The process of

communication
 Sender or source
 Encoding: message creation
 Channel or medium
 Decoding
 Receiver
 Feedback
 Noise or interference x
 The objectives of
communication
To be received (heard or
read)
To be understood
To be accepted
To get action (change of
behavior or attitude)
When we fail to achieve any
one of these, we have failed
to communicate. This can
often lead to frustration and
resentment expressed in
phrases like ‘ don’t you
understand plain English?’
 But what is plain English?
English after all is only a code
which we use to express the
thoughts in our head, and a
code can only be understood if
both parties give the same
meaning to the symbols that
are used.
 Words are only symbols that represent
things and ideas, and we attach slightly
different meanings to the words that we
hear and use. The meanings that we
give to the results from the way we
each interpret the world around use.
The meanings that we give to words
results from the way we each interpret
the world around use, and for each of
us that world is seen and understood
differently.
 The meaning of words
 It is therefore our individuality
that is the main barrier to
effective communication. The
connection between the word
and the thing it represents is
whatever association a
particular group or people have
chosen to make
Dap, primsoll, tennis
shoes, pumps, keds,
trainer, running
shoes…
With concrete words- words
which describe things we
can touch, feel, hear, see or
smell- we may have fewer
difficulties in explaining
what we mean because if all
else fail we can point to
things.
 But what about abstract words- words
which describe sensations, feelings,
emotions, ideas?
 How can you be sure that someone
else gives the same meaning as you to
words like ‘danger’, ‘love’, ‘hate’,
‘beautiful’, and so on? The meanings
attached to these words will be the
result of each person’s past
experience.
Non-verbal communication
 Of course , we don’t only use words to
communicate. Every time we
communicate we are sending out
messages by means of all sorts of
other things. In fact, even when we are
not actually writing or speaking we are
still communicating, even if
unintentionally.
 List 15 ways we communicate non-
verbally. Exercise.
 Obviously we may use pictures
to communicate our message,
either to replace words or more
importantly to reinforce our
verbal message. But,
consciously or unconsciously,
when we speak we will also
communicate by other means.
 Check points: non-verbal
communicatio0n
 Facial expression-a smile, a frown
 Gestures- movement of hands and body to
help to explain or emphasize our verbal
message
 Body posture- how we stand or sit
 Orientation- whether we face the other person
or turn away
 Eye contact- whether we look at the other
person or not , and the length of time that we
look at the other person
 Body contact- a pat on the back, an arm
around the shoulder
 Proximity-the distance we sit or stand from the
person
 Head-nods- to indicate agreements or
disagreements or to encourage the other to go on
speaking
 Appearance- physical grooming and choice of
clothing
 Non-verbal aspects of the speech- variations of
pitch, stress and timing; voice quality and tone of
voice (these are sometimes called paralanguage)
 Non-verbal aspects of writing- handwriting,
layout, organization, neatness and visual
appearance generally.
 All these non-verbal elements of
communication are some times
called ‘meta-communication’, from
the Greek word ‘meta’ meaning
‘beyond’ or ‘in-addition-to.
 ‘Metacommunication’ is therefore
something ‘in addition to the
communication and we must
always be aware of its existence
 Metacommunication which
accompanies any message is very
powerful. The receiver will use these
clues to help them to interpret what
you mean, but more importantly they
will often take the meaning from the
metacommunication rather from the
words themselves, particularly when
what you are saying conflicts with
what you are doing.
The context or situation
 Just as the words (the verbal message)
and the non-verbal message may be
interpreted differently by different
people, so the person may attribute
differently meanings to the same words
at different times and in different
contexts. After all we don’t
communicate in vacuum; the art of
communication always takes place
within a situation or a context.
 The situation will have a history
and particular characteristics
which will make it different from
any other situation. In order to
communicate, we learn to
recognize similarities in situations
so that we can learn from our
experiences. This is obviously
essential or we would never know
what to do or what to expect.
Barriers to communication
Lets look at some factors
which can cause problems
for communication and
which we must be aware of if
we are to overcome them or
communicate in such a way
as to minimize their effect
 Differences in perception
 The way we view the world is largely
determined by our past experiences, so
people of different ages, nationalities,
cultures, education, occupation, sex,
status, personality, and so on, will each
have different perceptions and will
each perceive situations differently
 Differences in perception are often at
the root of many other barriers of
communication
Jumping to conclusions
We often see what we
expect to see, and therefore
hear what we expect to hear,
rather than what is actually
there. This may lead us, As
the saying goes ‘to put two
and two together and make
five’.
 Stereotyping
 Because we have to learn from
our experiences, we run the
risk of treating different people
as if they were the same:
‘you’ve met one cop/ student/
peon/ barber/ professor, you’ve
met them all!’ we often hear, or
words to that effect.
 Lack of knowledge
 It is difficult to communicate effectively
with some one who has a very different
background from yours, or whose
knowledge of the particular subject of
discussion is considerably less than
yours. Of course it is possible, but it
requires skill on the part of the
communicator to be aware of the
discrepancy between the levels of
knowledge and communicate
accordingly.
 Lack of interest
 One of the greatest barriers to
overcome is the receiver's lack
of interest in your message.
You should always be alert to
this as a possibility, since it is
so easy to assume that
everyone is as concerned
about our interests as we are.
Where the lack of interest
is obvious and
understandable you must
work particularly hard to
angle your message to
appeal to the interests
and needs of the receiver
 Difficulties with self
expression
 If, as the communicator, you have
difficulty finding the words to
convey your ideas, this will clearly
be a barrier and you must; work at
improving your vocabulary. But
lack of confidence, which can also
cause difficulties in expression,
can be boosted by careful
preparation and planning.
 Emotions
 The emotions of either the receiver or
communicator can also prove to be barrier –
any strongly felt emotion is liable to prevent
almost anything but the emotion being
communicated
 The moral, of course is to try avoid
communicating when a strong emotion is
liable to make you incoherent or when it will
totally distort what you mean to say
 Some people use emotion to their advantage
at times
 Personality
 Clash of personalities is one of the
most common causes of
communication failure.
 We may not be able to change the
personality of others, but at least
we should be prepared to consider
our own personality to see if a
change in our behavior may result
in more satisfactory relationships
The first golden rule is to
THINK AHEAD. If we can
predict some of the likely
problems BEFORE we
communicate, we may be
able to avoid them.
Why?
Who?
Where?
When?
What?
How?
 Whatever communication task
you are undertaking, asking
these six simple questions
Before you start will give your
communication a better chance
of success and make the task
easier
 Some check points
 Why? (purpose)
Why am I communicating?
What is my reason for
writing or speaking?
What am I hoping to
achieve? Change of
attitude? Change of
opinion?
 What do I want the reciever(s) to
do as a result of my
communication?
 What is my purpose? To inform?
To persuade? To influence? To
educate? To sympathize? To
entertain? To advise? To explain?
To provoke? To stimulate
thought?...
 Who? (Receiver)
 Who exactly is my audience?
 What sort of people are they?
Personality? Education age?
Status?..
 What do they know already
about the subject of my
message? A lot? Not much?
Nothing? Less/more than I do?.
 Where and when? (place
and context)
Where will they be when
they receive my message?
In their office close to other
relevant material? Or
isolated from the problem so
that I may need to remind
them of the facts?
At what point in the total
matter does my message
come? Am I replying to
something they have raised?
Or will my message
represent the first they have
heard about the problem/
topic/ issue?
 What is my relationship with the
receiver? Is the subject of my
message the cause of controversy
between us? Is the atmosphere
strained or cordial?
 Answers to these questions will
help you to find answers to the
next set of questions more easily
than if you had jumped straight in.
 What? (Subject)
 What exactly do I want to say?
 What do I need to say?
 What do they need to know?
 What information can I omit?
 What information must I
include in order to be:
 The six C’s of effective
communication
Clear
Concise
Courteous
Constructive
Correct
complete
 How? (Tone and Style)
 Which medium of communication
will be most appreciated? Spoken?
A letter or a personal chat or an
interview? A report or an oral
presentation? A memo or a
telephone call?
 How am I going to communicate my
message/ with words? Or pictures?
Or both? Which words? Which
pictures?
 How will I organize the points I
want to make? Shall I use
deductive sequence (start with my
main points and then go on to the
explanation/ illustration)? Or
inductive sequence (start with the
explanation/ examples/
illustrations and then build up to
the main point at the end ).
How am I going to achieve
the right effect? What
tone must I use to achieve
my purpose? Which
words must I use/ avoid in
order to create the right
tone?
 In some cases the answers to
these questions will come quickly.
In fact, they may seem obvious.
 But beware - it is very easy to
jump to conclusions, to see the
problem from your point of view
and forget that your listeners or
readers may see things differently.
PLEASE ENGAGE
BRAIN BEFORE
OPENING MOUTH
PLANNING THE MESSAGE
Only when you have you
given some thought to
these six essential
questions are you ready
to plan your message
1.Write down your purpose
 It is always a good idea to write
down (preferably in one or two
sentences) exactly what you are
trying to achieve by your message.
 You will then always have it always
before you to help you to organize
your material and avoid straying
from the point.
2.Assemble the information
 Jot down all the ideas or points
which you think you need to make
on notes paper, index cards or
notes on PC, especially if it is to be
a long message.
 At this stage select only the
essential relevant information and
reject the irrelevant.
3. Group the information
 Now consider your list and look
for links between the bits of
information. Rewrite your notes
in clear groups. It helps to give
each group a heading
 The groups will probably
become the paragraphs or
sections in your finished
message
4. Put the information onto
logical sequence
Your next task is to put the
groups of information (still
only in the note form) into
some sort of sensible order
which your reader can follow
Some commonly used
methods of ordering material
 Chronological order
It is sometimes called
historical order and is
perhaps the most common
method, which merely
presents the material in the
order in which it occurred or
occurs in time
 Spatial (or place) order
 Effective for describing
machinery, buildings, furniture,
geographical location. Facts
are presented on the
geographical basis – from
place to place: from north to
south, top to bottom, left to
right, high to low, in and out, up
and down, or near and far…
 Order of importance
 Descending order of
importance (or deductive
order): starting with the most
important point to gain the
readers attention; or ascending
order of importance (or
inductive order) starting with
the least important point
Ascending order of
importance starting with the
simple and moving towards
complex or difficult
Descending order of
familiarity moving from the
known to the unknown
Cause and effect, put simply
it means ‘because of this,
then that’. In other words,
‘because this happened, that
happened
Topical-no real link or
sequence but just chunks on
a topic-by-topic basis
 5. Produce a skeleton
outline
By working through the
previous four stages you will
have produced in effect a
plan or skeleton outline of
your finished message
This is the basis for the
beginning of the final
product
 6. Write the first draft
 Now you are ready to start
writing. Write the first draft to
yourself
 Don’t worry at this stage about
the style and the words – that
can come later
 Starting to write is a big barrier –
the first draft helps clear this
hurdle
 7. Edit the first draft and
write the final draft
 Once you have written the first
draft you must put yourself in the
shoes of the receiver. Read your
draft through their eyes, checking
for ambiguities, errors, awkward
expressions, lack of signpost
words (‘first’ ‘second’, ‘finally’, ‘on
the other hand’, ‘consequently’,
etc.) which are essential to guide
your reader along
 Editing check-list
 Vary the length of the sentences but
keep them on the short side: 18-22
words should be the average
 Paragraphs should have only one main
idea
 Use words that the reader will
understand
 Avoid un-businesslike colloquialisms
(e.g. ‘to cut the long story short’)
 Omit unnecessary words
 Use the shorter rather than the
longer word or phrase, if
appropriate.
 Avoid hackneyed expressions
(‘please find enclosed’ ‘thanking
you in anticipation’…)
 Avoid needless repetition of words
and phrases- find alternatives
wherever possible
Use sincere words- don’t
overstate or exaggerate
Use positive words rather
than negative words if
possible
Use the active rather than
the passive
Write in detail what
you understand when
you hear/ read the
following- Vippy, the
door is open
Speaking
Effectively
Perhaps because we learn to
speak before we write, or
perhaps because speaking is so
much a part of our everyday life,
we are liable to take speaking
for granted.
It is not just the select or the big
occasion which requires care
and attention
Earlier we had a look at the
problems in
communication process.
The same principles apply
in the countless speaking
situations which present
themselves at work
Lets look first at the basic
skills of speaking which
apply in any situation:
a. Personal qualities and
b. vocal qualities –
enunciation and
pronunciation
 Basic speaking skills
Personal qualities
1. Clarity: to be a good
speaker you need first
and foremost to be able
to express your ideas
clearly
 Your language should be simple
 Your material should be organized so
that it can be easily followed
 Avoid trying to impress by using long,
complicated words
 At times you may need to use jargons
and specialized vocabulary
 Speaking clearly also means uttering
the words distinctly so that they are
recognizable
 Accuracy
 Make sure that the words you
use say exactly what you mean.
 So you need a reasonably wide
vocabulary so that you can
choose words with precise
meanings to suit your purpose
 The facts you use should be
correct
Don’t make statements
which go beyond facts or
might be challenged-
‘everybody thinks’… or
‘nobody in their right
minds would accept…’
 Empathy
 Always try to courteous and
friendly
 However angry you feel, try to
control your emotions and at least
remain calm
 Put yourself in the other person’s
place- it will help you being
courteous and polite besides
establishing empathy
 This doesn’t mean that you have to
agree with them ;or their ideas, but
it does help you to be
understanding and patient
 Facial expressions and tone of
voice are important here,
especially in group discussions
and interviews
 Sincerity
 This really means being natural.
 There is always a danger when
talking to strangers or people of
higher status of becoming stiff and
awkward, and trying to put on an
accent
 This usually stems from lack of
confidence
 Strive to be yourself in all situations.
 Relaxation
 The best way of getting rid of
unnatural speech
characteristics is to relax
 When our muscles are tense,
we have difficulty expressing
ourselves naturally.
 Awkward movements are also
the result of tension
Try taking a deep breath.
This may help you to relax
If you freeze up with
tension, you probably
begin holding your breath
without realizing it.
 Eye contact
 Whenever people are speaking to
one another eye contact is very
crucial
 A speaker who never looks at his
listeners may be conveying
messages like ‘I am not very
interested in you’, ‘I don’t like you’,
or even ‘don’t believe what I am
saying’.
 So when you are speaking give
your listeners their fair share eye
contact.
 Don’t keep your eyes on the desk,
or in your lap or out of the window
and when you are talking to a large
group move your eyes around the
room treating your audience as
individuals.
They will prefer a slightly
hesitant speaker who
shows interest in them by
looking at them, than to a
highly fluent speaker who
reads with head down
over their notes
 Appearance
How you look can affect
how well others
understand you.
Your appearance reflects
how you see yourself-
‘self-image’.
 Since your listeners cannot help
but notice your appearance they
will receive meta communications
from the way you dress and your
general grooming
 In most speaking situations people
see the speaker and form
judgments about them even before
they speak.
 Attractive dress and good
grooming are obviously important
in formal situations: public
meetings, job interviews, and so
on.
 Personal cleanliness and tidiness
are also important
 Dress and appearance must be
appropriate to the situation
 Posture
 Good posture is also important.
 Someone who props up the wall or
slouches in their chair as they
speak conveys a message to their
listeners which may surprise them.
 Their attitude is showing. They are
either tired or bored or careless, or
all three! And the listeners are not
likely to be impressed.
Posture is also related to
voice quality as it affects
the breathing quality
Poor posture also affects
your voice
psychologically as well as
physically.
 By improving your posture
when talking, you can do much
toward instilling in your voice
and your whole manner four
characteristics of voice quality
 Alertness, pleasantness,
distinctness, and
expressiveness.
 Vocal qualities
 Don’t think that you can’t change
the way you speak. You can and do
control your voice all the time.
 You can improve your voice if you
want to, but you have to work at it.
 The first step is to be aware of the
factors which affect the sound of
your voice.
 The mechanics of speech
Speech involves many
mechanical skills.
It requires a complicated
manipulation of the
diaphragm, the lungs and
muscles of the chest as well
as vocal chords, mouth,
tongue and lips.
To ensure that the sounds
you produce are clear, your
throat muscles must be
relaxed, your jaw must not
be taut or rigid and your lips
must be flexible and capable
of assuming a variety of
positions
 Pitch
 A person whose voice has a high
pitch may sound thin or squeaky or
shrill.
 A person with low pitch will sound
deep or throaty
 When your voice chords are
stretched tight, the sound will be
higher as the air is forced past them
causing them to vibrate (like
plucking a tight elastic band).
When people are frightened
or tense, their vocal chords
stretch tight and their voices
tend to squeak.
One way to relax your throat
muscles is to practice this
simple exercise:
 Take a deep breath then, as you
breathe out, say several short syllables
for example: ‘she gave us all a short
talk on art’.
 Try it. Notice how the tightness
disappears as you exhale. It is in fact
physically impossible to breathe out
and keep the muscles tight at the same
time. This is why deep breathing can
help you relax.
 volume
 Volume is more easily controlled
than pitch
 But practice is still required to get
the right volume
 Proper breathing is essential to
volume control and good speaking
 Practice taking deep breaths and
letting out the air just enough
force to generate the right volume.
 If you control your voice and speak
clearly without appearing to strain
or shout or run out of breath, you
will impress your listeners by the
quality of the voice alone
 Learn how to project your voice so
that you can be heard at great
distances without yelling or
sounding strained
 The right volume depends on the
situation. You should therefore
note: where you are speaking as
the location will affect how well
your words can be heard;
 The size of the group to whom
you are speaking;
 Background noise, e.g. the noise
of air-conditioning.
 Diction and accent
 Diction is the way in which you say
or pronounce words, and is
acquired
 To some extent it is affected by
your accent
 Diction depends on ‘articulation’
and ‘enunciation’, which are terms
used to describe how you
pronounce words:
Articulation refers to the
way people pronounce
consonants
Enunciation refers to the
way people pronounce
vowels
If people articulate and enunciate
well, i.e. clearly, they will have
good diction.
Good diction is generally
considered to be the result of
being well- educated and well-
informed
However, it is important not to
confuse diction with accent.
Whatever your accent, it is
important you pronounce
your words clearly.
Labratry-laboratory
Ave you go’ the le’er
Soon, seen, sand, sawn,
sow, such,…
 Speed and pause
 The speed at which you talk will
also affect the message you are
sending
 A good speaker varies the pace
according to the relative
importance of what he is saying;
thus unimportant words and
phrases are spoken more quickly
while important words or phrases
will be spoken more slowly.
 Pauses carefully used, can be
very effective device for getting
your message across.
 A good speaker will pause
briefly at the appropriate places
to give their listeners the
opportunity to take in what they
have said.
 Tone
 Your tone can convey whether
you are happy or angry or sad.
 You can sound humble and
frightened, or commanding and
patronizing.
 You can even make the same
word mean several different
things by the tone you give it.
 Qualities to aim for when
speaking
Pleasantness: is partly being polite,
but also striving to give a friendly
tone to your voice by smiling and
looking smart.
Alertness: gives your listener the
impression that you are of and
interested in what is happening
around you and what you are
saying. They are more likely to feel
it is worthwhile to listen to you
 Distinctiveness
Is listening clearly so that
your listener can hear and
understand your words
without straining. This
includes pronounciation
 Expressiveness
Is putting feeling into your
voice. To be expressive ,
you must avoid the low
droning monotone which
will turn off your listener.
Thank You
 Business writing
 Effectivewriting does not come
by chance. It does not just
happen. It requires a set of skills
to write SIMPLY, CLEARLY,
ACCURATELY, AND BRIEFLY.

