Business Communication

Satyam Learning Center

Business Communication
This one day open communication skills course provides an opportunity for
participants to look at and get feedback on their own communication style - to
highlight the resources, strengths and talents they already have.

People will come away with a real understanding of what communication is and how
it works. There is practical work on listening and responding skills, an introduction to
rapport building, the opportunity to practice core communication skills and
techniques for working more effectively on a day-to-day basis in any organizational
set up.

Index:

S.No. Topic Page No. Remarks

1. Introduction 02-04

2. Verbal and Non Verbal Communication 05-09

3. Silence and time 09

4. Listening Skills 09-10

5. Different Styles of People 11-12

1
 Business Communication
Satyam Learning Center

Program

Introduction:

Everything we do is participative and interactive. There will be work in pairs, small

group work, games, processes and exercises designed to stimulate, challenge and
develop people's knowledge and skills. They are also fun!

What else would you like out of the day?

A chance for associates to add anything they would like from the program. The
course will be adapted and changed as we go along to better fit their needs.

Communication dynamics - how it works

This is an introduction to the dynamics of face-to-face communication - looking at

what affects the participants and how they might take more charge of situations.

It gives an overview of how communication works at its best and identifying where it
can go wrong. We 'unpick' all the elements that go into effective communication and
explain to people how they can be more in charge of the communication dynamic.

Impact of body language

A simple exercise to demonstrate the power and control the listener has, through
body language and attitude.

First Impressions:

A simple group exercise where people get the opportunity to practice making a
predetermined first impression.

Assumptions:
An exercise to demonstrate how every one of us makes assumptions, often without
realizing it. The issue is not that assumptions are made, but that we act on those
assumptions without finding out how accurate they are (making it up and then acting
as though what we made up was true). There are also times when it's good to let
other people keep the assumptions they have about you.

Terms of Reference

Here we look at how important it is to be sure we are all 'speaking the same
language' and how easy it is to misinterpret and misunderstand what others are
saying. We explore the idea that everyone sees the world differently. Not that, they
think their view is the right one, and can't understand when someone does
something that is completely different from their own way of doing things.

2
 Business Communication
Satyam Learning Center

Personal Style

Each person gives a summary of their personal communication style, in terms of

what they know is working for them. Then they then receive feedback on what else
they see working and what seems to comprise their uniqueness.

Joining and leaving groups

This lively set of exercises covers how physical boundaries work and how even the
shyest person can greet people well. It includes approaching complete strangers and
introducing yourself, joining and leaving groups easily, let someone else join the
group and then leave yourself, leaving a group when you feel cornered. Essential
skills for both Social and professional gatherings

Having difficult conversations

In this we practice delivering bad news and managing difficult feelings in others. We
look at the importance of setting boundaries for other people, so they know where
they stand. We work strongly here with modifying behaviour rather than what is the
"right thing to say", in order to keep things from getting out of hand

Games People Play

Here we look at the dynamics that can happen when people get together, whether at
team meetings and one-to-ones. People often play 'games' either consciously or
unconsciously that can get in the way of effective communication. We look at
techniques to cut through the game playing without alienating people.

Toolkit

A series of exercises to look at simple behavioural techniques affecting

communications, including listening, encouragement or blocking of new ideas, and
defusing conflict and arguments:

Emotion vs. Objectivity

Helping other people when they are too steeped in emotion to see what to do next.
This is both a very important listening and reflecting back skill.

3
 Business Communication
Satyam Learning Center

Blame vs. Effect of behaviour

Dealing with blame and conflict. Understanding the difference in using You, I or We
statements in order to get away from blame and making someone wrong. This helps
people get to a place where they can mutually find solutions.

Listening with Empathy

In discussion with others, we often get so focused on what we are trying to get
across (as well as hoping to persuade the other person about our point of view), that
we miss opportunities to use empathy, understanding and find common ground.

This activity shows how important the skill of listening is and not to take the same
for fun.

Other Communication Issues

If there is time there is a further opportunity for participants to examine any real life
experiences when they were unsatisfied with the outcome of a specific
communication.

Support

The final exercise of the day is for each delegate to devise a personal Plan of Action,
identifying their personal take-out of the program, where they know they will
practice areas, which need development.

Finally we have people identify what will stop them putting this into practice and
what support they need to help themselves put the course work into practice.

4
 Business Communication
Satyam Learning Center

Business Communication

Verbal and Non verbal Communication

Introduction

When we talk of communication skills most of us mean effective oral and written
communication skills which form an extremely crucial aspect of communication.

