Effective

Communication in Business
by
Akhlaq R. Khan

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 Effective
Communication in Business
by
Akhlaq R. Khan

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 Transferring information from one part of the
business to another that leads to some outcome
(Profits), changed behaviour or changed
practice
 Formal Communication – established and
agreed procedures
 Informal Communication – channels not
formally recognised – ‘the grapevine’
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 Communication is crucial in our life.
 Communication is considered, “the KEY to
SUCCESS”.
 Effective communication whether speaking or
writing is highly valued skill.
 Empirical evidence suggests that executives
having the ability to communicate are ranked
first among the personal factors necessary for
promotion.

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 The importance of effective communication
extends across all areas of business, including
management, technical, clerical and social
positions.

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 In ancient times, people depended heavily on
oral communication.
 It was necessary to communicate well specially
when dealing with matters in government
assemblies and the law courts.
 For Example,
 Ancient China.
 Ancient Egypt.
 Ancient Greece

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 An organization can be defined as a group of
people associated for business, political,
professional or social purposes.
 It is impossible for an organization to function
without open and effective communication.
 The group of people require to interact and react,
that is to communicate.
 They exchange information, plans, order needed
supplies, make decisions, rules and regulations,
proposals, contracts and agreements.

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 Thus, communication is lifeblood to every
organization.
 To conclude, no organization can function
without effective communication.

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 Internal Communication
And
 External Communication

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 An organization is a group of people associated for
business, political, professional or social purposes.
 Organization cannot function without open & effective
communication.
 The group of people require to interact & react, that is
to communicate. They exchange information, plans,
order needed supplies, make decisions, rules and
regulations, proposals, contracts and agreements.
 So communication is lifeblood to every organization
means without communication no organization can
run its functions .

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 Internal Communication
And
 External Communication

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 A vital means of getting the organizational
goals is through effective communication.
 There are four types of internal communication
flows within the organization.
Downwards
Upwards
Horizontal
Diagonal

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 Relatively easy to manage
 Ensure staff know what their job is
 Keep staff informed about changes
 Communicate orally, then follow up in writing
 It helps increase job satisfaction, safety,
productivity, and profitability
 It helps to decrease absenteeism, losses, and
grievances.

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 Staff information needs
 Job responsibilities
 What is my job?
 Performance feedback
 How am I doing?
 Individual needs
 Does anyone care?
 Work unit objectives, results
 How is my unit doing?
 Vision, mission, values
 Where are we headed?
 Empowerment
 How can I help?

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 Mechanisms

• Job descriptions
• Notices
• Training
• Instructions
• Memos
• Meetings
• E-mails

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 Hard to manage
 Boss must be willing to listen
• Especially to Bad News
 Boss must take time to listen
 Staff must be willing to share
• Especially Bad News

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 Mechanisms
• Short, written weekly notes summarizing activities and
problems
 Boss must provide feedback
• Regular staff meetings to discuss activities
• Staff copy relevant E-mails to boss
• Visit staff’s workplaces
• As a boss Keep your door open

Syed Maqsood Ahmed

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 Necessary to ensure coordination, avoid
“islands” or “information silos”
 Encourage/require staff to communicate
among units
 Effective horizontal communication is also
essential in order to solve problems, perform
job duties, prepare for meetings and
cooperation in important projects.

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 Can be formal – eg. teams
 Can be informal
 Build cross-departmental teams
 Encourage friendliness and informality
 Encourage informal interaction

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 Make information sharing part of job
description
 Define reporting and information sharing
responsibilities
 But avoid over-rigid procedures if possible
 Hold regular staff meetings
• But keep meetings short and efficient
 Provide physical bulletin boards
 Communicate actively
• Be an information source 26
 Effective communication to people outside the
organization is called external communication
and it helps to create a good reputation and
have a positive impact on its ultimate success.

