Unit- 4

Business Communication Messages

While talking about the business communication
messages, it’s process:- sender, message,
channel/medium, receiver/audience, planning,
writing, revising and formatting the documents are
important.
Business communication uses various types of
messages- written, oral, visual, electronic and non-
verbal.
Written Messages
• They are used mostly for formal purposes and when there is
little time urgency.
• Since we don’t look for immediate feedback from audiences,
we use written messages.
• There are many types of written messages:-
1. Memos (Memorandum/memoranda):-
• It is a formal, typed paper note sent to co-workers or
colleagues within the same organization.
• It is very short and simple.
• It is not suitable for long and complex information.
• In many organizations, the employees send or get memos
through emails.
• A sample of Memo is given below. Read next sample in page
no. 154 of your book.
 Lake City College, Pokhara
Interoffice Memo

To: All the students and faculties

From: The Principal
Ref. No: 056
Date: 17th February, 2020

Subject: To Attend Football Final Event

It is known that the students from Lake City College have won the semifinal and are going to
play the final match. The football final is going to be held on 3rd March, 2020 at Pokhara
Stadium. Hence all are requested to participate in the event as spectators in order to cheer
and give moral support to the players.
Buses for the event depart at 12:30 pm on that very day.

…………………..
Dr. Kapil Adhikary

CC:
The Library Section
The Administration Section
2. Informal notes:
• quick way of sending message to the colleagues at the
workplace
• left in a place easily seen by recipient
• not confidential/secret and may not reach to the intended
audiences
• handwriting may not be clear
3. Notices
• It is a piece of writing informing to a large number of people
about something.
• It announces events/issues/new developments in the
organizations.
• It is clear and direct form of communication usually placed on
notice board.
• It saves time from sending separate copies to the individuals
 Lake City College
Gairapatan, Pokhara

NOTICE
25th March 2020

All the members of the Students Welfare Council (SWC) are requested to gather for an
important meeting on Sunday, 26th March 2020 to discuss about the sports and other
co-curricular activities which have been recently completed in the college premise.

………………..
Sudarshan Bhattarai (9856033675)
The President
Student Welfare Council

Note:- Look another example of Notice in page no. 155 of your book.
4. Letters:-
• Most formal means of communication
• Sometime with people within organization and
most often with people outside an organization
• Confidential/secret issues are mentioned
• Well structured and conveys several ideas clearly in
writing
• Cheaper to produce than phone
• Sender can keep a copy
• It’s disadvantage is that letters may reach the
destination very late or may not even reach the
receivers
5. Emails:-
• Replacement of letters or memos in present
• Common and popular as they are free, fast, secure and confidential/secret
• Feedback is quicker than the letters
• Formal and informal
• Photos and documents of various sizes can be attached
6. Minutes :-
Minute is a term that is used to refer to an official record of the
proceedings during a formal meeting.
These minutes serve as a record of what happened during a meeting as
also to remind people in case they forget.
The minutes are also useful for all those who are not able to attend the
meeting as they get to know everything that took place during the
meeting.
It contains the name of the venue, date and time of meeting and list of all
those attended the meeting followed by the statements of the issues.
Generally, a secretary takes the notes to prepare the minutes later.
 As a secretary your college union writes the minute of a recently conducted
fifth meeting venting at least time agenda.
Nepal Student Union
Bagar, Pokhara
Your ref…. Our ref………
Minutes of fifth meeting
The fifth meeting of this union held on Sunday 17th September 2019 within the
college premises under the chairmanship of Mr. Sajan Malla, the chairman of this
club discussed agenda and poised the resolution as below:
Members present
1. Mr. Sajan Malla -Chairman …….
2. Mr. Laxmi K.C -V. Chairman….
3. Mrs. Nirmala Dhakal - Treasures……
4. Mr. Bibek Paudel - Secretary……..
5. Mr. Sandesh Acharya -V. Secretary…..
6. Mr. Sujan Niraula - Member……
7. Mr. Biplab Rai-Member…..
Member absent:
1. Mr. Aanada Pokhrel - Member
S.N Agenda Details of Minutes
5.01 Confirmation of the The minutes of meeting held on 10th
minutes of last meeting September 2017 were improved and signed
by chairman.