Verbal communication refers to the tone and the words used to communicate

G. W. Porter divides non-verbal communication into four broad categories:

Physical. This is the personal type of communication. It includes facial expressions,

tone of voice, sense of touch, sense of smell, body postures and body motions.

Aesthetic. This is the type of communication that takes place through creative
expressions: playing instrumental music, dancing, painting and sculpturing.

Signs. This is the mechanical type of communication, which includes the use of signal
flags, the 21-gun salute, horns, and sirens.

Symbolic. This is the type of communication that makes use of religious, status, or
ego-building symbols.

Here our focus would be with what Porter has called the physical method of non-
verbal communication.

Knowledge of non-verbal communication is important managers who serve as

leaders of organizational "teams," for at least two reasons:

• To function effectively as a team leader the manager must interact with the
other members successfully. Non-verbal cues, when interpreted correctly,
provide him with one means to do so.
• The team members project attitudes and feelings through non-verbal
communication. Some personal needs such as approval, growth,
achievement, and recognition may be met in effective teams. The extent to
which these needs are met is closely related to how perceptive the team
leader and team members are to non-verbal communication in themselves
and in others on the team.

If the team members show a true awareness to non-verbal cues, the organization
will have a better chance to succeed, for it will be an open, honest, and confronting
unit.

Argyle and his associates have been studying the features of nonverbal
communication that provide information to managers and their team members. The
following summarizes their findings:

5
 Business Communication
Satyam Learning Center

Static Features

Distance: The distance one stands from another frequently conveys a non-verbal
message. In some cultures it is a sign of attraction, while in others it may reflect
status or the intensity of the exchange.

Orientation: People may present themselves in various ways: face-to-face, side-to-

side, or even back-to-back. For example, cooperating people are likely to sit side-by-
side while competitors frequently face one another.

Posture: Obviously one can be lying down, seated, or standing. These are not the
elements of posture that convey messages. Are we slouched or erect? Are our legs
crossed or our arms folded? Such postures convey a degree of formality and the
degree of relaxation in the communication exchange.

The square-on position behind a desk, with the person leaning forward on the desk
with hands placed downwards on the desk and a stern look on the face must signify
an aggressive attitude. This is one of the most natural, but usually consciously
noted non-verbal signals.

Physical Contact: Shaking hands, touching, holding, embracing, pushing, or patting

on the back all convey messages. They reflect an element of intimacy or a feeling of
(or lack of) attraction.

Dynamic Features

Facial Expressions: A smile, frown, raised eyebrow, yawn, and sneer all convey
information. Facial expressions continually change during interaction and are
monitored constantly by the recipient. There is evidence that the meaning of these
expressions may be similar across cultures.

Gestures: One of the most frequently observed, but least understood, cues is a
hand movement. Most people use hand movements regularly when talking. While
some gestures (e.g., a clenched fist) have universal meanings, most of the others
are individually learned and idiosyncratic.

Looking: A major feature of social communication is eye contact. It can convey

emotional signal when to talk or finish, or aversion. The frequency of contact may
suggest either interest or boredom.

Let's review these non-linguistic ways of exchanging messages in more detail.

Kinesics:
The best way to access an executive's managerial potential is not to listen to what
he has to say, but to observe what he does when he is saying it. He calls this new
behavioral science "movement analysis." Some of the movements and gestures he
has analyzed follow:

Forward and Backward Movements: If you extend a hand straight, forward

during an interview or tend to lean forward, you come across as an "operator"- good
for an organization requiring an infusion of energy or dramatic change of course.

6
 Business Communication
Satyam Learning Center

Vertical Movements: If you tend to draw yourself up to your tallest during the
handshake, you come across as a "presenter." You are a master at selling yourself or
the organization in which you are employed.

Side-to-Side Movements: If you take a lot of space while talking by moving your
arms about, you are a good informer and good listener. You are best suited for an
organization seeking a better sense of direction. There is a relationship between
positioning of the body and movements of the limbs and facial expressions. It is
observed that there exists harmony between the two. On the other hand, if certain
gestures are rehearsed, such as those made to impress others, there is a tendency
to separate the posture and the movements. The harmony disappears.

Studies have also indicated that communication comes about through our degree of
body flexibility. If you begin a movement with considerable force and then
decelerate, you are considered a "gentle-touch." By contrast, if you are a
"pressurizer," you are firm from beginning to end. The accuracy of Lamb's analyses
is not fully known. However, it is important that corporation executives are becoming
so sensitive to the importance of non-verbal messages that they are hiring
consultants, such as Lamb, to analyze non-verbal communications in their
organizations.

