Business Communication

Verbal And Non Verbal Communication

Including
Body Language

Arin Ghosh
 Preface

We live in a world that is fast changing; more so in the

organizational field which is changing at a supersonic
speed. There are never ending developments in technology
that continually affect and alter the way we send messages
to one another.
However, one of the few things that stays
constant in the workplace is the primacy of
human encounter. People are greatly
influenced by and remember how others relate
to them.

Arin Ghosh
Styles of communication determines the organization

Management by suppression: Management by expression:

(Autocratic)
• Unexpected and frequent eruption
of conflagration
• Crisis management is the rule
• Boat rocking is common
• Employees engage in whistle
blowing at the first opportunity;
gives out secret to outsiders at the
first opportunity
(Participatory)
• Participation and stimulation of
thinking
• Networking of know how and
learning across the organization
• Involvement of all staff in
improvement, development and
value addition for the customers
• Expansion of what the employees
jointly believe is possible

Arin Ghosh
 The five directions of management communication

Upwards
(senior managers, CEO)

Outwards Management
Across
(customers, suppliers) (teams, colleagues)
Self

Downwards
(employees, unions)

Arin Ghosh
 Communication - Basics

The ultimate test of a communicative

manager is the ability to impart something of
his or her own vision, sense of purpose and
energy to others, as well as receiving ideas,
suggestions and contributions from everyone
in the team

Arin Ghosh
 Definitions
• Communication is an exchange of facts, ideas, opinions or
emotions by two or more persons
• Communication is a process by which information is
transmitted between individuals and / organizations so that an
understanding response results
• Communication is a process of passing information and
understanding from one person to another
• It is dynamic, continuous, systematic, two way, interactive /
transactional and can be intentional or unintentional.
• Communication occurs when an exchange of
messages results in shared meaning
Arin Ghosh
 Communication Process
Encoding Decoding

Sender Medium Receiver

Urgency of the message

Finances available
Effectiveness / availability of the medium
Time available
Relationship between the two communicants
Knowledge of the medium

Arin Ghosh
 Categories and components of communication

• Verbal (style, body language, language proficiency)

Nonverbal communication (writing skills)
• Mass Communication
• Public communication
• Small group communication
• Interpersonal communication
• Intra-personal communication
Components
• Feedback
• Environment
• Failure of communication

Arin Ghosh
 Communication Barriers
Physical Semantic Psychological Others

Source Bad expressions Intention, lack of Lack of common

clarity knowledge
Distance Inaccurate Distrust, Status Unsolicited
translations conscious communication
Time Semantics Sloppiness, Poor skills
closed mind
Noise Words with Fear, emotions, Politics
different closed mind
connotations
Defective medium State of health, Jargons
Defensiveness,

Arin Ghosh
 Channels of Communication
Channels of Communication

Informal (Grapevine)
Formal

Vertical Horizontal

Does not have rules, grows very

Downward fast, crosses hierarchical levels,
Upward
operates in all organizations
Single strand, gossip, cluster,
probability
Once started no control, distorted /
wrong info, hurts people,

Arin Ghosh
 Evaluating Channels of Communication

 Feedback potential – response time

 Complexity capacity – can it handle complex messages
 Breadth potential – how many messages can be disseminated
 Confidentiality - security
 Encoding case – can it be sent quickly
 Decoding case – can it be received quickly
 Time space constraint – simultaneity of presence
 Costs – expensive?
 Interpersonal warmth - can it reflect
 Formality – does it have this?
 Scan ability – can it locate relevant message
 Time of consumption – how much effort to delete the message

Arin Ghosh
 The Punctuation effect

Dear Krishna I want a man who knows what love is all

about you are generous kind thoughtful people who are
not like you admit to being useless and inferior you
have ruined me for other men I yearn for you I have no
feelings whatsoever when we’re apart I can be forever
happy will you let me be yours Radha

Arin Ghosh
 Punctuation result -- 1
Dear Krishna,
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are
generous, kind, thoughtful. People, who are not like you
admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me
for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings
whatsoever when we’re apart. I can be forever happy. Will
you let me be yours?
Radha

Arin Ghosh
 Punctuation effect -- 2
Dear Krishna,
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you, are
generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you.
Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me.
For other men, I yearn. For you I have no feelings
whatsoever. When we’re apart, I can be forever happy.
Will you let me be?
Yours Radha

Arin Ghosh
Manager’s responsibility to communicate

• Why does communication matter (failure is costly,

participatory, probity and cross pollination in mgmt)
• What is to be communicated (related to job, personal)
• Which method to choose (interactive, notice board,
memos, through supervisors)
• Is communication working

Arin Ghosh
 Team Briefing
The objective is to make sure that all members know
and understand what they and others in the team are
doing and why. The benefits are:
• Reinforces management down the line
• Increases member’s commitment
• Helps reduce misunderstanding
• Welcomes change
• Controls grapevine
The cardinal principles of successful team briefing are:
1. Commitment 2. Coordinated 3. Structured 4. Regularity
5.Relevance
Arin Ghosh
 Team Briefing - Checklist
• How do I prepare (put items in my briefing folder during
the month, go to my briefing with my local brief already
written and added to my own team leader’s brief, ask
questions about clarity)
• How do I brief (keep it simple and relevant to team, use
examples, keep to the subject, encourage discussions and
questions, briefing management’s view, take note of the
questions that could not be answered)
• What subjects to be briefed (progress against targets,
policy, people that affects the team and points for action)

Arin Ghosh
 Consultations
Consultation is the process whereby, on a regular basis,
management genuinely seeks the views, ideas and feelings
of the employees before a decision is taken. It helps to
• Improve the quality of the decision
• Stimulate better cooperation
• Serves as preliminary to negotiation
• Increases efficiency of the organization
• Helps industrial relations
Consultations are communication upwards. They should
not be allowed to degenerate into epics of group moaning.
It should help in producing good ideas (both long and short
term) and garner employee involvement.

