BUSINESS ENGLISH COURSE – MICROTECH INSTITUTE SIALKOT

Business English Skills (Course).

About this course

Effective communication skills are essential to master as they’re often at the top of the list of qualities
demanded by employers.

In this course over six modules, you’ll begin by looking at the definition of effective business
communication, the use of appropriate language and tone, how to plan your communication and the
forms of written communication. You’ll also cover face-to-face communication, how to communicate
effectively by phone, presentation skills and listening skills. Finally, you’ll look at online communication
and how to effectively communicate online focusing on email, texts, online conferencing and more. This
is a truly comprehensive communications training course, which can be studied flexibly either within
one of our centers or online, at home or work.

There are 6 lessons in this training course: –

Lesson One: You will look at the definition of business communication and the different methods of
communicating in business.

Lesson Two: You’ll focus on the appropriate use of tone and language in your communications.

Lesson Three: Will look at planning your communication and the different forms of written business
communications.

Lesson Four: You will cover face-to-face and phone communications as well as focusing on listening
skills, questioning skills, body language and personal networking.

Lesson Five: This lesson focuses on presentation skills and will look at how to alleviate fears associated
with delivering a presentation, preparing and structuring a presentation and more.

Lesson Six: This is an e-learning module which focuses on online communication. You’ll look at written
online communications such as emails, webpages and blogs, then you’ll look at spoken online
communications which include video conferencing, online presentations and audio conferencing.

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LESSON ONE:
Business communication (or simply "communication," in a business context) encompasses topics such as
marketing, brand management, customer relations, consumer behavior, advertising, public relations,
corporate communication, community engagement, reputation management, interpersonal
communication, employee engagement, and event management. It is closely related to the fields of
professional communication and technical communication.

Media channels for business communication:

1. Internet

2. Print media

3. Radio

4. Television

5. Word of mouth.

Categories of business communication

1. Marketing

2. Brand Management

3. Customer/public relations

Methods of business communication

1. Web-based communication;

2. Video conferencing: allows people in different locations to hold interactive meetings;

3. Reports: important in documenting the activities of any department;

4.Presentations: popular method of communication in all types of organizations, usually involving

audiovisual material, like copies of reports, or material prepared in Microsoft PowerPoint or Adobe
Flash;

5. Telephone meetings: which allow for long distance speech;

6. Forum boards: which allow people to instantly post information at a centralized location;

7. Face-to-face meetings: which are personal and should have a written follow-up;

8. Suggestion box: primarily for upward communication, because some people may hesitate to
communicate with management directly, so they can give suggestions by drafting one and putting it in
the suggestion box.

9. Letters

10. Memos: letters to members of a company or organization

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Directional business communication

1. Top-down communication: Communication within the business that is passed down from the top of
the business hierarchy to the bottom, the amount of information passed from one level to another relies
on a "need to know" basis.

2. Bottom-up communication: Communication within the business that is passed up through the
business hierarchy from the bottom up.

3. Horizontal communication: Communication with those who are on the same level in the business
hierarchy as one, very little information moves up or down the chain of command.

LESSON TWO:

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Tone / Language in communication

Tone of voice is how the character of your business comes through in your words, both written and
spoken. It’s not about what you say, but rather the way that you say it, and the impression it makes on
everyone who reads or hears you. Think about it. Everyone you meet has their own way of expressing
themselves that’s as unique as their face or fingerprint. Some are pleasant and polite. Others are pushy
and in your face. Some say so much with just a few words. Others never seem to get to the point.
Companies are no different.

Take a look at the examples below.

Text Tone of Voice Possible Impression

With its industry-leading, Technical, verbose, inwardly High-pressure marketing and

massively scalable technology, our focused empty boasts. Beware!
web services platform delivers
exceptional performance and
reliability under the most
demanding and highly variable
conditions.

Our web services platform delivers Factual, concise Clear and factual, but what
99.99% uptime and adapts to are the company’s people
changing loads in less than a like?
second.

Web services that you can start Informal, non-technical You’ve got my interest, but
and forget. where’s the proof?