Arm barriers: one of the most common is where the arms are folded across the
chest, thus protecting the body’s vital organs and consequently signifying a
defensive action. The folded arms can say, ‘I don’t want to know’, ‘I am feeling very
vulnerable as you talk to me’ and so on. If additionally fists are clenched, this person
is holding oneself back (temporarily).

A disguised arm fold is when hand moves across the body unnecessarily to adjust a
watchstrap or cuff.

Hand-to-face gestures: A very common hand-to-face gesture, which gives a clear

signal, is when the speaker places a finger or fingers in front of the mouth when
speaking. This is interpreted as an untruth being told when the speaker is rather
embarrassed about speaking it. The moment may be traced to an action of wanting
to say but at the same time hold them back with the hand. The result is incongruent
and rising of suspicion. If the hand is pulled away from the mouth, the side of the
nose may be touched as a replacement of this signal. A similar gesture particularly
when the speaker is looking down or away from you, is rubbing of an eye with the
finger.

If the hand is placed on the cheek with the forefinger pointing upwards, often
accompanied by a slight tilting of the head, suggests that the listener is in fact
listening and taking account of what is being said which is normally a good sign.

Facial Expressions: usually communicate emotions. The expressions tell the

attitudes of the communicator. Researchers have discovered that certain facial areas
reveal our emotional state better than others. For example, the eyes tend to reveal
happiness or sadness, and even surprise. The lower face also can reveal happiness
or surprise; the smile, for example, can communicate friendliness and cooperation.
The lower face, brows, and forehead can also reveal anger.

7
 Business Communication
Satyam Learning Center

In any exchange

Verbal cues are 7 % of the meaning of the message;

Vocal cues, form 38 %;
Facial expressions or non-verbal cues form 55 % weightage.

This means that, as the receiver of a message, you can rely heavily on the facial
expressions of the sender because his expressions are a better indicator of the
meaning behind the message than his words.

Eye contact: is a direct and powerful form of non-verbal communication. The

superior in the organization generally maintains eye contact longer than the
subordinate. The direct stare of the sender of the message conveys candor and
openness. It elicits a feeling of trust. Downward glances are generally associated
with modesty. Eyes rolled upward are associated with fatigue.

Personal space is your "bubble" - the space you place between yourself and others.
This invisible boundary becomes apparent only when someone bumps or tries to
enter your bubble.

How you identify your personal space and use the environment in which you find
yourself influences your ability to send or receive messages.

- How close do you stand to the one with whom you are communicating?
- Where do you sit in the room?
- How do you position yourself with respect to others at a meeting?
- All of these things affect your level of comfort, and the level of comfort of
those receiving your message.

Feeling uncomfortable in a crowded lift, feeling awkward if someone with whom we

do not have a close relationship sits close to us or on the arm of our chair. The
reasons are they have invaded our personal space or personal proxemic zone. The
personal zone extends to about 1-18 inches from us. If someone approaches closer
than the 18 inches, they have invaded our space.

The impact of use of space on the communication process is related directly to the
environment in which the space is maintained.

- Environment
- How do you arrange the objects in your environment - the desks, chairs,
tables, and bookcases?
- The design of your office, according to researchers, can greatly affect the
communications within it.
- For e.g. If your table is disorganized, you are communicating some aspect of
yourself here.

It is obvious that your personal space and environment affect the level of your
comfort and your status and facilitate or hinder the communication process.

8
 Business Communication
Satyam Learning Center

Paralanguage
Is the content of your message contradicted by the attitude with which you are
communicating it? Researchers have found that the tone, pitch, quality of voice, and
rate of speaking convey emotions that can be accurately judged regardless of the
content of the message. The important thing to gain from this is that the voice is
important, not just as the conveyor of the message, but also as a complement to the
message. As a communicator you should be sensitive to the influence of tone, pitch,
and quality of your voice on the interpretation of your message by the receiver.

Silence and Time

Silence can be a positive or negative influence in the communications process. It can

provide a link between messages or sever relationships. It can create tension and
uneasiness or create a peaceful situation. Silence can also be judgmental by
indicating favor or disfavor - agreement or disagreement.

For example, suppose a manager finds a couple of his team members resting.

If he believes these staff members are basically lazy, the idleness conveys to him
that they are "goofing off" and should be given additional assignments.

If he believes these staff members are self-motivated and good workers, the idleness
conveys to him that they are taking a well-deserved "break."

If he is personally insecure, the idleness conveys to him that they are threatening his
authority.