Arin Ghosh
 Working with your Secretary
• For a manager, the secretary is the most important element
in the entire communication network. The business
relationship with his secretary has to be of trust,
dependence and sounding board.
• Keep your secretary in touch (which person / organization
are you currently dealing with, what projects are you on at
the moment). Routine matters could be delegated to the
secretary.
• Responsibilities towards your secretary: communicate
regularly with her, encourage and motivate her, delegate as
much as you can and let her draw her own job description

Arin Ghosh
 Non Verbal Communication (NVC)

We speak with our vocal chords, but converse with our

whole body. We normally lay emphasis on what we say
(authority, clarity, unambiguity, but liable to be
misconstrued). Messages relayed in other ways while we
speak viz. through glances, gestures, facial expressions,
postures, tone of the voice, dress (nonverbal) that proves
decisive in conveying information and forming judgments
about others. Its crucial in management where we are often
uncertain about whether we have understood each other
fully and need every clue to ensure that we are sending and
receiving messages accurately.

Arin Ghosh
 Body Language
• Body language means more than simply physical posture.
Postures and gestures tell a lot, but so do less obvious
mannerisms, such as eye contact, speed and tone of voice, facial
expressions, grunts, sighs etc. It can, in course of our working
life, help us to get on, not because we may look the part, exude
confidence and act assertively, but because we can look beyond
what people say to what they really mean.
• Research has shown that around 10% of the messages we
communicate is through words, tone of the voice 40% and
posture and gesture 50%
• NVC contributes in developing effective relationships …
actions speak louder than words…. A firm shake of hands can
signal towards success; effective management requires a high
degree of awareness of one’s NVC as well as the sensitivity to
that of others
Arin Ghosh
 Reach of Body Language

• Action speaks louder than words : Postures and gestures

• Power and influence: The body language of power. Power
broking (aggressive, manipulative, assertive, submissive),
expert power, reward power, charisma.
• Performance art, presentation skills
• Selling yourselves, body language in telephone selling
• The truth detectives, uncovering deception.
• Body language in security and control
• Selection, appraisal and counseling

Arin Ghosh
 Importance of NVC

 It is primitive (predates language); though not crucial,

emphasizes the verbal code
 Much social meaning is communicated nonverbally than
verbally
 NVC is more truthful, provides insight into verbal messages
 Skilled interactors can learn to control what their bodies say
as well as the messages sent in words (spin doctors,
McDonald’s)
 Language conveys ideas, information, understanding and
intentions. NVC conveys feelings and attitudes required to
build interpersonal relationships, sustain or terminate them.
 Being primitive, has greater universality
Arin Ghosh
 Functions of NVC

 Replacing the verbal communication

 Complementing the spoken word
 Contradicting the spoken word
 Expressing emotions and interpersonal attitudes
 Conveying personal / social / cultural identity
 Negotiating relationships
 Regulating conversations
 Contextualising interaction

Arin Ghosh
 Factors of NVC
• Territory and personal space :Spaces to which we claim
special rights of access and ownership and may include
home, office desk and feel aggrieved and uncomfortable if
violated. Status symbol
• Interpersonal space : This is the distance people wish to
maintain while interacting and is dependent on multiple
factors.
• Facial expression
• Gestures, Posture, Vocalics
• Environmental features (office space, décor, lighting
furniture, props, trophies, awards, etc)
• Physical appearance and dress code
Arin Ghosh
Seating arrangements and interactions showing interpersonal distance

Promoting / inhibiting interaction, denoting status and authority

Conducting tasks

xxxxxxx x x xx x
xxxxxxx x
x x x x x x
xxxxxxx x
x x x x x
xxxxxxx x x
x x x x
xxxxxxx x x x x
x x

X X X
X
Sociofugal Sociopetal

Arin Ghosh
 Factors shaping interpersonal distance

 Cultural / ethnic background

 Gender – females adopt closer distance
 Personality – extroverts adopt closer distance than the
introverts
 Interpersonal relations – friends closer than strangers
 Age – young adopt closer distance than the old
 Topic of conversation – taboo or sensitive topics engender
discomfort and hence larger distance
 Physical features of others – disfigurement or deformity
evoke larger interpersonal distances
 Physical / social setting – location constraints, crowded
parties
Arin Ghosh
 Dress rules in business

Applies both to men and women in business environment

 Always follow formal dress codes
 Pay heed to others going places in the company
 If unsure, dress conservatively
 Consider the style of those with whom you do business
 Simple, classical lines are usually the best
 Neutral colors work well
 Dark colors command greater authority
 Dress as expensively as you can afford; do not show off
 Do not dress wildly above your stratum in the organization
 Wear real products rather than simulations (copy)
Arin Ghosh
Barometer of successful communication
• Communication is not only a matter of action “inside the
egg”. Communication skills are essential element in your
overall effectiveness as a manager. The tests are:
• Does the organization achieve its common task
• Does it generate new products or services, or
improvements in the existing ones
• Does it create satisfied customers
• Does it help grow high- performance team
• Does each individual member feel fully involved and
committed

Arin Ghosh
 References

• The effective communicator By John Adair

• Communication skills for effective management
By--- Owen Hargie, David Dickson and Dennis
Tourish
• Business communication – Harvard Business
Essentials
• Business Communication – Namita Ghoshal

Arin Ghosh