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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Make sure your voice gets heard in any situation—and learn to listen, too
Effective Business Communication For Dummies gives you the tools you need to communicate better, both in and outside of the office. You want to build strong relationships, and you’ll need strong communication skills to do it. This book demystifies active listening, assertive speaking, conflict resolution, virtual team leadership, and all the other things you’ll need to know to get your point across. Thanks to the classic, friendly Dummies style, it’s easy to make an impression in e-mails, presentations, virtual events, and in person. Check out these tips from a top communications coach to discover the maser communicator inside you.
- Learn when to speak less and listen more—and how to listen actively
- Find win-win solutions, ace interviews, and handle other challenging situations
- Master global communication with international and intercultural communication tips
- Be assertive and stay on track in e-mails, letters, virtual meetings, and beyond
With Effective Business Communication For Dummies, you'll know what to say, how to say it, and when to talk less and listen more. This is the perfect guide for team members and leaders alike who want to communicate better in all life’s situations.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024
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Effective Business Communication For Dummies®
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Icons Used in This Book
Beyond the Book
Where to Go from Here
Part 1: Business Communication Fundamentals
Chapter 1: Talking about Communication in the Workplace
Understanding the Importance ofEffective Business Communication
Distinguishing Business Communication from Personal Communication
Conducting a Self-Assessment
Sharpening Fundamental Communication Skills
Avoiding Common Mistakes
Communicating Effectively in Specific Contexts
Putting Theory into Practice and Making It Yours
Chapter 2: Brushing Up on Business Communication Fundamentals
Checking Out Definitions of
Communication
Exploring Communication Models
Recognizing the Elements of Communication and Why They Matter
Identifying and Addressing Sources of Noise
Paying Special Attention to History and Environment
Conducting a Communication Audit
Chapter 3: Communicating without Words: Nonverbal Communication
Using Your Body to Communicate
Keeping a Comfortable and Effective Distance
Using Your Voice to Enhance Your Message
Conveying Meaning and Emotion Through Silence
Chapter 4: Special Delivery: Picking the Right Way to Communicate
Exploring Communication Channels
Comparing Channels by How Rich They Are
Considering Your Purpose: Conveyance or Convergence?
Matching Your Channel to Your Communication Task or Purpose
Part 2: Improving Your Interpersonal Communication
Chapter 5: Listening More Than You Speak
Recognizing the Difference between Hearing and Listening
Understanding before Responding or Reacting
Listening More Than You Speak (or Think)
Stepping Up to More Advanced Listening Techniques
Chapter 6: Leveraging the Communication Power of Asking Questions
Making Curiosity Your Superpower
Asking Questions to Extract Information and Clarify Your Understanding
Using Questions and Guardrails to Initiate and Guide Conversations
Chapter 7: Holding Productive and Meaningful Conversations
Appreciating the Value of Reciprocity, Self-Disclosure, and Give-and-Take
Being a Good Conversation Partner
Strengthening Relationships with Self-Disclosure
Creating Mutual Meaning
Part 3: Owning Your Message with Confident Communication
Chapter 8: Making Simple Communication Changes for Significant Impact
Making People Less Defensive and More Receptive
Getting to Yes Faster
Focusing Less on Names and More on Pertinent Details
Purging “Sorry” and “Just” from Your Vocabulary
Chapter 9: Setting the Stage for Effective Communication
Challenging the Status Quo
Prepping Your Audience’s Brain for What You’re About to Tell Them
Putting It All Together
Virtual Conversations: Calling Attention to Paying Attention
Chapter 10: Talking about Yourself without Bragging
Understanding Why Bragging Feels Icky and Shifting Your Mindset
Educating Others about You
Networking in Meaningful Ways
Inspiring Your Colleagues and Clients to Sing Your Praises
Chapter 11: Calm, Cool, and Confident: Making and Delivering Presentations