Time can be an indicator of status. How long will you give the team member who
wishes to speak to you? How long will you make him wait to see you? Do you
maintain a schedule? Is your schedule such that your subordinates must arrange
their schedules to suit yours? In a healthy organization, the manager and his
subordinates use time to communicate their mutual respect to each other.

Listening

1. Why should you listen?

- Work and listening are inseparable.

- We listen for our own reasons.
- We can improve our listening skills by having internal motivation and
interest in what the other person has to convey

2. Four key elements of listening

- Hearing the message: Listen to both verbal and non-verbal information

- Interpret the message: A good interpretation is understanding of the
context in which it is intended
- Evaluate the message: The listeners’ opinion should be based on all the
available information. In case of doubt it is necessary to ask for required
clarifications.

9
 Business Communication
Satyam Learning Center

- Response to the message: Good listening means giving the speaker an

appropriate response verbally and/or non-verbally

3. Listening style: A barrier or a bridge

- Behaviour reflects attitude

- How we look and act as listeners determines our listening style

4. How well do you listen?

- Most people aren’t good listeners.

- A good listener encourages positive results
- We listen best when there is a reward or a penalty
- Personal listening awareness is the key to constructive change

5. Ten tips for listening

- Take notes, they help retention

- Listen now, report later
- You must have the desire, interest, self-discipline and concentration to be
a good listener
- Be present, watch the tendency to day-dream
- Build rapport with speakers’ gestures, expressions and voice patterns to
create comfortable communication
- Control your emotional responses. Knowing what makes you reach
emotionally is your key to preventive maintenance
- Listen with your ears, your eyes, your intuition, your mind and your body
- Build ability to overcome sources of interferences like heavy accent, poor
command of the language, anger and aggression etc located in the other
person or the speaker
- Analyse or compare what is being said with what you think or know; this
helps you listen intensely
- Listening is a skill or a gift. Give it generously.

Don’ts of Listening:

- Interrupt
- Argue
- Pass judgement
- Jump to conclusions

Barriers of Listening:

- Habits
- Filters
- Physical environment
- Competitiveness
- Shyness
- Bad news
- Interferences located in the sender

10
 Business Communication
Satyam Learning Center

Different Styles of People:

1. Analytical, logic oriented

o Lives according to facts, logic and consistency
May be perceived as cold, detached and unenthusiastic
o Good planners, organizers and problem solvers
o Work systematically from beginning to end
o Facts, logic and principles more important than friendships or personal
gratification
- Tendencies
o Orderly, cautious, diplomatic, humble, serious
o Performs precise work
o Likes controlled circumstances and assurance of security
o Uses critical thinking and status quo
o Prefers gradual change
o Disciplined, agreeable, reflecting, identifying, ordering facts, rationally
deducing

2. Driver-result oriented
o Seem to know what they want and easily express concerns and
conclusions
o “Get-it-done now”!
o Focus on now and not the past
o Swift, efficient, to the point, impatient with delays
o May appear harsh, severe, critical to some but efficient, decisive, action
oriented to others
o Seek control through use of power
o Power is the means to an end

- Tendencies
o Restless, independent, strong-willed
o Assertive, self-reliant, causes action, vigorous
o Dislikes being controlled
o Acting, doing
o Pioneering
3. Expressive:
o Pursues dreams
o May be perceived as flighty, impractical, emotional
o Able to excite others about the future
o May skip from one activity to another
o May seem impatient and outspoken
o Imaginative, creative
o Acts on opinions rather than on facts so may make mistake.

- Tendencies:

o Exciting, stimulating, charming, helpful, creative

o Likes group and stimulation
o Speculating, talkative
o Innovating

11
 Business Communication
Satyam Learning Center

o Playful, dislikes details

o Likes change

4. Amicable:
o Interpret environment on a personal basis
o Get involved in feelings and relations
o Stick with comfortable situations and avoid controversial decisions.
o Is homely in nature

- Tendencies:
o Dislikes conflict
o Patient, Thorough, generous
o Likes security, stability
o Takes time to make decisions
o Wants guarantee before change
o Expects credit for work

These styles are not always exclusive and people can have a combination or act
according to the environmental situations.

Closing Thoughts

Regardless of your position in the organization it is important for you to develop

some sensitivity to nonverbal messages. Cooperation improves as we recognize and
respond appropriately to non-verbal cues. Of course you have been aware of non-
verbal communications all of your life, but how much thought have you given
them?

Reference:

1. http://www.bambooweb.com/articles/c/o/Communication.html
2. http://www.writerswrite.net/bussrch.cfm?search=proposal

12