All three descriptions mean roughly the same thing, but they’re expressed in completely different ways.
That affects the impression you get, and how you feel about the person who’s speaking. Why? Because
when you read a company’s content, you understand it on two levels. The facts tell the analytical side of
your brain what the company does, while the tone tells the creative side what they’d be like to deal
with.

Despite its name, tone of voice isn’t just about how you speak. It includes all the words you use in your
business content, including in your website, sales emails, product brochures, call-center scripts, and
client presentations, to name just a few examples. Oh, and by the way, tone of voice isn’t the same as
good writing or strong messaging. It’s the next level up from those things. It’s about using language to
give your brand its own distinct and recognizable voice.

All the content you produce should have the same tone of voice. When your tone is consistent, your
audience hears the same person speaking whenever and however they deal with you. That shows them
you’re a consistent, reliable company to deal with, and that every part of their experience with you will
be equally good.

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More and more B2B companies are getting into tone of voice as a way to engage their customers
through language.

So why are all of those companies focused on tone of voice, and why should you be too? Here are six
important reasons:

1. It Makes You Human

People like to deal with people. So they like a brand to have a personality they can recognize and bond
with. Sometimes, people assume that B2B buyers work in a completely rational way. But businesspeople
are still people. They might have more priorities and stakeholders to think about, but given a choice,
they’ll go with the firm that they feel good about.

In B2B, the trend is toward more authenticity, honesty, realness, and openness — things that were
traditionally seen as B2C values. Buyers of all types are looking for the emotional truth behind an offer
or brand, not just the rational benefits.

2. It Helps You Cut Through

As content marketing becomes more popular, firms are generating more and more writing — but much
of it doesn’t have a clear voice. A distinctive tone gives you the best chance of connecting with people.
Ideally, you want your tone to be immediately recognizable (even if you take the logo off your website
or your social media feed) and not sound virtually the same as your competitors.

3. It Replaces Face-To-Face Communication

According to Forrester Research, business buyers don’t contact suppliers directly until they are up to 90
percent of the way through the purchase process. With fewer opportunities to talk face to face, your
written words have to work harder than ever.

Prospects know you pretty well from your website and marketing material before they ever pick up the
phone. Your tone helps to build trust with them from the start, laying the foundation for a strong
working relationship. We’ve evolved to be highly attuned to subtle signals such as body language,
gesture, voice, and so on. In writing, all those signals are carried by tone of voice, so that’s the only way
to show your identity, your character, and your intention.

4. It Builds Authority

Think of the killer TED talks or conference presentations you’ve seen. Did the speakers stand perfectly
still, reciting dull but convincing facts in a relentless monotone voice? Or were they lively, funny, and
memorable, filling the stage with their passion? Tone of voice can be a huge carrier of authority and
belief. Personality shows you have confidence in what you’re saying, and that it therefore has real value.

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5. It Gives You Focus

Working on tone of voice can be an excellent discipline for thinking about your company’s identity. You
have to boil everything down to something clear and simple that anyone can understand. That helps to
cut through clutter and confusion.

Your tone can even help you set strategic direction. Markets are getting more crowded and competitive,
so companies have to decide who they’re for. Instead of being all things to all people, they’re embracing
niche appeal so they can hone in on the most relevant audience.

6. It Makes You Different

In B2B, tone of voice is a story that’s just beginning. Most companies haven’t woken up to the idea at all.
A few have taken great strides. But almost none have successfully transformed the way they use
language — and that opens up a huge opportunity.

“Very few B2B brands have been doing this for long enough that we can say they’ve definitely nailed it
for their whole brand,” says Neil Taylor, managing partner at the Writer. “But what that means is that
the first people who do nail it, in any sector, will clean up.”

LESSON THREE:
DIFFERENT FORMS OF WRITTEN BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS

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In this lesson, we'll discuss what written communication is and some advantages and disadvantages of
using it. We'll also discuss the skills you'll need to become an effective writer.

