Business Communication

KMBN 107
Unit 5

Dr. Lalit Kumar Yadav

SRMSIBS
 Group
Reasons/Purpose
Communication :
Meetings
To take decisions
A business meeting is a This is the most common purpose of a
gathering of two or more business meeting. Two or more people
people to discuss meet face-to-face to discuss and decide
business-related matters on a predetermined issue. The issue can
be related to a routine or a non-routine
and take decisions.
business matter.
Business meetings can be
conducted in person at an To share information
office or outside or over A business meeting is used to
the phone and by video communicate some information, which
conference. can lead to questions. Such information
Meetings take place with usually involves question-and-answer
sessions from participants. For example,
employees, managers,
a manager wants to share information
clients, prospects, regarding team restructuring.
suppliers and partners.
 Announce important Negotiating
changes A meeting is the most useful tool for
negotiation between two conflicting parties
If a manager wants to
such as an employer and a trade union,
announce an employees and organisation, competitive
impending change in a organisations, and an organisation and a
policy, mission, vision, government body. For example, a sales
team structure, etc., meeting is held face-to-face as sales personnel
then the manager need to negotiate, influence and persuade
should call a meeting. their customers.
This is because the
manager will be able to Solving problems
explain the reasons, Business meetings are important if employees
benefits and are required to provide a solution to the
organisational problem. If these problems
background of changes
require a critical analysis and viewpoints of
in the meeting. participants, then they can be most effectively
and quickly resolved through a meeting.
Resolving conflicts
Conflicts may arise at the workplace
or outside due to differences in
opinion . Conflict leads to mistrust
and resentment and lower
productivity .
To resolve conflicts, it is essential to
get conflicting parties to meet face-
to-face with each other and resolve
their issues.
Evaluate and communicate progress
Status update meetings are essential
in any project, plan, or activity
because they inform the manager
and the teams about the current
status of the projects. The attendees
can openly share their opinions
about the project and brainstorm
solutions.
Celebrate success
Meetings are important to celebrate the
completion of a milestone or a
project, achievement of an award,
reward and recognition for
outstanding contribution, etc. This
helps develop harmony and motivates
employees to achieve even more.
Building relationships
Meetings are also conducted to build
meaningful relationships within and
outside organisations. In these
meetings, one should focus on the
other party. Ask others to speak first
about a subject. The praise should be
genuine and specific.
 • Selecting the right participants
• Informing all participants in advance

The basics of a • Setting an Agenda

meeting are: • Appointing a facilitator
• Allowing free flow of ideas
• Summarizing the meeting along with
an action plan for the future
Informing all participants
It is important to send a
notice for the meeting at
least two to three days in
advance.
Also, a recognized authority
must send the intimation.
This allows the participants
to gather information
required for the meeting.
Typically, the notice includes
information about the date,
time, venue, names of the
participants, and the agenda
of the meeting.
Choosing the Right Participants
• Since the core idea of a meeting is to
achieve a common goal, it is
important that the participants are
selected carefully.
• In many organizations, the choice of
the participants for a meeting is
usually based on people being in a
team or a department.
• However, in order to have a good
outcome, it is important to include
participants who can contribute to
the meeting and help in arriving at an
agreement.
Appointing a Facilitator
In most meetings, an
appointed facilitator helps
to guide the meeting to its
logical conclusion.
Hence, in simple words, a
facilitator helps the group in
reaching a consensus.
He/She ensures that the
meeting does not stray
away from the subject and
provides a structure to the
process while facilitating a
conflict-free decision-
making.
Setting an Agenda of the Meeting
• It is important to share an agenda with
all participants before the meeting. An
agenda is simply the framework of the
meeting and includes the primary
subject of the meeting and the names
of the speakers along with the time
allotted to each, etc. Therefore, an
agenda must include:
• The purpose or objective of the
meeting
• Details of the discussion topics
• Names and specific times allotted to
each speaker
• The sequence in which the speakers
will address the meeting
Arriving at Conclusions and
Formulating the Next Steps
Most meetings do not come
to clear and unanimous
conclusions about the
subjects under consideration.
Therefore, once the topics on
the agenda are discussed,
summarizing the deductions
and finalizing the future steps
is critical.
Allowing Ideas to Flow Freely with
Maximum Participation
• A meeting loses its purpose if all the
participants cannot freely express
their opinions and/or views about
the subject under consideration.
• For example, if the senior
management drives the meeting and
the juniors are merely answering
questions directed towards them,
then they are not really participating
in the meeting.
• Hence, a meeting must allow
multiple perspectives to flow freely
and have the true essence of
teamwork.
 Minutes of Meeting
(MoM)