 Youhave to learn and acquire

them as you have earned your
professional knowledge and
experience
 Purpose of writing
Writing to inform

Writing to persuade
 Writing to inform
 Presents facts, data,
statistics, reports, accounts
of facts and written with
maximum objectivity.

 It
is also called expository
writing because it
expounds or expresses
ideas and facts.
 A check-list
 Does it focus on the subject under
discussion?
 Does it primarily inform rather
than persuade the reader?
 Does it offer complete and exact
information?
 Can the information be
ascertained?
 Does it present the information
logically and clearly?
 Does it make good reading?
Writing to persuade
 Persuasive writing aims at
convincing the reader about a
mater
 It is at times called
argumentative. The matter has
two or more sides to it. The
writer seeks to influence and
convince the reader
 It focuses on the reader and
does more than just state an
opinion
 A check-list
 Does it basically seek to convince
rather than inform
 Does it support its view point by
giving information or valid reasons
 Does it clearly follow a logical
arrangement of thought and reasoning
 Does it finally evoke the intended
response from the reader
 Does it focus on the reader
The audience/receiver
 Recognize the needs,
expectations, fears, and the
attitudes.

 Writtencommunication is
one-way till such time the
reader responds. So the
challenge is to get the
written communication right.
 Planning saves time
and effort
 Ingood business writing
carefully think about what
you plan to say, and spend
even a bit more time
thinking about the people
to whom you’re going to
say it.
Plan writing in writing
 Always plan in writing, not just
in your head. If you write your
plans down, you’ll not only
remember them more clearly-
you’ll also be less likely to be
thrown off when you do multiple
projects at the same time.

 Referto document planning

sheet till it comes as a reflex
Early criticism kills the
creative process
 We are often crass and cruel to
ourselves when we write. We tend to
feel and think that our thoughts are
not appropriate or phrased or spelled
correctly even before we put our pen
to the paper
 This early criticism is one of the chief
causes of writer’s block and of a
general dislike for writing. It is also a
costly waste of productive time.
 The brainstorming
attitude
 Like you brainstorm
among your colleagues
/friends/family for ideas,
you brain storm within
before you embark on
writing.
 Brainstorm now, organize
and perfect later.
 Brainstorming
guidelines
 Write as fast as you can
 Start anywhere
 Free yourself
 Accept every idea, even weird
ones
 Record as many ideas as possible
 Write everything down; use
abbreviations
 Ignorespelling, punctuation,
sentence structure, etc.

 Prevent all self- criticism

 Jump freely among ideas

 Write until you burn out;

rest; repeat till you achieve
what you set out to do
 Time for writing
 Writing business documents,
like any high-concentration
activity, is much easier if you
can work uninterrupted.
 A 1minute interruption from
a writing task might require
as much as 20 minutes of
recovery time before you can
resume the flow
Suggestions for reducing
writing distractions

Curtail internal phone

calls, meetings, and
visitors except for
emergencies.
 Come in early or stay late if you
can go to lunch half an hour late.
Find quiet time when you are
least likely to be disturbed

 Schedule writing appointments

with yourself. If someone asks to
see you during your scheduled
time, say “sorry, I have an
appointment. What other time
would be good for you?”
 Hang up a “do not disturb
until…” or an “in conference
until…” sign on your door,
and tell people you insist.

