Part 2 - Communication Skills Module v1 2020

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Part 2: 321/18/S07 - Communication Skills
Communication is the process by which information is transmitted between individuals and

organizations so that an understanding response results.
Communication is the modus operandi of social and commercial intercourse. It is communication

which gets the world going. It is the lifeblood of any group or organization.
Objectives of business communication

 Inform
The first and foremost objective of any communication is to inform. In today’s world,
information is power. Communication brings power through information. The
dissemination of information covers a wide range of areas, both internal and external.
People within the organization have to be kept informed about the organizational goals,
objectives, procedures, processes, systems, plans, priorities and strategies. To achieve this
you need to communicate.
 Educate
Another objective of communication in an organization is to educate, i.e., to disseminate
knowledge and develop skills and attitudes among the people working in the organization.
There is also a need to familiarize them with the systems, procedures and processes. This
can only be done through communication.
 Train
Communication is an integral component of any training program. Business organizations
need to train people to achieve proficiency in specific skills. They have to provide working
knowledge and attitudinal inputs through training programs to employees at various
hierarchical levels. Training sessions involve teaching, instruction, demonstration, practice
and discussion. The process of communication is integral to each of these.
 Motivate
People in any business organization have to be motivated to pursue goals and achieve
higher levels of performance. High levels of morale and motivation are a must to ensure
high levels of productivity and efficiency on a sustainable basis. Communication provides
Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

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the means to keep the motivation levels high. Talks, lectures, films, meetings, workshops
and non-verbal messages are among the means used to motivate people.
 Integrate
Large business organizations have different business units, departments and territorial
divisions. Each of them pursues different goals, sub-goals and target sections.
Communication provides the means for an integrated approach in pursuing organizational
goals. Effective communication is a must to ensure that people working in different
functional and geographical areas are integrated into well-knit teams that eschew working
at cross purposes and continue to achieve organizational goals as envisaged.
Communication binds together people working for a common objective and helps team
building.
 Helps networking
Today’s business world is highly networked. Networking means a closely connected group
of people. People need to connect with each other, not only within their organizations, but
among themselves as well. Progressive Organizations are inter-connected organizations
and lay much stress on networking. Networking facilitates easy flow of ideas, thoughts,
policies and decisions. At their individual level too, people need to network themselves so
as to exchange ideas and information.
Communication is a process that involves certain distinct steps. The process of communication in
an organization can be illustrated by the diagram below:

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The Communication Process
 Sender / Encoder: A person sending a message to another person. This person

begins the communication process. The sender has a responsibility to formulate a
message that will communicate exactly what he/she means. This involves the use
of communication symbols that will convey this meaning.
 Encoding: This technique is when the sender puts the message into language,
symbols or signals, which may be understood by the receiver. The process of
formulating the ideas of the message into meaningful symbols, words or signs, is
known as encoding. It is important that the sender must encode the message in a
way that it will be recognized and understood by the receiver, in order to make sure
the receiver gets the message as intended by the sender.
 Message: The reason for the communication process. It is the idea or information
that the sender wants to pass on to the receiver. This is the encoded set of symbols
that is conveyed by the sender and which consists of both verbal and non-verbal
symbols that the sender wishes to transmit. The sender must formulate the message
with clear language or symbols which will be easily understood by the receiver and

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which the receiver will be able to interpret accurately and respond to. The sender
should also provide room for feedback in the message.
 Medium/Channel: The channel is the medium through which the message is sent
– for example whether it is sent verbally (by word in face to face or telephonic
conversation), written (by writing such as memos, letters, faxes, e-mail) or signaled
(by hand or other symbols). The channel carries the message from the sender to the
receiver.
 Receiver / Decoder: The receiver is the person (for example the colleague or
tourist) to whom the message (or communication) is directed. In tour guiding it can
both be the tourists who are being addressed by the tour guide, or the tour guide
receiving questions from the tour group.
 Decoding: Decoding is when the receiver interprets the message and its meaning.
Decoding is the process by which the receiver translates the symbols or words of
the message into information that is meaningful to themselves.
 Feedback: The message has an effect on the receiver in terms of how they think it
was intended, and they give a response (reaction) back to the sender based on the
meaning they attach to the message. This response is called feedback. The feedback
can be verbal, written or non-verbal. Even silence is non-verbal feedback, although
it is often hard to interpret and can be misunderstood because it can either mean
indifference, acknowledgement or a lack of understanding of the message.
Principles of Business Communication
There are eleven principles of business communication:

1. Conciseness. Most business people are very busy (time is money!). The wordy letter is
usually put aside, for its very wordiness makes comprehension difficult.
2. Completeness. Your communication must contain all necessary information. Having to
request information that should have been included will probably antagonize the recipient
of the communication.
3. Courtesy.

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4. Correctness. Everyone has a tendency to focus on errors. To many people, errors in

spelling, price quotations, sentence structure, and the like are a reflection of organizational
inefficiency.
5. Clarity. All ambiguity should be avoided.
6. Logical Organization. It is one of the keys to all effective communication.
7. Attractiveness. All business communication should ‘look good’. Appearance is also
important in face-to-face communication.
8. Natural tone. The tone of business communication should be friendly, natural, and
sincere. Hackneyed, archaic, and obsolete words, phrases and expressions should be
avoided.
9. Tact. Controversial expressions that might antagonize or embarrass the ‘receiver’ should
be avoided. At times it is necessary to convey unpleasant ideas, but the choice of words
used to accomplish that objective should permit the „receiver‟ to save face and accept the
idea.
10. Positive tone. A positive tone almost invariably evokes a positive reaction. In almost every
situation, it is more desirable to make a positive statement. On rare occasions you may
wish to convey a negative idea or problem. However, you should almost always follow
immediately with an offer of a positive solution.
11. ‘Receiver’ orientation. An effective communicator must be sensitive to the reactions and
anticipated responses of the ‘receiver(s)’.
Communication can be categorized into different types depending upon the level at which it takes
place, the direction it takes or by its very nature. Some of the commonly referred to types of
communication are:
» Personal communication
Personal communication concerns communication that takes place between any two individuals,
be it in a family, group, community or even an organization. It takes place in an individual capacity
and is characterized by informality. There is an element of privacy in all such communications. It
can take the form of personal letters, personal telephone calls, conversations, one-to-one meetings
or e-mail messages. It is private in nature and there is nothing official about it. Private and
confidential conversation between two individuals is also referred to as tete-a-tete.

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» Business communication
Business communication takes place to further the goals of a business. It takes place among
business entities, in markets and market places, within organizations and between various groups
of employees, owners and employees, buyers and sellers, service providers and customers, sales
persons and prospects and also between people within the organization and press persons. All such
communication impacts business. Done with care, such communication can promote business
interests. Otherwise, it will portray the organization in poor light and may adversely affect the
business interest.
» Internal communication
Internal communication takes place within the organization or group—among people within,
among different groups of employees and between employers and employees. It could be oral or
written, visual or audio-visual, formal or informal and upward or downward. Internal
communication serves to inform, instruct, educate, develop, motivate, persuade, entertain, direct,
control and caution people in the organization. Knowledge, skills, goal orientation, sharing of
corporate concerns, review and monitoring, performance appraisal, counselling and training are
among the issues that internal communication addresses.
» External communication
Unlike internal communication, external communication flows outward. It addresses people

outside the organization, like the prospective customers, competitors, public, press, media and the
government. External communication can take place in various ways and through different
channels. Letters, notices, brochures, demonstrations, telephone calls, business meetings, press
releases, press conferences, audio-visual presentations, product launch events and advertisements
are all examples of external communication. It is important to note that the external agency or
person targeted through such communication quite often forms an image or impression based on
such communication and it is, therefore, very necessary that adequate care is taken in making it
clear, intelligible and appealing.
» Formal communication
To ensure communication on an ongoing basis, organizations develop formal systems. Staff

meetings, branch managers’ conferences, periodical sales review meetings and customer meets are
examples of forums that facilitate formal communication. Formal communication generally

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follows a well-defined hierarchical pattern and periodicity. Memos, circulars, instructions,

guidelines, clarifications, agreements and reports are some of the channels that facilitate the flow
of formal communication in business organizations.
» Informal communication
This type of communication takes place in an unstructured manner and outside the formal fora.
There is an element of spontaneity in this communication. Informal communication works well in
smaller, loosely knit organizations. It is used more often in situations where there are no rigid
hierarchical tiers. While formal structure of communication is a must in large organizations, it is
the informality that helps sustain goal orientation in small well-knit units. Informal communication
takes place through chats, conversations and informal talks and the like.
» Grapevine communication
Grapevine is a kind of informal communication that prevails in organizations and businesses. The
source of such communication may not be clear. It spreads by way of gossip and rumours. It travels
through informal networks and quite often travels faster than the formal messages. Sometimes, it
gets more powerful and becomes more receptive than the formal communication. The prevalence
of this type of communication in an organization has to be recognized and accepted. A skilled
communicator can derive benefits from such a communication as well. It may not always be
possible to control the grapevine, but, nevertheless, an able communicator knows how to influence
it. Like any other type of communication, this one too has its merits and demerits.
» Visual Communication
Visual communication is effected through pictures, graphs and charts, as well as through signs,
signals and symbols. They may be used either independently or as an adjunct to the other methods
of communication. It is also useful in reaching out to an illiterate target group. For instance ….

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It can be used in addressing groups of people who do not understand the language of the
communicator, like the picture/sign below. As the saying goes, ‘A picture is worth more than a
thousand words’. Pictures, graphs, charts and diagrams often convey the intended message quite
effectively.
Similarly, there are pictures to convey ‘No swimming’, ‘Danger zone’ and ‘Fasten seat belts’. In
business communication, pictures, graphs, charts, signs and symbols are frequently used to
illustrate, highlight and focus attention. The channels and instruments of visual communication
include video clips, and projectors.

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» Silence
Silence is also a method of communication. It refers to a state of wordlessness or verbal abstinence.
It may express anger or atonement. Self-inflicted silence conveys a powerful message. Silence
may also convey a form of punishment. The word ‘excommunication’ refers to a state of deliberate
cutting off of communication. There are indeed occasions when by keeping quiet one can ‘say’ a
lot. Silence can also be either deliberate or unintentional. Unexpected silence sometimes results in
awkward situations. In personal communication as well as business communication, silence has a
definite role to play. In dealing with an irate customer, an employee would be well advised to
observe silence and listen to the customer before reacting. Even the legal system takes cognizance
of silence as a method of communication.
» Interpersonal communication – it is exchange of messages between two persons.

Conversation, dialogue, interview etc. are examples of interpersonal communication.
Communication takes place through various methods and channels. The three main methods of
communication are oral or verbal communication, written communication and the non-verbal
communication.

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Methods of
communication
Oral/verbal Written Non-verbal
Written communication is carried out through letters, circulars, memos, reports, brochures and
books. Non-verbal communication takes place through body language. Language constitutes the
vehicle on which both oral and written communication travel. Apart from these three main
methods of communication, there are others like the visual, audio-visual and electronic. Silence is
also accepted as a method of communication. Each of these methods has its own merits, demerits,
channels and aids.
» Oral Communication
Oral communication refers to the spoken word. Oral communication takes place by way of talks,
conversation, dialogue, speech, discussion and meetings. Oral communication is also referred to
as verbal communication. It takes place between individuals with the help of words. Oral
communication takes place in many ways—casual and serious, formal and informal, structured
and unstructured. Oral communication encompasses conversation, monologue, dialogue, talk,
speech and chat. Direct person-to-person communication plays a very useful role in any
organization, essentially in work situations, where there are employer- employee, superior-
subordinate and service provider-customer interactions. Oral communication is a speedy two-way
process. The message conveyed through oral communication is instantaneous. The messages can
travel back and forth without any loss of time. It is possible for the receiver of the message to

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respond immediately to the sender making the process highly interactive. A noteworthy merit of
oral communication is that it can be supplemented and complemented by non-verbal
communication for greater impact. When a speaker speaks, the message is conveyed not only
through the spoken words, but also by body movements and actions.
Advantages of Verbal Communication
 Information can be given out quickly and to large numbers of people

 Opportunity for immediate feedback and two-way communication
 More understanding through body language
 It is the most effective tool of persuasion and for resolving conflicts
 It is effective for group interaction.
 It is economical both in terms of money and time.
 It is flexible as it provides ample scope to the sender to make himself clear and make
amendments unlike written messages which cannot be changed.
» Written Communication
Written communication is another powerful method of communication. The power of writing is

eloquently expressed in the saying ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’. The lecturer is also
communicating with the students through this piece of writing. Written communication is well
structured. The words are carefully chosen to suit the message and the context. Be it a letter, a
circular, a memo, a brochure or a report, the subject matter is carefully presented keeping in view
the receptivity of the reader. This is how it ought to be. Written communication invariably creates
a record that can be preserved over time. Letters, memos, contracts, agreements, documents and
reports often carry time value and need to be stored and preserved. As a result, it becomes possible
to access them for reference or study.
Advantages of Written Communication
 It helps to provide ready records, reference etc.

