Effective business communication

Communication is the conveying of message between a sender and a receiver or a group of receivers. [Someone’s definition on communication]. Communication is very important in our daily lives as well as in workplace. Communication also plays a vital role in businesses. Business communication needs to be well-organized and professional. As all other types of communications, business communication also can be either verbal or non-verbal or could be a combination of both. Written communication and oral communication are examples of verbal communication. To compose effective written or oral messages, you must apply certain communication principles. These principles provide guidelines for choice of content and style of presentation, adapted to the purpose and receiver of the message. These principles are commonly known as seven “ C’s”. They are completeness, conciseness, consideration, concreteness, clarity, courtesy and correctness. Here are the “ seven C’s” in detail: 1. COMPLETENESS: This means the business message must contain all the facts the reader or listener needs for the reaction you desire. You must provide necessary information and give something extra if desired or needed. 2. CONCISENESS: Eliminate wordy expressions and include material that is relevant. Also, avoid unnecessary repetition. 3. CONSIDERATION: Focus on ‘ you’ attitude instead of ‘ I’ and ‘ we’ attitude. But then overuse of it might lead to a negative reaction. 4. CONCRETENESS: Whenever possible use specific facts and figures and use active verbs in order to make your message more precise. 5. CLARITY: Construct effective sentences and paragraphs. 6. COURTSEY: Use expressions that show respect and be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative. 7. CORRECTNESS: Use the right level of language and also maintain acceptable writing mechanics. So, for a communication to be effective or successful, principles of communication are quite important. In business communication, it is really important to express yourself as efficiently as possible. In order to communicate efficiently, we need to take a look at the factors which are important for effective communication. In this, more specifically, I will go through the factors that are essential for business communication. FACTORS THAT ARE CRUCIAL FOR EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION Factors in Effective Communication 1. The right atmosphere with no noise or visual distractions. 2. Agreement on interpretation of words. 3. Awareness of each other’s attitudes. 4. Awareness of each other’s fields of experience. 5. Awareness that people’s perceptions are different. 6. Awareness of cultural differences. 7. Ability to distinguish between facts and opinions. 8. Getting or giving feedback or response. 9. Making no false assumptions about what the other party knows. 10. Awareness of body language. We think the important factors are: * Appropriate spoken language * Appropriate body language * Good feedback especially on the telephone * Good note taking skills * Clear and grammatical e-mails Barriers often created by the Sender 1. Failure to see communication as a 2-way process. 2. Failure to think out the message clearly before communicating it. 3. Using bad grammar and sentence structure. 4. Speaking in terms unfamiliar to the receiver. 5. Giving information too fast or in too large amounts. 6. Including side issues and other irrelevant material. 7. Mistiming when the message should be given. 8. Limitation of communication to things that will not offend. 9. Fear of displaying limited knowledge. 10. Attack of nerves or lack of confidence in self.