Comparing Presentation Types: Informative versus Persuasive
Structuring Your Presentation: As Simple as 1-2-3
Preparing for Presentation Success
Leveraging the Communicative Power of Visualization
Practicing Your Presentation to Improve Your Confidence
Part 4: Persuading and Driving Results
Chapter 12: Knowing the People You’re Trying to Persuade
Analyzing Your Audience
Using Communication Direction to Your Advantage
Anticipating Possible Objections
Chapter 13: Engaging in Persuasion That Drives Results
Sizing Up the Stakeholders
Clarifying Your Goal and Aligning It with Your Audience
Using Monroe’s Motivated Sequence to Structure Your Persuasive Presentation
Avoiding Mistakes That Plague Persuasive Presentations
Chapter 14: Negotiating for Strategic Outcomes
Knowing Your Desired Outcome
Preparing for a Successful Negotiation
Sampling Common Negotiation Tactics
Navigating Common Workplace Negotiations
Part 5: Navigating Difficult Workplace Conversations
Chapter 15: Giving Feedback and Discussing Performance
Following Six Rules for Effective Feedback Conversations
Balancing Formal and Informal Feedback
Improving Performance Through Workplace Equity
Managing Yourself During Performance Reviews and Conversations
Chapter 16: Navigating Interpersonal Conflicts
Exploring the Pros and Cons and Potential Outcomes of Conflicts
Navigating Conflict More Effectively: Four Tactics
Dealing with Different Conflict Management and Communication Styles
Not Letting Complaints Turn Into Conflict
Chapter 17: Communicating When Everything Is Falling Apart
Hoping It Won’t Happen or It’ll Blow Over: Not a Plan
Formulating a Crisis Communication Strategy
Responding in a Crisis: Initial and Ongoing Communication
Taking Responsibility Within Your Power
Embracing the Framework of Frameworks: RER
Part 6: Communication for Collaboration
Chapter 18: Communicating during the Recruitment and Hiring Process
Landing Your Dream-Job Interview
Preparing For and Performing Well in an Interview
Attracting and Interviewing Candidates
Chapter 19: Collaborating with Team Members
Getting Up to Speed on Team Fundamentals
Defining Team Roles and How to Play Them
Keeping Your Team on Track
Acknowledging Contributions and Achievements
Chapter 20: Communicating across Cultures
Understanding Intercultural Communication
Creating an Environment Conducive to Open Communication
Embracing the Growing Field of DEI and Respectful Communication
Avoiding the Assumption Trap
Part 7: The Part of Tens
Chapter 21: Ten Business Communication Trends That Are Here to Stay
Generative AI
Humanizing Automation
Synthetic Media
Predictive Analytics
Heightened Expectations
Increased Prevalence of Virtual Teams
Increased Expectations for Timely Communication
Increasing Popularity of Informal Communication
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
Increased Emphasis on Transparency
Chapter 22: Ten Tips for Conveying Complex Concepts to the Average Person
Use Similes to Compare Unlike Objects
Leverage the Emotive Power of Metaphors
Create a Contextual Understanding
Combine Similes, Metaphors, and Contextual Comparisons
Go Visual with Charts, Illustrations, and Infographics
Find a Common Communication Denominator
Avoid Acronyms and Jargon
Avoid Being Sesquipedalian
Tell a Story
Perform or Lead the Audience in a Physical Demonstration
Chapter 23: Ten Tips for Outstanding Virtual Presentations
Provide Platform Orientation
Communicate Expectations for Interaction
Lead Your Audience Through Quick-Chat Exercises
Encourage Virtual Applause
Conduct Quick Polls or Surveys
Engage and Collaborate via the Whiteboard
Increase Participation via “Voluntelling”
Leverage Synchronicity
Gamify Your Meetings
Recruit a Producer
Index
Dedication
Connect with Dummies
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 3
TABLE 3-1 Expressions and Their Meanings
Chapter 6
TABLE 6-1 Information versus Knowledge
TABLE 6-2 Information Questions versus Knowledge Questions
List of Illustrations
Chapter 2
FIGURE 2-1: The Shannon-Weaver model of communication.
FIGURE 2-2: An interactional model of communication.
FIGURE 2-3: A transactional model of communication.
Chapter 4
FIGURE 4-1: The more complex the message, the richer the channel must be.
FIGURE 4-2: Choose a channel based on the degree of conveyance or convergence r...
Chapter 5
FIGURE 5-1: Hearing occurs when sound travels from the ear to the brain.
FIGURE 5-2: Listening occurs when meaning is extracted from sounds in the brain...