Some of the various forms of written communications that are used internally for business operations
include:

 Memos
 Reports
 Bulletins
 Job descriptions
 Employee manuals
 Emails
 Instant messages

Examples of written communications generally used with clients or other businesses include:

 Email
 Internet websites
 Letters
 Proposals
 Telegrams
 Faxes
 Postcards
 Contracts
 Advertisements
 Brochures
 News releases

Written communication has great significance in today’s business world. It is an innovative activity of the
mind. Effective written communication is essential for preparing worthy promotional materials for
business development. Speech came before writing. But writing is more unique and formal than speech.
Effective writing involves careful choice of words, their organization in correct order in sentences
formation as well as cohesive composition of sentences. Also, writing is more valid and reliable than
speech. But while speech is spontaneous, writing causes delay and takes time as feedback is not
immediate.

ADVANTAGES OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

1. Written communication helps in laying down apparent principles, policies and rules for running
of an organization.
2. It is a permanent means of communication. Thus, it is useful where record maintenance is
required.
3. It assists in proper delegation of responsibilities. While in case of oral communication, it is
impossible to fix and delegate responsibilities on the grounds of speech as it can be taken back
by the speaker or he may refuse to acknowledge.
4. Written communication is more precise and explicit.
5. Effective written communication develops and enhances an organization’s image.

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6. It provides ready records and references.

7. Legal defenses can depend upon written communication as it provides valid records.

DISADVANTAGES OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

1. Written communication does not save upon the costs. It costs huge in terms of stationery and
the manpower employed in writing/typing and delivering letters.
2. Also, if the receivers of the written message are separated by distance and if they need to clear
their doubts, the response is not spontaneous.
3. Written communication is time-consuming as the feedback is not immediate. The encoding and
sending of message takes time.
4. Effective written communication requires great skills and competencies in language and
vocabulary use. Poor writing skills and quality have a negative impact on organization’s
reputation.
5. Too much paper work and e-mails burden is involved.

SEVEN C’S OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

There are 7 C’s of effective communication which are applicable to both written as well as oral
communication. These are as follows:

1. Completeness - The communication must be complete. It should convey all facts required by the
audience. The sender of the message must take into consideration the receiver’s mind set and
convey the message accordingly. A complete communication has following features:
 Complete communication develops and enhances reputation of an organization.
 Moreover, they are cost saving as no crucial information is missing and no additional cost is
incurred in conveying extra message if the communication is complete.
 A complete communication always gives additional information wherever required. It leaves no
questions in the mind of receiver.
 Complete communication helps in better decision-making by the audience/readers/receivers of
message as they get all desired and crucial information.
 It persuades the audience.

2. Conciseness - Conciseness means wordiness, i.e., communicating what you want to convey in
least possible words without forgoing the other C’s of communication. Conciseness is a necessity
for effective communication. Concise communication has following features:
 It is both time-saving as well as cost-saving.
 It underlines and highlights the main message as it avoids using excessive and needless words.
 Concise communication provides short and essential message in limited words to the audience.
 Concise message is more appealing and comprehensible to the audience.
 Concise message is non-repetitive in nature.

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3. Consideration - Consideration implies “stepping into the shoes of others”. Effective

communication must take the audience into consideration, i.e, the audience’s view points,
background, mind-set, education level, etc. Make an attempt to envisage your audience, their
requirements, emotions as well as problems. Ensure that the self-respect of the audience is
maintained and their emotions are not at harm. Modify your words in message to suit the
audience’s needs while making your message complete. Features of considerate communication
are as follows:
 Emphasize on “you” approach.
 Empathize with the audience and exhibit interest in the audience. This will stimulate a positive
reaction from the audience.
 Show optimism towards your audience. Emphasize on “what is possible” rather than “what is
impossible”. Lay stress on positive words such as jovial, committed, thanks, warm, healthy, help,
etc.

4. Clarity - Clarity implies emphasizing on a specific message or goal at a time, rather than trying to
achieve too much at once. Clarity in communication has following features:
 It makes understanding easier.
 Complete clarity of thoughts and ideas enhances the meaning of message.
 Clear message makes use of exact, appropriate and concrete words.

5. Concreteness - Concrete communication implies being particular and clear rather than fuzzy and
general. Concreteness strengthens the confidence. Concrete message has following features:
 It is supported with specific facts and figures.
 It makes use of words that are clear and that build the reputation.
 Concrete messages are not misinterpreted.