 It helps to build legal defenses.
 Promotes uniformity in policy and procedure.
 Gives access to a large audience through mass mailings.
 Written communication is accurate and unambiguous.

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 It gives sufficient time to think over and reply on a concerned subject.

 Helps in clear guidelines which are easily followed.
 Evidence of proof against anything.
Disadvantages of Written Communication
 It becomes difficult to maintain piles of records and can be easily destroyed if not properly
handed.
 It proves to be ineffective in the hands of those people who are poor in expressions but
otherwise good in their job.
 Immediate feedback is not obtained in the written communication as in the case of face to
face communication.
 It is a costly process. It involves large amount of stationary and people.
 Immediate clarification, interjection is not possible in written communication.
 It brings unnecessary forma tone in relations because there is no personal touch.
 There is no secrecy.
 Loss of man-hours in dictation, records maintaining, dispatching etc.
Advantages of Written communication over Oral communication

 Written communication has an extremely wide reach.
 Written communication can be well-organized so as to convey the precise
message.
 Written communication creates records.
 Maintenance of proper records, letters and reports build up the legal
defenses of the organization.
 Written communication promotes uniformity in policy and procedure.
 It can be exactly reproduced or repeated.
 It can be targeted to reach specific individuals/sections.
 Written communication can be prepared at a time when the communicator
is best prepared to do so.

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» Non-Verbal Communication
The third method of communication relates to non-verbal communication, which is neither oral
nor written. While oral communication thrives on listening and the written communication thrives
on reading, the non-verbal communication thrives on observation. Non-verbal communication
may take any of the following forms— body language, gestures, postures, appearance, personal
space, codes, signs and signals, facial expressions, timings, examples and personal behaviour.
Non-verbal communication may be conscious or unconscious, deliberate or unintended. It may

substitute verbal communication or supplement it. Non-verbal communication is extremely
relevant during meetings and interactions of a direct or face-to-face nature. The greatest merit of
non-verbal communication is that it has a universal appeal. Unlike both oral and written
communication, which depend on a particular language, non-verbal communication can reach
across to people of different regions, irrespective of the language they speak. Mother Teresa’s
language of love and compassion is just one example. In the organizational context, however,
nonverbal language can be used effectively as an adjunct to verbal communication.
Non-verbal communication can have an overwhelming impact. There are myriad ways in which
the body and its associated actions communicate messages, both intended and unintended. Non-
verbal communication takes place at various levels when parts of the body, actions, mannerisms,
behaviour, attire and demeanour tend to communicate.

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In other words, non-verbal communication takes place through the following objects, actions, and
expressions:
 Body language—facial expressions, eye contact, voice modulation
 Postures/Gestures—carriage, leaning, shrugging, nodding
 Attire  Timing
 Appearance  Example
 Handshake  Behaviour
 Space  Smile
Classification of non-verbal communication
1. Kinesics: Kinesics is the study of body physical movements. It is the way our body
communicates without words and it’s occupying a major aspect of non-verbal communication
process. When we communicate our thought process and attitude is transmitted in the form of
body movements by which our inner state of mind is reflected in our movements. Thus you
can realize these expressions by face and eyes, gestures, posture and physical appearance.
 Facial expression is the first way to communicate particularly eyes and eye movement. We
can express happiness, surprise, fear, anger and sadness everything through our eyes.
 The gesture is our body parts especially arms, legs, hands and head convey meaning. All
these movements are made rationally along with our speaking and not made with any
intention.
 Body shape is related to our biological factor and it is natural but poster is how we stretch
our body in different styles. Body shapes are classified into three they are ectomorph which
is thin, youthful, and tall then the mesomorph is muscular fit body and finally endomorph
which is fat, round, and soft.
 Appearance includes clothes, hair style, jewellery, cosmetics and such styles which we
include in our daily life by which we communicate how we want to project our self.
2. Proxemics: It involves how we arrange personal space and what we arrange in it. They
create meaning in your mind and others mind as well. They are also called personal space
language which involves how we are maintaining relationship with a person with intimate

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space, personal space, social space and finally public space. All these things are typical
examples of our relationship space with our father, friend, boss and a stranger.
3. Time language: Time language is all about the meaning we convey through time. In
western countries time equates money because their business culture is like that. The same
thing apply may differ for other cultures. Therefore time language is associated with culture as
well.
4. Paralanguage: It involves how we say something in different pitch, tone and voice
modulation such as slow or fast. Based on voice language we infer people background and
personality.
5. Physical context: It refers to our surroundings, colour, layout and design of our physical
environment. For example colour of the building and room, design of table and chairs etc. All
these things communicate a lot to our feelings and emotions.
Non-verbal communication is used because

 Words have limitations
 Non-verbal signals are powerful
 Non-verbal messages are likely to be more genuine
 Non-verbal signals can express feelings in appropriate to state
 A separate communication channel is necessary to help Send complex messages
Function of Non-Verbal Communication:
There are following five functions of it.
 To provide information either consciously or unconsciously.

 To regulate the flow of conversation.
 To express emotion
 To qualify, complement, contradict or expand verbal message.
 To control or influence others.

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Non-verbal Behavior Interpretation

Brisk, erect walk Confidence
Standing with hands on hips Readiness, aggression
Sitting with legs crossed, foot kicking slightly Boredom
Sitting, legs apart Open, relaxed
Arms crossed on chest Defensiveness
Walking with hands in pockets, shoulders hunched Dejection
Hand to cheek Evaluation, thinking
Touching, slightly rubbing nose Rejection, doubt, lying
Rubbing the eye Doubt, disbelief
Hands clasped behind back Anger, frustration,
apprehension
Locked ankles Apprehension
Head resting in hand, eyes downcast Boredom
Rubbing hands Anticipation
Sitting with hands clasped behind head, legs crossed Confidence, superiority
Open palm Sincerity, openness,
innocence
Pinching bridge of nose, eyes closed Negative evaluation
Tapping or drumming fingers Impatience
Patting/fondling hair Lack of self-confidence;
insecurity
Stroking chin Trying to make a decision
Looking down, face turned away Disbelief
Biting nails Insecurity, nervousness
Pulling or tugging at ear Indecision

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Importance of Non-Verbal Communication:
 Reliability
Non-verbal communication is more reliable then verbal communication. Words can be controlled
more easily but it’s difficult to hide facial expressions like sadness, gladness, joy etc. So non-
verbal communication is regarded as a more reliable means for transmitting message.
 Support to verbal communication
Body language and appearance support the verbal communication. A wave of hand, smile etc
might be very useful to explain and understand a particular point of view.
 Quickness
A denial or acceptance expressed by moving head saves lot of time. So, it is important in this
respect that non-verbal communication transmits the message quickly.
Channel of Communication
Channel of communication means how communication flows from one point to another point. It
is the official communication channels established by the organization and are accepted and
recognized by employees and managers.
It may be divided into the following types:

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Internal Communication
The communication within the organization, among its members is internal communication.
Channels of internal communication are:
 Letters to staff  Staff meeting
 Email  Bulletin boards
 Employee newsletter  Employee app.
Channels of
Internal
Communication
Formal Informal
Communication Communication
Vertical Horizontal Diagonal
Upward Downward
Formal communication
Formal communication is when the information is passed through the formal channels of
communication preset in the organization. It is the communication when takes place within the
official i.e. through the lines of communication approved by senior management. This is the
channel which carries the official messages in the organization. Formal communication is done

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through company newsletters, employee handbook, company magazines, formal meetings, letters,
bulletins, memos, faxes, all employees mailing, etc.
Directions of Communication
In an organization, communication flows in 5 main directions-

 Downward
 Upward
 Horizontal /Lateral
 Diagonal
 Grapevine Communication
Downward Communication
Communication that flows from a higher level in an organization to a lower level is a downward
communication. In other words, communication from superiors to subordinates in a chain of
command is a downward communication. This communication flow is used by the managers to
transmit work-related information to the employees at lower levels. Employees require this
information for performing their jobs and for meeting the expectations of their managers.
Downward communication is used by the managers for the following purposes:
 Providing feedback on employees’ performance.

 Giving job instructions.
 Providing a complete understanding of the employees’ job as well as to communicate
them how their job is related to other jobs in the organization.
 Communicating the organizations mission and vision to the employees.
 Highlighting the areas of attention.
Figure: Downward Communication
Examples of downward communication:
Organizational publications, circulars, letter to employees, group meetings etc.

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Disadvantages of Downward Communication

 Rely on written Media
 Misunderstandings and confusion
 Reliability of the source
 Overload of Message
 Timing
 Rigidity
 Lack of Feedback
Upward Flow of Communication
Communication that flows to a higher level in an organization is called upward communication.

It provides feedback on how well the organization is functioning. The subordinates use upward
communication to convey their problems and performances to their superiors.
The subordinates also use upward communication to tell how well they have understood the
downward communication. It can also be used by the employees to share their views and ideas and
to participate in the decision-making process. Upward communication leads to a more committed
and loyal workforce in an organization because the employees are given a chance to raise and
speak dissatisfaction issues to the higher levels. The managers get to know about the employees’
feelings towards their jobs, peers, supervisor and organization in general. Managers can thus
accordingly take actions for improving things.
Figure: Upward Communication
Examples of Upward communication are:
Grievance Redressal System, Complaint and Suggestion Box, Job Satisfaction surveys,
performance reports made by low level management for reviewing by higher level management,
employee attitude surveys, letters from employees, employee-manager discussions etc.

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Advantages of Upward communication
 Upward communication provides useful information, data etc., which are more
useful for decision making.
 This channel serves the growth and development of democratic leadership.
 It promotes loyalty, honesty and participative attitude so essential for effective
functioning.
 Effective communication upward channel conveys feelings about the job, feelings
about their, feelings about the company.
 It facilitates an effective in built feedback mechanism particularly feedback in the
case of written communication.
 It gives an opportunity to present an improved picture of what subordinates think
of the willingness, of the superiors to discuss politic; Plans and actions.
Limitations of Upward Communication
 Fear
 Distrust of Superiors
 Lack of Self Confidence
 Long Chain of Command
 Lack of confidence in Superiors
 Fear of Criticism
Lateral / Horizontal Communication
Communication that takes place at same levels of hierarchy in an organization is called lateral
communication, i.e., communication between peers, between managers at same levels or between
any horizontally equivalent organizational members.
The advantages of horizontal communication are as follows:

 It is time saving.
 It facilitates co-ordination of the task.
 It facilitates co-operation among team members.
 It provides emotional and social assistance to the organizational
members.
 It helps in solving various organizational problems.

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 It is a means of information sharing.

 It can also be used for resolving conflicts of a department with other department or
conflicts within a department.
Importance of Horizontal Communication

 Co-ordination
 Problem Solving
 Conflict Resolution
 Balances Downward and Upward
 Effective Control
 Useful to Subordinates
Diagonal Communication or crosswise communication
The transfer of information between people who are neither, in the same department nor on the
same level of organization hierarchy is called diagonal communication. For example: when the
assistant marketing manager communicates with accounts clerk directly. This kind of kind of
communication cuts across both vertical and horizontal dimensions.
Advantages of diagonal communication-
 Spread information more quickly than the traditional forms of communication.