5.02 Cleaning programme To make the college area clean, cleaning

programme was scheduled to be held on
28th September 2019.

5.03 Blood donation programme Considering the need of local hospitals to

provide blood to their patients the union
BDP on 29th September, 2019

5.04 Distributing the old To help the first year students in their study,
question collection and it was decided to distribute study material
syllabus. at 4 P.M on 4th October.

As no other matter was raised, the meeting ended with a vote of thanks to the chairman.
…………………. ……………..
Chairman Secretary
7. Reports
• an organized document that presents information about a
business situation.
• presents findings from investigation or a review of business
issues or trend.
• presents information in a narrative, graphic or tabular form
• some reports may be just one page and some may be 100
or more pages
• is usually submitted by lower level employees or managers
to upper level executives
• needs to be objective and present accurate event or
situation
• it takes time and resources to prepare report
• bulky reports are time consuming to read thoroughly
8. proposals:-
• a plan/suggestion forwarded for consideration by
someone.
• formal, written document making an offer of a product or
service to a potential client.
• two types of proposals are solicited (submitted in
response to a call for proposal) and unsolicited (submitted
without being requested to do so)
9. Business Plans:-
• a business document that spells out the formal statement
of a set of business goals and how those goals would be
achieved.
• Concludes the strategies for progress
• Written description of the future of a company’s business.
9. Bulletin Boards
• place for posting public notices, posters, leaflets,
pamphlets, advertisements and announcements of the
events.
• used in schools, universities and other offices
• hung on wall near the entrance office
• made up of wood or plastic
10. Signboards/hoarding boards/billboards:-
• a large board fence that displays the name or logo of a
business or product with visually attractive images and
some written information
• often displayed along highways, on buildings or other
visible locations
11. Posters:-
• large printed notices with a picture or
photograph to advertise or announce something
• designed to be hung on the wall
• charts , graphs and illustrations may be displayed
12. Pamphlets:-
• a small booklet/leaflet used for promotional
purpose which provides the information about
organization’s values or a new product
• unfolded page, single, without cover
• information like safe driving, healthy eating etc.
13. Brochures:-
• professional form of promotional materials
• distinguished in design and format with positive and lasting
information
• introduces a company and its products or services
• written concisely and in simple language
• comes in various sizes which includes photos, graphics with
visual appeals
14. Guidelines/Manuals:-
• Documents that outline rules, regulations, principles or
pieces of advice
• Explain the procedure of something
• Companies create guidelines for their employees such as
meeting guidelines, communication guidelines etc.
15. Instructions:-
• documents that explain a process about how to use
some product or service step by step
• owner’s manual, user guide, instruction manual etc.
• instruction of making tea, noodles etc.
16. Questionnaires:-
• set of written questions with predetermined
answer options
• useful to conduct surveys or research to know the
customer’s perceptions about product/service
• gather information from the people and their likes
and dislikes
17. SMS (Text Messaging):-
• short message service available in mobile phone
• usually Informal
• sometime used for business message
• Useful in marketing as well
18. Resumes(usually one page)
• summary of a person’s employment, education, and
skills or work experience used in applying for a job
• CV is British word of resume but CV is longer than
resume as it includes information in details
• resume letter means cover letter and resume
19. Articles:-
• short or medium-length (700-1200 words) news
article, feature stories, opinion columns, interview
etc. for publication in newspapers, magazines.
• cover variety of topic
• carried in mass media
20. Newsletters:-
• printed on letter-size paper
• periodic publication in the form of bulletin
• targeted for internal audiences within an
organization or a professional society
• carry company’s update and news about
employees
21. Press releases:-
• form of news article released by a company to pass
on a piece of important information to the mass
media such as newspaper, radio, T.V and online
news
22. Print advertisements:-
• print advertisement in mass media to promote a
product, event or service or for job vacancy
• alternative to signboards, brochures, email ad. etc.
Oral Messages:-
• used for informal purposes and when there is
time urgency
• simple ideas are explained through speaking