6. Courtesy - Courtesy in message implies the message should show the sender’s expression as
well as should respect the receiver. The sender of the message should be sincerely polite,
judicious, reflective and enthusiastic. Courteous message has following features:
 Courtesy implies taking into consideration both viewpoints as well as feelings of the receiver of
the message.
 Courteous message is positive and focused at the audience.
 It makes use of terms showing respect for the receiver of message.
 It is not at all biased.

7. Correctness - Correctness in communication implies that there are no grammatical errors in

communication. Correct communication has following features:

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 The message is exact, correct and well-timed.

 If the communication is correct, it boosts up the confidence level.
 Correct message has greater impact on the audience/readers.
 It checks for the precision and accurateness of facts and figures used in the message.
 It makes use of appropriate and correct language in the message.

Awareness of these 7 C’s of communication makes you an effective communicator.

EFFECTIVE WRITING FOR RESULTS

While writing to a friend, colleague, client, or a business partner, the content must be clear, concise,
persuasive, accurate, and confident. Read on to know some tips for making the letter / memo /
presentation worthwhile.

1. Avoid being verbose: Choose shorter words and sentences. For e.g. “I wanted to bring to your
notice that the meeting has been cancelled”. [10 words] This sentence could be rephrased as
“Please note the meeting has been cancelled”. [7 words]

2. Use objective subject lines: The subject of the memo / letter / e-mail should be objective and
should reflect the content of the message. For e.g. “Tips on Effective Writing for Business”
conveys to the reader that the message content will be related to information on effective
writing.

3. Decide your audience: It is advisable to write to one set of audience as writing to different
professionals would require choosing correct verbiage which is understood by different
professionals in the same way. Also, do not use words which are very technical and can be
understood only by a specific audience.

4. Request for action: Never leave the reader guessing “what next?” He or she should know what
is expected out of him / her. Close your mail / letter with the action you are expecting the
reader to take.

5. Share companywide messages with a strategy: Do not overload employees with a lot of text
heavy mails. Divide the message. For e.g. If a company has set up a videoconference room, the
Corporate communication Team should sent out the first message announcing the launch, the
second message on how to use the equipment, and the third message on how to block the
conference room for client meetings and calls.

6. Logically format a document: Ensure that the content in the message is linked to the subject
and to the content below and above it. There should be a logical connection in various
paragraphs included in the document.

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7. Be Persuasive: Address one reader rather than many as it increases the focus and also creates
accountability of the reader.

8. Engage the audience: Talk to the audience. For e.g. Rather than saying, “There will be two ways
for calculating the cost.” The sender of the message could say, “Financial Analysts can choose
one of two procedures to calculate the cost.”

9. Check before you send: Always proofread the mail / memo / document that is to be sent.
Remember the first draft is not always the final draft. Do not only check for content, but also,
check for formatting, subject lines, audience, and attachments.

10. Execute with confidence: Do not be fearful while sending the communication. If a reminder
needs to be sent, it should be sent. Do not try to send it to a group, rather send it to those who
haven’t sent the reports so far. For e.g. in case you are following up on a report you asked for,
address the audience as “Thank You X, Y, Z for sending the reports. We are still awaiting reports
from A, B, and C. Request you to send them latest by 4:00 PM today.”

Tips for Professionals to Improve Communication

One can be an extremely hard working and intelligent worker, but to taste success in the fierce
competitive world, one has to be a good and impressive communicator. In corporates; you will not get
too many chances to win the confidence of your boss and fellow workers, you have to create a positive
impression at the first go itself. Doing your work is important but what is more important is presenting
your work well. One has to be very careful about his communication skills to perform well at his
workplace and have an edge over his fellow workers.

Here are some tips to improve communication skills for professionals.