FIGURE 5-3: Listening is a three-stage process.
Chapter 12
FIGURE 12-1: Communication directions.
Chapter 13
FIGURE 13-1: Gauge your progress by movement toward your goal.
Chapter 15
FIGURE 15-1: Generic gestures of appreciation can backfire.
Chapter 18
FIGURE 18-1: Cover letter for a marketing position generated by ChatGPT.
Chapter 19
FIGURE 19-1: The five stages of group development.
FIGURE 19-2: Weigh the pros and cons of assuming a leadership position.
Chapter 20
FIGURE 20-1: Hofstede’s cultural dimensions.
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Begin Reading
Index
Dedication
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Effective Business Communication For Dummies®
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Introduction
Communication is not a one-size-fits-all field. No two messages, situations, or audiences are the same. In today’s fast-paced and diverse business environment, communication challenges are more prevalent than ever. From the nuances of cross-cultural interactions and the intricacies of digital communication to the art of crafting persuasive messages and handling conflict with grace, the hurdles can seem endless.
One of the most significant challenges is the sheer volume of communication channels. With emails, instant messaging, social media, video calls, and face-to-face meetings all playing a role in your daily interactions, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed — not to mention the burgeoning fields of generative AI and synthetic media! Each medium has its own set of rules and nuances, and mastering them requires skill and adaptability. The rise of remote work has added another layer of complexity, making it crucial to convey your message clearly and effectively across countries, borders, platforms, and time zones.
Another challenge is understanding and navigating cultural differences in a globalized business environment. What might be considered polite and straightforward in one culture can be perceived as vague or even rude in another. This cultural diversity enriches the business landscape but also requires a high level of cultural sensitivity and communication savvy. Misunderstandings can lead to conflicts, missed opportunities, damaged relationships, and inefficiencies.
But don’t worry — in this book I provide the information and guidance you need to meet these challenges with confidence and become a more effective and confident communicator.
About This Book
Welcome to Effective Business Communication For Dummies, your guide to navigating the science and art of communication in the professional world. I’m thrilled to have you here! As a professor and communication strategy consultant for companies all over the world, I know the transformative power that effective communication can bring to your career and personal life. This book is designed to be your go-to resource for developing the skills you need to communicate with clarity, confidence, and impact, whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your existing abilities.
Effective Business Communication For Dummies includes practical tips, real-world examples, and actionable strategies. From crafting persuasive messages and delivering compelling presentations to navigating the complexities of digital communication and cross-cultural interactions, this book covers it all. Everyone has the potential to become a dynamic communicator, and my goal is to make the journey as straightforward and enjoyable as possible.
But this book is more than just a business communication training manual. It’s a companion on your journey to becoming a savvy communicator. Think of it as a friendly mentor, guiding you through the nuances of business communication with a focus on practical application and personal growth. Whether you’re looking to boost your career, enhance your professional relationships, or simply become a better communicator, Effective Business Communication For Dummies is here to support you every step of the way!
Foolish Assumptions
As you’ll soon discover when you start reading this book, I discourage people from making assumptions in any business interaction. In that context, I think most assumptions are foolish. However, I’m guilty of making the following foolish assumptions about you, and I wrote this book accordingly:
You’re working in a business setting or are charting your own entrepreneurial path.
Whether you’re an entry-level employee or the CEO of a global tech company, if you’re interacting with people in a business setting, you’re engaged in business communication.
You’re eager to improve your business communication knowledge and skills.
Your level of competence and abilities doesn’t matter. You may be struggling, or you may be highly effective and wanting to become even better. What’s important is your willingness to learn.
You’re not in the market for an academic book on the underlying theories behind various business communication topics.
What you want is practical, real-world advice on how to communicate effectively in a wide range of business scenarios. (I do touch on some key theories and frameworks to provide context that can improve your understanding and the reasons behind certain strategies and best practices.)
Icons Used in This Book
Throughout this book, icons in the margins highlight important points that I call out for special attention. Here are the icons I use and what they mean.
Although I’ve included plenty of examples throughout this book, this Example icon flags the longer, more extensive real-world examples. The purpose of these examples is to show how key communication concepts, strategies, and techniques play out in actual business scenarios.