 Serve to link groups that otherwise would either have to communicate through the much
slower upward — downward organization communication channels or not communicate
at all.
 Enable individuals with diverse knowledge is different parts of the organization to
contribute to problem solution, enhancing the effectives of resources use within the
organization.
Disadvantage of a diagonal communication
 These interfere with the normal organizational routine, & they cannot be effectively
controlled by the, organization.
 It leads to the formation of a grapevine.

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 The staff members come to know about all the information even before it is circulated to
their heads or superiors. .
Informal Communication
Grapevine
This is personal communication which is transmitted between individuals or groups and comprises
personal interpretations, opinions, gossip, reactions, hearsay, half-truths. It is an unofficial
circulation that makes the rounds in an organisation and, though it lacks credence, the receiver
finds it hard to resist.
This kind of communication travels the fastest and has a vast reach. The contents, because of its
immense personal appeal, are readily believable.
Since, more often than not, negative information, half-truths, personalized accounts of events,
gross distortions are passed on by the sender and taken as true by the receiver, and this kind of
communication poses a big challenge to any organisation. It often leads to lack of motivation and
morale of employees. Management could face greater challenges to maintain trust and factual
positions between itself and its employees.
Managements must be fully aware about the potential power of the grapevine. This can often fail
formal communication, as it is difficult to trace its origin and is difficult to control or stop
completely.
How does management tackle the grapevine? Since it becomes active in the absence of correct and
complete information, the grapevine takes over when official channels fail to function properly.
Therefore, management must circulate information that is accurate and strengthen upward
channels of communication.
To avoid unnecessary grapevine, the organisation must take prompt note of communication from
employees. Moreover, if employees feel confident about the management, instances of grapevine
will reduce. Management, therefore, must delegate responsibility and entrust employees with
specific responsibilities to strengthen trust between itself and its employees. Some measures to
control the grapevine are inviting suggestions, forming grievance and re-dressal cells, publishing

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house journals, making effective use of bulletins, notice-boards and an array of employee welfare
schemes.
Finally, the management has to be alert and take note when the grapevine becomes active. It has
to cut the grapevine with official communication. Or, use the grapevine itself to circulate official
information.
Importance of Internal communication
Internal communication is communication within the organization. Internal communication is

considered important for the following reasons.
 It facilitates planning: Effective communication systems facilitate both the establishment
and the dissemination of objectives in an organization. It further helps in planning for the
achievement of these objectives by collecting timely and accurate information. In fact,
the success of planning is largely dependent on the quality of information on which it is
based.
 Increasing complexity of business: Businesses are becoming increasingly complex. Due to
specialization, different functional areas like advertising, finance, sales, production,
training and recruitment are handled by different departments. For the coordination of the
various departments, effective communication is essential amongst them. For example, the
planning department may have spent a month to work out the details of a new project, but
it will all prove to be futile if the finances are not available to execute the project.
 Growth of businesses: Organizations have a number of branches both within the country
and abroad. Therefore, for healthy and even growth, an effective and efficient network of
communication is required. This will facilitate effective information transfer amongst
various branches and will also update information at the head office to facilitate planning
and decision making.
 Promotes cooperation and understanding: If there exists effective and smooth
communication between the management and employees, it helps to bring about an
atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence which is beneficial to both the parties. The
management gets better returns as there is an increase in productivity. The employees get
increased job satisfaction and also develop a sense of loyalty and belongingness towards
the organization.

P a g e | 25
 Helps in the decision-making process: The decision-making process, like planning, is also
based on the availability of information. If the right type of information is not available at
the right time due to the lack of effective communication, the management will be unable
to consider all the pros and cons before taking the decision. Effective communication
results in high quality decision-making.
 Increases employee morale: Communication in organizations is the basis of morale
building. Through an effective communication system, the employees can bring their
grievances to the management and get them redressed satisfactorily. It thus creates trust
and ensures job satisfaction.
External communication
This is communication with those outside the organization.
Outward communication - the messages which go out of the organization to customers,
suppliers, banks, insurance companies, govt. departments, mass media & the general public.
They may be in the form of letters, taxes, banners, reports, telegrams, advertisements, press
handouts, speeches, visits, trade fairs, etc.
Inward communication - messages that are received from outside by the company. An
organization may receive letters, faxes, telegrams, telephone calls, personal visits, magazines.
etc., these may be, from customers, suppliers, other organization, govt. departments, etc.
Therefore, when a business organization exchanges information with other organizations, banks,
insurance companies, customers, suppliers, leaders and people, it is known as external
communication. The goals of external communication are to facilitate cooperation with groups
such as suppliers, investors and stockholders. It is also endowed with the responsibility of and
presenting a favorable image of an organization and its products or services to customers and to
society at large.

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Importance of External communication
External communication refers to the communication of the organization with external agencies,
both government and private. External communication is considered important for the following
reasons:
 Contact with the external environment: Organizations do not exist in isolation. It is

important that they keep in touch with the external environment to follow the changes
taking place and the effect they will have on the functioning of the business. Good
communication networks will enable to anticipate changes and prepare accordingly.
 Improves ability to handle competition better: This is an era of competition for businesses.
Effective communication helps in handling information about competitors, their products,
policies, and so on, to meet the challenges of competition. The right kind of information
at the right time can thus help in handling competition better.
 Improves public relations: Communication helps in building relationships with all
stakeholders which include customers, suppliers, competitors, press, and so on. Good
communication promotes goodwill amongst the various stakeholders.
Intrapersonal communication – it is talking to oneself in one’s own mind. Soliloquies or asides in

dramatic work are example of intrapersonal communication.
<<<Supplementary module to address this aspect….meanwhile research>>>
Mass communication- it occurs when the message is sent to large groups, for example, by
newspaper, radio, or television etc. Mass communication is therefore distinctive in view of its
scale. Essentially, it addresses a large mass of people. Public speaking, newspapers, magazines
and journals, radio, television and dotcoms are channels of mass communication. Mass

P a g e | 27
communication has developed into a specialized area of study. Each of these areas or channels
calls for distinct skills. By its very nature, mass communication addresses a vast, well spread-out
and heterogeneous group of people and, as such, special efforts will have to be made to sustain
their interest and achieve the desired response. At the government level too, there is often a
separate ministry or department of mass communication to deal with this functional area. Main
branches of study relating to mass communication are public relations, advertising and publicity,
journalism and digital media.
There are two major theories of communication: behavioral & mathematical.
The Behavioral Theory covers both verbal and non-verbal communication. First set forth by Dr.
Jurgen Ruesch, a psychiatrist, it postulates that communication is based on social situations in
which individuals find themselves. Our participation in communication with others must conform
to established behavioral patterns involving:
 Social situations (culture, social class, time & place, etc.)
 Roles (gender, professional, religious, etc.)
 Status (authority, respect, social/class standing, i.e. in the caste system in India)
 Rules (protocol, ethics, or code of behavior)
 Clues in non-verbal communication (gestures, touch, voice inflections, etc.)
This theory identifies communication networks such as

• intrapersonal, i.e., communication with oneself,
• interpersonal, i.e., communication between individuals,
• group interaction, such as between departments, or organizations, and
• Cultural, i.e., between distinct cultures, such as Amandlozi and Christian.
The Mathematical Theory is largely based on the work of Claude Shannon & Warren Weaver
who were not social scientists but engineers working for Bell Telephone Labs in the United States.
Their goal was to ensure the maximum efficiency of telephone cables and radio waves. They
developed a model of communication, which was intended to assist in developing a mathematical

P a g e | 28
theory of communication. Shannon and Weaver’s work proved valuable for communication
engineers in dealing with such issues as the capacity of various communication channels in ‘bytes
per second’. It contributed to computer science, and in making ‘information’ ‘measurable’ it gave
birth to the mathematical study of ‘information theory’. Their original model consisted of five
elements:
 An information source, which produces a message;
 A transmitter, which encodes the message into signals;
 A channel, to which signals are adapted for transmission;
 A receiver, which „decodes‟ (reconstructs) the message from the signal;
 A destination, where the message arrives.
A sixth element, noise, is a dysfunctional factor: any interference with the message traveling along
the channel (such as ‘static’ on the telephone or radio) which may lead to the signal received being
different from that sent.
According to Aristotle in a communication event, there are three main ingredients, such as:
 The speaker
 The speech and
 The audience
Subsequently, a number of experts have developed modern models of communication which are
more complex and dynamic.
Shannon and Weaver model

In 1948, Shannon was an American mathematician, Electronic engineer and Weaver was an
American scientist both presented this model. It was specially designed to develop the effective
communication between sender and receiver. They considered the theory as strictly mathematical
and that can identify with technology and technical aspects of communication. They considered
communication as a mechanistic system consisting of the following five basic elements:
 Information – Source

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 Transmitter – to convert a message into transmittable signals

 A channel
 A Receiver – Who reconstructs the message from the signals
 Destination – The person or machine to whom it is intended
The other four components that they introduced in the system, are –
 The message
 Transmitted Signals
 Received Signals
 Noise , a factors which affecting the communication process
At first the model was developed to improve the Technical communication. Later it’s widely
applied in the field of Communication.
Interactive model
With slighter change in Shannon weaver model, the interactive model can be developed.
Feedback is an avoidable stage in communication by introducing this phase to the above model
we get interactive model of communication which is as follows.

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Intermediary model
An intermediary model of communication was developed by Katz and Lazarsfeld in 1955. It
focuses on the important role held by the intermediaries in the communication process. Many
of these intermediaries have the ability to decide and influence the messages, the context and
ways in which they are seen. They often have the ability, to change messages or to prevent
them from reaching an audience.
Transactional model
The transactional model of communication takes into account noise or interference in
communication as well as the time factor. The outer lines of the model indicate that
communication involve both systems of communicators and personal systems. It also takes
into account changes that happen in the fields of personal and common experiences. The model
also labels each communicator as both sender as well as receiver simultaneously. There is this
interdependence where there can be no source without a receiver and no message without a
source. Communicators depends on factors like background, prior experiences, attitudes,
cultural beliefs and self-esteem.

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No matter how good the communication system in an organization is, unfortunately barriers can
and do often occur. This may be caused by a number of factors which can usually be summarized
being as due to physical barrier, languages, and organizational, emotional, personal barriers and
they result in communication breakdown.

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Some of the common problems that lead to the failure of communication are:
Organizational barrier
The factors internal to the organization which adversely affect the flow of communication arc
called on barriers. These include:
 Organization politics  Rules and regulations

 Complex organizational structure  Status difference
Psychological or emotional or perceptual barrier & Personal
It is comprised mainly of fear, mistrust & suspicion. The roots of our emotional mistrust of others
lie in our childhood & infancy when we were taught to be careful for what we said to others. These
include:
 Selective listening,
 Lack of ability to communicate
 Premature evaluation
 Inattention
 Emotional attitude, Inferring.
 Defensiveness (fear of boss)
Group identification (belonging to a group like family locality, city, our religion group, age, group,
nationality, economic group) we tend to reject an idea which goes against the interest of the group.
Physical or Environmental Barriers

Physical barriers are those barriers which are caused due to some technical defects in the media
used for communication and/or due to certain disturbances in the surrounding environment. Noise
is the first major barrier to communication. Communication is distorted by noise that crops up at
the transmission level. For example, the noise of the traffic around a school obstructs the smooth
flow of information between the teacher and the students. It makes oral communication difficult.