 Turnyour writing space away

from the entrance to your
workplace. Especially if you
have no office door. This will
reduce interruptions
 Executive time
Listening-45%
Speaking-30%
Reading-16%
Writing-9%
 Use white noise
In noisy and open offices,
get a softly playing radio
or a small fan minimize
the distracting
conversations floating
over your partition
 Make your office less
appealing to visitors
 Sit in front of a bright window,
put books on visitors’ chairs, or
remove visitors’ chairs
altogether. Be very careful
when using such techniques to
be especially friendly to your
colleagues when you finish
your writing session
 Ignore the phone
Forward your calls, or
have a secretary screen
them, or take phone off
the hook, which signals
that you are busy- which
you are
 Promise call backs.
If you are writing and
some one calls or pops
in, quickly say, “can I
get back to you in say
about 15 minutes”?
 Find a hiding place.
Try an empty office, an
unoccupied conference
room, a storeroom, or
even your car in the
parking lot.
Don’t be an interruption.
Be sensitive to other
people’s need for private
writing time. Be observant
and flexible when
balancing your needs with
their time.
 Getting it right
The last phase in
producing a good
piece of writing is
revision.
“big-middle-little” revising
 Revising isn’t easy, partly because
writing isn’t easy. Written language
involves word choice, tone,
punctuation, spelling, organization,
connection, formality, ambiguity,
visual formatting, sequence of
tense, pronoun agreement,
conciseness, and technical
language- to name just a few
 All of these factors are elaborate
systems of constantly evolving
linguistic conventions.
 Are we supposed to think of all
that, as we read through
 No way. That’s why we need to
break up revising into three
manageable chunks.
 Big revising
 Skim through your document, looking
for the big picture- the overall content
and organization of your work. Eyeball
the text from a distance: does it look
easy to read (with lots of marginal
white space, clearly marked sections,
and so on) or does it look like a brick
wall of unbroken words?
 If a memo looks hard to read, it IS hard
to read, and it may not be read at all.
 Middle revising
 Next, quickly read for simplicity,
clarity, and conciseness. Do your
readers absolutely need to know
everything you’ve written? Can
you leave phrases, paragraphs, or
even whole sections out? Can you
simplify the language in what’s
left? Are your ideas clear and to
the point?
 Little revising
Next, look for the details- the
grammar, spelling, and
punctuation. Leave this
small but very important
detailing to the last. Why
correct the spelling of a
word you might end up
eliminating.
Headlines for instant clarity
 Headlines also known as subject lines
must be complete. For example
“MANAGEMENT MEETING.” What’s
this memo’s point? Is it an invitation to
a meeting? An agenda? A suggestion
for the next meeting? A complaint? You
can’t tell; you’d have to read the fine
print. In a way, this subject line is an
incomplete headline
 x
 To make your memos more clear,
think: subject line=purpose +topic.
For example: “request to cancel
the next management meeting.”
this headline is instantly clear
because it states the memo’s
purpose (request to cancel), then
the topic (next management
meeting).
 Add breathing space for
reader friendliness
 A true story: a few years ago an old friend
decided to start a new life. He just picked up
and moved from Chennai to Mumbai. He
arrived, wrote up a resume- a one-pager,
crammed edge-to-edge with everything he’d
ever done- and started looking for work.
Months went by: no job. Puzzled and worried,
he revamped his resume, spreading the same
information out over to two pages and
making the pages breezier, and much easier
to read. The next week he found a job
What happened?
Somebody finally read
his resume!
 Revise for reader
friendliness
 Frequent paragraph breaks: even use
occasional one- or two- line paragraphs
for important thoughts
 Lists: readers find listed information
easier to organize, so they look at lists
almost immediately. Lists can also
condense documents by allowing the
use of phrases instead of sentences
 c
 Wide margins: readers find shorter text
lines easier to read than long, edge-to-
edge text lines, and wide margins give
readers more room for writing notes
 Section headlines: headlines allow
readers to scan for main ideas, read
selectively or in any order they wish,
and easily review the document at a
later time.
 Simplify and clarify your
document
 Eliminate nonessential ideas:
distinguish what readers need to
know from what would be nice to
know.
 Write to express and not to
impress: the purpose of business
writing should not be to show off,
but to inform. Pompous writing
often alienates busy readers.
Write as if your readers
were 12 years old: Albert
Einstein said that
everything should be
made as simple as
possible, if not simpler-
sums it up
Think proverbial: proverbs
are memorable because they
are short and vivid. To make
your writing memorable,
plan to write simple, vivid,
memorable sentences rather
than long, abstract
dissertations.
 Reduce or eliminate big
words
 Beware of three-, four-, and five-
syllable words. Change “ our
contemporary organizational
structure possesses the
prerequisite autonomous
functioning capabilities” to “today
we have the strength we need to
stand alone”. Try to use the
simplest words that work.
Use personal pronouns
 Instead of, “it is recommended that
this procedure be implemented,”
write “WE recommend YOU
implement this procedure.”
personal pronouns can help make
sentences simpler, less abstract,
and more personal. They also
clarify the important issue of who
does what.
 There-it goes
 Reduce or eliminate
unnecessary uses of THERE
and IT in phrases such as “it
is”, “there was”, “it will,” “there
has been,” and so on. Change “
it is true that there was anger in
the crowd” to “true, the crowd
was angry.”x
 Advantages of E-mail
 E-mail, like death, taxes, and TV, is probably
here to stay. It is a wonderful medium- it’s
quick, immediate, generally inexpensive,
fairly easy to use, and even environmentally
friendly when it saves paper. E-mail is almost
universal among modern business
professionals, which adds another
advantage- the ability to send the same
message to many people at once. Moreover,
e-mail messages can often be kept
permanently in computerized files
Disadvantages of E-mail
 E-mail can reduce live human
interaction, leading to oddly
impersonal business
relationships. Employees send
personal e-mails on company
time. E-mail encourages sloppy
writing. Communicating quickly
does not mean you don’t have
to communicate well
 Make your E-mails reader
friendly
To make the most of e-
mail technology and write
e-mail it is worthwhile
considering the following
suggestions
 Beware of confidential
subjects
You can never be sure
where your messages
will be forwarded, how
long they will be kept,
or by whom.
Know how to brainstorm
Maybe you’re most
efficient when you
brainstorm and organize
on paper first, then write
the e-mail. Paper is still
OK, you know. What
works best for you.
Assume high standards
Many readers are put off
by bad writing in any
form, e-mail as well as
hard copy. Write as well
as you can, whenever you
can.
 Select your readers
When messaging to
many, be selective: send
copies only to those who
absolutely, positively
need to see it.
Don’t assume what you see
is what you get
 If your reader’s systems are
different from yours, your line
lengths may spill over and
cause an annoying text wrap
effect on their screens. To be
safe keep your line lengths to
55 or 60 characters, including
spaces.
Avoid typing in all caps.
 It’s easier to type, but IT SURE
SOUNDS LIKE SHOUTING,
DOESN’T IT? Also, “all cap”
writing slows reading by
inhibiting recognition of
acronyms, proper names, and
sentence starts, which all
depend on upper/lower case
contrasts.
 Use informative subject
lines
 Readers may screen their e-mails by
scanning subject lines, discarding
without reading messages that don’t
seem relevant or clear. To get your e-
mails read, don’t use subjects like
“management meeting” or “project
xyz” if you can use “request to
reschedule meeting” or “how project
xyz will save $500000/year.” these
longer subject lines communicate even
if your whole e-mail isn’t read.
 Keep it short
Try to get your whole
message on one
screen .it is one the
best ways to ensure
very high readership
 If you can’t keep it short,
forecast the structure
On your readers first screen,
summarize your message
and then forecast its
structure by listing all your
section headings. This helps
readers scroll quickly to
sections that may interest
them.
 Use emphasis devices
 Even though some e-mail
systems don’t yet allow many
word processing options, you
can still facilitate reading by
using headings, white space,
occasional all caps, indents,
lists, simulated underlines, and
other devices
 Beware of acronyms and
emoticons
Don’t over use e-mail jargon
or those cute little “smileys”
like  or . Even though
they can communicate
quickly, make sure your
readers accept them before
you them
 Print out long ones
If you print out long e-
mails, your scanning for
important sections may
be easier than if you roll
or scroll on screen
 Reply quickly to your
messages
Don’t negate one of the
main advantages of e-
mail, which is speed.
Check your e-mail
frequently and reply
promptly
Change the subject line of
your reply
Your reply is not the same
message as the original e-
mail you were sent, is it? So
if you can change the
subject line. Reply to
“request to reschedule
meeting” with “meeting
rescheduled to May 30”
Presentations
 Presentations
Plan to speak to listeners
on their terms
Many professionals suffer
from a common
communication malady:
the “specialist’s fallacy.”
The Specialist’s Fallacy: How
Presentations Go Wrong
 The specialist’s fallacy assumes that
the listeners are just as familiar with
your subject as you are. If you assume
this you may lose your audience. With
this false assumption, presenters give
talks that are too long and full of
digressions, contain too much detail,
and over use specialized terms
 Presentations given this way may be
misunderstood- or even disregarded
 Where the Specialist’s
Fallacy Originates
 The specialist’s fallacy comes from
mistaking familiarity with a subject
for an intrinsic simplicity of the
subject. “if I understand it,
everyone under stands it”. We
assume that what we know is
common knowledge and that
everyone will understand us if we
just say what we know. The result:
they don’t understand us.
 The solution: Plan to Speak to
Listeners on Their Own Terms
 To avoid the specialist’s fallacy
and plan your presentations for
your listeners, use the
presentation planning form.
 This will help you create
presentations that tailor your
message to your listeners, avoid
the dreaded fallacy, and
communicate clearly.
 Use a recipe to begin with
confidence
Say hello and say your
name. Greet the audience
with a strong, clear voice.
If anyone in the audience
doesn’t know who you
are, say your name
 2. Name your topic
Tell them right away what
you will be discussing. Don’t
trust the technique of
starting with a joke. Humor
is tricky; you’re safest to get
right down to business and
name the topic.
 3. Give your topic
credentials
 Imagine that your audience asks
you, “why are you qualified to
speak about this topic?” don’t
detail your whole resume- just
enough to credential you in this
topic. Don’t brag about yourself,
either- just state your experience.
This section should take no more
than two or three sentences.
4. Emphasize the benefits
Emphasize the benefits
the audience will gain by
listening to you. This is a
sometimes neglected but
crucial part of an effective
business presentation
5. Forecast the structure of
your talk
Briefly outline the agenda
points you will cover.
Don’t detail them yet, just
list them. If you wish,
show the audience a
visual agenda to
accompany your words.
 6. Suggest question-
answer rules
Tell the audience when
you would like them to
ask their questions-
anytime, after sections,
or after the entire talk.
7.Start agenda item #1.
Simply say, “now let’s
start with point #1, and
you’re in.
 Think carefully about your business
audience’s interests and concerns.
Find ways your presentation will
benefit your audience, and make
sure they know, right from the start
of your talk, what those benefits
are. When you see that your
audience is listening with interest,
you’ll more easily deliver a
powerful, persuasive presentation.
 Use “quick specifics” for
high credibility
 Remember mother Mary who knew
Latin or uncle Sam who is great at
bridge!
 We think this way because we have
a tendency to generalize from
specific experiences. We tend to
assume, rightly or wrongly. That
behind any specific behavior is a
general pattern of knowledge, skill
or similar behavior.
In presentations: the quick
specifics
 And so it is with professional
presentations, especially persuasive
ones: if you give your audience specific
names, facts, examples, statistics,
stories, or analogies-especially lots of
them in rapid-fire sequence – the
audience is likely to assume that for
each specific you gave you could have
had more to say, and therefore your
evidence must be overwhelming and
your point valid
 Think “many and quick,”
instead of “few and deep”
 Many audiences will respond best to
many specifics quickly stated, rather
than few specifics explored in depth.
Audiences are generally impressed
with a wide sweep, an over view of the
evidence. They may eventually require
more depth, so an excellent
presentation strategy might be to give
your wide sweep of quick specifics,
then go back and develop one of your
specifics in detail.
The audience will then
assume that every one of
your specifics could go just
as deep, and they will feel a
sense of the breadth and
depth of your point, even if
you don’t have the time to
detail all your evidence.
 A final word: know the breadth
and depth of your evidence
 The “many and quick” strategy could lead
to abuses. A few bits of knowledge can be
made to deceive unsophisticated
audiences. The best presenters know their
material broadly and deeply and are
always prepared to offer fuller
explanations. The wisest audiences know
that behind a presenter’s quick, specific
evidence must lie a depth of
understanding; if they have any doubts
about a presenter’s knowledge, they must
ask for more depth or risk being misled.
 Use the BEST recipe to
organize your points
 After you have brainstormed
the evidence you want to use in
your speech, you need to
present these specifics in an
organized fashion. A handy
recipe for organizing a speech
is the BEST formula: bottom
line, evidence, summary,
transition.
 B= bottom line
 To open each section of your
speech, state in 25 words or
less the point you wish to make
in that section. Use a signpost
phrase like “ my next point
is…” or “point #3 of my
presentation is…”, this gives
the audience a clear sense of
where you are in your talk.
 E= evidence or examples
 List the best evidence, examples,
statistics, stories, and analogies you have
to support your point. A good technique is
to signpost these specifics with a
statement such as, “let me give you some
examples,” or “here are some statistics
you may find helpful.” To support you may
tell stories about people you have met; tell
jokes; and mention shah rukh khan,
mahatma Gandhi, Bernard Shaw,
Rajneesh… just make sure your evidence
is quick and convincing
S= summary of bottom line
 Restate your point so the
audience knows that you are
emerging from specifics into a
general statement. You can
signpost your point’s summary
with ‘to summarize this point…(
do not say “in conclusion”
unless you are at the end of
your talk)
T= transition to next point
Lead the audience to the
next point with a natural
transitional statement,
such as “that leads me to
the next point,” or “now
let’s move on.”
 Use a recipe to conclude
with power
The most effective
conclusions are a
combination of logical and
emotional elements crafted
into a clear sequence. To
fashion a solid, uplifting
conclusion, try this recipe.
1.Announce a stop sign
 A stop sign is an unmistakable verbal
signal that your talk is about to end.
Classic stop signs include the phrases
“in conclusion” or “in summary”. Say
your stop sign in a clear firm voice, and
your audience will perk up- not
because they’re glad you are finished,
but because they know that they are
about to hear an important statement :
your final words.
 2. Summarize your main
points
Recap the main ideas you
have covered in your talk.
Don’t say too much; just
give a brief bullet point
list of your bottom- line
points.
3. Motivate the listeners
Even in low key presentations,
you may find that an
optimistic, team building
feeling would be appropriate
as you conclude. To achieve
this emotional, motivational
effect, experiment with the
following terms:
Challenge, difficulty, effort
Tell the audience that the
ideas you have proposed
may not be easy to
implement. Challenge
them to take on the ideas
anyway.
 Optimism
Express as much sincere
confidence as you can. Be
willing yourself to take on
the challenges. Predict a
realistic success.
 The future
Refer to times to come.
Even use the word
“future” as you predict
a brighter day
 Pronouns
 Make your talks personal. Use
the words I, me, or mine- refer
to your own commitment. Tell
how you feel; risk a bit of self-
disclosure. Use the word you
refer to the audience- or even
better, use we, us, or our to
refer to yourself and the
audience as a team.
 A final uplifting phrase
 Make the very last words you say
turn upward, not downward. Do not
end with a statement like, “we will
look forward to a brighter future
and avoid the serious problems of
the past.” Rather, say “we will
avoid the serious problems of the
past and look forward to a brighter
future”. Leave the audience moving
upward with your last words.
4. Pause and say thank you
Thank you signals the
finish, and therefore the
moment listeners can
react. The phrase is, in
fact, an applause cue.
 5. Pause again and solicit
questions
Make sure your pause is
long enough to allow for
the listeners’ applause or
appreciative nods. Then, if
appropriate, solicit and
answer questions.
Handle questions with care
 Answering questions well can
be a major key to the success of
your presentation, because the
Q&A session is where the
audience finds out how much
you really know about your
topic and therefore whether they
can believe in your ideas
 Some useful guidelines
 Anticipate questions
Before the presentation,
brainstorm 10-12 tough
questions you think you’ll
be asked. Prepare good,
solid answers.
Specify when you want the
Q&A session
 In your introduction, request
questions any time, after
sections of the talk, or at the
end of the talk. Questions
during your talk may make your
talk longer and harder to keep
focused, but they can make
your talk interactive and more
engaging.
 Listen carefully to
questions
Don’t complete
questioner’s thoughts-
that can be insulting.
 Always support
questioners
Never put anyone down for
asking questions, even poor
ones. Put downs only make
enemies. Presenters can
insult questioners without
realizing it by making an
unintentionally hurtful
comment…
For example, suppose
someone asks a question
and you say, “I thought I
explained that, but I’ll go
over it again for you”.
 Beware of saying “good
question”
If you say to Kareena,
you’ll have to say it to
everybody, or risk making
people think their
questions aren’t as good
as Kareena’s
If appropriate, repeat
(or restate) the question
 …especially if the