I’d love for you to remember everything you read in this book, but if you can’t quite do that, remember the important points I’ve flagged with this icon.
I’ve gathered these tidbits of information and insight from my many years of education, training, and experience — distilled to save you time and effort.
“Pump the brakes!” Before you take another step, read these warnings. I provide this cautionary content to help you avoid the common pitfalls that are otherwise likely to trip you up, leading to misunderstandings, unproductive conflicts, and damaged business relationships.
Beyond the Book
Business communication is a broad topic that encompasses everything from communication fundamentals to public speaking, persuasion, interviewing and feedback conversations, digital communication, intercultural communication, and the legal and ethical aspects of business communication. In Effective Business Communication For Dummies, I cover the fundamentals of business communication in the context of these topics. However, even if you manage to master everything there is to know about business communication, you can always discover something new, especially after putting your learning into practice. This book is no substitute for real-world experience and lifelong learning. I encourage you to continue developing your mastery of business communication beyond this book. Here are some tips:
Flex your interpersonal muscles.
Put yourself out there. Interact with people as much as possible, especially if you work remotely. Don’t allow yourself to become isolated or communicate exclusively via text and email. Seek opportunities to interact with people in person or at least via videoconferencing in real-time.
Interact in as wide a range of business situations as possible.
These include public speaking, business negotiations, customer service, team meetings, project management, marketing and public relations, crisis situations, and others. The broader your experience, the more effective you’ll be in any situation. Plus, interacting in ways that aren’t normally part of your day-to-day work can give you additional perspectives that can add value to your professional acumen.
Embrace (or at least become versed in) the latest communication technologies and channels.
Digital communication is growing and evolves quickly. In the past, all you needed was experience with email, word processing, and maybe presentation software. Now, you need to be skilled in social media, generative artificial intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT, synthetic media and digital likeness (created by companies like Render, Colossyan, ElevenLabs, and Synthesia), videoconferencing platforms, and more — there’s no telling what tomorrow will bring. These tools can make you a more effective and efficient communicator.
Continue to build your knowledge through books, articles, videos, and other relevant content from reputable sources.
Explore other sources for information and guidance on how to communicate more effectively. Some books to consider are
Public Speaking For Dummies,
by Malcolm Kushner,
Persuasion & Influence For Dummies,
by Elizabeth Kuhnke, and
Business Writing For Dummies,
by Natalie Canavor (all published by Wiley). If you have a specific question, ask ChatGPT or type it into your favorite search engine. Check out business communication videos on YouTube (including some beauties from way back in 2012 that you can find under my name).
In addition to the material in the print book or e-book you’re reading right now, this product comes with some access-from-anywhere goodies on the web. Check out the free Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com for tips and techniques on how to communicate more effectively and efficiently. When you get to the site, simply type Effective Business Communication For Dummies cheat sheet in the search bar to find it.
You can follow me online, at www.thedynamiccommunicator.com, where you can find additional content and join my mailing list to receive practical communicative use cases for AI. You can also find me on all my social channels — including Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn — by using my handle: @dynamicjill.
Where to Go from Here
As with all For Dummies guides, you can read this book from cover to cover or skip around to the topics you find most interesting or applicable to the business communication challenge you’re facing. If you choose to skip around, use the table of contents at the front of the book or the extensive index at the back of the book as your guide.
Browse the part titles and chapter titles, or simply flip through the book to find a topic that catches your eye. Feel free to explore the pages and dip into whatever topics seem most relevant to you at the moment. You don’t need to read the book from cover to cover, though you may find yourself compelled to do so because each tool, strategy, and technique adds up to a complete and comprehensive business communication toolkit.
Part 1
Business Communication Fundamentals
IN THIS PART …
Recognize the high cost of ineffective, inefficient business communication in time, money, resources, and lost opportunities.
Develop a foundational understanding of business communication by exploring definitions, communication models, and the essential elements that contribute to effective communication.
Get up to speed on the basics of nonverbal communication — using body language, vocal variations, space, silence, and everything else that’s not words — to clarify and reinforce your message.
Differentiate between communication channels (media), such as in person, videoconferencing, on-demand video, text, and email.
Appreciate the importance of choosing the right communication channel to meet your goal and identify the pros and cons of each channel type.