Syed Maqsood Ahmed

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 To Whom
 Customers
 Vender / suppliers
 Government
 Distributors / wholesalers
 Methods:
 Marketing , through Paper + Electronic
Media
 Sales Dep't
 Customer Services
 Managers – From All Disciplines
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 The way you communicate within or outside the
country affect everything you accomplish. Your
ability to communicate effectively make a
difference to your organization.
 Developing The Right Attitude:
 Preparing Adequately:
 Becoming Flexible:
 Developing the right attitude and preparing
adequately are crucial to effective communication
in the international market place. These qualities
helps to be effective in dealing with the
international business people & becoming flexible
helps you to deal with the issues within your
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 Components of Communication
A. Context
B. Sender-Encoder
C. Message
D. Medium
E. Receiver-Decoder
F. Feedback

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 Communication is affected by the context in
which it takes place. This context may be
physical, social, chronological or cultural.
 Every communication proceeds with context.
 The sender chooses the message to
communicate within a context.

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 Sender / encoder is a person who sends the
message.
 A sender makes use of symbols (words or graphic
or visual aids) to convey the message and produce
the required response. For instance, a training
manager conducting training for new batch of
employees. Sender may be an individual or a
group or an organization. The views, background,
approach, skills, competencies, and knowledge of
the sender have a great impact on the message.

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 Message is a key idea that the sender wants to
communicate. It is a sign that elicits the
response of recipient. Communication process
begins with deciding about the message to be
conveyed. It must be ensured that the main
objective of the message is clear.

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 Medium is a means used to exchange / transmit
the message.
 The sender must choose an appropriate
medium for transmitting the message otherwise
the message might not be conveyed to the
desired recipients.
 The choice of appropriate medium of
communication is essential for making the
message effective and correctly interpreted by
the recipient.

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 This choice of communication medium varies
depending upon the features of
communication.
 For example, written medium is chosen when a
message has to be conveyed to a small group
of people, while an oral medium is chosen
when spontaneous feedback is required from
the recipient.

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 Recipient / Decoder is a person for whom the
message is intended / aimed / targeted. The
degree to which the decoder understands the
message is dependent upon various factors
such as knowledge of recipient, their
responsiveness to the message, and the reliance
of encoder on decoder.

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 Feedback is the main component of
communication process as it permits the sender to
analyze the value of the message.
 It helps the sender in confirming the correct
interpretation of message by the decoder.
Feedback may be verbal (through words) or non-
verbal (in form of smiles, sighs, etc.). It may take
written form also in form of memos, reports, etc.

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Concepts and Problems of Communication
and
Nonverbal Communication
A. How Appearance Communicates
B. How Body Language Communicates
C. How Silence, Time, and Space
Communicates

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Is it possible to communicate without words?
Studies show that over half of your message is
carried through nonverbal elements:
 Your appearance
 Your body language
 The tone and
 the pace of your voice.

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 Communication researcher Mehrabian found that only
7% of a message’s effect are carried by words ;
listeners receive the other 93% through non -verbal
means.
 ♦Birdwhistell suggested that spoken words account for
not more than 30-35% of all our social interactions.
 ♦Over 65 percent of the social meaning of the
messages we send to others are communicated non-
verbally.

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 “The bodily gestures, postures, and facial
expressions by which a person
communicates nonverbally with others”

 POSTURE
 GESTURE
 FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
 GAZE / EYE CONTACT

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 1.Facial expression(s)
 2.Eyes
 3.Lips
 4.Arms
 5.Hands
 6.Fingers

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Forehead Wrinkles Anger

Eyebrows Outer edges up Anger

Nose Upward Contempt

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Cantered Focused

Gazing Up Thinking

Gazing Down Shame

Gaze on the Side Guilty

Wandering Disinterested, Bored

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Parted Relaxed, Happy

Together Possibly Concerned

Wide Open Very Happy / Very Angry

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Arms Crossed Angry, Disapproving

Open Honest, Accepting

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On Top of the Head Amazement

Scratching Head Puzzled , Confused

Rubbing Eyes Tired

Rubbing Chin Thinking,

folded Timid, Shy

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Fingers Interlocked Tense

Pointing at you Angry

OK Signal Fine

V Sign Peace

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 1. OPEN / CLOSED
 People with arms folded and legs crossed and
bodies turned away are signalling that they are
rejecting messages. People showing open
hands, fully facing you and both feet planted
on the ground are accepting them.

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 2. FORWARD/ BACK
 When people are leaning forward and pointing
towards you they are actively accepting or
rejecting the message. When they are leaning
back, looking up at the ceiling, doodling on a
pad, cleaning their glasses they are either
passively absorbing or ignoring

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