question is complex, or
if the room is so big that
all listeners can’t hear
the questions posed to
you.
 Break out multiple-part
question
 If someone asks you a three- or
four- part question, don’t panic.
Answer only the first part if the
question and then say, “now,
what was your second
question?”
 Handling the questions one at a
time is much easier and just as
effective.
 Answer briefly
The fewer words you
say, the more of them
are remembered.
Involve the entire audience
in your answer
Even though one person
asked the question, you
should answer to every
one, with only a bit more
eye contact directed at the
asker
 If you don’t know the
answer, don’t bluff
 Simply say you don’t know,
promise to get back to the
asker with an answer, and do it
ASAP. You may be better off
this way than if you knew the
answer right off; getting back
quickly shows a “customer
service” attitude.
 Techniques for using
Laptops or LCD’s
Don’t overdo visual
effects; don’t make a
visual for every single
thought.
If possible, index slides
for quick-reference
tailoring on the fly.
Rehearse carefully.
Get there early; check
everything twice
If using a TV monitor, use
at least a 27” screen
If using a LCD panel and
reflective screen, try to
get a super-high
luminosity overhead
projector
Allow sufficient
setup/boot up time
 Ensure the image is large
enough to be seen at the back;
if necessary, use the image
sizer on the over head projector
 Make sure the image is bright
enough, but try also to leave
the room bright enough for
good eye contact
If presenting in a darkened
room, emphasize your voice
dynamics
If you anticipate long
discussions on any slides,
turn off the screen saver
feature
 For verbal- visual cooperation,
use cascading bullets or
progressive highlighting.
 For commands, use a remote
portable mouse as opposed to
tapping laptop
 Create a “dark slide” effect so
you can occasionally speak
without visual aids
Handshake
 Handshake
When, where, how and
whom to shake hands
with?
The following will answer
most of the questions on
the topic of hand shake.
 You would shake hands
Whenever you are
introduced to someone the
business or social arena.
On meeting a business or
a social acquaintance.
When someone comes
into your office or home.
 When you are congratulating
someone-show your
enthusiasm but be aware of
shaking the arms of the socket!
 When you are offering your
sympathy or condolence-the
‘glove’ handshake is very
appropriate in this situation.
When you greet your host
and hostess.
While saying ‘goodbye’
taking leave.
Have a firm and not a
crushing handshake. A
word ofcaution here.
 Please do not shake the other
person’s hand off the shoulder
socket and also be aware of a
person’s physical inability to
shake hands firmly.
 Don’t hold back. Extend your
hands immediately to have a
distinct advantage
 Exception to this rule would be,
in the social arena, the man
waits for the woman to extend
her hands first, especially in
Europe.
 It is considered to be in bad
form for the woman not to
extend her hand spontaneously.
 The socially savvy man knows
to wait for the woman to take
the initiative.
 But if the man holds out his
hand first, the woman should
take it graciously accompanied
by the proper verbal greetings!
Happy handshaking!
 Interesting thoughts
Why is it whether you sit
up or sit down, the result
is the same
Why isn’t phonetic spelled
the same way it sounds?
Why are there flotation
devices under plane seats
instead of parachutes?
Why do fat chance and
slim chance mean the
same thing?
If you can’t drink and drive,
why do you need a driver’s
license to buy liquor, and
why do bars have parking
lots?
Why is so hard to remember
how to spell MNEMONIC?
If nothing ever sticks to
TEFLON, how do they make
TEFLON stick to pan?
If you are in a vehicle doing
the speed of light, what
happens when you turn-on
the headlights?
You know how most
packages say “open here”.
What is the protocol if the
package says, “open
somewhere else”?
Why do we drive on parkways
and park on driveways?
Why isn’t “palindrome” spelled
the same way backwards?
Why is it that when you
transport something by car,
it’s called a shipment, but
when you transport something
by ship, its called a cargo?
 You know that little black
indestructible box that is used
on planes, why can’t they make
the whole plane out of the same
substance?
 Why is it when you are driving
and looking for an address, you
turn down the volume on the
radio?
If you have your finger
touching your rearview mirror
that says- “objects in the mirror
are closer than they appear”,
how can that be possible?
If some invented instant water,
what would they mix it with?
Why is it called a TV “set”
when you only get one?
Why does your nose run
and your feet smell?
Why does your nose run
and your feet smell?
Why does an alarm clock “go
off” when it begins ringing?
If pro is opposite of con, is
progress the opposite of
congress?
Why is it, whether you sit up
or sit down, the result is the
same?
 Interviewing weaknesses
Perhaps it is because we
are all involved in this
activity so often that we
tend to take all but the
most formal occasions for
granted.
We become complacent
and, as with so many
other communication
activities, interviews can
often be ineffective and
waste of time
 Check points: Ineffective
Interviews
Took longer than necessary
Rambled off the point into a
discussion of irrelevancies
One or other party talked too
much, not letting the other
get a word in edgeways
Left you feeling dissatisfied
in that the interview didn’t
achieve what you had
expected or hoped
Left you wondering what the
purpose of the interview
really was
Developed into an
argument or even a
slinging match
Did more harm than good
 In general terms, interviewing
consists of talking and
listening and forming
conclusions.
 Talking listening to other
people are the basis of good
communications at work and in
our personal relationships
But it is not a question of
encouraging people to talk
to one other more, but a
question of improving the
quality of talking and
listening that takes place.
 What is an interview?
“Any planned and controlled
conversation between two
(or more) people which has
a purpose for at least one of
the participants, and during
which both speak and listen
from time”.
 Chance meetings in corridors,
lifts or canteens often result in
conversations, but we shall not
consider these interviews as
such, since the definition we
are using contains the crucial
idea of “purpose”, as well as
the aspect of planning and
controlling the conversation.
 In remembering the reasons why
some interviews you have taken
part in were unsatisfactory, you
may have deduced that many
interviews tended to become
merely meandering chats precisely
because no one seemed to be too
clear exactly what the interview
was intended to achieve
Check-points: The Effective
Interview
To be effective the
interview must have:
.purpose
.planning
.controlled interaction
Whether you are likely to be
mainly the interviewer or the
interviewee will depend, of
course, on your
circumstances, but you can
learn a great deal about the
art of ‘being interviewed’ by
learning how to ‘interview’
 From understanding the objective
of an interviewer and being aware
of the methods used to achieve
those objectives you can gain
insight into how best to perform as
the interviewee, and to cope with
or help the less-than-good
interviewer, of whom there are
many
 The purposes of the
Interview
 The purpose of the interview
may be very specific –
selecting someone for a job;
hearing about someone’s
complaint; reprimanding or
disciplining someone for a
misdemeanor; or determining
someone is progressing- and
there are many more.
But all interviews will be
concerned with:
.obtaining information
.passing of information
.clarifying information
In other words ‘ exchanging
information’
It is the ‘reason’ why this
information is exchanged
which forms the of a
particular interview, and the
researchers normally
conceive of four basic
purposes of interviews.
1. Dissemination of
information (teacher-
student interviews, news
journalism interviews)
2. Seeking belief or behavior
change (sales, discipline,
performance appraisal)
3. problem- solving and decision- making
(employment interviews, performance
appraisal, medical interviews,
counseling, grievance procedures,
parent- teacher discussions)
4.Research and discovery of new
information (academic and social case
work, market research, polls and
opinion surveys, police interrogation,
academic and writer research)
Most interviews, whatever
there overall purpose, will be
concerned with eliciting or
exchanging information of
various kinds.
 Types of Interview
Information
1. Statements of
description
2. Statements of factual
knowledge
3. Statements of behavior
4.Statements of attitude
and belief
5.Statements of feeling
6.Statements of value
 Statement of description
The interviewee is required
to provide information
concerning something he
has observed or
experienced and may be
questioned much as a
witness is by lawer.
 Statements of factual
knowledge
The interviewee is required
to pass on an explanation of
information he possesses
(e.g. an interview with an
expert or specialist)
 Statements of behaviour
The interviewee defines
the previous, present and
future behaviour of the
interviewee
 Statements of attitude and
belief
 Information of a more subjective
nature revealing attitudes,
personality, ambition and
motivation; these statements
represents the interviewee’s
evaluation and opinion of the truth
and falseness about things, e.g. ‘I
think that may be true…’ ‘I believe
all staff should…’
 Statements of feelings
 These messages reveal physical
and/or emotional levels which
reflect the state of the individual,
e.g. ‘I am fed up with always
being ordered about by someone
for whom I’ve no respect’; ‘I’m
thoroughly enjoying this new
responsibility’ , etc.
 Statements of value
 These statements convey long-
standing belief systems that are
highly treasured by the
respondent, e.g. ‘the essential
quality in anyone is commitment- a
willingness to see things through
and stick at the job despite
difficulties. Without that, all the
qualifications in the world are
useless.’
LISTENING
Listening is the key
to success
Listening opens up
new horizons
Listening is the key
to learning
Listening begets
listening
 Why do we listen?
To gain information

To get feedback

Toparticipate in
another’s story
To hear of their
experiences and
insights
To be ‘in control’
(information is
power)
To broaden our
horizons, ie to
learn
To create a
relationship
To respect and
value others
Listening is perhaps
one of the most
important skills we
have, yet it is one of
the least recognized.
 A neglected skill
 Listening
in fact is how we
ourselves learn to speak.

 Researchreveals that
although we spend so
much of our time
‘listening’ we don’t
necessarily remember
all we’re told.
Shortly after a 10
minute oral
presentation the
average listener will
have retained only
half of what was said.
After 48 hours they
are likely to
remember only 10
percent!
Why don’t we listen?

1. Selective
listening
 Sit
still for about 5 minutes with
your eyes shut. Concentrate on
the things you can hear , and
identify as many different
sounds as you can. At the end of
the 5 minutes make a list,
independently, of these sounds.
Finally, discuss the results with
your partner. What conclusions?
Sounds which are
considered
unimportant are shut
out. We concentrate
primarily on what we
think is important.
 Go to the locker (no.252) at CST
station. In the locker you will
find a cash box which contains
the following:

1. 50xRs500,
2. 50xRs100,
3. 50xRs50

Please bring me half the money.

What is the number of
the locker ???
Why do people
listen selectively
only to what they
think is important?
Talking speed
versus the speed of
thought.
There is a considerable
difference between the
speed at which people
talk and the speed at
which they think ….
Theaverage
person speaks at
about 125 words
per minute…
Anaverage
persons thinking
speed is in the
range of 500 words
per minute…
Results….

Daydream
Tune out
Mental ‘walk about’
 You are the leader of the search party
looking for a plane which has crashed
in the wilderness. After searching the
area for some time you eventually
locate deep furrows made by the
plane as it crash landed. Following the
furrows you see the plane with its
back broken lying partially submerged
in the middle of the river. There is no
obvious sign of life. You realise that
there is no way you can carry the
dead back to civilisation and you
must choose where to bury
them. It would be easier to get
them to the far bank but the
ground is very rocky. To bring
them to the near bank would be
much more difficult because of
the depth of the water and the
speed of the current, but once on
the bank the job would be
relatively easier because the
ground is soft.
On which side of the river
would you bury the
dead???
 Lack of interest
 It bores you.
 It doesn’t concern you.
 You have other more
important things on your
mind- professional or
personal.
Some cues:

 Staring into the distance.

 Sitting on the edge of the
chair.
 Moving towards the door
 Packing the bag.
 Saying ‘yes’ ‘no’ or nodding
without conviction.
Beliefs and attitude
We all have opinions
on a variety of issues.
We feel strongly
about certain subjects
We value certain
behaviors.
You tend not to listen
when your beliefs and
attitudes are
challenged or
opposed .
Reactions to the
speaker
Emerson once said...
“ What you are,
sounds so loudly in
my ears that I can’t
hear what you say ”.
Some stumbling blocks-

 Accent

Mannerism

Use of certain words

Our preconceptions
Hierarchy
Education
Profession
Social Status
Race
Age/Gender
The words we hear
Pet Phrases
Over repetition of
words
Unfamiliar words
Jargons
English Language has
nearly half a million
words and an average
person uses a tiny
proportion, may be 3-4
thousand only.
A point worth
remembering is that
same words mean
different things to
different people.
A few of such words
are –
. Call it a day
. Help
. Back ground
. Condition
Physical Distractions
 Noise
 Dress
 Physical background
 Non-visibility of the
speaker
 Gestures
How we show we
are not listening…
. Turn-away
. Shuffle papers on
your desk
. Put papers in your
brief-case
. Have a glazed look
. Pick up a file and start
reading
.Turn and talk to someone
else
. Not respond to a question
intentionally
. Continue to look at the
monitor
At times signs of
concentration, deep
thought, comfort in
the proceedings by
leaning back in the
chair, ….. may at
times be construed as
not listening.
 Non-verbal
communication
 Metacommunication and
Paralanguage
 Non-verbal communication is
anything other than words that
communicates a message.
 The way we stand, walk, shrug
our shoulders; the clothes we
wear, the car we drive, or the
office we occupy; all
communicate ideas to others.
 All these things which we take into
account in interpreting what
someone is saying, over and the
actual words, are referred to as
‘metacommunication’.
 ‘meta’ is Greek and means ‘beyond
or ‘in addition’; hence,
metacommunication is something
‘in addition to communication’.
 However, if you get additional
communication from the inflection of
her voice, then she communicated
this by means of what we call
‘paralanguage’.
 Frequently paralanguage conveys the
opposite of the words themselves.
 When this happens, we usually pick
up the meaning of the paralanguage
rather than the language being used
 ‘its not what
he says, but the
way he says it’.
Non-verbal channels
are the ones which
seem to be least aware
in ourselves, but most
aware in others
lets have a look at the
non-verbal language of
-silence
-time and
-body language
The language of Silence
You think you have made a
fabulous speech and you
ask your audience to ask any
questions – there is pin-drop
silence in the hall. How do
you feel?
“silence is golden’, so the
saying goes, but is it?
 A long period of silence may be
golden for some people in
certain circumstances, but at
times it can be embarrassing
and even rude
 It could be boredom, rejection,
disagreement, total
satisfaction,…very ambiguous!
 We are social creatures and our
society is made up of responses
to each other. We keep on
seeking reassurances
 One of the cruelest social
punishments is ‘solitary
confinement’
 Silence builds walls- and walls
are barriers to communication.
At times silence can bean
effective technique in
encouraging feedback, or a
real two-way communication
Silence is a powerful tool of
communication, but it must
be used skillfully
 The language of Time
 It is easy to assume that we all
experience time in much the same way
 After all an hour is an hour
 Yet time is experienced differently by
different nationalities, societies, and
cultures.
 There is a Christian calendar, Muslim
calendar, Hindu calendar and so on
 Even in the same culture different
communities will divide time into
different time periods.
 Different businesses have different
weeks, seasons.
 Different professions have
different time scales
 Markets, schools/colleges, tourist
seasons, courts, agriculture…
 Different people attach different value
to time
 ‘one minute’, ‘never’, ‘as soon as
possible’, ‘let’s call it a day’,
 For some 9a.m. is sharp 9a.m. while for
the others it could be 10a.m., or 11a.m.
or even later
 Time is also used to show eagerness,
interest, enthusiasm, attitude,
seriousness…
 There are cultural differences in the
uses of time, which a business traveler
should be aware of
 At luncheon meetings the business is
discussed either before, during, or after
depending on that country’s culture
 Local customs, cultures, manners,
etiquettes and such, vary from place to
place, caste, creed, religion, income,
education, lifestyles, social status… the
variances are too many
Body language or kinesics
 A favorite sport of many people is
‘people watching’ or, Desmond
Morris has called his very popular
book, ‘manwatching’
 What do you do when you are
waiting on a railway platform, alone
or at a busy doctors clinic…
 Possibly you can’t hear, so you are
actually listening/hearing/reading
their body language
 Whether we are aware of it or not,
each of us spends a lot of time
decoding body language, or as it
also known as ‘kinesics’
 The non-verbal communications
often come through louder than the
words that are actually being spoken
and are frequently the means by
which we reveal the emotional side
of our communications.
 The non-verbal messages of a
speaker tend to reveal the degree of
presence of sincerity, conviction,
honesty, ability and knowledge; they
reveal, too, a lot about the speaker
and their attitude and feelings about
the message they are transmitting.
 Body language of the receiver also
reveals a lot about them and their
feelings
 But, more important, it frequently tells
the speaker the extent to which their
audience is accepting or not accepting
the message.
 In other words, body language provides
instant feedback to the speaker and
tells them how they are doing.
 It is needless to state that to be a good
body language reader you have to
sharpen your powers of observation
 Space
 Before we try to understand the
movements of the various parts
of the body, we should first
examine our attitude to the
space in which that movement
takes place.
 Just the way silence and time
speak, so does space.
Not only does space affect
the way we communicate,
but we use space to
communicate
Each of us have space we
feel is our own
‘the three bears’ story
examples
Boss’s room/chair
Mom and dad’s bedroom
Juniors hostel
P.G. class
Ladies line
Members enclosure…
 Space and status
Your room- boss’s room
Small car- big car
1bhk-3bhk
Napean sea road- Dharavi
LLIM- IIM-A
 Territory
Seashore- towel
Train seat- hanky
Table no. 1
Front/back bench
 Assignment
How do you in a
hypothetical situation
stake your claim on a
particular territory?
How do you feel when
people invade into your
territory?
 Personal space
Intimate distance
Personal distance
Social distance
Public distance
 Touch
Touch is probably the
earliest form of
communication and still
is. However ,
society/cultures/surroundi
ngs/upbringing…bring in
inhibitions
Orientation and posture
We can influence
communication and signal
our attitude not just by
our proximity to others
but by the position and
posture we adopt.
Body language or kinesics
Exercise
Look at the drawings on
the board. Which of the
following adjectives
describes which posture?
 • Angry

