication from 2. Create IDs that are professional in nature and not funky ones 3. Do not be casual, adopt a formal tone, use salutations, use complete words without emoticons and short forms. Ensure that your emails are grammatically correct 4. Indicate the specific reference matter in the subject field 5. Be brief and to the point in your communication but include all the relevant information the receiver may require 6. Do not forget to use courtesy terms : please, thank you, regards, sincerely in the appropriate places 7. Be cautious about the matter you will include in the email as this is one form of communication that can be forwarded to several persons in under 10 seconds TIPS : BUSINESS LETTER : LAYOUT : 1) Margins: Top 1 Left 1 2) Alignment 3) Page #s : 1 or 1/4 , 4) Font style and size 5) Space for signature 6) Name and position

Bottom Right 2/4, 3/4,

4/4

Indicate the date : date, month, year : March 1, 2009 Recipient of Person, position, company Correspondence Address of postal reference, city, country recipient Salutation preface greeting Subject / reference indicating summary of correspondence theme rrespondence main content body Complimentary Best regards close Yours sincerely Signature space location of signing authoritys signature Authors identity name Authors designation position Enclosure reference indication of any attached or accompanying material Letter copy (ies) reference indication of recipients copies Continuation sheet details page #, date Status of correspondence private / confidential (on letter / envelope) Professional language. No slang or short forms Logical and effective sequence of information Open with a greeting State the reason for the communication Provide details of the issue to be communicated and include: - relevant background - current information 6) Indicate the expectation 7) State the intent to follow up with a time frame and / or an action plan 8) Use a complimentary closing GENERAL TIPS : 1) Ensure correct spellings of personal and company names 2) Ensure the appropriate business title 3) Do not use slang words 4) Avoid using abbreviations (unless appropriately defined) 5) Steer away from the use of symbols (such as ampersands (&)) 6) Avoid cliches 7) Dashes are generally used for emphasis / specifications 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

8) Numbers should be expressed as words when the number is less than 10 or is used to start a sentence : example: Five years ago, my brother and I ... The number 10, or anything greater than 10 should be expressed as a figure : example: Our company has 13 new regional offices 9) Quotation marks should be placed around any directly quoted speech or text and around titles of publications 10) Keep sentences short 11) Re read all communication 12) Check for grammatical errors LANGUAGE RULES: 100% RULES: Q is always followed by U No English word ends with a J No English non colloquial word ends with a V I comes before E except after C Words ending with a Y in singular, drop the Y to add an IES to make it plural Secretary Secretaries Lady Ladies Hobby Hobbies Some words ending with an F in singular, drop it to add VES to make it plural Scarf Scarves Leaf Leaves Half Halves PREFIX Dis/appear Pro/claim

un/necessary un/co-operative

The LY is added to most words: Lively Freely Critically HOMOPHONES Words that sound the same but are spelt differently Air Byte Threw What Heir Bite Through Watt