 Understand the second party well. Know more about their thought process, cultural
background and educational background for effective communication. The content must be
designed keeping the audience in mind. For instance, if you need to address the front line staff,
it is always advisable to keep your speech simple for them to understand well. For interacting
with top shots don’t adopt a casual approach. Use professional jargons and corporate
terminologies in your speech for the “Bang on” effect. Always be yourself very clear what you
want to communicate. If you yourself are confused, you will also confuse others. Whatever
thought you want to share with others, carefully put it into sensible and relevant words for
others to understand clearly. Careful selection of words is very important for an effective
communication. If you want to address your team in the conference room near the cafeteria,
please do mention the location very clearly. Don’t keep half of your thoughts in mind and expect
the others to understand it on their own.
 The pitch and the tone must also be taken care of. During presentations, seminars or business
meetings, your tone must be audible to each and every participant to create the desired impact
and for others to look up to you. Make sure that the individual sitting on the last bench is also

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able to hear you properly for him to give his best. Don’t speak too low or shout. Never rush.
Speak slowly and clearly what you expect your fellow workers to do. Make your speech
interesting. Don’t make long presentations or unnecessarily drag the meeting. During long
meetings, monotony creeps in and individuals tend to loose interest. Do include a tea or a snack
break.
 At work places never interact at noisy places, cafeteria, employee’s workstations as noise acts
as a hindrance to an effective communication. Prefer a conference room, a board room or a
noise free zone for meetings and presentations. The speaker must use whiteboards, markers,
pen and paper to highlight the important points. The listeners must also carry a notepad and a
pen to jot down the important points as well as their queries. The queries must be asked at the
end of the presentation. Jumping in between leads to confusions and misunderstandings and
disrespect for the speaker. The question answer round must be kept at the end of
presentations, seminars and meetings. The speaker must invite questions from the audience in
the end and the listeners must also solve all their queries before leaving for a better
understanding. Don’t feel shy to ask your queries.
 While sharing any important information, do verify with the recipients whether they have
understood or not. While sharing any important contact number, always crosscheck with the
recipient to ensure that they have noted it correctly. Don’t dictate your email id in one go.
Always break it into words which must be further broken into alphabets. For better clarity
alphabets must be related with the word they stand for. For example a as in alpha, b as in beta, t
as in tango, c as in Charlie as so on. Share your business cards than verbally dictating your details
as chances of errors get reduced.
 Don’t always depend on verbal communication. After any meeting, make it a habit to send the
minutes of the meeting through mail marking a cc to all the participants for everyone to recall
what happened in the meeting. Learn the art of writing business mails. Never use stylish fonts or
loud colors in business communication. The agenda of the meeting must also be sent well in
advance so that the participants come prepared and do not give blank expressions during the
meetings.
 There should be transparency among all the team members and the subordinates must have
an easy access to their superiors. The hierarchy should be simple for easy flow of information
among the team members. The employee must know whom to contact in case of a query to
avoid dilution of the information. Never call any client or any employee when he is about to
leave for the day as he would never bother to listen carefully. Also avoid discussing important
matters during lunch time as the employee is altogether in a different mood.
 Also take care of your dressing at work place. Never be shabby and keep your nails clean. Do
not wear loud colors to office. Casual dressing is a strict no at work places. Make sure to carry a
planner or an organizer to note down your work against the deadline to avoid forgetting
important assignments. In offices, always keep your mobiles in the silent mode as loud ring
tones act as a disturbing element and employees find it hard to concentrate at work.
 The most important of all be you and be very confident. Give your best every day at work and
adopt a positive approach. Nervousness and over excitement lead to stammering and ineffective
communication. Learn to keep a control on your emotions and be very careful about what you
say and how you say? Communicate effectively at work place to be successful.

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LESSON FOUR
Face to face communication
We all know how technology enables communication – email, voicemail, text message, instant message,
Twitter . . . the list goes on. There are more than enough ways to communicate, and too often they add
up to message overload for employees.

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That’s why when something is important, nothing compares to face-to-face communication. When a
leader needs to inspire people—or move them to action—the best way to do it is to look people in the
eye and tell them exactly what they need to know.

Communicating face-to-face sends a message before you say a word. People will not only hear what you
are saying, they will perceive the greater meaning of your tone, voice inflection, emotion and body
language. Taking the time to meet and chat with employees is an important way to emphasis key
messages as well as reiterate and expand upon ideas expressed in other channels.

Here are six good reasons for leaders to make the time to communicate face to face:

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