Choose the most effective and efficient channel — with the help of some guidance from media richness theory (MRT) and media synchronicity theory (MST).
Chapter 1
Talking about Communication in the Workplace
IN THIS CHAPTER
Recognizing the benefits of effective communication and the costs of the alternative
Understanding the differences between personal and business communication
Assessing your business communication understanding and skills
Focusing on the fundamentals
Avoiding common communication mistakes
Whenever you’re approaching a broad and complex topic such as business communication, you’re wise to wade in slowly and develop a general understanding before taking a deeper dive into the details. This chapter eases you into the topic and provides a framework for understanding.
Here, you develop an appreciation of the importance of effective business communication and how it differs from personal communication. You evaluate your knowledge and skills and become familiar with the fundamentals of effective business communication. And, you get a small taste of the skills needed to start applying those techniques to specific situations you’re likely to encounter in the workplace.
Understanding the Importance ofEffective Business Communication
Business doesn’t exist without communication. It’s communication with yourself and others that leads to new ideas and innovations. It’s communication that drives the formation of new businesses and secures the funding needed for its growth. It’s communication that draws customers and drives sales. It’s communication that enables businesses to function. And it’s communication that empowers employees to be their best, collaborating with each other and helping their organizations flourish.
Clearly, effective communication is essential for businesses to thrive, but it’s also important for you to be successful in the workplace and to further your career. In this section, I highlight the benefits you’ll reap by becoming a more effective communicator — and the potential costs you’ll pay if you don’t.
Appreciating the benefits of effective communication
Regardless of how long you’ve been in the workforce — 30 seconds or 30 years — you can discover something that makes you a more effective communicator. If you’re younger, you may benefit from a focus on the fundamentals. If you’re older, you may discover that what you’ve been doing all those years could be even more effective as you become familiar with technologies that improve your ability to reach more people and communicate more efficiently. Wherever you are on the continuum, being a savvy and skilled communicator enables you to do the following:
Convey information, ideas, and instructions clearly and efficiently.
Improve your ability to make decisions, solve problems, and collaborate with others inside and outside your organization.
Accelerate your career advancement and/or business growth.
Negotiate effectively to get more of what you want.
Empower others through your leadership skills.
Engage your team members to build a more cohesive team.
Embody confidence, charisma, and professionalism.
Expand relationships and build new ones.
Skilled communicators draw people and opportunities to themselves because people know that they’re dealing with someone who’s easy to work with and gets things done.
Counting the costs of ineffective communication
Ineffective business communication can be costly to both organizations and individuals. Consider these costs:
Inefficiencies — time wasted on clarifying instructions, fixing mistakes, and redoing work
Missed opportunities due to an inability to communicate ideas clearly, persuade others, or communicate your skills and value to coworkers and supervisors
Damaged relationships leading to tension and conflict with colleagues, which can create a negative work environment
Frustration and stress that result from an inability to understand or be understood
Lost sales or customers
Loss of job security (in extreme cases)
Distinguishing Business Communication from Personal Communication
In many ways, personal and business communication are similar: Both require you to listen and understand others and tailor your messaging to your audience. The skills you develop by reading this book and practicing will improve your ability to communicate both in the workplace and with family members, friends, and others. After all, people are people. However, business communication has some nuances that are important to consider.
Business communication and personal communication differ in purpose, tone, and structure. In business communication, the emphasis is on efficiency, professionalism, and clarity for the purpose of achieving specific goals or objectives, such as completing a project, negotiating a deal, or serving customers. It typically follows specific protocols and formats, such as emails, reports, presentations, and meetings. The language used tends to be more precise and technical, aiming to convey clear, concise, and unambiguous messages. In many cases, you may even be required to communicate with an audience you know little to nothing about — talk about a challenge!
Personal communication, on the other hand, prioritizes empathy, emotional support, and social bonding, focusing more on personal connection and less on meeting specific, goal-oriented objectives. It tends to be informal and centers around building and maintaining trust, sharing feelings, and interacting in social settings. It’s more spontaneous and less structured, encompassing conversations, text messages, social media interactions, and casual emails. The tone is often more relaxed, and the language more conversational, allowing for emotional expression and personal connection.