Once a meeting is • Meeting minutes are notes that are

underway, one must
keep two important
tasks in mind – drafting
the Minutes of Meeting
and the Action Taken
• The minutes of a meeting are usually
Report or ATR (after a
few days).
recorded during a meeting. They
highlight the key issues that are
discussed, motions proposed or voted
on, and activities to be undertaken.
taken by a designated member of the
group. Their task is to provide an
accurate record of what transpired
during the meeting.
 Why write minutes
of a meeting ?

Reference anytime :  Facts, Measure progress: Meeting minutes

decisions, votes taken, can serve as a timeline of progress on
conflicts, attendees and projects, usefulness of decisions, and
other important details can effectiveness of team members in
be retrieved if needed. terms of action steps.

Offer legal
protection : Auditors,
courts etc consider
meeting minutes official
records of the actions of an
organization and its board.
 
The non-attendants of the past
meeting can refer the minutes and get
to know what has happened in the last
meetings which they have failed to
join in . This way they can remain
updated about the progress.
• Different participants have different recollections of the
meeting. This can create problems and sometimes conflict. This
does not arise if minutes are kept.

• Some participants might forget important tasks that were

assigned to them in the meetings. As the minutes are circulated
to each participants , they know what to do.
 • The date and time of the meeting

• Names of the participants of the

meeting along with the absentees
• Amendments and corrections with
Points to cover in reference to the minutes of the
writing minutes of
previous meetings
meeting
• The decisions about each item on the
agenda
• The future plan of action
• The date and time of the next meeting
 Important points
while writing the
minutes of meeting

•Take a copy of the agenda of the • Keep the grammar and

meeting as a guideline to take notes sequence proper
and draft the minutes of the • Avoid the inclusion of any
meeting conflicts or personal
•As soon as the meeting is over, you comments – stay objective
can start writing the minutes. Don’t • Attach any reference material
put it off for later and try to write as required
the minutes while the details are still
fresh in your mind.
•Keep the order and numbering of
items the same as that on the
agenda
 Action Taken Report (ATR)

• The Action Taken Report (ATR) is compiled after a few days

from the date of the meeting.
• It states the various actions based on the discussions in the
meeting.
• It is usually submitted after a gap of around 5-7 days after the
meeting is over.
• This ensures that there is adequate time to act on the matters
discussed in the meeting.

A press release is a official
communication,
announcing a story to the
public which is
deliberately sent to
journalists or media
publishers in the hope
they will publish the news
contained in them.
They can come from
organizations such as
business or charities or
from people like
politicians or celebrities.
Media Management
Press release
• Press releases are usually written by
press officers working in the
communications or public relations (PR)
industry.
• Often, their aim is to get their clients’
message across or to protect their
reputation.
• Equally, they may want to promote a
product or raise awareness about an
issue.
• If you’re lucky, your press release may be
picked up by bloggers, Tweeters and
others who read it and find it worthy of
promoting within their social networks.
Most common types • Event announcement: If a company is
of press releases hosting, sponsoring, or attending an
event, it may release a press release
The best way to spread to generate interest and drive
the word about your attendance.
new product is by • Award press release : Winning a
writing a press release. business award is surely a high point
This serves several for any company.
purposes for you. Firstly, • Crisis management press release:
the article will be read
Sometimes organizations are facing a
by your customers, thus
crisis , and distorted information are
informing them directly
floating around. They clear out things
and driving purchases.
through a official press release.
Secondly, if the news is
significant enough, it
may be written about by
journalists
 Increase media coverage : This is probably the
Purpose of a Press
Release
Position yourself as a thought leader : For
The main purpose of
all press releases is to
promote something
significant and
specific.
most obvious—at their core, press releases
are intended to help increase media coverage.
It can help you reach both traditional media
and new media influencers. To capture the
attention of reporters and bloggers, make sure
your press release is well-written, has a strong
headline, doesn’t read like an advertisement,
and offers your contact information.
reporters and customers you should look like
an industry expert. This can help you earn
more media coverage, as reporters will cover
your stories and come for quotes on relevant
topics. As it relates to buyers, the more they
see you in the news, the more they begin to
trust you enough to give you their business.
Link building and Search
Engine Optimization :
 Millions of consumers
and many reporters use
the internet to get their
news.
By publishing high quality,
fully optimized online
news releases, one can
spread message further,
build more back links, and
improve the search
rankings of website.
• Increase brand awareness : Do
customers know who you are and
what you do? Is your company
indistinguishable from your
competitors? Press release
distribution can help you boost
brand awareness and highlight
your brand’s unique
characteristics.
• With a consistent press release
distribution strategy, reporters
and buyers will become more
familiar with you, and with
familiarity comes credibility.