• immediate feedback from the audiences
• no permanency of message
• used in business communication as well
• some forms of oral messages are:-
1. Interviews:-
• face to face communication between
interviewer and interviewee where interviewee
may be in under pressure
2. Encounter:-
• a situation in which you meet someone unexpectedly
• not planned
• complex and sensitive information in an encounter may
lead to failure, frustration and anger.
3. Meetings of individuals:-
• formal and planned
• internal involving co-workers and managers
• external, involving the members of different
organizations
• offer chance for participant to express their views
• in forms of letter/report record of meeting can be
maintained
3. Briefing meetings:-
• a communication situation often in the beginning of the workday
in which a senior business officer gives instructions to the staff.
• covers developments within the company
• becomes formal and informal
• takes place almost everyday in organization.
• enables to convey the same message to everyone
• staff members can ask questions for clarification
4. Full staff meetings:-
• formal and planned with clear agenda
• chaired by a chair-person
• problems are discussed and solutions are taken out through
group discussion
• written records are kept with minutes by a secretary
5. Formal, public speaking:-
• involves a speaker talking to a group of people in
a formal setting
• long lecture type speech in front of passive
audience where speakers are focused
• offers opportunities to highlight key points and
repeat important information
• not effective to convey complex data
6. Oral report or presentation:-
• an oral version of a written report begins with introduction,
an anecdote, a proverb, facts or a question related to the topic
• formal like a structured public presentation
• slides/projectors are used with interaction
7. Press Conferences:-
• a meeting in which journalists/media professionals are invited
for interaction
• may begin with reading of a statement
• company uses it for important announcement such as
launching of a new product/service, merger of the company
with another competitor.
• journalists ask questions and prominent person from company
answer them
8. Telephone calls:-
• quick and immediate means with immediate feedback
• many business messages can be directly conveyed via
telephone
• doesn’t allow for body language
9. Skype:-
• like making a telephone call but used in computer with
webcam
• sometime poor signal may distort the conversation
10. Teleconferences and videoconferences:-
• conferences over telephone/video which involve more than
two people who are at some distance
• teleconferences uses only voice but videoconferences uses
camera/video
Visual messages:-
• can be written, oral and nonverbal
• “a picture is worth a thousand words”
• Used to show the things not just tell
• Permanent and immediate feedback
• Key visual messages used in business communication are:-
a. Signs, signals and symbols:-
Sign:-tends to have a single meaning which
depends on culture. Three types of signs are:-
 Symbolic signs:- no clear connection between sign and object it
refers to. The word APPLE is not identical with its referent, the
round juicy fruit.
 Iconic signs:- visual likeness to the thing they represent/focus on
single ideas/ male or female images on toilet etc.
 Indexical signs:- direct connection to the real things such as ‘eyes
of Swayambhunath’ refers to kathmandu valley, smoke= fire etc.
Signal:- dynamic and show the movement or action, includes
gestures and sounds. For e.g a man giving a flower to a woman
signals his love for her
Symbols:- that represents or stands for something else, can have
multiple meaning. For e.g white flag is a symbol of surrender, a
lighted cigarette with cross marks on it is the symbol of no
smoking
b. Colors:-
• used for symbolism, for e.g; blue-peace, green-environmentally
friendly, red- power etc.
c. Nonverbal Visual Cues:-
• Our body language such as facial expression, eye movements,
postures gestures, dressing up etc.
d. Typography:-
• Visual display of printed matter with different fonts and designs
e. Drawings, Diagrams and Illustrations:- (page 173)
• Line drawing:- an art/representation of things generally with black
and white color
• Diagram:- a form of line art, a simplified drawing that illustrates the
appearance, structure of something etc., used in technical
communication document. (example in book)
• Cartoons:-simple drawing that shows the features of people or things
humorously exaggerated way with caricature, published in
newspapers or magazines. (example in book)
• Schematics:- line art or diagram but are more formal and
sophisticated, follows the standards and rules, often used in electrical
or mechanical engineering, architecture, geology, environmental
science etc.
• Photograph:- effective in showing the object
• Maps:-effective in showing geographic locations or directions,
countries, rivers, lakes, mountains , cities, highways etc.(example in