These two types of communication are not mutually exclusive. You can have business communication within personal relationships and vice versa. But the main difference is the goal of the communication — and that goal will drive your communicative choices, including tone, channel, form, and more — all of which are covered throughout this book.
Conducting a Self-Assessment
So you think you’re a good communicator… .
You’re not alone. Drawing from my more than 20 years of studying, teaching, and training others in business communication, I can tell you that the majority of people consider themselves to be effective communicators. However, if that were the case, I wouldn’t have a business! I believe that most people intend to be good communicators, but most are good communicators in the way they want to be communicated with. Being a good communicator in a way that adapts to the needs, styles, and preferences of others is a much bigger challenge. Many people take their communication abilities for granted, assuming that their audience will always understand their messages as intended. However, this assumption often proves false.
To gain a more objective assessment of your communication skills, answer the following questions:
When I explain complex ideas, do people understand me the first time?
When I delegate or give instructions, do I get the outcomes I expected?
Do people usually understand my email messages and texts without having to ask follow-up questions?
Do I pay close attention when others are talking to me, ask questions to clarify what they’re saying, and summarize what they said back to them to verify that I understood correctly?
Am I mindful of my body language (posture, gestures, facial expressions) and that of others, and is my body language consistent with what I’m saying?
Do I adjust my communication style to different audiences and situations, carefully considering their needs and interests?
Am I comfortable communicating via different channels, such as email, text, phone, in person, and videoconferencing?
Am I persuasive?
When I’m negotiating, do I strive to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes, and am I successful in those attempts?
Do I provide constructive feedback? (If you point out mistakes or areas for improvement without offering suggestions to address them, answer no to this question.)
Do my team members enjoy working with me?
Do I engage productively in conflicts? (If you avoid conflict or you become overly emotional, the answer to this question is no.)
If you answered no to any of these questions or you frequently feel frustrated, let down, or disappointed when you interact with others at work (a sure sign that you’re not being understood or you’re struggling to understand others), you have room to improve your business communication knowledge and skills, and this book can help.
Sharpening Fundamental Communication Skills
Effective business communication begins with fundamental skills — skills required regardless of the situation. These are the skills I focus on in the early chapters in this book, and they include the following:
Understanding the components of communication, including the communicators involved, the message, channels, feedback, context, and noise and the impact that each of these factors has on communication, as discussed in
Chapter 2
.
The ability to communicate verbally (using words) and nonverbally (using body language, graphics, and other visuals) — as explained in
Chapter 3
.
The ability to choose the most effective communication channel (in person, email, text, videoconferencing, or another mode of communication) for any given situation — something you find out how to do in
Chapter 4
.
Proficiency in
active listening
— the practice of paying close attention to what’s being communicated verbally and nonverbally, asking questions to clarify your understanding, and summarizing what you heard back to your communication partner(s) to check for mutual understanding. I cover active listening in
Chapter 5
.
A talent for asking questions to obtain the information and understanding you need and to lead conversations in the desired direction, which is a skill you develop in
Chapter 6
.
The ability to engage in productive two-way conversations through reciprocity, self-disclosure, and give-and-take, which is the topic of
Chapter 7
.
The ability to make slight changes in how you express yourself that lead to major changes in how receptive people are to what you have to say. In
Chapter 8
, I share some subtle ways you can change your message or how you deliver it to communicate more effectively.
The importance of setting the stage for your communication and what you need to understand about how people make decisions and use willpower, which impact your ability to be effective, as I explain in
Chapter 9
.
Communication encompasses more than just words, messages, talking, speaking, or writing. When people claim to have great communication skills, they often refer to one or more of these abilities. Job advertisements and recruiters frequently seek candidates with “excellent written and verbal communication skills.” However, being able to write a grammatically correct proposal or deliver a presentation without filler words doesn’t necessarily equate to having good communication skills.
As I define it, successful, dynamic communication is ultimately measured by the actions and results it generates, not merely by the message produced.
Avoiding Common Mistakes
Effective business communication is crucial for organizational success, but several common mistakes can hinder this process. In fact, these foibles can be quite costly, to your professional reputation and to the organization and others in it. Here are some of the more common mistakes — remedies for which I present throughout the book:
Not listening well:
Some people seem to think that communication is all about getting people to understand
them.