 Aloof
 Ashamed  Sad
 Casual
 Self-conscious
 Describing
 Dominating
 Resigned
 Doubtful  Self-satisfied
 Impatient  Shy
 Modest  Surprised
 Questioning  Suspicious
 angry
 Undecided
 Uninterested
Psychologists findings
Posture 1 Posture2
Uninterested Self-satisfied
Describing Impatient
Resigned Describing
Doubtful
Casual
Questioning
Angry
Posture 3 Posture 4
Shy Surprised
Self- Dominating
conscious Suspicious
Ashamed Undecided
Modest Aloof
Sad
 Head nods
 We shake our heads up and down or
from one side to another
 In some instances it is done at
different speeds
 There are many reasons and
implications
 Could be a yes, no, go on, I want to
intervene and speak, encouragement,
disagreement, agreement and so on…
 Facial expressions
 Of all body movements, facial
expressions are the ones we are most
able to control
 A person’s face provides a commentary
on the reactions- surprise, disbelief,
agreement, disappointment, anger and so
on
 At times there is a mis-match between the
verbal words and facial expressions
 If this is combined with body movements
it becomes that much more complimented
 Eye movements
 In contrast to other body signals,
movements of the eyes have an effect
quite out of proportion to the physical
effort exerted
 Some eye movements are quite
uncontrollable but nevertheless send
out very strong messages which we
receive almost without being aware of
them.
 They perform many functions…
 To indicate interest
 When two people are engaged
in conversation they look each
other in the eye intermittently
 Usually each looks between 25
and 75 percent of the time
 The glances vary in length but
we tend to look twice as much
while listening as while talking
 The amount of look is related to the amount
and kind of interest; if we are interested in
someone or what they are saying we will
look at them, whereas we will tend to direct
our gaze away if we are uninterested
 At times, long periods of looking may
indicate a desire for intimacy
 When a general glance in a train or a lift or
a public place becomes a second glance
and then a stare it means more than just a
passing interest
 To gain feedback
People look primarily to
obtain information: to get
reactions, to gauge their
interests
Believability, truth,
confidence and such
things get justified
To synchronies speech
Eye movements, like head
nods and grunts, are also
used to synchronies speech.
They need to see how the
other person is reacting,
thereby continue with
modifications if necessary
 How to create your
presentation?
S- situation
P- purpose
A- audience
M- method
 Situation
Check your venue
Organize your
schedule
 Check your venue
 In order to feel totally relaxed
during ;your presentation, you
must be completely familiar
with the room facilities and
layout. Where possible you
should visit the chosen venue
in advance, or talk the facilities
manager to thoroughly check
arrangements.
 Your venue checklist
 do you know how long the presentation
should last?
 Do you need to book the room?
 What is the start/finish time?
 Have you booked refreshments/lunch?
 What is the room size?- e.g. conference
room, class room or lecture hall.
 Will you need microphones/PA?
 Where are the doorways/ fire exits?
 Are there any practice fire alarms scheduled/
do you know where the assembly areas are?
 Where are the toilets/restroom/restaurant?
 Have you checked the heating/ air
conditioning?- remember to set the
temperature slightly cooler than is
comfortable; a room becomes much warmer
when it is full of people. If you make your
audience too comfortable they will fall asleep!
 Are there adequate power sockets/ will you
need extension cables or adaptors?
 Is the seating plan adequate?-
consider arranging the audience
seats in a semi-circular pattern, as
this is by far the best arrangement
for acoustics and visibility.
 Have you tested the venue’s
presentation facilities?- if you
intend to use any audio-visual
equipment you must ensure that
you are familiar with it.
Is there adequate lighting?-
make sure you know how to
dim the lights if required.
Is speaking area well lit?
Are there windows/blinds?-
check they operate
correctly.
Organize your schedule
 Your goal is to organize yourself,
allowing you to concentrate on the
presentation at hand
 Prepare your presentation notes well in
advance.
 If your venue is not local, you must plan
your travel and book your
accommodation immediately.
 Always arrive at atleast an hour before
your presentation, to give yourself plenty
of time to prepare
 Finally, every experienced presenter
has arrived at a venue to find that the
equipment or materials which were
booked in advance have not appeared.
 Always prepare for the worst scenario,
travel with your ‘presenter’s survival
pack’, containing enough essential
materials to carry out basic
presentation given any circumstance.
 The presenter’s survival
pack
 Slide show-  White board
PowerPoint marker pens
and/or vcd  Chalk
 Laptop  Pre-prepared
 Handouts/books flip- chart –
 Audience main headings
exercises/tests  Passport
 Notepads/audie  Credit cards
nce pens
Your schedule checklist
 Have you confirmed your method of
travel?
 Do you need book rail/air tickets?
 Do you need to book hotel/
accommodation?
 Have you packed all your personal
requirements, e.g. washing/ shaving
gear, clothing, alarm clock?
 Do you need to take any presentation
equipment with you- e.g. projector?
 Do you have your presenter’s survival
pack?
 Do you have a route map to your
hotel/venue?
 Have you got your passport/visa?
 How long will it take to get to your
destination?
 Will you need to allow time to recover from
jet lag?
 Do you have enough spare cash or credit
cards?
 Is your cash of correct currency? –
you may need some for taxis,
restaurants etc.
 Have you contacted the venue
organizer to confirm your arrival
plans? – check for contact numbers.
 Do you have a point of contact?-
phone number, e-mail address.
 Have you filled in your expenses
form?
 Purpose
Identify the
aim/purpose
Choose your topic
Identify the aim/purpose
 When choosing the purpose or type
of presentation, first and foremost
you must ensure that you tell the
audience what they want to hear.
 There are three types of
presentation:
.Informative
.Persuasive
.Entertaining
 Informative
 In a persuasive presentation, the audience
learns about a new topic or gathers more
information about a particular subject.
Informative presentations can be delivered
as a brief, a review or a report.
 The style of delivery could be explanation,
demonstration, description, or a series of
actions or instructions.
 Whatever you present should contain a lot
of information that is new to your audience.
 Persuasive
 A persuasive presentation is
supposed to change the
audiences attitudes, opinions
or behaviours, or to sell. All
persuasive topics fall into one
of four categories, depending
upon the type of proposition or
claim that you are making
 An exploration of the worth of some
idea or selling pitch
 A confidence building exercise
 A recommendation of a specific course
of action
 Factual issues that usually involve
conflicting evidence. The audience may
be challenged or have to decide which
statement is true or false
 Entertaining
 If you are trying to entertain, do not
expect your audience to be responsive
if your delivery is dull and
unimaginative! You want them to have
a good time and to be amused or
interested by the presentation, so try to
gain and keep their attention using
rapport, feedback and involvement.
 If you don’t consider yourself to be
naturally funny, use long jokes and
stories sparingly!
 Choose your topic
 Ask yourself:
.does the topic address the audience needs?
.will you enjoy talking about this topic?
.will the audience be interested in your topic?
.are you sure the topic won’t offend some
members of your audience?.
.does the occasion for your presentation have
a special purpose?
Your interest in the topic will improve your
ability to create an effective presentation.
 Audience
 One of the most important rules of any
presentation is to know your audience.
 Your goal is to:
.be perceived by the audience as credible
and qualified to speak about your topic.
.build a rapport with them and listen to
what they have to say.
.most importantly- ensure that the
presentation fulfils their needs!
Your audience checklist
 What will they want to know and what do they need
to know?
 What is the size of the audience?
 What is the cultural make-up?
 Have you identified the ‘key’ members of the
audience?
 Do they anything in common?
 What will they already know about the topic?
 Will they leave the presentation well informed?
 How can you involve the audience in your
presentation?
 How can you best gain and hold their interest and
attention?
 Other factors
 If possible greet the audience as
they arrive and chat to them. It is
easier to deliver a presentation to a
group of friends
 Don’t start your presentation with a
45-minute corporate video- it’s a
guaranteed turn-off!
 The time of day could also have
an affect on your audience:
.is the presentation immediately
after lunch?
.is the presentation late
afternoon or evening?
.is the presentation on the last
day of the week?
 Method
Organize your research
material
Select your audio/visual
aids
Choose your oral delivery
 Organize your research
material
 Do not be tempted to cover
material which YOU are familiar,
but that bears no relevance to the
audience’s needs.
 Try not to include too much
technical jargon or abbreviations,
as not every one will understand
the latest buzzwords
 Resources
Your research methods
should include:
.the internet
.company intranet/literature
.visit your local /industry
library
.personal networking skills
 Select your audio-visual
aids
 Presentations can be made far more
effective by the correct use of audio-
visual aids.
 Their primary function is to assist the
understanding of the audience.
 In addition, good realistic aids add
variety and make the presentations more
interesting.
 Your goal is to give the audience direct
sensory contact with your presentation,
to improve knowledge retention.
Examples of visual aids
 People: body,  Photographs and
clothing actions, pictures
gestures, voice,  Posters
facial expressions  Objects or models
and demeanor…
 Sketches
 Audio-visual
equipment: ohp,
 Pointer slides/transparencie
 Handouts s/PowerPoint..
 Graphs: pie, bar,  Films, vcd’s…
line…
Management of visual aids
 Relevant
Only select and use an aid if it
makes the topic easier to
understand. Avoid any
unnecessary distractions and
do not obscure the view of your
audience. Remove or cover the
visual aid when not in use
 Suitable
A readily available aid is not necessarily the most
suitable aid.
You must be imaginative.
If you do not have the real thing, improvise using
diagrams or models.
You must prepare text and graphics with extreme
diligence, as any spelling mistakes, inconsistent
font sizes, wrong punctuation and errors will
divert attention away from your presentation.
Do not use models that are dirty, broken or
unrepresentative of the real thing
 Entertaining the use of colours, good layout,
humor and realism will help to add interest
 Audible/visible aids must be seen and/or heard
easily. Make sure that any slide show
projection is placed so that it fills the screen
(and isn’t crooked). Check visibility by sitting in
all locations in the room. Ensure that the
volume of any audio equipment is set to
acceptable levels.
 Technique when demonstrating aids, a useful
three-stage technique is to TOUCH the aid,
TURN to make eye contact with the audience,
and then TALK to them
PC/laptop and PowerPoint
slideshow
 The PC/laptop and the digital projector is the
most common form of audio-visual aid used
today; however it can also be the most
complex.
 You should ensure that you are thoroughly
familiar with any PC software, projector
equipment or associated cables that you may
be using
 Another commonly used visual aid is the
slide show.
 When used properly a slide show is a convincing aid
to your presentation, but be careful not to overdo it.
 Most modern presenters seem to be more concerned
with using the best computer visual effects rather
than building rapport with the audience.
 Be aware that people will not be automatically
impressed by a state-of-the-art animated computer
image, especially if the content is confusing, illegible
or contains grammatical errors.
 Many companies and educational establishments
now have a built-in video projectors and computers;
as a consequence audiences are suffering from over
exposure to identical clip arts and audio files
 PowerPoint is a very useful tool for the
presenter; however the slideshow should be
balanced and pleasing to the eye.
 As a general rule, keep it simple and relevant
and avoid using too many slides or speeding
up the presentation if you are behind schedule.
 A general rule of thumb to determine how many
slides should be used during a presentation is:
.10 minute presentation- one slide per minute
.40 minute presentation- one slide every 2/3
minutes
Standard PowerPoint slide
font sizes
Title : First slide in a
presentation (size 48
point)
.subtitle Centered (size
40 point)
 Title Centered size 40
point
Subtitle: Size 34 point,
Centered
Arial Bold – The ONLY font
used in a presentation
Bullets size 32 .
 Slide colours
 The selection of text colours is very
important.
 Text and colours that look impressive on
your laptop display may not be as legible on
a larger screen.
 Try to limit your selection to a maximum of
three colours.
 You must check your slide color scheme
using a large screen (preferably at the venue
itself)
 You should also check that the slide detail is
legible from all angles within the room
 Public speaking
‘All great speakers were
bad speakers once.’
-Emerson
 •The skills and
confidence of public
speaking come from
two things: hard
work and practice.
 So how do you go about the hard work
and practice?
 Let’s deal with the practice first.
It is true that no amount of
reading and learning techniques
from a book will turn you into a
competent, confident speaker.
Sachin Tendulkar then and
Sachin now is a living example
of what hard work and practice
can do.
‘but how can I get practice’
 Speak whenever you get the
opportunity
 This will help you find your own
particular strengths and
weaknesses
 Then learn to exploit your
strengths and avoid your
weaknesses
 Preparation
 There are techniques we can
learn from experienced speakers
 Many a speaker has used
Thesaurus for word selection
 Many a speaker who speak
impromptu, do not.
 work has been done long before
they reach the platform.
 First questions
As with any other
communication, it is
back to Why? Who?
What? When? Where?
And How?
When will it take place?
Be sure that you have
adequate preparation
time- for both written
material and visual
aids.
 How long?
Are you to speak for?
Is the time adequate for your
subject?
Remember that, contrary to
what may seem the case, the
less time you have to speak,
the more carefully planned
your talk must be.
 As one speaker said:
‘ If you want me to speak for
five minutes- I need two
weeks to prepare. If you
want me to speak for an
hour- I need a week to
prepare. If you don’t mind
how long I speak, I’ll get up
now and do it now,’
 Where is it to take place?
 In surroundings familiar to your
audience? Familiar to you? If not,
try to visit the venue before you
speak and in any case check
before-hand the type and size of
the room, tiered seating or flat
floor, acoustics, lighting,
equipment available, etc. don’t
hesitate to ask if particular
arrangements are possible
Who are to be present?
Number, age and type of
people, male or female,
intellectual level, their current
knowledge of the subject,
their reasons for attending
and their attitudes. These will,
of course, influence the ideas
and the language you use.
 Why me?
What special
knowledge or position
have you?
What will the audience
expect from you?
 How?
 Are you expected to give a formal
speech or lecture, or an introductory
talk to provoke discussion? Will there
be a question session?
 If there is to be a discussion or a