Writing a good press
release
Introduce essential information
Start with your company’s city
and state, followed by the date.
Opening paragraph should
answer the questions, “who,”
“what,” “when,” “where,” and
“why” in a way that grabs the
reporter’s interest
Find a newsworthy angle
Even a well-written,
personalized press release will
fail if the story it’s telling isn’t
interesting to a journalist’s
target audience.
Craft an appealing press release
headline
• Use the main benefit from your
press release to write a headline
that is both clear and compelling.
Convey the value of your news to
the press. 
• The headline should be catchy but
also easy to understand.
Professional writers often spend as
much time on a headline as they
do writing an article.
• Summarize the article and include
a call to action or details of where
more information on the subject
matter can be found.
 • A press conference is an event organized to
officially distribute information and answer
questions from the media.
• Press conferences are also announced in
response to specific public relations issues.
• Corporate press conferences are generally
led by the company’s executive
Press Conference management or a press liaison or
communications officer.
• Given limited resources, particularly during
a time of quarterly or annual earnings, it
may be difficult to attract major media
attention unless a company has a truly
unique or newsworthy announcement to
share.
• Press conferences are held by corporations
and other businesses, politicians, and other
government officials.
Objective/Purpose /Why ?
PRESS CONFERENCE
• A press conference is
interactive; you can answer
questions from the press,
and emphasize points you
might not otherwise have a
chance to make.
• You can announce an
important development,
and explain its significant
local and wider
implications.
• You can set the record straight if your
group received negative publicity.
• You can often generate the kind of
interest or publicity – a spot on the
prime time – that you’d otherwise have
to pay a large amount for.
• When many media representatives are
present, it makes your conference seem
really newsworthy -- the media
presence itself adds to the importance.
• A successful media conference can not
only generate news, but can also boost
the morale of your own group -- that is,
your group can take pride in knowing
that the press will really turn out to hear
what you have to say.
 Basics of holding a
press conference
Choose Your Location
Depending on how many
people you expect to
attend, one might want to
find a more spacious room.
A room that has outlets for
laptops, TV cameras,
lighting . It should be a
quiet location that doesn’t
have a lot of traffic from
outside the venue or inside
the building.
Crafting Your Message
• What's the gist of what you want to
say? What or who are you responding
to? Often, a press conference is a
response to an event that has
captured the public's imagination. This
is your chance to control the message.
Write an outline of several key points
you want to discuss. Be sure to include
these key points in the press kit you
hand out.
Schedule the date and time
• Determine a date and time for the
press conference, and make sure it
doesn't conflict with other press
events or media deadlines
Contact the Media Select and train your participants
The first step in contacting • Persons holding the press conference
the media is to create a should be knowledgeable and
comprehensive mailing list communicative. They should know the
of editors of news issue fully and be able to handle press
channels, newspapers , questioning and scrutiny as well.
weekly newspapers , radio • Be clear and concise – avoid using
stations. jargon, rhetoric, or inciting language.
One should have a press • Always tell the truth. If you don't
advisory prepared and know the answer to a question, say
mailed about one week so. Don’t exaggerate or give figures
ahead of time to inform that aren’t backed up by evidence,
the media about the press and don’t state opinions as fact, or
conference. make charges that can’t be proven.
 After the Press Conference

• Make personal contact with

Develop a press kit
A press kit is a folder of
information to give
reporters background
information about your
issue or program. Press
kits are very useful, if
one can afford it.
• You might also review the press conference
representatives at least of the major media
outlets. Short, pleasant conversation with
them would be useful as they remember
you . Those who could not come , one
should hand deliver a press release and
press packet to these people, send an
audio or video feed, or, try to schedule an
interview with these media outlets.
with others from your organization that
attended.  What went well?  What could
you have done better?  And how will you
improve the next press conference you
hold.
Thank You