It’s actually more about understanding
others
first. Listening enables you to evaluate your audience and their message so that you can more effectively tailor your message to their needs and interests.
Using inappropriate language or tone:
No, I’m not talking about curse words (though that’s part of it). I’m talking about using vague language, words and phrases, or a tone that may be interpreted as more confrontational than you had intended, or speaking or writing in a tone that’s not the best fit for the situation (for example, too formal or informal for the context).
Lack of empathy or cultural awareness:
Everyone’s unique, and even the same person can behave differently depending on the circumstances. Not paying attention in the moment to a communication partner’s perspective and feelings can lead to messages that seem harsh or insensitive. Likewise, failing to recognize and respect cultural differences can lead to miscommunication and even discrimination. Savvy communicators are sensitive to differences and are able to adapt their message and delivery to individuals and situations on the fly.
Letting bias drive communication:
Bias is a distortion in rational thinking that leads a person to unfairly favor one thing, person, or group over another. Bias can result in poor decision-making, ineffective communication, and unfair treatment.
Overloading the audience:
Providing too much information (TMI) at one time can overwhelm your communication partner(s). Breaking down information into manageable parts can make information more accessible and understandable. And, by overload, I also mean not overloading someone’s inbox or blowing up their DMs.
Misusing communication channels and tools:
Choosing the right channel and tool for the message is crucial. For example, email and text messages are helpful for passing along information or giving specific instructions or feedback, but when you need to discuss complex or sensitive issues or ideas or work out scheduling conflicts, a face-to-face meeting or a phone conversation is much more effective and efficient.
Lacking in the feedback department:
Effective feedback is clear, specific, actionable, and ongoing. Merely criticizing what’s wrong or failing to provide feedback prevents individuals, teams, and organizations from achieving their full potential. Providing no feedback or vague feedback that can’t be implemented can lead to serious mistakes that undermine success.
YOU’RE NEVER NOT COMMUNICATING
I wish I could own the axiom “One cannot not communicate,” but it’s not my original idea. So, where did it come from, and why is it widely debated in introductory communication classes around the world? This concept comes from one of the five foundational axioms of communication proposed by Watzlawick, Beavin, and Jackson in their 1967 work Pragmatics of Human Communication (W. W. Norton & Company).
When I taught business communication at Arizona State University, I introduced this axiom to my students on the first day of class, sparking often heated debates. By the end of our discussions, students would explore every conceivable way to avoid communicating, ultimately recognizing that not communicating is, indeed, a form of communication. It’s essential to understand that choosing not to communicate still conveys a message, and so does inconsistent communication.
Not realizing that you’re always communicating:
If you’ve ever been
ghosted
(suddenly cut off from all communication with someone), you know that silence can speak volumes, and it’s easy to misinterpret. When you go silent, people often feel the need to assume what you’re thinking, and, as I often point out, assumptions can be quite dangerous in the context of communication.
Communicating Effectively in Specific Contexts
Communication fundamentals can only take you so far. They’re like learning to catch, throw, and bat in baseball or punt, kick, pass, block, and tackle in football. Communication fundamentals provide you with the skills you need, but then you need to know how to apply those skills in specific situations, just as you need to be able to use athletic skills effectively in competition.
In the later part of this book, I provide guidance on how to use your communication skills to accomplish common objectives, such as these:
Promote yourself without coming across as bragging and get others to sing your praises so that you don’t have to toot your own horn too much (see
Chapter 10
).
Deliver persuasive presentations and become more persuasive overall. Presentations and persuasion play major roles in business communication, so I devote several chapters to these topics (see
Chapters 11
–
13
).
Negotiate effectively in the workplace with respect to salary, workload, resources, and opportunities for advancement. In
Chapter 14
, you find out how to negotiate in ways that create value so that you’re not having to compromise (make trade-offs) to get what you want.
Deliver and receive feedback more effectively, which can come in handy for formal performance evaluations and more casual feedback interactions (see
Chapter 15
). By combining this guidance with what I discuss in
Chapter 12
about communication direction, you can become skilled at giving and receiving feedback whether you’re interacting with a supervisor or a subordinate.