question session then you might like to
leave some things unsaid so that you
leave your audience with some
questions to ask and yourself with
something fresh to say in answer to
them.
Adjust to circumstances
 In many a case there is likely to
be a conflict between the desired
circumstances and the given
circumstances
 Hence usually some
modifications or compromises
will be necessary.
 It could be time, audience size,
equipment…
Developing the material
Stage one –Think
you have selected your
subject, now give the time
to grow.
# take time to gather and
arrange your thoughts..
 Think about the talk at any convenient
moment; a good time often presents
itself when you are doing some other,
usually manual job, like digging the
garden, decorating your flat, or perhaps
traveling to work or college.
 Discuss the theme with friends and
colleagues.
 Carry a notebook or a card, on which to
note ideas as they occur to you.
 Stage Two- Read
 Read as much as time permits
 Gather more material than you
can possibly use, not only on
the subject but also, for
example possible quotations
 Collect anecdotes and stories
from newspapers and
magazines.
 Stage Three- construct
your outline
As with any carefully
presented message, it will
require an introduction
and a conclusion
However you do it, it
should be logical and
systematic.
‘look after the beginning and the
end…and the middle will take
care itself.’
Of course the middle needs to be
well structured if you are to
achieve your goal
‘men perish because they cannot
join the beginning with the end.’
 Opening the talk
 The first few minutes are very crucial
because:
-you may have to follow a speaker who for
whatever reasons has had a great
acceptance
-you may be the first or only speaker on that
occasion and you have to cut the ice, so to
speak, make the audience feel immediately
that their attendance is worthwhile
-you may, like most other people, feel far
more nervous during the first few minutes
 Check points: creating a
good opening impression
 Arrange the ‘stage’ on which you are
to perform. Take a little time before
you start speaking to position your
notes and visual aids so that you can
use them comfortably. Make sure
you have room to move between the
table or lectern and the blackboard
or OHP, that your notes are high
enough to you to see without
continually dropping your head
 Don’t hesitate; start as soon as the
audience is settled, but take a few
seconds to survey the audience
and let them stock of you.
 Don’t open with clichés or
hackneyed expressions, e.g. ‘it
gives me great pleasure…’I want to
thank you…(do this a little later or
even towards the end of your talk)
 Don’t apologize. You may not that your
knowledge, subject, ability or even
presence is Upto the occasion but the
audience will be confident, if you start
with the confidence that stems from
being well prepared.
 The opening must be something
original and interesting enough to
make them want to hear what you have
to say
 Avoid too early a climax-
interest will fall if the high
standard of the opening cannot
be sustained.
 Remember it is only an opening-
an introduction. Don’t make it
too long. Keep it in proportion
to the total length of the talk.
 Check-points: A Dozen
Ways to Start.
 Statement of subject or title- not
very inspiring: they probably know
your subject anyway.
 Statement of your objective and
the plan of your talk- a good safe
way to start if you have adopted a
deductive sequence, but if you are
trying to persuade , you don’t want
to give the game away too early.
Informal – for informal
occasions.
‘only the other day when I
was with Yuookta M…’
This has avoided giving the
impression of ‘making a
speech’
 Question- anticipate the type of
questions your audience might
want answered in connection
with your subject: ‘ are the
days of kapoors’ over’?
The audience instinctively tries
to arrive at an answer- and
gives you an opening
 Mind reading- similar to the use of
question. Anticipate the audiences
preconceived ideas; bring these in
to the open and correct them if
necessary
“if I were a member of the audience
today I would be expecting to sit
through another boring lecture on
communication. But I have
something more interesting …”
Anecdote – must be well
told, relevant to the
subject, brief and, if
possible, personal ( the
willingness to laugh at
yourself will usually win
an audience)
 Joke- if your experience tells
you that you can do this well,
then it may be worth risking it.
But peoples sense of humor
differs radically, and if the joke
falls flat you are worse off than
before. Again, it must be well
told, relevant and brief
 Facts and statistics – used sparingly
they can get the audience to rise to the
occasion. Most business or technical
subjects offer many facts which will
interest and inform your audience.
choose them carefully, make sure they
are accurate and keep them simple.
Contrasting facts can be particularly
interesting: ”In 2003,an average of15000
people died of heart attacks while 25000
died in road accidents”
Quotation – perhaps the
easiest method to use and
often most effective.
the quotation should be from
a well known person or
author known to the
audience, and strictly
relevant to your subject
 Shock – not just the gimmicky
opening, firing revolvers or letting off
explosions, which can often go wrong
and are always to sustain.
shock can be created through effective
use of words: ‘MBA is a waste of time
and money…only fools do it…’
pause to allow the shock to take effect,
then: ‘ unless, of course, it is aimed
at…’
Topical story – as opposed
to the humorous story.
Everyone likes a story- but
only if it is skillfully chosen
and told. Ideally it should
have an intriguing twist and
must lead into the subject
 Closing the Talk
Just as you need to attract
the interest ;of the audience
at the beginning of the talk,
so you must finish on a high
note. The effect of the
speech which is other wise
good can be damaged by its
close
 Check- points: Pitfalls to
Avoid
 Avoid wandering towards the end.
End on a high note which is relevant
to all that has gone before
 Don’t make a second speech. Even
if you suddenly think of something
else which is relevant don't be
tempted. It is very easy, as the
tension relaxes, to start developing
a new line of thought which was not
there in the body of thought earlier
 Avoid repetition. In summing up the
main points you have made, don’t
repeat details or labor over points
again.
 If you have finished before your allotted
time- sit down. Don’t pad it out.
 Avoid having to rely on notes for your
final remarks. Learn your closing words
so that you can look at your audience
as you reach your climax
 Don’t give too many closing signals,
e.g. ‘and finally’, ‘in conclusion’, ‘one
other thing before I finish’, ‘then,
before you fall asleep’,…
 In fact, it is probably best to avoid a
closing signal altogether
 Your closing remarks should round
off your talk, and therefore by
implication your audience will know
that your talk is complete.
To avoid these pit falls, you
need to have a closing plan
which is an integral part of
the development of your
whole speech. In this way
you won’t get lost at the end
of your presentation.
 Check-points: 10 Ways to
Stop
Summary-a fairly
standard way to finish but
nevertheless effective. A
brief review of the
important points leaves
no doubt in the minds of
your audience
Questions-send the
audience away to think of
an answer. ‘This then is
what we have to do. The
question now is , how can
we best achieve it’.
 Story or anecdote-should be
brief and to the point. A story
can illustrate how your ideas
have worked out in practice
 Quotations- can indicate wide
knowledge and therefore lend
credibility to your performance.
Must be relevant and must not
be just tucked in for its own sake
 Alternative- offer a choice of
alternatives, or different
solutions. The one you want
accepted should be obvious
from the way you have
constructed your presentation
and you can give this one more
weight than the others in the
summary.
 Dramatic- if you carry it off by
the dramatic use of your voice,
or dramatic content, can
certainly end things on a high
note
 Action- you want action now,
not later. So ask for it. Many of
your audience will respond
 Incentive-if you can suggest
ways in which the audience can
benefit ,some sort of a reward
or an incentive, they are even
more likely to respond. An
audience is less likely to forget
your message if you offer a
reason for taking action
 Fear-use of fear to gain action is
risky because it can alienate the
audience. But since it is often
difficult to provoke the audience to
action, you may be justified in using
some element of fear if the end
result is worthwhile. ‘you must act –
now ! Before it is too late!’.
 Conscience- pricking-same effect as
above but less risky
 Visual Aids
You do not have to be
a graphic artist, but it
helps!
please bear in mind the
following points
 How can visuals aid my
talk?
Hand-outs and or visuals
aid during the talk
Use pre- prepared visuals
for complex inter-related
ideas/ persuasive
communication
 Words alone are not visual
aids- where you do use them
provide visual impact by means
of graphic devices:
-underlining and boxes or circles
-bullets and dashes
-careful lay-out
-use of space
 Don’t use overcomplicated visual
aids – everybody in the audience
must understand every aid and
use by the time you have finished
with it.
 Visuals must complement what
you say.
 Make sure there are no spelling
mistakes
 You must have a visual for
everything you want your audience
to remember
 Don’t have a visual aid which you
don’t need
 You don’t have to be a professional
to produce good visuals
 Computers today have made
things easy
 Use of Notes
 Why use notes?
-memories are faulty
-they guard against omissions
-they help to develop a
complicated close-knit
argument
-they prevent loss of sequence
 Practicing the Talk
 Thorough preparation
 Plenty of practice
 Practice the whole talk
-out loud
-in a similar-sized room
-using a tape recorder
-checking the timing
-do a dry run in front of
friends/colleagues
 Room and platform
Room –seating plan,
windows, lighting, OHP,
blackboard/whiteboard
Platform – room to move,
supply of clean, covered
water and glass,
microphone, sit/stand
 Delivery of the Talk
 Be yourself! And look at the audience!
 Concentrate on the preparation and on
the four qualities below
-conviction/sincerity
-enthusiasm
-power of speech
-simplicity
These are the basic ingredients of all
effective communication
 Punctuation and style
 Pauses, gestures, body language,
volume- these and many other tools we
use in speaking are not possible in
writing.
 We can’t “write louder” to show how
we speak in expressing strong feeling.
 We don’t write something above the
base line to show how we raise the
pitch of our voices in asking a
question.
 Instead, as we write , we use marks of
punctuation.
 Punctuation marks provide signals to
readers
 Punctuation marks help a reader group
words or separate words to organize
meaning.
 Punctuation marks also help reader
interpret meaning by indicating
questions, exclamations, pauses,
interruptions, and stops.
 PERIODS, QUESTION MARKS,
AND EXCLAMATION POINTS
The period, the question
mark, and the exclamation
point are marks used to
end sentences.
Lets look at their basic
use and discuss a few
problem areas
 The period
Use a period after
declarative and imperative
sentences, indirect
questions, and requests
phrased as questions
 After declarative and
imperative sentences
A declarative sentence
makes a statement, and
an imperative sentence is
an order or a command.
Use a period after each
Ms. Freeman wants to
attend the computer
seminar. (It simply makes
a statement)
Send Ms Freeman the
brochure of the seminar.
( a polite command)
After indirect questions
An indirect question is really
a statement because it
simply rephrases a question
in a statement form
Use a period after indirect
questions. Of course, use a
question mark after a direct
question.
 “Does anyone know,” asked Jim, “when
the revised procedures manual will be
distributed?” (Jim’s actual words are in
quotation marks. His actual words
constitute a question and require a
question mark.)
 Jim asked whether anyone knew when the
revised procedures manual will be
distributed. (This is not Jim’s original
question; it is a restatement of his
question. This restatement is an indirect
question and requires a period.)
 After requests phrased as
questions
 Sometimes, as a matter of
courtesy, a request is phrased in
question form. Use a period when
such requests clearly indicate that
a specific action is expected.
(requests that end with q period
are called polite requests) Use a
question mark when such requests
are direct requests that require a
“yes” or a “no” answer.
 Will you please send us your
payment. (An action is being
requested. This is simply a polite
way of saying “send us your
payment.”)
 Will you be able to ship the
merchandise in time for our Fourth
of July sale? (A genuine question-
can you ship it in time?)
Do not use a closing period
after the following items:
 Numbers or letters in
parentheses
 Headings or titles appearing on
separate lines
 Roman numerals
 Even dollar amounts
 Abbreviations ending with a
period
 Three reasons for the delay: (1) the recent
strike, (2) the backlog in shipments… (not
(1.), (2.),…
 Summary
BIBLIOGRAPHY …no period after headings
that appear on separate lines
 Mark Turner III will be the new CEO. ( not III.
Will be…)
 Ms Hauser suggested $20 as a fair price. (not
$20. as a …)
 Store hours are from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. ( not 8
p.m..)
In addition, do not use
a period after items in a
list unless the items
are complete
sentences.
 Nancy discussed three
problems:
1. The profit margin
2. Increased competition
3. Government regulation
Now notice how the items in the
following example are complete
sentences:
Nancy will discuss the following
problems at our next meeting:
1.Profit margins over the past
three years have steadily
declined.
2.Increased competition has
eroded our market share.
3.Government regulations have
inhibited market expansion.
 Period pitfalls
A common error in using
periods is to place a
closing period before the
end of the sentence,
thereby stranding a group
of words and creating a
fragment.
 Next year we will launch an advertising
campaign for our video recorders. The
most expensive and extensive
campaign we have ever developed.
(Here the second group of words
makes no sense unless it is joined to
the first sentence.)
 Next April we will launch an advertising
campaign for ;our new video recorders,
the most extensive and expensive
campaign we have ever developed.
 A second common error related to the
period use is to place a comma where a
period (or a semicolon) should be used. In
other words, a sentence that should with a
period should not be joined to another
sentence by a comma.
Ajax Car Leasing has been offering
exceptionally attractive leasing
agreements, it’s still not too late to apply.
(A period or a semicolon should follow
agreements. They have been joined–
incorrectly-by a comma.)
 The question mark
 The question mark is used after a
direct question. It is also used after
a short direct question that follows
a statement.
Who has the orders from Owens
Chemicals? (direct question.)
Have you seen today’s closing
market prices? (direct question.)
The car is too expensive, isn’t it?
(The sentence begins as a
statement and ends as a question.
Use a question mark to conclude
the sentence.)
All the fax machines come with a
one-year warranty, don’t they? (Use
a question mark because question
is joined to the statement.)
 When a series of questions is
included in one sentence, use a
question mark after each
question. Do not capitalize first
words in the individual
questions.
Will you be opening branches in
England? In Japan? In Germany?
The exclamation point
 To express strong feeling, use an
exclamation point after a word, a
phrase, or a sentence. Do not,
however, over use the
exclamation point- especially in
business correspondence.
 Note that the need for the