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Semantic or Language Barriers

Semantics is the systematic study of the meaning of words. Thus, the semantic barriers are barriers
related to language. Such barriers are problems that arise during the process of encoding and/or
decoding the message into words and ideas respectively. Both the oral and the written
communication are based on words/symbols which are ambiguous in nature. Words/symbols may
be used in several ways and may have several meanings. Unless the receiver knows the context,
he may interpret the words/symbols according to his own level of understanding and may thus
misinterpret the message. The most common semantic barriers is the use of Technical Language
Technical or specialized language which is used by people or professionals who work in the same
field is known as jargon. Such technical language can be a barrier to communication if the receiver
of the message is not familiar with it. For example, in the computer jargon, 'to burn a CD' means
'to copy the data on a CD'; in Zimbabwean towns to ‘burn’ may also mean to ‘replicate or multiply
money’ , To a layman in the country side, the word 'burn' may mean destruction by fire…
Cultural Barriers
Cultural differences give rise to a great deal of complexity in the encoding and the decoding of
messages not only because of the difference in languages, but also because of plenty of culture
specific assumptions at work in the mind of the sender as well as the receiver. People belonging
to different cultures may attach different meanings to words, symbols, gestures, and behaviour or
they may perceive each other’s’ social values, body language, attitude to space distancing and
time, social behaviour and manners, etc., i.e. the entire culture in general, very differently
depending upon their own standards, attitudes, customs, prejudices, opinions, behavioral norms,
etc., i.e. their own distinct culture. Thus, cultural barriers arise when people belonging to different
cultures insist on preserving their cultural identities and at times, judge the other cultures as inferior
to their own.
How to overcome communication barriers:

 Shortening the line of communication
 Use of simple and meaningful language.
 Developing patience to listen & understand others
 By avoiding pre-mature evolutions
 Giving due importance to gesture & tone

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 Utilizing the feedback

 More use of informal & face-to-face talks
 By communicating so as to express & not to impress
Creating logic and Flow
Be clear
 Your writing must be understood at the first reading.
 A business document is clear when it means exactly what the writer intends.
 Avoid technical jargon, unfamiliar words or formal language.
FORMAL MODERN
Payment has been duly noted We received your cheque
Attached hereto please find Attached is
Pursuant to your request As requested
Acquaint you with the facts Tell you
LONG SHORT
Utilize Use
Commence Begin / Start
Terminate End
Keep sentences short and simple – 17 words or less. However, vary the sentence length or
structure to avoid monotony and create interest.
TOO LONG SHORTER

In this letter we have attempted to answer all If you have additional questions, please call
of your questions, and we hope that if you us.
have any additional questions whatsoever,
you will not hesitate to contact us.
Revise your first draft, looking for ways to reduce the number of words or to cut out
unnecessary information.

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Be complete
Check that all the information the reader will need is included: Who? What? Where? When?
Why? How?
Be convincing
 Use language that is believable.

 Avoid exaggeration and superlatives.
 Suggest possibilities or probabilities rather than making forceful assertions.
EMPHATIC REALISTIC
Always Usually
Never Rarely
Everyone/everything/all Most
No-one, nobody A few, some
Must, should, will Could, might, may
Whenever possible, use active voice to let the subject perform the action.
PASSIVE ACTIVE
Record enrolments were received by the The University received record enrolments
University this year. this year.
The report was completed by Sue. Sue completed the report.
Provide supporting arguments for your point of view – e.g. provide examples, statistics or a
quote from a respected authority.
Examples: Condescension
“Of course, as anybody would know,”
“With respect, what you said is …” “Obviously, the situation is …”

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Written messages can be broken down into the following parts:

 Words
 Sentences
 Paragraphs
Words are the fundamental unit of writing. Words combine to make sentences and sentences are
arranged logically to form paragraphs. In addition to this, paragraphs combine to set the overall
tone of the message. Writing principles apply to these four elements of the written message.
Grasp and practice the following principles of effective writing:

1. Clarity of writing: For the written message to be clear and understandable to the reader, both
clarity of thought and clarity of expression are required on the part of the writer. By being clear
about the purpose of the message and knowing exactly what needs to be conveyed to the reader,
one can obtain clarity of thought. The writer needs to arrange his thoughts logically before writing
them down.
In order to achieve clarity of expression, the message needs to be well expressed, because if
encoding is faulty the message may be misinterpreted. Clarity of expression can be achieved by
the following means:
Use of simple words (Avoid wordy expressions)
Short and simple words are easily understood and are less likely to be misused. Of course, variety
in vocabulary makes the writing impressive but too many long words in a sentence should be
avoided. They distract the reader and do more harm than good. It is a myth that the bigger the
words, the greater is the intellect of the writer. One needs to remember that writing is to express
rather than to impress.

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Be concise
Too many words Fewer words
Prior to the event Before
At this point in time Now
Subsequent to After
For the purpose of To
In the event that If
In view of the fact that / Due to the fact that Because of
(i) Use familiar words: Use words which are familiar to you as a writer and are also likely to
be familiar to the reader. For this, you need to possess a good vocabulary to enable you to select
the words most appropriate for the reader. Unfamiliar words unnecessarily confuse the reader and
he may, ultimately, get disinterested.
(ii) Use short sentences: To enhance the clarity of writing, use short sentences. Long sentences
can be confusing and many a time, they may be misinterpreted. If the sentence is of more than
thirty words, break it up.
(iii) Use concrete expressions and not vague expressions: While writing, choose words that
have definite and specific meaning. If the words chosen are ambiguous the reader is likely to act
based on his own interpretation, which may be different from what the writer intended.
Give specific details.
Abstract Concrete
Your study package will be delivered soon. Your study package will be delivered in two
weeks‟ time.
Your superannuation plan will earn high Your superannuation plan will earn 10%
interest. interest.
Photocopiers should have appropriate Photocopiers should be able to produce 50
performance parameters. stapled copies of 20 double-sided sheets in
less than 3 minutes.
Try to substitute exact facts or figures for vague generalities.

Use concrete examples to clearly illustrate the point you are making

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(iv) Avoid unnecessary use of jargon: Jargon refers to technical vocabulary used by members
to communicate within a specialized group. It is alright to use jargon to communicate within the
same specialist group as the words will be familiar to the members and will, hence, be understood
by all of them. However, if the reader is from a different field, he is likely to either misunderstand
the word or not understand it at all. For example the word ‘virus’ has different meanings for a
doctor and a computer specialist. Therefore, it is better to avoid the use of jargon especially for
communicating outside ones specialized group.
Jargon Jargon-free
Our facilitator will interface with the new Our administrative assistant will operate the new
communication systems network. telephone system.
(v) Avoid ambiguity in framing sentences: A message is ambiguous if it means more than one
thing. Avoid using ambiguous sentences in your message as this may confuse the reader.
Simply avoid using a word with a double meaning or misplacing a phrase within a sentence.
Examples: Ambiguity
“We are committed to eliminating all traces of discrimination in the law against women.”
(Is there a law against women?)
“Staff members who had been hired unofficially complained to the union.”
(Were they hired unofficially, or did they complain unofficially?)
2. Completeness: In business communication, completeness of facts is absolutely necessary.

This is more so with written communication where immediate feedback is generally not possible.
Incomplete information may either result in an incorrect decision or in time being wasted in the
follow-up correspondence to complete the gaps in the information. While answering a letter, make
sure that you have answered all the questions. While giving some information, check for the five
Ws for ensuring completeness, that is, tell the reader the ‘who, what, where, when and why’ of the
information.

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3. Accuracy: The accuracy of the message depends on what is said and how it is said. Thus,
the message has to be accurate both in terms of truthful presentation of the contents, that is, the
facts and figures mentioned in the message and in terms of the timeliness of the message, that is,
the message should be conveyed at the appropriate time. The credibility of the written message
depends on its accuracy.
Check and recheck the message for accuracy of the facts and figures, especially where important
decisions have to be taken based on the document containing the information.
4. Appropriate tone and language: It is not only the accuracy of the contents but the tone
in which they are expressed which take away or add meaning to the message. Tone refers to the
feelings created by words used to communicate a message. Just as the tone of voice is important
in oral communication, the tone of the written communication affects the reader. The selection of
the appropriate tone depends on the relationship between the reader and the writer and their relative
status in the organization. These factors determine the level of formality of the message.
Depending on the level of formality between the writer and the reader, the tone of the message can
be informal, semi-formal or strictly formal. The language that involves the selection of words
should also be appropriate. Some of the issues to be considered are:
(i) Avoid colloquialisms, clichés, slang and hackneyed expressions.
Clichés are overused phrases that become boring through overuse. They take away the originality
and freshness of the message. Avoid these to present your message from sounding stereotyped and
mechanical.
Examples: Clichés
Cliché Meaning/ alternative expression
Bottom line Situation, essence, final position, total, goal

In a nutshell In short
In the long run Finally
In this day and age Today, presently
Name of the game The heart of the matter, the true purpose
Off the record To speak confidentially
State of the art Best

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Slang is an informal word or phrase which is not a part of the standard language and is often used
by a specific category of individuals. Use of slang reflects a high degree of informality and should
be avoided in written business communication.
(ii) Use non-discriminatory language: Avoid the use of sexist language, that is, words and
phrases which show a gender bias. This involves replacing words such as ‘chairman’ with
‘chairperson’, using ‘Sir/Mam’ in the salutation if you are not sure of the person you are
addressing. Do not assume that the addressee is a male. With an increasing number of women
forming a part of the workforce, this is a common error that is committed. Do not use words which
lower the dignity of women. Refer to women and men in the same way.
Write tactfully with the reader firmly in mind. A tactful writer does not offend, is not sexist or
insulting, and is never condescending
Sexist Gender neutral
Spokesman Spokesperson, representative
Manpower Staff, workforce
Chairman Chair, Chairperson
Man the counter Staff the counter, serve
Writing should also be free from bias based on factors such as race, religion, disability, and so on.
Our writing should reflect sensitivity and should not offend others.
The following are examples of the use of masculine pronouns for both sexes and their gender-
neutral substitutes.
Gender biased use of pronoun: When a new employee joins the organization, he undergoes an
orientation programme of 15 days.
Gender-neutral substitute: A new employee who joins the organization undergoes an orientation
programme of 15 days.
Gender biased use of pronoun: When a customer asks for a replacement during the guarantee
period, he has to be provided one.

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Gender neutral substitute: A customer who asks for a replacement during the guarantee period has
to be provided one. Gender Neutral Substitutes
(iii) Avoid negative words: Some words have a negative connotation associated with them. Avoid
using such words. Instead, replace them with substitutes that sound positive.
Some words that reflect negativity are unpleasant like disagree, damage and complaint. Some
examples of how negative sounding words can be replaced by words that sound positive are as
follows:
Negative – We will not be able to dispatch the goods till 12th July.
Positive – We will be able to dispatch the goods by 12th July.
5. Courtesy: Incorporate courtesy in your writing. Apologize sincerely for an omission and
thank generously for a favour. Do not be rude or harsh. Timely response to correspondence also
reflects courtesy. Follow the golden rule of not replying to any communication when you are
angry on upset. A tone of courtesy and sincerity enhances the effectiveness of the message by
making it more acceptable to the reader.
Be courteous
 Display good manners and a caring attitude in your writing.

 Whenever possible, phrase your writing positively with a pleasant tone.
NEGATIVE POSITIVE
We cannot deliver your study package before Your study package will be delivered as soon
1st March. as possible after 1st March.
We cannot agree to the present terms and Some discussion regarding the terms and
conditions outlined in your contract. conditions will need to be entered into before
we can reach a mutually satisfying
agreement.
You failed to enclose a cheque with your As soon as your cheque arrives, we’ll send
order; therefore, it is impossible to send you your order through express delivery.
the merchandise.
6. Avoid offensive statements even though they may be the truth. Even though such
statements may be stating the obvious, they result in humiliating the reader.