book)
f. Graphics:- (page no. 175……)
• Table:- Comprise of rows and columns with numbers and words,
help to compare diverse information quickly and easily, each
column contains a heading under which relevant units of
measurement are placed. (example in book)
• Bar graphs/charts:- graphical depiction of data by means for
vertical and horizontal bars, effecting in comparing the items,
various colors and shades can be used.(example in book)
• Pie charts:- shaped like a pie, simple in design(example in book)
• Flow charts:- effective in showing the stages of a process or a
procedure, useful to provide instructions in a concise way.
• Organizational charts:- depicts the system of organization within an
institution in terms of levels and departments, shows the line of
authority and responsibility in an organization.
• Information graphics:- a data-rich visualization of information or
ideas which gives the information quickly and clearly, no rigid
format. (example in book)
g. Visuals in Multimedia:-
• powerful and famous means of communication
• video clips, animations, computer displays, photo shops, images, tv
screen, mobile screen, movie screen etc.
Electronic Messages:-
• written, oral and non-verbal
• continuous interaction with feedback
• examples of electronic messages are:-
a. Emails:-(look at the sample email in book, 179)
b. Telephone Calls:-
c. Fax messages:-exact copy of document via a telephone line
along with fax machine
d. Online chats:-
e. Internet forums:- online discussion site where people can interact
with others, newsgroups, useful for business to discuss about the
product and get feedback from client.
e. Social media post:-
f. Websites:- location of a company/individual on internet which can
be accessed by anyone from anywhere
g. Blogs:-online journals, easier and updated than websites, deliver
interesting and important information
h. Microblogs:- miniature form of a blog in which messages are
restricted to a couple of 100 letters, for e.g twitter( restricts
message to 140 letters)
i. Podcasts (audio) and vodcasts (video):- audio or video posts
online distributed via RSS subscription, help to make content
richer, can be downloaded and audiences can listen
j. Video conferences:- face to face conferences.
k. Webinars:- a seminar only that it takes place over the internet
with online discussion, useful to promote business, help to save
money on conference and seminar.
l. Skype:-
Nonverbal Messages:-
• express inner feelings
• effective for short and brief communication
• useful to convey feelings, form relationships, express
experiences and realities of everyday life.
• the examples of non-verbal messages are:-
i. Physical appearance:-
• look, height, weight, facial features, dress up, hairstyle etc.
tell much about you non-verbally
• in larger organizations, formal dresses are required than
common organizations
• hats, jewelry, eyeglasses, sunglasses, body piercing,
handbags, tattoos etc. also give effects on your
appearance.
ii. Tone of Voice:-
• Sometime how something is said tells more about a person than
what is said by him/her
• pitch, volume and rate of the voice are the part of person’s
paralanguage.
• What type of vocalic is acceptable depends on context/situation
iii. Body language (kinesics):-
• Study of gesture and movement of the body
• Gesture:- movement of the hands, face, eyes, head or other parts of
body help to communicate other’s message (examples are in book)
iii. Facial expression, eye contact, etc:-
• face and eyes reveal much about who you and your emotions and
feelings
• reveal happiness, sadness, irritation, frustrations, embarrassment
• communicated with a blink, a grin, frown etc.
• direct eye contact is associated with confidence and credibility
iv. Use of space (proximity):-
• says how much intimate you are with other people
• Four types of spaces are there:-
a. Intimate space (0-1.5 feet from a person):- for them who are well
acquainted with you
b. Personal space (1.5-4 feet from a person):- conversation with family
and friends
c. Social space (4-12 feet):- formal group/professional interactions
d. Public space (starts at 12 feet):- public speech/presentation
v. Touch:-
• study of touch is called haptics
• some uses a lot of touches like hugging, putting their arms around
others, patting on the shoulders, making repeated handshakes.
• matter of shyness as well as cultural norms are there in touching.
Kissing is common in Europe. Touching the feet of elders is common
in Nepal.
 vi. Use of time:-
• study of time is called chronemics
• effective and precise use of time can be productive for
business and other sectors
• leads better pay and promotion
• sometime it is used in derogatory term such as Nepali
time(Nepalis generally make inefficient use of time and
are not punctual
• for westerners ‘time is money’.
vii. Physical environment:-
• Design/layout of room, sitting arrangements, proper
lighting, decoration etc. give positive and negative
effect.