exclamation point must often be

determined by the writer.
 Congratulations! John and I are delighted to
hear of your promotion. (Exclamation point
after a word. Note that the sentence following
the exclamation is punctuated in the usual
way.)
 Another best-seller! How pleased I was to
learn that…(Exclamation point after a phrase)
 Why didn’t we think of this sooner!
(Exclamation point after a sentence.)
 Why didn’t we think of this sooner? (Now the
sentence does not show as strong emotion
as with the exclamation point.)
 Commas- basic uses
The comma is certainly a
versatile and often-used
punctuation mark.
Commas may be viewed as
leading the reader along a
map; errors in comma usage
may force the reader to take
an unnecessary detour.
 Introductory words
 Among the most commonly used
introductory words are the following. Use a
comma after each.
also- fortunately- moreover- obviously-
consequently- furthermore- namely- of
course- finally- however- naturally-
otherwise- first- in addition- nevertheless-
therefore- for example- meanwhile- no- yes-
…
First, we must assess…
Second, we must survey…
Finally, we must choose…
 Introductory phrases
 A comma is needed after any
introductory phrase that contains a
verb form.
 Introductory phrases appear before and
introduce the main thought unit
To qualify, you must be…
To get your copy, just complete…
Knowing the exact cost, Karen tried…
Alerted to the problem, the boss…
 Most writers omit commas after
short introductory prepositional
phrases to make the transition to the
following group of words smoother.
In July we will move to …
During the next month she plans to
travel to …
With the additional clerical help now
available to us, our department …
 Introductory clauses
 Clauses contain a subject and a verb.
Introductory clauses begin with one of
the following words, which signal you to
use a comma after the clause.
after- even if- since- whenever- although-
if- so that- where- as- in order that-
unless- wherever- as soon as- inasmuch
as- until- while- because- provided-
when- …
In a compound sentence
 A compound sentence is one that
has two or more independent
clauses (main clauses, each of
which could stand alone as an
independent sentence.)
 Use a comma between
independent clauses joined by
and, but, or, or nor.
Carla bought this property in
1992, and she plans to build
a home on it in the future.
Our boss always approves
these purchase orders, but
he is out of the office this
week
 Commas-special uses
With two or more
adjectives
When you use two or
adjectives and each
separately modifies the
same noun, use a comma
between the adjectives
Lisa needs a trustworthy, reliable
assistant to help her manage the
branch office. (an assistant who is
both trustworthy and reliable)
This attractive, sturdy, inexpensive
cabinet is ideal for storing video
cassettes. (each adjective modifies the
noun cabinet: note that the commas
are used between the adjectives and
not between an adjective and a noun)
 With that, which, who, and
whom clauses
That and which clauses
Careful writers use that to
begin a clause with
essential information and
which to begin the clause
with non-essential, or
extra, information.
We sent Ann a copy of our latest sales
report, which shows sales by units.
(because the sales report is clearly
identified- the latest ;one, the which
clause can obviously give only extra
information about it.)
Compare it with the following:
We sent Ann the sales report that shows
sales by units.
 Talking on the telephone
Nowadays, even with e-mail
and the internet, the
telephone is still probably
the most common means of
communication in business,
and used efficiently it has
two advantages.
 Advantages of the
telephone
 It is fast
 It allows people to converse even
when they are unable to meet.
 It is a great leveler: status, physical
appearance and surroundings
don’t show
 It is a great focuser: it removes the
social and emotional distractions
of face-to-face encounter
 Telephone problems
 The telephone, for all its
convenience and speed, also
has the power to convey
rapidly a poor impression of
the efficiency of individuals and
the organizations and create
considerable confusion and
irritation.
 cost
 Certainly telephone calls seem
cheaper than sending a letter.
Many organizations calculate that
the average cost of sending a letter
taking into account the staff time
involved and the overheads as well
as postage/courier, is about 25Rs,
which would buy quite a lot of
telephone time even at current
rates.
 We have all suffered from the irritating waste
of time caused by bad telephone manners:
 Trying to get a line
 The person required not being available
 Being left hanging on( albeit to the sounds of
the latest popular classic tunes) by an
operator who appears to have gone to lunch
 Being passed from department to department
(or even diverted from phone to phone
without our knowledge!) in an effort to find
someone who can answer the query
 Wrong or engaged numbers
 A caller who has all the time in the
world to chat when we are busy
 Of late get plugged on to CRM software
who will keep on giving you instruction
to keep on dialing without ever getting
to a live person on the other side
Any of these time-wasters can take
longer than it takes to write or dictate a
letter.
First impressions count
 But the telephone can exact other
costs. Frequently, the first contact a
caller has with an organization is with
the person who answers their first call.
 That person, either through a lack of
courtesy, lack of knowledge about the
organization, or how to use the
telephone itself can, however
innocently, create an initial bad
impression of the organization which is
difficult to correct.
 The faceless voice
Perhaps the principal cause of
much of this apparent
inefficiency is that although the
standard telephone allows oral
communication, it does not
transmit visual communication
(non-verbal messages like facial
expressions, gestures and
postures) which are important
giving way to problems like:
 Words are missed
 Words are misheard
 The message is misunderstood
because, the visual cues and
feedback are missing
 The conversation somehow
doesn’t seem so immediate
 Not only does this lack of visual communication
cause messages to be received incorrectly, but
it can also cause messages to be transmitted
incorrectly by putting callers at what they feel
to be a psychological disadvantage.
 Many people have developed a positive dislike
of the telephone because they cannot see the
person to whom they are talking, with the result
they lack the confidence to make and answer
calls clearly and efficiently.
 The proliferation of the answering machines
has, for many people, made this fear even
worse
 Given the importance of the
telephone in modern business
operations and the prevalence of
bad telephone habits (of which we
are all guilty at times) , it is
surprising that very few books or
courses on business
communication offer more than a
paragraph or two on the subject of
telephone technique.
 For this reason, this is just an
attempt at correcting the
balance somewhat by:
 Providing guidance on making
and answering calls efficiently
and therefore
 Cutting the cost of telephoning
 Picking up verbal clues
 The telephone is not merely a second-
rate communication channel
 For most purposes, a telephone
conversation is as effective as a face-
to-face meeting
 Indeed, given the saving in travel time
and costs and the facility of audio- and
videoconferencing, it is set to replace
most meetings
Being a verbal detective
 Trust your intuition when picking up
clues about the other person’s
personality, feelings and mood
 Stay relaxed and allow ideas about the
speaker to drift into your mind-
unforced impressions can prove to be
remarkably accurate
 Look out for hesitations, self- mocking
comments and other clues about the
speaker’s state of mind.
 Check your hunches by replaying your
impressions to the caller, use
‘reflecting back’ phrases like ‘what you
seem to be feeling is…’
 Use ‘anticipatory feedback’ to guide
your conversation: imagine the other
person’s response to a statement you
are about to make and then modify
what you actually say to achieve the
intended result
 Basic telephone rules
 Be brief: but not at the expense of
making yourself clearly
understood and not to the extent of
being abrupt and discourteous.
Lack of telephone confidence often
causes people to talk for longer
than they would face-face
conversations
 Be courteous
This is specially important when
telephoning to avoid creating a bad
impression which is so difficult to
correct.
Your tone of voice is crucial in conveying
a courteous, cheerful impression as the
words you use
Remember too, that even if you are not
yet using a video phone, your facial
expressions affects the tone of your
voice. Smile!
 Be resourceful
 Don’t be clueless.
 Always think of ways in which you can
be most helpful.
 If you are taking a message for
someone else, use your local
knowledge to suggest helpful ways of
getting the caller and recipient of the
message in touch with one another so
that the caller can judge in an informed
way what they want to do.
 If the caller has been put through to
your department but no one in your
department knows anything about
the matter, think quickly, who else
in the organization might know
something and be able to help?
 If you are really unable to help,
sound sincerely concerned, not
uninterested.
 Speak clearly
 Enunciate and articulate your words
particularly clearly to counteract both
the poor acoustic quality of the
telephone line and the absence of lip
movements to help the listener.
 When giving names and numbers, if
there is any ambiguity use the
phonetic code used by all emergency
services to clarify messages.
 A for Alpha  H for Hotel
 B for Bravo  I for India
 C for Charlie  J for Juliet
 D for Delta  K for Kilo
 E for Echo  L for Lima
 F for Foxtrot  M for Mike
 G for Golf  N for November
 O for Oscar
 P for Papa  V for victor
 W for Whisky
 Q for Quebec
 X for X-ray
 R for Romeo  Y for Yankee
 S for Sierra  Z for Zulu
 Remember that 5
 T for Tango
and 9 sound
 U for Uniform similar. Spell
them.
 Speak more slowly
 When you are talking on the
telephone it is a good idea to slow
your speech down.
 When your voice is being
mechanically transmitted, the word
seem to move together faster.
 That is the reason TV announcers
often speak at a slower than is
normal in everyday conversation
 Remember too that someone may
be trying to take notes as you talk
 This is particularly important when
talking to an answering machine.
 Don’t rattle off your phone number
at a rate of knots- remember the
poor person on the end trying to
write it down.
 Building a positive
telephone personality
 Don’t worry what you look like when
you’re on the phone; use as much as
little body language as you wish
 Focus your concentration on what
you’re saying and what is being said
to you
 Mirror positive feelings in your facial
expressions; if you smile while you
speak, you’ll put a smile in your voice
 Try to relax; stretch to loosen your
muscles and breathe evenly-
tension can feed straight into your
voice and create a negative image
 Don’t use specialized language
(company or professional jargon):
what’s jargon to you may be a
foreign language to the other
person
Avoid clichés that say one
thing and clearly mean
something else
Remember, when you tell a
lie your voice rises
involuntarily; on the phone
this easily detected
 Punctuate your conversation with
‘you’, ‘your’ and the person’s name
 Replace some of your body
language (head nods, quizzical
expressions) with verbal
equivalents: ‘yes’, ‘of course’, I’m
not sure I understand that last
point. Could you…
Switch board operators
 Although telephone operator
training was at one time standard
practice in business some
organizations seem to put their
least able employee on the switch
board.
 The operator is typically regarded
by callers as the representative of
the whole organization.
 Qualities of the switch
board operator
 Verbal intelligibility
 Speed
 Courtesy
 Accuracy
 Discretion
 Resourcefulness
These qualities are just as essential in
anyone who is allowed near a
business telephone
 Help the operator
 The good switchboard operator is
indeed an organization’s
ambassador: they welcome your
callers, introduce you, apologize
for your absence or try to get you
on another line, often take
messages- and are frequently
blamed for your shortcomings.
 Seven points can help the operator
 Making your system work
 Understanding how the
telephone system used in your
organization works.
 Giving the number you
want( including the STD)
 Not disappearing immediately
you have asked her to ring a
number for you
 Answering the phone after the first
ring( when they call you back)
 Acting upon the messages without
delay
 Telling them in advance when you
are likely to be absent
 Providing your potential callers with
your direct line number so that they
don’t have to go through the operator
 Making a call
 Before
1. Answer the six questions of
effective communication- Why?
Who? Where? When? What? How?
2. Make notes of what you want to
achieve, the main points/ queries
you must include and any dates,
facts, etc. you may need to refer to.
3. Have ready any files,
correspondence, etc. which you
may need in the course of the
conversation; don’t keep your
receiver waiting while you ferret
around for the relevant papers or
turn your computer on and find the
right screen
4. Have ready a plain piece of paper
for your own notes
6. Know the name of the person to
whom you need to speak; sometimes
this may be impossible but, atleast,
keep a personal telephone directory of
names and numbers you ring
regularly.
7. Dial the number carefully( or tell the
operator clearly); wrong numbers are
the most common cause of frustration
and time- wasting, but are usually the
fault of the caller.
 During
 Give a greeting (‘good morning’,
etc.); state your name (and
organization) and the name of the
person to whom you want to
speak
 Wait patiently to be put through;
you may be put through to a
secretary or the department
telephone, in which case you will
have to go through step 1 again
 If you are cut off, replace the
telephone receiver, wait for a few
seconds and ring again
 Keep it short: most calls can achieve
their purpose in 20 seconds- 20
seconds… time to run 200 yards!
Time for a jet to fly 4 miles!
 State your subject/ query clearly-
enough to put the recipient in the
picture
 Refer periodically to your notes
 Pause occasionally to get feedback
that your message is understood
 Spell names and addresses; repeat
numbers
 Take notes, especially the name
and number of the person to whom
you are speaking
 Summarize main points of a long
conversation at the end and always
conclude by confirming any action
required or date to be met
 If you have to leave a message for
someone else, help the person who
answered the phone to take the right
message; don’t just ramble on making
them to get the gist of it; tell them
which are the main points to write down
 Be polite: thank the receiver for their
help, even if you haven’t got the
information you wanted- fostering
goodwill is not just a part of being
courteous, but will help future
relations.
 Telephone etiquette officially requires
that if you are the caller you decide
when the call ends but, since not every
knows this, use your judgment.
 After
Immediately, before you forget:
 Fill in your notes so that they will
be comprehensible at a later date.
 Date the note and file it
 Put any relevant dates for future
action or follow- up in your diary
 Pass on the results of your call to
any one concerned with he matter
 Controlling the flow of
conversation
 Be sure you understand exactly
what you want the call to achieve.
 Take the initiative; this gives the
right to take the lead and choose
when to the end the call
 Begin every call with a verbal
‘handshake’ by telling who you are
and why you are calling
 Mirror the conversational style and
vocabulary of the other person to
generate rapport
 Keep your line of argument simple:
state your case and persist until the
message gets through
 Keep the conversation flowing by
asking plenty of questions, but also
be generous with information of
your own
 Search for the areas of
agreement rather than points of
difference
 Use silence for emphasis and
to prompt the person to
respond
 Use alternatives when seeking
agreement
 Gathering information by
telephone
 In gathering information for the
preparation of a report, or merely as a
part of your day to job, you may need
to contact original or primary sources
of information, or someone else who
has access to secondary information
you need. Telephone calls are widely
used by business and industrial firms
who may need certain information very
quickly, and made correctly these calls
can be very effective.
 Before
1. Work out exactly what information you
need
2. Frame a series of increasingly specific
questions which will give you what
you want to know, e.g.
‘do you have the unemployment
figures for the Bristol area over the
last six months”?
‘does this include a breakdown by age
groups and sex”?
‘
 ‘can you tell me the unemployment
figures for girls aged 16 to 25 for
each month since June?’
…..and so on, to the level of details
you need.
3. Decide which firm, individual,
office, government agency,
organization or business might
possibly have at hand the
information you need.
 During
 When you get through, be polite but
specific. Don’t say: I wonder if you
happen to have anyone there who
knows something about
unemployment…’ etc. instead say: ‘I
need some information concerning the
unemployment figures for the Bristol
area over the last six months. Can you
help me?’ (Remember politeness and
courtesy can be conveyed in your tone
of voice.)
 Then, depending on the response, go
on to ask more specific question. If they
can’t help say: ‘could you please give
me the name of someone who can?’
 Don’t be discouraged if the first place
you try can’t help you; try another
place- you will eventually get what you
want if you keep trying (providing that it
is not your telephone technique which
is putting them off!)
 Make sure you are talking to the
right person; ask to speak to the
‘personnel manager’ or ‘the person
in charge of buying’ or whatever is
appropriate.
 Write down the information
immediately- don’t rely on your
memory; read it back to the person
you are questioning.
 Remember to say ‘thank you’.
 Answering the telephone
 In some organizations the job of
answering the telephone is given to
the most junior employee.
 This is unwise as far as the
organization or department is
concerned, and unfair on the junior,
who through lack of confidence and
lack of experience in the
organization usually creates a poor
impression
 However, more senior
employees may be just as
guilty: through laziness, apathy
or thoughtlessness they can
create equally poor impression
 Anyone who answers a
telephone anywhere must be
courteous, helpful and efficient
 Before
Know how the telephone
system in your organization
works, especially how to
transfer a call. (being cut off
is probably one of the most
frustrating experiences- it