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7. Brevity: Being brief and to the point also contributes to making the writing effective.
Brevity in writing saves the reader’s time, and is clearer and more interesting. Being brief means
conveying only what is relevant and leaving out what is irrelevant or words which are
unnecessary. However, brevity at the cost of clarity is not desirable. Shorter Substitute
8. Appropriate emphasis: In a message there are some items that are more important than
others and these need to be emphasized to get the desired effect of writing. There are certain
techniques which can be used to give proper emphasis to the selected parts of the message. These
techniques include:
(i) Using position for emphasis: The major emphasis positions are the beginning and the
closing of each sentence, paragraph or the message. Place words, sentences or paragraphs at these
positions if you want to emphasize them. Other parts of the message that do not need emphasis
can be placed between these positions.
(ii) Using space for emphasis: It is natural that the more you say about something, the more
likely it is to draw attention. Thus repeating certain points which require emphasis or elaborating
them in detail is a useful technique for emphasizing important parts of the message.
(iii) Using mechanics for emphasis: Using bold letters, italicized letters, capital letters,
underlining, using a different colour or a different font are some of the ways in which a particular
part of writing can be emphasized to readily catch the attention of the reader.
Avoid unnecessary repetition:
Examples: Repetition (Tautology)

“Absolutely essential”
“Advance planning”
“Close scrutiny”
“Combine together”
“Completely empty/full”
“Exactly identical”
“My personal opinion”

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9. Unity and coherence: The message consists of information in the form of words,
sentences and paragraphs that need to be logically arranged to give a unified and coherent effect.
There is a slight difference between a paragraph that is unified and a paragraph that is coherent.
A unified paragraph gives information directly relevant to the topic and presents it logically. A
way of achieving unity in a paragraph is to give the sentence that contains the subject of the
paragraph as the opening sentence. This helps the writer to focus on the topic of the paragraph
while writing the message.
A message is said to be coherent when each sentence is smoothly linked to the succeeding
sentence. Various techniques are known to impart coherence to the message, that is, to bind
together the information that is presented so as to convey the big picture to the reader. These
include the use of transitional words and pronouns, repetition of key words and using parallelism
in structure.
(i) Using transitional words: Transitional words tell the reader the thought connection
between sentences and the relationship between sentences. Some commonly used transitional
expressions are: in addition, moreover, besides, also in contrast, although, but, however, as a
result, in the same way, likewise, thus, therefore, for example, in conclusion, to summarize,
meanwhile, and so on.
(ii) Using pronouns: As pronouns refer to words that have been previously used, they help in
connecting ideas and words they relate to. The use of pronouns like this, that, these, those, he,
they, and so on, help in relating ideas in different sentences.
(iii) Repeating key words: By repeating key words from one sentence to the next one can
provide a link between two sentences. Avoid needless repetition but use purposeful repetition to
achieve coherence in the message.
(iv) Using parallelism in structure: Sentences need to have a parallel structure, which means
using a similar grammatical structure for similar ideas that is, matching adjectives with adjectives,
nouns with nouns, infinitives with infinitives, and so on. Parallel sentence structure enhances
coherence.
Good writers know how to economize on words. If you can convey the intended meaning with
fewer words, your effectiveness improves. The following examples suggest how one can write
with fewer words:

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Table: Examples of Writing with Fewer Words
Instead of Use
In the near future  Soon

In the same manner  Likewise
In the region of  About
Within a short time  Shortly
Without intending it  Inadvertently
With full knowledge  Consciously
From this time onwards  Henceforth
In view thereof  Hence
Once in a while  Occasionally
It is absolutely essential  It is imperative
If the need arises  If necessary
Please send your reply at the earliest  Please reply expeditiously
We are in receipt of  We received
In the month of September  In September
I acknowledge the receipt of your letter  I received your letter
What we have given above are just some examples. In everyday business writing, there would be
many such occasions where a good writer can avoid unnecessary words. Good writing relates to
using simple words instead of verbose or wordy expressions.
Effective reading skills
Before actually beginning to read, it is important to know the purpose of reading, that is, why the
reading is being done. Knowing the purpose greatly enhances the effectiveness of the reading.
Also, knowledge of the purpose can help one adopt a style of reading best suited for the purpose.
Some of the main purposes of reading are mentioned below:
 Pleasure and enjoyment

 Practical application
 To obtain an overview
 To locate specific information
 To identify the central idea or theme

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 To develop a detailed and critical understanding
(i) Pleasure and enjoyment: This is probably the best reason to read anything. You
have chosen the material for the purpose of enjoying yourself. Reading entertains you,
even relaxes you. However, this will rarely be the purpose
(ii) To identify the central idea of theme: The purpose here is to extract the essence of what the
written material is trying to convey. For example, you might want to identify the major
finding in an experimental article in a journal, or the core issue of a discussion paper.
(iii) To develop a detailed and critical understanding: On many occasions, you will need to
master fully the material in a book, journal article or manual so that you can evaluate its arguments,
perspective, and/or evidence. This will require you to:
 Read the material thoroughly.

 Make effective and relevant notes.
 Keep an open mind by being aware of your own ideas and opinions regarding the issues
involved.
Approaches to reading or Reading styles
After one is aware of the purpose of reading one has to decide on the style that
needs to be applied to best suit the purpose and the reading material. The approach
to reading determines the basic question—‘How to read?’ There are two
approaches to reading:
 Fast reading approach/style
 Slow reading approach/style

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-The Various Reading Styles-
To be an effective reader, one needs to use a mixture of the above techniques; varying the type of
reading you employ, and the speed at which you read.
Fast Reading Approach/Style
This approach is best suited when the purpose of reading is to:

 Select the relevant material from a large quantity of reading material.
 Get an overview of what is contained in the reading material.
 Look for certain specific words, information, dates, and so on.
 Identify the core theme or message being conveyed.
Scanning and skimming are two techniques which can be used for fast reading so as to serve one
or more of the purposes of fast reading.
(i) Scanning: Scanning is a fast reading style in which the reader examines the text to
look for specific information. This type of reading is usually done for searching information
through a list of numbers, addresses and supplies for a specific one. It is usually done very
quickly. You just have to see the words on the page and not actually read. In fact, some
people do not consider scanning as a reading technique but as a search technique. It involves
merely spotting the required key words or numbers.
Scanning is extensively used while browsing the web pages to look for specific information.
The following are the steps involved in the scanning process.
 Look at the table of contents and look for the information in the chapter titles or
subtitles.
 If the information is not found in the chapter, titles or subtitles go to the
index at the back of the book.

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 Search for the relevant topics or keywords in the index.

 Once you find the relevant topic/keyword either in the table of contents
or in the reference index at the back of the book, go to the specified
page/section and read the appropriate paragraph.
 Ascertain whether what you have read is relevant to what you need. It
may be helpful to read the preceding and succeeding paragraphs as well.
Scanning also includes spotting of keywords. Spotting of keywords means
looking for keywords in the given passage or paragraph. Keywords are those
words which are relevant to the subject of your search. While searching for
keywords pay particular attention to
 Opening paragraphs
 Subheadings
 Underlined/ Bold/ Italicized words
It is suggested to move your eyes in a ‘Z’ shaped fashion to locate the keywords, that is,
begin from the top left hand corner of the page and move from left to right as you move
down.
(ii) Skimming: This type of reading is done when you want to identify the core/main idea of
the material. It provides a broad overview of what is primarily contained in the material. It
is useful for selecting relevant material which can later on be read in detail. It saves a lot of
time by not spending too much time on reading what is of no relevance to the reader. It is
also suitable when a lot of material has to be read in a limited amount of time. Here, one
does not read word by word. It should be kept in mind that skimming is, by no means, a
substitute for thorough reading; skimming should be used only to locate material quickly.
No in-depth understanding of what is being read is required. Generally, it involves going
through the chapter headings and subheadings, introduction and summaries.
Two basic skimming techniques have been identified:

 Start finish technique
 First sentence technique
1. Start finish technique. This technique involves reading the beginning and
ending of each chapter, section or subsection. This technique is based on the
assumption that written material is structured in three parts—introduction, body

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and conclusion. Also, the central theme will briefly appear in the introduction and
the conclusion and will be discussed in detail in the body of the text.
It needs to be mentioned that to read the starting and finishing paragraphs, one may have to resort
to the slow reading style so as to get a thorough understanding of the central theme.
2. First sentence technique: This technique involves reading the first sentence
of each paragraph. This technique is based on the assumption that the first few
sentences or the opening sentence of each paragraph introduces the main points
that will be discussed in that paragraph.
Thus, reading the first sentence of each paragraph gives a fairly clear understanding of the major
contents and structure of the material being read.
Slow Reading Approach/Style
Reading is an enjoyable activity but at times it becomes tedious, especially when a person reads
in a language in which he is not yet familiar or fluent as his attention gets divided between the
content of the message and the language itself.
Research also indicates that decoding a message is also very important, as without decoding the
message the reader fails to ‘understand’ it. This is usually the case when children read without
understanding what they are reading. It is only after decoding the message that learning can take
place. Slow reading is required for an in-depth thorough analysis and understanding of the
material. It involves paying attention to detail.
This style is best suited when the purpose of reading is to remember what has been read, analyse
what has been read, follow technical instructions, to gain an in-depth understanding or to critically
evaluate the material. It is used when the material being read is comparatively difficult to
understand and requires to be carefully analyzed. It is suitable for technical material, text
containing unfamiliar words, and so on.
Analytical reading and critical reading are two slow reading techniques.
Analytical reading involves active reading in which the reader gains an in-depth understanding
of what he is reading by simultaneously analysing it.

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-Two Slow Reading Techniques-
Critical reading involves evaluating the arguments presented by the writer. To gain a deeper
understanding of concepts it is useful to critically read the text. Critical reading provides an
answer to the following questions:
 Are the arguments logical?

 Are the statements backed by adequate evidence?
 Are both sides of the case presented evenly?
Thus, a critical reader tries to answer the question of whether he agrees with the writer and if not
what is his argument to counter the writer’s point of view.
Techniques for good comprehension

Skimming and Scanning
Skimming is used to quickly identify the main ideas of a text. When you read the newspaper,
you're probably not reading it word-by-word, instead you're scanning the text. Skimming is done
at a speed three to four times faster than normal reading. People often skim when they have lots of
material to read in a limited amount of time. Use skimming when you want to see if an article may
be of interest in your research.
There are many strategies that can be used when skimming. Some people read the first and last
paragraphs using headings, summarizes and other organizers as they move down the page or
screen. You might read the title, subtitles, subheading, and illustrations. Consider reading the first
sentence of each paragraph. This technique is useful when you're seeking specific information
rather than reading for comprehension. Skimming works well to find dates, names, and places. It
might be used to review graphs, tables, and charts.

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Scanning is a technique you often use when looking up a word in the telephone book or dictionary.
You search for key words or ideas. In most cases, you know what you're looking for, so you're
concentrating on finding a particular answer. Scanning involves moving your eyes quickly down
the page seeking specific words and phrases. Scanning is also used when you first find a resource
to determine whether it will answer your questions. Once you've scanned the document, you might
go back and skim it.
When scanning, look for the author's use of organizers such as numbers, letters, steps, or the words,
first, second, or next. Look for words that are bold faced, italics, or in a different font size, style,
or color. Sometimes the author will put key ideas in the margin.
Structure of Text
The term “text structure” refers to how information is organized in a passage. The structure of a
text can change multiple times in a work and even within a paragraph. Readers are often required
to identify text structures on state reading tests. Therefore, it is important that they are given
exposure to the various patterns of organization. There are seven commonly used patterns of
organization involved in the structure of text. They are Cause and Effect, Chronological, Compare
and Contrast, Order of Importance, Problem and Solution, Sequence and Process and Descriptive.
Structure of Paragraph
A paragraph consists of several sentences that are grouped together. This group of sentences
together discusses one main subject. Paragraphs have three principal parts. These three parts are
the topic sentence, body sentences, and the concluding sentence. We will also talk briefly about
details in paragraphs.
A topic sentence usually comes at the beginning of a paragraph. It is usually the first sentence in a
formal academic paragraph. Not only is a topic sentence the first sentence of a paragraph, but,
more importantly, it is the most general sentence in a paragraph. What does "most general" mean?
It means that there are not many details in the sentence, but that the sentence introduces an overall
idea that you want to discuss later in the paragraph. The second and third sentences are called
supporting sentences. They are called "supporting" because they "support," or explain, the idea
expressed in the topic sentence. Of course, paragraphs often have more than two supporting ideas.
In formal paragraphs you will sometimes see a sentence at the end of the paragraph which

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summarizes the information that has been presented. This is the concluding sentence. You can
think of a concluding sentence as a sort of topic sentence in reverse.
Essentials of effective Reading

Reading is an astoundingly complex cognitive process. While we often think of reading as one
singular act, our brains are actually engaging in a number of tasks simultaneously each time we sit
down with a book. There are five aspects to the process of reading: phonics, phonemic awareness,
vocabulary, reading comprehension and fluency. These five aspects work together to create the
reading experience.
Phonics
Phonics is the connection between sounds and letter symbols. It is also the combination of these
sound-symbol connections to create words. If you think about it, letters are arbitrary. There is
nothing innately bed-like about the written word “bed”. It is simply the collection of letters and
corresponding sounds that we agree constitute the word “bed”.
Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness is closely related to phonics because both involve the connection between
sounds and words. While phonics is the connection between sounds and letters, phonemic
awareness is the understanding that words are created from phonemes (small units of sound in
language). These may seem like the same thing, but there is a subtle difference in the two. Phonics
is used only in written language because it involves letters. Phonemes are sounds only. While they
can be represented using letters, they can also be simply the auditory sounds of words. Phonemes
are most often learned before a child begins to read because they are centered on the sounds of
language rather than written words.
Vocabulary
In order to read words we must first know them. Imagine how frustrating and fruitless it would be
to read this article if all of the words were unfamiliar to you. Vocabulary development is an
ongoing process that continues throughout one’s “reading life”. Knowing the exact meaning of the
word in a text always helps to understand the entire paragraph easily. Context clues provide
another method for discovering new words. Context clues are the “hints” contained in a text that
help a reader figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word. Context clues are basically any item
in the text that points to the definition of a new word.