wastes time and creates a
bad impression)
 Never answer a telephone without a
pencil and a paper
 Keep near your own telephone:
A pencil and a pad
An internal telephone directory
An appointment directory (if appropriate)
 Stop talking to anyone else and reduce
any other noise before picking up the
telephone receiver
 During
 Think about the needs of the receiver
and give them (as fast as possible)
every thing they need to know, e.g.
Announce your name and department
or section (in a cheerful voice!)
If the call has come through the
operator, the receiver will already
have been given the name of your
organization
If the call is directly from outside, announce
the name of your organization first, and
then your name and the department (if
relevant)
 A common fault is to start speaking a
second or two before picking up the
receiver or, more commonly on the switch
board, before pressing the button on the
console. I have heard half the name of
more organizations that I can remember
e.g.’….oyce ltd.’ ‘Good morning’ ‘…ons
ltd.’..
 Many organizations have a standard
practice of greeting a caller- know your
house rules, e.g.
‘Simmons, Personnel manager, speaking’,
‘Mrs. Gandhi’s secretary speaking’,…
Don’t rush this greeting. Because you have
to say it so often it is tempting to rattle it
off, with the result that at best it sounds
completely insincere and monotonous or
at worst it is incomprehensible to an
outsider and there fore pointless
 Many people are amused or even
irritated by the common greeting:
‘Whittaker and company. Tracy
speaking. How may I help you?’
make it sound as sincere as
possible.
 Be prepare to answer the query, or
take a message for someone who
can, or transfer the call.
 If you are acting as a secretary you may
be expected to filter calls for your boss;
know whether:
They may wish to be unavailable
They want some people put straight
through to them( if so know who they
are)
They want you to deal with certain
routine calls yourself( if so, know which
types of calls you should deal with)
You will therefore have to
ask for the name of the
caller and politely ask the
purpose of the call. But use
tact. Don’t be over-
protective or you might
cause resentment in the
caller and your boss
 Listen carefully to what the caller
has to say and take notes; they will
form the basis either of your action
or of a message if you have to
pass one on. Check that you have
the right facts in the message- do
not assume the eventual recipient
of the message will know what it is
all about
 Don’t hesitate to ask the speaker to
slow down or spell names and
addresses if they are unclear, and
always read them back
 Compensate for the lack of visual
communication: the nods of normal
conversation must be conscientiously
replaced by verbal equivalents, e.g.
‘yes, I see…’, ‘fine, I’ll let him know…’,
‘I’m not sure I agree with that…’, ‘really?’
 But avoid using over- familiar or slang
expressions like ‘you’re not serious!’,
yeah’, ‘good god!’- and if the message
is for someone else, avoid speaking for
them, committing them or imagining
negative attitudes on their behalf,
unless you are authorized to do so; for
instance: ‘oh he’ll be over the moon
about that !(said either sincerely or in a
sarcastic tone of voice)
 Don’t be distracted by anything
going on around you, or
someone else trying to attract
your attention never try to hold
two conversations at once.
 Be just as keen as your caller
should be to save time and
money
 Avoid asking the caller to ‘hold the line’
while you go on a paper chase; offer to
call back.
 If you are cut off. Put the telephone down
and wait for the caller to call you back.
 Before the call ends, repeat back the
main points of the conversation and
always read back any names, addresses,
numbers, dates and times, to give the
caller a chance to correct any errors or
omissions
Agree what happens next, if
you are taking a message for
someone else, e.g.
‘I’ll tell her that you’ll ring
again on Thursday morning’,
or ‘I’ll ask him to ring you
back as soon as possible.’
Telephone etiquette requires
that since the caller is
paying, they should be the
one to decide when the call
ends; however, since not
everyone seems to be aware
of this, be prepared to use
your judgment.
 Dealing with difficult calls
 Things to remember
Always volunteer to help rather wait to be
asked
Always personalize the conversation by
introducing yourself and getting the caller’s
name
Always let the caller let off steam without
interruption until their anger is spent
Always show you are taking a serious interest
by playing back the details of the complaint
in your words
 Always offer sympathy to the caller (‘I can
understand how annoying that must have
been’) but without overdoing it
 Always encourage callers to voice all their
complaints before starting to deal with any of
them
 Always finish by summarizing what you have
offered- and agree it with the caller
 Always call the customer if there’s a further
problem; don’t risk angering the customer
twice
 Things to avoid
 Don’t attempt to reason with someone
while they are still angry
 Don’t suggest or agree a solution (or
take blame) until all the facts have
emerged
 Don’t offer excuses or look for
sympathy; don’t dump the blame on
some third party (‘the supplier let us
down’) or unusual circumstances
(‘everyone had the flu’) –those are your
problems, not the customer’s
 Don’t take the complaint personally; be as
objective as you can and avoid getting angry
yourself
 Don’t assume the complainer is unique
(suggest that they are the only person to
have had a problem)- research shows that
every person who rings to complain, there
are six who don’t
 Don’t agree to do something you are not in a
position to deliver; if necessary, offer to call
the customer back after you have taken
advice
 After
 Fill in your notes so that they will
be comprehensible to you later and
particularly to the recipient if have
taken a message
 Act on notes immediately, telling
anyone else who is concerned;
write any letters or memos now, if
possible, while the matter is clear
in your mind
 If you have a message for
someone else, put the date and
time of the call on the message
and deliver it immediately or place
it in a prominent position on the
person’s desk if they are out;
remind when you return
 Update any documents necessary;
write dates in your diary.
 Be a good telephone
listener
 Don’t listen on ‘auto pilot’ or while
doing something else; make a
conscious effort to pour all energy into
listening
 Eliminate as many internal distractions
as possible; ignore what is going on
around you
 Erase internal distractions as well;
stray thoughts about other maters
should be curbed as they occur
 Take notes to keep your ‘eye on the
ball’; jot down your reactions as well
points of hard information
 Demonstrate to the speaker that you
are paying attention by making regular
‘continuity’ noises; don’t let them have
to say: ‘are you still there?’
 Keep a hold on your emotions; getting
emotional interferes with your ability to
listen carefully
 Analyzing a case study
 As the name suggests these were
used primarily by the law schools
earlier
 Today, many business educators
use case studies because their
narratives are so valuable in
developing analytic and critical
thinking abilities, as well
organizational and
communicational skills
 You can memorize lists, procedures
and attributes. You can occasionally
guess successfully at the answer to
a multiple-choice question. But you
cannot memorize the answer to a
problem you have never
encountered, nor can you guess at
the options available to a manager
who must resolve a complex,
difficult, often ambiguous situation.
 For the most part case study is about:
asking good questions and seeking the
answers on behalf of the stakeholders
 Case studies are never about identifying
heroes and villains, nor are they written for
the purpose of highlighting inept or skilful
handling of an administrative situation.
 They are always written for the purpose of
gathering information that will help a
student of management make better
decisions.
 Good case studies provide as much
accurate, current, and relevant
information as possible about an incident,
a problem, an event, or an opportunity.;
 No two such problems, events, or
opportunities are ever precisely the same,
so knowing what happened in one will
only be partially helpful in deciding what
to do in the next.
 Times change, circumstances differ,
stakeholder interests shift.
 Types of cases
 Although each case is different,
you are likely to encounter three
basic types of case studies,
depending on the subject you are
studying:
.field cases
.library cases (sometimes
referred to as public record cases)
.armchair cases
 Field cases
 Field cases are written by professors and
students of business with the cooperation of
managers and executives who experienced
the events and problems described in the
case.
 They involve extensive interview with people
who are often identified by name as narrative
unfolds.
 Information contained in these cases is
known best- and sometimes only- to insiders
in a business
 Extensive interviews with employees, managers, and
executives will often reveal more.
 Careful examination of business records and data
bases can provide background and context for the
events.
 And, frequently, the active cooperation of a company
is the only way a case author will ever know exactly
what happened with any measure of certainty
 Field cases are often more extensive and thorough
than other case types, but present a dilemma for the
case writer: what does the company have to gain by
granting access to its premises, its records and its
employees
 Library cases
 Unlike a field case, library cases do not
involve special access to the business
being studied.
 They do not involve interview material
or direct quotes which are available
elsewhere.
 And they most often do not include
figures, data, or information which are
not somehow a part of public record,
available to anyone with a library card
and basic research skills
 Companies that have failed somehow-
blown a great opportunity, overlooked the
obvious, chosen the wrong path, or failed
to act when they should- are
understandably reluctant to permit case
writers to speak with their employees or
look at the evidence.
 If they have done something terribly
wrong- committed a crime or imperiled the
public welfare- a company may do all it can
to withhold, obscure, or cover up what has
happened.
 That is precisely the challenge facing most
business reporters as they gather information
for publication each day.
 Journalist David Brinkley once said, ”News is
what you don’t want to tell me. Everything
else is public relations.”
 Writers who produce library cases, however
have a wealth of information available to them.
 Besides others, annual reports, prospectus
etc. are public records which are read by them
to cull out the unwritten information, which
cannot be falsified by the companies.
 Armchair cases
 These are fictional documents about
companies that don’t exist and events that
have never occurred.
 While they some resemblance to authentic
cases, they are often lacking in the richness
of detail and complexity that accompany the
real events.
 They may be useful, however, in introducing
basic concepts to students or in provoking a
discussion about key issues confronting
businesses.
 Business educators produce armchair cases
when they are denied access to the people and
data of real businesses, or when they wish to
reduce very complex events to a series of
simple decision opportunities.
 Armchair cases are often useful to begin a
discussion and about change management, the
introduction of technology, or a rapidly-
unfolding set of events in other cultures.
 A principal advantage of these cases is that
they can be modified and updated at will
without securing the permission of the fictional
companies and managers they describe
Producing a case solution
To produce a case
solution that
demonstrates you are
ready for management-
level responsibility will
involve the following
steps:-
1.Read the case
2.Take notes
3.Identify the business
problem
4.Specify an objective for
the managers involved
5.Identify and rank the
critical issues
6.Consider relevant
information and
underlying assumptions
7.List possible solutions to
the problem
8.Select a solution
9.Decide how to
implement the best
solution
10.Explain how to
communicate the
solution
11.Write it up
12.What you should
expect
13.what you should not
expect
 Read the case
 The first step to successful case solution is
to read the case, carefully and with an eye for
detail- more than once.
 After you have read and thought about the
issues in a case, if you are uncertain about
what to do, read it again.
 As you mature in the experiences of
business school, you will get better at this,
but at first, your best defense against being
surprised or frustrated by a case is to read it
thoroughly.
 Take notes
 College students  Case studies , however,
typically want to either are constructed a bit
underline or highlight differently
much of what is
contained in a book
chapter, reprint, or
essay.
 Text book chapters are  Not so with case
typically organized in a studies, which are often
hierarchical fashion, simply arranged in
with key points and sub- chronological order.
points listed in order of
importance, carefully
illustrated and
summarized
 Textbooks  Case studies on
usually proceed the other hand, are
in logical fashion, seemingly chaotic:
with one concept many events
building on happen at once,
others that came order and
before it. discipline are
sometimes
missing, and key
issues are not
always self-evident
 Case studies may also contain
substantial amounts of information in
tabular form: annual revenues, product
shipment rates, tons of raw material
processed, or cost data organized by
business units.
 To know what such data mean, you will
have to read the tables and apply what
you have learned about reading a
balance sheet, or about activity based
costing
 You may find crucial information
contained in a sequence of events or a
direct quote from a unit manager.
 Sometimes you will discover that the
most important issues are never
mentioned by the principals in the
case- they are simply ideas or tools
that they weren’t clever enough to think
of, or didn’t think were important At
that time
 Your notes should focus on the
details you will need to identify the
business problems involved the
case, the issues critical to solving
those problems, as well as the
resources available to the
managers in the case.
 These notes will be helpful in
producing a case solution
 Identify the business
problem
 In each case, at least one fundamental business
problem is present.
 It may be small tactical issue, such as how this
company will collect money from a delinquent
customer
 But the issue may be broader in nature: “How can
they reduce accounts receivable ageing to 30
days or less?”
 Larger, more strategic problems might involve the
company’s chronic, critical cash-flow difficulties.
 “If this company were no longer cash-starved,
what long-term opportunities might open up?”
 You may identify more than one
problem in a case.
 Complex cases often involve
several such problems
simultaneously.
 They might relate to accounting, or
technology, or supply-chain, or
marketing deficiencies or/and
motivation, communication…
Specify an objective for the
managers involved.
 Think about the outcome(s) you would most
hope to see for the company and people you
have read about.
 If you were asked to consult on this
company’s problems- and that is the role
most business students are playing as they
read the case study- what results would you
hope for
 Don’t limit your thinking to what the
company should do, but what the most
successful outcome would look like
Identify and rank order the
critical issues.
The issues are the heart
of the case. If you miss a
critical issue, you may not
be able to solve the case
to the satisfaction of your
professor
Some issues are interdependent
Some issues are more important
than others
Each issue has a time dimension
Some issues are merely
symptoms of a larger or deeper
problem
 Consider relevant information
and underlying assumptions
 Accept the fact much of the
information contained in the case
will not be useful to your analysis
 You should also accept the fact
that you will never know all that
you would like in order to produce
a solution.
 Life is like that! …so are case
studies.
 Identify the relevant facts contained in
the case and think carefully about
them.
 Identify additional information you
might like to have- that might be part of
your solution-but don’t dwell on it
 Separate facts from assumptions
 Recognize that there are some things
you will know for sure and others that
you will not
Recognize further that you may
be required to subjectively
interpret some evidence and to
assume other evidence not
directly stated in the case.
The more suppositions you
make, however, the weaker
your analysis becomes
 List possible solutions to
the problem
 Every problem lends itself to more than
one solution.
 Keep looking for good ideas, even
when you have thought of one that will
solve the problem.
 Listing possible solutions is a form of
brainstorming that will later permit you
to assign values or weights to those
ideas: is one solution less expensive
than the other?
Will one be more
effective than another
Will one of these ideas
have a more enduring
effect ?
 Select a solution
 After assigning weights and values to
the various solutions you have thought
about, select the one you like the best
and prepare to defend it.
 Show why the ideas you have thought
about are superior and how they will
work.
 If you have rejected other, more
obvious ideas, you may want to explain
why.
 Decide how to implement
the best solution
 Having good ideas is insufficient.
 You must be able to put them to work.
 Graduate students of business are often
praised by executives for being
theoretically well grounded, but criticized
for lacking practical application.
 “A team of young MBAs told me that we
needed to sell this division of the
company but they couldn’t tell me what
to do, or how to go about it “
 Explain how to
communicate the solution
 In a management case study, you
will be asked to identify key
audiences for your message.
 That means identifying which
groups you want t communicate
with and the means you will use to
reach them
 You should also think of the timing
and the sequencing of the messages
 Write it up
 Different professors will have
different expectations about what
they want from you in a written
case solution
 Just provide your professor with
your best thinking and be as
detailed as you think you can
within the page limits you have
been given.
 Summary
 Your task is to read, identify and
understand the business problems in
the case.
 By identifying, rank-ordering, and
exploring the critical issues it contains,
you should be able to propose a
workable solution, identifying how to
implement and communicate it.
 From that point forward, you might
explain your choices in writing, be ready
to defend them in the classroom.