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Fluency
Fluency is a reader’s ability to read with speed, accuracy and expression. Thus it requires the
reader to combine and use multiple reading skills at the same time. While fluency is most often
measured through oral readings, good readers also exhibit this skill when they are reading silently.
Fluency is intimately tied to comprehension. A reader must be able to move quickly enough
through a text to develop meaning. If he is bogged down reading each individual word, he is not
able to create an overall picture in his mind of what the text is saying. Even if the reader is able to
move rapidly through a text, if he cannot master the expression associated with the words, the
meaning of it will be lost.
Reading Comprehension
Comprehension is what most people think reading is. This is because comprehension is the main
reason why we read. It is the aspect of reading that all of the others serve to create. Reading
comprehension is understanding what a text is all about. It is more than just understanding words
in isolation. It is putting them together and using prior knowledge to develop meaning. Reading
comprehension is the most complex aspect of reading. It not only involves all of the other four
aspects of reading, it also requires the reader to draw upon general thinking skills. When a reader
is actively engaged with a text, he is asking and answering questions about the story and
summarizing what he has read.
Speaking Skills
Your voice can reveal as much about your personal history as your appearance. The sound of a
voice and the content of speech can provide clues to an individual's emotional state and a dialect
can indicate their geographic roots. The voice is unique to the person to whom it belongs. For
instance, if self-esteem is low, it may be reflected by hesitancy in the voice, a shy person may have
a quiet voice, but someone who is confident in themselves will be more likely to have command
of their voice and clarity of speech. Effective speaking is being able to speak in a public context
with confidence and clarity, whilst at the same time reflecting on your own personality.

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Confidence
Confidence is not something that can be learned like a set of rules; confidence is a state of mind.
Positive thinking, practice, training, knowledge and talking to other people are all useful ways to
help improve or boost your confidence levels. Confidence comes from feelings of well-being,
acceptance of your body, mind and belief in your own ability, skills and experience. Low-
confidence can be a result of many factors including: fear of the unknown, criticism, being
unhappy with personal appearance, feeling unprepared, poor time management, lack of knowledge
and previous failures. Confidence is not a static measure, our confidence to perform roles and tasks
can increase and decrease.
Paralinguistic features
Rate
Rate refers to the number of words we utter per minute. Speaking too fast is related to lack of
comfort. Recall those speeches of your friends which they rapidly delivered in the class; remember
how some of them just wanted to finish their speech and rush back to their seats of safety! A
speaker who does not feel sure of himself/herself generally feels intimidated by the challenge of
speaking in professional situations. This leads to a feeling of nervousness, and the best solution
seems to speak as fast as one can and be finished with the frightening prospect of standing in front
of the audience as the breakneck speed of delivery not only reveals the speaker’s lack of confidence
but also makes it difficult for the audience to comprehend, assimilate, and digest what is being said
by the speaker.
Just as too fast a pace causes inconvenience to the audience, so does a pace far too slow. In fact,
too slow a pace of your speech is likely to cause monotony and boredom to such an extent that the
audience start feeling sleepy and lose interest in the speech. Moreover, too slow a rate suggests
lack of preparedness on the part of the speaker.
Pauses
Pauses are an essential part of all human interactions. We pause between different thought units in
our day-to-day interactions with others. Therefore, if we do not pause while we speak in
professional situations, it only makes our speech appear unnatural and hasty. Pauses lend
credibility to the text of the speech. The speakers who pause suggest that they are quite
accomplished, poised, and composed, and are not really worried about not being able to locate an

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idea once they have paused. Thus, if we pause, we display a sense of security and feeling of
assurance that we know how to go further in our speech after a pause. On the contrary, those who
do not pause seem to be in a hurry. Moreover, those who rush through their speeches and
presentations are nervous about using pauses, as once they stop, they feel they would not know
how to resume or reconnect. But then, such speakers are far from being impressive and
accomplished. By all means, we must use pause while speaking in professional situations. They
make our speech sound natural. Moreover, pauses are also required for the audiences to
comprehend what you say, relate it to your earlier statement, and critically participate in the act of
communication.
The most crucial thing about pause is their timing. A rightly timed pause is as important as a rightly
placed word. Since a pause has to indicate either the emphasis or the conclusion of a thought unit,
it is important not to put them at wrong places. Therefore, whenever you pause, pause at the
conclusion of a certain thought unit and not in between. Remember, a timed pause adds to the
value of what you say and makes it adequately natural and emphatic. A wrongly placed pause,
however, distracts the audience. Also remember that though a pause is always a natural breather,
both to the speaker and the listeners, silence—a longer pause— makes the audience fell impatient.
Volume
A speaker’s volume often decides how he/she is likely to be received by the audience. The speaker
who speaks at a low volume is likely to be seen as someone who lacks his/her lack of conviction
of ideas. Such a speaker can never appear or emerge to be the master of the situation. Low volume
is essentially associated with diffidence, and once you reveal that you lack confidence, you cannot
gain control of your audience or command their respect as a speaker. At the other extreme is the
speaker who speaks so loudly that the people in the front rows start dreading him/her. A speaker
of this type is also likely to be rejected by the audience, simply because it suggests his/her
arrogance.
Pitch/Intonation/Voice Modulation
Pitch refers to the rise and fall in human voice. Just like the other aspects of voice, pitch too plays
a crucial role in communicating your ideas to others. In fact, it is the pitch—the rise and fall—in
your voice which can express all the emotions that are to be conveyed. So that do not confuse
volume and pitch, let us understand the difference between the two. Since pitch can express and

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convey all our moods, emotions, and sentiments, it becomes really important for us to carefully
employ the desired pitch patterns. Quite often, we find the speech of a person quite boring because
he/she does not use the variety of pitch patterns as per the requirement of the situation. In order to
understand this, listen carefully to those songs in which the singer keeps singing in a solemn way
until he/she reaches the climax. The change in the initial note and the later part is the change in the
pitch patterns. The changes and varieties of pitch patterns can be observed even while we continue
to listen to the song at the same volume. It is, therefore, suggested that you employ the variegated
pitch patterns quite judiciously in order to keep your listeners engaged and interested in your
expression.
Pronunciation and Articulation

Pronunciation plays an important role in expressing our ideas. As discussed earlier, English is not
our native language and hence the pronunciation of Indian speakers of English is different from
that of the native speaker. An effort should constantly be made to make our speech as close to
standard English as possible. In terms of pronunciation, we should stick to RP (Received
Pronunciation) English as it is recognized as the standard pronunciation of English worldwide.
Articulation refers to our ability to speak different sounds distinctly. If we are able to speak and
enunciate different sounds in a distinct and crisp manner, our articulation is considered appropriate
and impressive. On the other hand, if we mix or mumble words, it is regarded as sloppy and
inelegant.
Persuasive speaking
A persuasive speech is a specific type of speech in which the speaker has a goal of convincing the
audience to accept his or her point of view. The speech is arranged in such a way as to hopefully
cause the audience to accept all or part of the expressed view. Though the overarching goal of a
persuasive speech is to convince the audience to accept a perspective, not all audiences can be
convinced by a single speech and not all perspectives can persuade the audience.
An example of a persuasive speech is a sales pitch. During a sales pitch, the speaker is trying to
convince the audience to buy his or her product or service. If the salesperson is successful, the
audience (the person being sold to) will choose to purchase the product or service. However,
salespeople understand that just because someone does not make a purchase after the first sales

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pitch does not mean the pitch failed. Persuasion is often a process. People may need multiple
persuasive pitches and a lot of outside information before they are ready to accept a new view.
Persuasive speeches are composed of both logical and emotional appeal. Logic appeals are
arguments that present a set of information and show why a conclusion must rationally be true.
For example, arguments heard in court are logical arguments. Emotional appeals are appeals that
seek to make the audience feel a certain way so that they will accept a conclusion. Negative
political ads, for example, often incorporate emotional appeals by juxtaposing an opponent with a
negative emotion such as fear.
Public Speaking
Public speaking is speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to

inform, influence, or entertain the listeners. The purpose of public speaking can range from simply
transmitting information, to motivating people to act, to simply telling a story. A good orator
should be able to change the emotions of their listener, not just inform them. In public speaking,
as in any form of communication, there are five basic elements, often expressed as "who is saying
what to whom utilizing what medium with what effects?
Feeling some nervousness before giving a speech is natural and even beneficial, but too much
nervousness can be detrimental. Here are some proven tips on how to control your butterflies and
give better presentations during public speaking:
 Know your material. Pick a topic you are interested in. Know more about it than you
include in your speech. Use humor, personal stories and conversational language – that
way you won’t easily forget what to say.
 Practice. Practice. Practice! Rehearse out loud with all equipment you plan on using.
Revise as necessary. Work to control filler words; Practice, pause and breathe. Practice
with a timer and allow time for the unexpected.
 Know the audience. Greet some of the audience members as they arrive. It’s easier to speak
to a group of friends than to strangers.
 Know the room. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area and practice using the
microphone and any visual aids.

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 Relax. Begin by addressing the audience. It buys you time and calms your nerves. Pause,
smile and count to three before saying anything.
 Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking, your voice loud, clear
and confident. Visualize the audience clapping – it will boost your confidence.
 Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating,
informative and entertaining. They’re rooting for you.
 Don’t apologize for any nervousness or problem – the audience probably never noticed it.
 Concentrate on the message – not the medium. Focus your attention away from your own
anxieties and concentrate on your message and your audience.
 Gain experience. Mainly, your speech should represent you — as an authority and as a
person. Experience builds confidence, which is the key to effective speaking.
A meeting is a collective decision making process.
Types of meetings or business meetings
There are different types of meetings. Each type requires a different supports, structures and
a different number of participants. For instance, a status (feed-forward) meeting has no limit
to the number of participants while a decision-making meeting produces results faster with
a small number of participants.
 Decision making meetings

The vast majority of business decisions are made by groups in meetings. While small
decisions are made in all kinds of meetings, the more important decisions often get their
own dedicated meetings. There are different types of group decision making processes, and
care should be taken to choose a process that best matches the situation. A decision making
process can include group processes like information gathering and sharing,
brainstorming solutions, evaluating options, ranking preferences, and voting.
 Problem solving meetings
Problem solving meetings are perhaps the most complex and varied type of meetings.
Whether the meeting is addressing an identified problem, or it is focusing on creating

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strategies and plans to navigate the future, there are a rich arsenal of group processes that
can be used. Scopes and priorities need to be defined, opportunities and threats need to be
identified, and possible solutions should be brainstormed, evaluated, and agreed upon.
 Status update meetings
Status update meetings is one of the most common meeting types. This category includes
regular team and project meetings, where the primary goal is to align the team via updates
on progress, challenges, and next steps. Commonly found group activities in these kinds
of meetings are problem solving, decision making, prioritization, and task assignment.
 Information sharing meetings
Presentations, panel debates, keynotes, and lectures are all examples of information sharing
meetings. The primary goal of these meeting is for the speakers to share information with
the attendees. This could be information about things like upcoming changes, new products
and techniques, or in depth knowledge of a domain. Visual communication tools, like
slides and videos, are powerful tools for making the shared information more memorable.
 Innovation meetings
Innovation meetings and creative meetings often start with thinking outside the box, by
brainstorming, associating, and sharing ideas in a broad scope. Meeting participants can
then use various techniques and processes to reduce the diverse pool of ideas to a more
focused short list. Through ranking, evaluations, and decision making the most suitable
idea, or ideas, are identified, and recommendations and tasks can be assigned based on this.
 Team building meetings
All meetings should contribute to team building, strengthening relationships and corporate
culture. However, now and then team building activities should be the main focus for a
meeting. This category include meetings like include all-hands meetings, kick-off meetings,
team building outings, and corporate events. Have participants feel like essential parts of
their unit, team, department, branch, and company has all kinds of positive impact on their
engagement, performance, and satisfaction.
 Brainstorming
The purpose of this meeting is to come up with a variety of possible solutions to some
particular problem. Participants may include junior people as well as experienced
designers. Ideas from one person can inspire ideas in others people. One method is to get
everyone to write down many ideas in a short time. This prevents people evaluating and

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rejecting ideas too soon. At the end of a brainstorming session or in a separate meeting the
evaluation of all the ideas takes place.
Requirement or essentials of a valid meeting or, necessary conditions of a valid meeting:
There must be some requisites in order to validate the meeting. The necessary pre-conditions of a
valid meeting are stated below:
 Right convening authority: A valid meeting must be convened by the proper authority
otherwise it wills loss its validity. Company’s secretary is the proper authority to call a
formal meeting.
 Proper notice: Duty signed and timely notice must be submitted to members before
meeting. The place of meeting, time and date must be stated on the notice.
 Proper publicity of agenda: Every member of the meeting should be properly informed of
the agenda. Agenda consists of items to be discussed and decided upon a meeting.
 Legal purposes: Every meeting must have a legal purpose. Any meeting should be properly
informed of the agenda.
 Requisite quorum: For valid meeting requisite quorum is necessary. The meeting should
not be stared until the requisite members of member s are resent. Quorum means the least
number of members to be presented in a meeting to get legal validity.
 Presence of right persons: Only legal members can present in the meeting. If there is an
unauthorized person in the meeting, the meeting will lose its validity.
 Proper presiding officer: The chairman of a valid meeting must be a proper person.
 Conducting meeting according to the agenda: A valid meeting must be conducted
according to the agenda. No decision will get validity, if it is not related to the agenda.
Characteristics of meeting
A successful meeting has four characteristics:
 The meeting must have a clear purpose and should stick to the agenda.
 The meeting must start and end on time.
 Participants must be properly prepared
 Minutes must be taken.

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Steps for conducting an Effective meeting
The Role of the Chairperson in a meeting:
The role of the leader or chairperson is crucial for the success of a meeting. He or she must be a person with
clear vision, drive and good communication skills to be able to provide direction to the group. The group
must work towards achieving its goal within the allotted time.
 A chairperson must set the objective of the meeting, which can range from discussing ‘strategies
to increase sales ‘to ‘reducing the quantum of leave taken by employees. ‘A meeting can have one
or two such major items on the agenda. The chairperson must know what he wants out of such a
meeting.
 After checking the quorum, the chairperson begins the meeting by welcoming all members.
 He or she must spell out the agenda and invite participation from members.
 He or she should take up items of the agenda one by one.
 He or she must allocate sufficient time for discussion of the item and then take a decision on it.
 He or she should ensure that the members get time to voice their opinions but at the same time do
not overshoot the time that has been allocated for each item.
 In case of conflict within the group, he or she must intervene swiftly to ensure that the process of
decision-making is not hampered and that the atmosphere is not vitiated.
 He or She must try for decision by consensus but, if unable to do so, he or she should ensure that
the group‘s unity remains intact despite voting on a given point.
 He or She has to instruct the secretary to keep the record of the deliberations and the resolutions
passed.
 Prior to the meeting he or she has to circulate notice of the meeting and set the agenda for the
meeting.
 He or She has to make proper arrangements for seating where members can see each other and
converse with each other.
 Besides writing pads and pens, any other gadgets or technological support required should be
provided for.
 He or she must ensure that the new members are introduced to the senior members.

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Chairing a meeting is an art. It is a leadership skill which can be learnt or improved with practice.
Notice of Meeting
Let everyone involved know that you are requesting a meeting for a particular reason, and give
them the date, time and location for this. This is known as a Notice of Meeting and can take the
form of a memo, letter, poster and/or email communication.
Example Notice of Meeting in Memo format:
To : All National Certificate students

From : Lecturer
Subject : Virtual Lecture Platform
Date : 14 September 2020
The virtual lecture platform is about to be launched. A meeting will be held on 18 September
2020 at 10am in various homes via Skype to decide coursework submission.
Please organize data and test your smart phones or computers prior to the meeting and be
prepared both to discuss the coursework questions and submission.
Agenda
An Agenda is a list of items to be deliberated upon in a meeting. The reason behind circulating the
agenda is to inform members about the purpose of the meeting, so that they can come prepared
and participate in the meeting.

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Before the meeting starts (sometimes given at the same time as the Notice of Meeting), you need
to let all those invited to attend the meeting what it is that's to be discussed and the order that these
items will be mentioned in. Known as an Agenda, this lets everyone prepare for the meeting in
advance so that they can bring up any important points at the relevant time.
A formal agenda should always contain the following information:
1. The word Agenda
2. The name of the organisation, group or person calling the meeting
3. The date and time of the meeting
4. The meeting venue
5. Apologies
6. Minutes of the Last Meeting
7. Matters Arising
8. Business of the day (your meeting's topics listed one after the other)
9. Any Other Business (AOB)
10. Date and Time of Next Meeting

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Example of an Agenda
Minutes
During the meeting itself, it is important that all points raised are noted so that a summary of the
full meeting is recorded. These are the Minutes and they should show what was discussed, more
especially what was agreed (or ruled out), and any action points - a note of something that has to
be carried out, by whom, and usually with a deadline.

P a g e | 64
Like the Notice of Meeting and Agenda, the Minutes should contain some fixed information and
follow a standard layout. The headings in the Minutes should follow those in the Agenda for this
meeting, after stating:
1. The name of the meeting
2. Its venue, date and time

3. Who was in attendance
4. Who sent apologies (this one sometimes appears as heading 1)
The Minutes of the Last Meeting and Matters Arising are then used as headings with relevant
information recorded against each. All topics listed in the Agenda then follow, before the Minutes
round off with Any Other Business and close with the Date of Next Meeting.

P a g e | 65
Duties of a secretary
Importance of Business Meetings
One of the most important advantage of business meetings is that they provide a platform to share
information. Be them the business meetings held within the office among staff to meetings between
a company and its client they always provide an opportunity to share information. This could be
as simple as sharing updates on financials or recognizing new employees to more complex issues,
such as contract negotiations, new client presentations or addressing problems with an account.
An actual meeting pinpoints a time and place to have in-depth discussions without other
distractions or work getting in the way.

P a g e | 66
Business meetings are the perfect environment for encouraging teamwork, be it among staff or
between client and account manager. It provides a forum with which to set team goals and
brainstorm ways to meet them, considering input from everyone in the meeting, versus just one
person. When the meeting is between client and company rep, the teamwork may happen in the
form of feedback, when the client may suggest certain things, to which the other party may respond
and go back and forth in a dialogue until a consensus is reached.
Business letters, to be good and effective, must contain certain essentials. In other words, business
letters should conform to certain minimum standards of letter writing. One can look at these
essentials from different angles—language, content, context, length, structure, layout, taste, tone,
impact and purpose orientation. Any letter is amenable to description in terms of these
characteristics or features. To qualify, the letter should measure up as good when viewed from any
of these considerations. It may or may not encompass all these features. Nevertheless, a good letter
writer should have a clear understanding of all the characteristics that make the letter effective. In
order to be clear about what is a good letter, it is also very necessary to know what a bad letter is.
While a good letter can be good on many counts, a bad letter may have one undesirable feature
which can mar the beauty of the entire letter.
A bad letter stands out like a sore thumb for any of its deficiencies, which might be any
of the following:
 Lack of clarity
 Poor use of words and expressions
 Incorrect spelling and grammatical errors
 Too many ideas crowded into one letter
 Fails to convey the main purpose
 Too much jargon and technical words
 Lengthy paragraphs
 Offensive in nature

P a g e | 67
 Lacking in courtesy
 Creates ill-will
 Written out of context
 Absence of relevant information
Business is all about creating goodwill, favourable impressions, attracting attention, creating
interest, wooing customers, reaching prospects and building relationships. All this calls for
conscious efforts, concerted action and correspondence on a regular basis. As this has to be done
in a world that is full of competition, one bad letter can cause avoidable damage to the reputation
of the business. Badly written letters cause embarrassment to the people behind the business and
show the organization in poor light.
Before discussing the essentials of a good business letter, it would be desirable to keep in view
what such a letter can achieve for business.
 A good business letter can reach out and directly address the target, be it a customer or a
prospect or a patron or the regulator.
 A good business letter can address the prospect and set the sales pitch. A good business
letter can act as an effective salesperson.
 A good business letter can strengthen the bond and provide further details to an existing
customer.
 A good business letter can, thus, act as your relationship officer.
 A good business letter can dispel disinformation and create goodwill. It thereby acts as
your ambassador.
 A good business letter can make announcements, share relevant information and keep you
in touch with people who matter. In this way, a good business letter can be your public
relations officer (PRO).

P a g e | 68
Types of business letters

 Person to firm
 Firm to person
 Firm to firm
 Delivery letter
 Quotation letter
<<<Supplementary module to address these letters….meanwhile research>>>

Inquiry letter
This is a letter that seeks information about a product or a service. Unless a buyer collects
information about the product, he cannot place an order. His first step, therefore, is to collect the
information about the product.
Order letter
After having collected the price-lists and quotations from various traders, the buyer places an order
for goods. This letter is known as an order letter. An order letter is generally written in an order-
form. If an organisation does not have an order-form, the buyer needs to write a letter.
Collection letter
Letters that are written to recover outstanding amounts are known as collection letters. Despite
every possible care having been taken by the seller before supplying order on credit, it is possible
that the buyer fails to repay on time. These letters are then written to collect such outstanding
payments.
Since a credit order is extended after a cautious scrutiny, when the buyer fails to pay on time, it is
believed that the buyer may be having a genuine difficulty due to which he has failed to make
payment; or the lapse may be due to an oversight. Before declaring the buyer a defaulter, the seller
wants to give him the benefit of doubt. Therefore, he sends letters in stages to enable the buyer to
make payment. After having written three such letters, the seller takes a firm stand and demands
payment within a stipulated period of time. He may also extend a helping hand to the buyer in
order to make the buyer respond positively. Finally, when he is left with no alternative, he sends a
warning letter, giving the buyer a specific period in which to settle his dues. If the buyer fails to
pay up even then, legal action is taken against the defaulting buyer. There are five stages of
collection.

P a g e | 69
Complaint letter
A complaint letter is written by a dissatisfied customer, expecting the organization to resolve the
problem by offering him/her adequate compensation. The contention may be with regard to the
quality, quantity, pricing or after-sales service in case of a product. It may be related to the nature,
competence, or efficiency in case of a service. The letter should logically explain the dispute,
supported by documents and other kinds of evidence.
When does a customer make a complaint?
A customer complains when he or she is dissatisfied:

 with the quality or quantity of the product
 if the pricing is incorrect or there is a mistake in billing
 if the packing is not to standard specifications for a particular product
 if the order arrives late, is in excess, in a damaged condition, or is different from
the one placed he is dissatisfied with the service, or after-sales service
Apart from these, there could be many other situations when a customer may have to take recourse
to such letters.
Drafting a Letter of Complaint:
While drafting a complaint letter, one must be rational and use reason instead of emotions. Getting
a timely and adequate compensation depends on whether the dispute is explained and phrased
logically. The writer could
 begin with a clear statement of a problem sequentially
 support his claim with documents, endorsements and establish his contention
 clearly state what kinds of compensation he expects
Or
 begin by providing the details of order

 state the nature of complaint
 suggest action/compensation

P a g e | 70
Letter of Adjustment / Settlement

A letter of adjustment has three goals:
 to reach out to the customer and verify the complaint
 to explain the cause / reason behind the inadequacies in product or service
 to regain the confidence of the customer and promote further business
Letters of Adjustment
A letter of adjustment is written to
 acknowledge the receipt of the letter of complaint and thank the customer for writing it
 express regret for the cause of complaint
 explain the situation
 state the action taken.
 communicate one’s genuine concern
Preparing a Curriculum Vitae
<<Supplementary module to address this aspect….meanwhile research>>
A memorandum is a written statement or record, especially one circulated for the attention of
colleagues at work. It is principally a means of sharing information internally. It relates to a note
of something to be remembered and acted upon. The word memorandum came from the Latin
word ‘memorare’ which means to remember.
The plural of memorandum is memoranda. It is commonly known by its abbreviation, memo. A

memorandum is a means of inter-office correspondence. Memos are sent within an organization
from office to office or department to department. In large organizations, memorandums are sent
from head office to regional offices, branches, divisions and so on. Of late, memos are sent using
the email and the bulky ones and those inappropriate for email have to be sent as printed copies.
Memos are intended to be read and acted upon by executives, branch managers, supervisors and
all staff members as and when they are addressed to them.

P a g e | 71
Circulars are in the form of instructions or guidelines and are expected to be mandatorily followed.
Memos are generally a matter of information. Circulars are of a permanent nature, of long-term
relevance and may be modified as and when instructions have to be revised. Memos are generally
of short-term relevance.
What is report?
A report is a clearly structured document in which the writer identifies and examines issues, events or
findings of an investigation. Information obtained from research or from undertaking a project is delivered
in a precise, concise writing style organized under a set of headings and sub-headings, which enable the
reader to find data quickly. Graphs and tables can also be used to present data in the body of the report.
Rather than commenting upon, comparing or evaluating ideas, as an essay does, a report frequently offers
recommendations for action based on the information it has presented.
A report is a self-explanatory statement of facts relating to a specific subject and serves the
purpose of providing information for decision making and allow up actions. It is a systematic
presentation of ascertained facts about a specific event or subject. A report is a summary of
findings and recommendations about a particular matter or problem. Report is for the guidance
of higher authorities including company executives and directors. Report facilitates timely
decisions and follow up measures.
What are Features or Characteristics of Report?

 Complete and Compact Document: Report is a complete and compact written document
giving updated information about a specific problem.
 Systematic Presentation of Facts: Report is a systematic presentation of facts, figures,
conclusions and recommendation. Report writers closely study the problem under
investigation and prepare a report after analyzing all relevant information regarding the
problem. Report is supported by facts and evidence. There is no scope for imagination in a
report which is basically a factual document.

P a g e | 72
 Prepared in Writing: Report are usually in writing. Writing report are useful for reference
purpose. It serves as complete, compact and self-explanatory document over a long period.
Oral reporting is possible in the case of secret and confidential matters.
 Provides Information and Guidance: Report is a valuable document which gives
information and guidance to the management while framing future policies. It facilitates
planning and decision making. Reports are also useful for solving problem faced by a
business enterprise.
 Self-explanatory Document: Report is a comprehensive document and covers all aspects of
the subject matter of study. It is a self-explanatory and complete document by itself.
 Acts as a Tool of Internal Communication- Report is an effective tool of communication
between top executives and subordinate staff working in an organization. If provides
feedback to employees and to executives for decision making. Reports are generally
submitted to higher authorities. It is an example of upward communication. Similarly,
reports are also sent by company executives to the lower levels of management. This is
treated as downward communication. In addition reports are also sent to shareholder and
others connected with the company. It may be pointed out that report writing / preparation
acts as a backbone of any system of communication.
 Acts as Permanent Record: A report serves as a permanent record relating to certain
business matter. It is useful for future reference and guidance.
 Time Consuming and Costly Activity: Report writing is a time consuming, lengthy and
costly activity as it involves collection of facts, drawing conclusion and making
recommendations.
Types of Reports
 Progress or Routine reports
 Routine reports.
These reports are required to be prepared and submitted periodically on matters required
by the organization so as to help the management of the organization to take decisions in
the matters relating to day to day affairs. The main objectives of routine reports are to let
the management know as to what is happening in the organization, what is its progress
where the deviation is, what measures have been taken in solving the problems and what

P a g e | 73
to do so that the organization may run smoothly and efficiently. Routine reports are
generally brief. They only give the facts. No comments or explanations are usually
offered in such reports. Generally forms are prescribed for preparation and submission of
such reports.
 Technical reports

 Recommendatory reports
 Accident reports

 Business reports
Essentials of a good report
For a business report to serve effectively the purpose for which it is intended, it is essential that it
possess certain essentials. Following are some of the characteristics of a good business report:
 Accuracy: The information presented in a report should be as accurate as possible, because

on it are based several important decisions and actions. While preparing reports make sure
to double check figures to ensure accuracy.
 Clarity: Business reports should be clear and completely understandable. The paragraphs
should be logically presented with suitable headings.
 Consistency: The report should be consistent with the main theme and should not deviate.
It should serve the purpose for which it is meant. Irrelevant information should not be
included. At the same time useful information should not be left out while preparing the
report.
 Objectivity: Objectivity involves freedom from personal prejudices. There should be
objectivity in observation, collection of related facts and writing the report.
 Completeness: The report should be complete in all respects and free from ambiguity.

P a g e | 74
 Brevity: Time is precious both for the writer of the report and the reader. Therefore reports
should not be too lengthy. They need to be brief and to the point, excluding all irrelevant
details.
 Simplicity: Reports are not a test of your command over literary aspects of language. A
report should be simple and easily understandable and free from too much of jargon.
 Appearance: The arrangement, organisation, format and layout of a report should be
pleasing and eye-catching as far as possible. It should be grammatically correct and free
from typographical errors.
 Reliability: A report should be reliable. Objectivity and accuracy of information contribute
towards the reliability of a report.
 Timeliness: To be useful and purposeful a report should reach the reader well in time,
otherwise it is of no use.

P a g e | 75
Customer Buying Process
When a customer (your company) is considering a purchase it follows a proper buying/purchasing

procedure as follows:
(a) Purchase Requisition:

When a department in the company or the stores department needs a particular material, which
may be raw materials or equipment or stationery, it prepares a material requisition form. This form
is usually prepared in duplicate being retained by the requisitioning department for reference and
follow-up. The purchase requisition should provide the following essential information:
 Purchase Order number (which is then referenced in the invoice to connect the two
documents, something that is particularly important for finance departments who will
process payment for the goods or services)
 Contact information for the customer
 Payment information
 Description and quantity of goods/services ordered (Specifications)
 Invoice and delivery address (if different)
 Signature
The initiation of purchasing or buying begins with the receipts of a purchase requisition by the
purchasing or buying department.
(b) Inviting Quotations:
The purchasing or buying department will invite quotations for supply of goods on the receipt of
purchase requisition.
(c) Schedule of Quotations:
The comparative schedule of quotations will be prepared by the purchasing or buying department
on the basis of quotations received.

P a g e | 76
(d) Approving the supplier:

The schedule of quotations is put before the purchasing or buying committee who will select the
supplier by considering factors such as price, quality of materials, terms of payment, delivery
schedule etc.
(e) Purchase Order:
It is the last step and the purchase order is prepared by the purchasing or buying department. It is
a written authorization to the supplier to supply a specified quality and quantity of material at the
specified time and place mentioned at the stipulated terms.
A purchase order (PO) is a document issued by a buyer to the seller, providing the information
about the details of the order. That is the quantity, type of product, prices, etc. as described
above.

P a g e | 77
Expediting or follow-up of order
Expediting is a planned proactive task. As a concept, expediting is a purchasing responsibility or

task of attempting to speed up delivery as the buyer’s timing requirements undergo unexpected
changes. More concisely, to expedite involves actions to achieve an earlier delivery than
originally planned.
Material handling
The term depreciation refers to the reduction in or loss of quality or value of a fixed asset (tools,
equipment, machines etc.) through wear or tear in or tear, in use, effusion of time, obsolescence
through technology and market changes or from any other cause. Depreciation does take place
irrespective of regular repairs and proper maintenance of assets.
This is because of the fact that the use of long term assets tend to consume their economic value
and at some point of time these assets become useless. Therefore, depreciation is a measure of
wearing out, consumption or other of value of a depreciable asset arising from use, effusion of
time or obsolescence through technology and market changes.
Causes of depreciation
The depreciation occurs because of the following:
 Constant use: The constant use of assets results into their wear and tear, which in turn
reduces their working capacity. Hence, a decrease in the value of assets may be seen due
to reduced capacity. The value of assets like, machinery, furniture, etc., declines with the
constant use of them.
 Depletion: Depletion also causes decline in the value of certain assets. This is true in case
of wasting assets such as mines, oil wells and forest-stands. On account of continuous
extraction of minerals or oils, these assets go on declining in their value and finally they
gets completely exhausted.

P a g e | 78
 Obsolescence: There may not be any physical deterioration in the asset itself. Despite of
this there may be reduction in the utility of an asset that results from the development of a
better method, machine or process. For example, an old machine which is still in good
working condition may have to be replaced by a new machine because of the latter being
more economical as well as efficient. In fact, new inventions, developments in production
processes, changes in demand for product or services, etc. make the asset out of date.
 Accidents: An asset may get reduction in its value if it meets an accident.
 Permanent fall in the Market Value: Certain assets may get permanent fall in their value
and this decline in their value is treated as depreciation. For example, a permanent decline
in the market value of securities and investment may be assumed as depreciation.
Basic elements of depreciation

In order to assess depreciation amount to be charged in respect of an asset in an accounting period the
following three important factors should be considered:
 Cost of the asset: The cost of the asset includes the invoice price of the asset less any trade
discount plus all costs essential to make the asset usable. Cost of transportation and transit
insurance are included in acquisition cost.
 Estimated life of the asset: Estimated life generally means that for how many years or hours an
asset could be used in business with ordinary repairs for generating revenues.
 Scrap Value of the Asset: The salvage value of the asset is that value which is estimated to be
realised on the sale of the asset at the end of its useful life. This value should be calculated after
deducting the disposal costs from the sale value of the asset.

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Part 2: 321/18/S07 - Communication Skills

Communication is the process by which information is transmitted between individuals and

Communication is the modus operandi of social and commercial intercourse. It is communication

Objectives of business communication

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

The Communication Process

 Sender / Encoder: A person sending a message to another person. This person

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

Principles of Business Communication

There are eleven principles of business communication:

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

4. Correctness. Everyone has a tendency to focus on errors. To many people, errors in

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

Unlike internal communication, external communication flows outward. It addresses people

To ensure communication on an ongoing basis, organizations develop formal systems. Staff

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

follows a well-defined hierarchical pattern and periodicity. Memos, circulars, instructions,

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

» Interpersonal communication – it is exchange of messages between two persons.

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

Oral/verbal Written Non-verbal

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

Advantages of Verbal Communication

 Information can be given out quickly and to large numbers of people

Written communication is another powerful method of communication. The power of writing is

Advantages of Written Communication

 It helps to provide ready records, reference etc.

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

 It gives sufficient time to think over and reply on a concerned subject.

Disadvantages of Written Communication

Advantages of Written communication over Oral communication

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

Non-verbal communication may be conscious or unconscious, deliberate or unintended. It may

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

Classification of non-verbal communication

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

Non-verbal communication is used because

There are following five functions of it.

 To provide information either consciously or unconsciously.

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

Non-verbal Behavior Interpretation

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

Importance of Non-Verbal Communication:

 Support to verbal communication

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

Vertical Horizontal Diagonal

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

In an organization, communication flows in 5 main directions-

 Providing feedback on employees’ performance.

Figure: Downward Communication

Examples of downward communication:

Organizational publications, circulars, letter to employees, group meetings etc.

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

Disadvantages of Downward Communication

Upward Flow of Communication

Communication that flows to a higher level in an organization is called upward communication.

Figure: Upward Communication

Examples of Upward communication are:

Lecturer: gchimkombo@bulawayopolytechnic.ac.zw –CCS321/18/S07 module v1_Part 2 -2020

Advantages of Upward communication