Resolve conflict constructively. As you discover in
Chapter 16
,
conflict
is not a dirty word. It often serves as the trigger for growth and innovation. In fact, if you routinely avoid conflict, you are likely missing out on great opportunities.
Communicate effectively in a crisis. When crisis strikes, you need to shift to damage-control mode and get out ahead of any bad press. In
Chapter 17
, I explain how to prepare for and communicate effectively when everything’s falling apart.
Get hired and recruit top talent. Whether you’re making your first or next career move or trying to attract and persuade talented individuals to join your organization, you can use the guidance I provide in
Chapter 18
.
Collaborate productively. A great deal of business communication occurs in a team setting. In
Chapter 19
, I cover the various stages of team development to give you a better understanding of the group dynamics you’re likely to encounter, provide guidance on team building, and explain steps to protect your team and make it more successful.
Communicate in global audiences. As our businesses span physical and geographical spaces, we have to be more aware of the cultural differences that make a difference and adapt our communication styles accordingly. I cover this in
Chapter 20
.
If you can communicate effectively in these common business scenarios, you’re well on your way to becoming a respected and successful business leader in whatever role you choose to serve.
Putting Theory into Practice and Making It Yours
One of the biggest and most common mistakes I see people making in business communication is trying to fit their message delivery into a theoretical, idealized box. Sure, you can use certain communication frameworks and guidelines to become a better communicator. (And, of course, that’s part of what this book is all about!) But theory is different from practice; theory informs practice. Okay, that probably sounds a bit too academic. Let me rephrase… .
When I teach anything related to communication, whether it’s sales skills, the neuroscience of decision-making, how to humanize automation, how to demystify artificial intelligence to help your business, how to personalize communication at scale — in all these areas, the foundation remains constant. I like to view this foundation as my communication skeleton. It consists of all the scientifically researched and proven theoretical constructs of how humans communicate, behave, and interact and how they use various channels of communication. The skeleton remains consistent. However, in practice, the muscles around my skeleton flex in different ways in each and every context.
For example, I know the fundamentals of delivering an effective and persuasive business presentation. I can employ Monroe’s motivated sequence (read more in Chapter 13) to structure an effective presentation. That’s the skeleton. However, before I craft a presentation for a specific client and deliver it, I need to tone my muscles. I have to understand my client and their industry, their needs, their desires, their shortcomings, and their successes. I need to understand what makes them unique and what makes their customers special. I prepare in this way so that my muscles will flex in the best possible way to serve this specific audience.
However, people often try to fit their communication inside a box. They think that the challenges of business communication can be managed with a one-size-fits-all solution that stipulates specific rules that need to be followed to ensure the desired outcome. For example, some people think that when you’re delivering a presentation, you must maintain a straight-back perfect posture behind a podium. They’ve been taught that speaking too fast or too slow is detrimental to their success and that showing too much enthusiasm can ruin a presentation. Sure, in some situations, certain rules may apply, but certainly not in all.
I was told early on by many professors — mind you, I had already won competitions and been selected to speak in front of crowds of thousands — that I would never be successful as a speaker because my presentation style didn’t fit the textbook definition. Well, having reached audiences that number in the millions, and having run a successful speaking business for over a decade, I’ve proven those professors (who probably have never gotten paid to give a speech outside of a classroom) wrong. When you can understand the proverbial skeleton, you can decide how and when to flex your muscles, discovering a style that’s uniquely yours and adaptable in any situation.
Though you get a lot of skeleton content in this book, I encourage you to make it your own by fitting it to your communication style, your personality, and the needs and interests of your communication partners. Remember that business communication doesn’t have a secret formula for success; it’s more like a dance that requires the partners to adapt to one another — and it takes two to tango.
TEACHING AN OLD DOG NEW TRICKS
It’s never too late to learn. In fact, writing this book was a learning experience.
For well over two decades, I have cautioned audiences to avoid the common mistake of trying to fit their business communication into someone else’s box. But that’s exactly what I had to do to produce this book. In my excitement over being associated with an internationally recognized brand (the For Dummies brand), I didn’t realize that I’d have to fit my unique, distinct, commercially successful communication style into someone else’s stylized box. It proved far more difficult than I had anticipated as the author of multiple books and hundreds of articles.
Even I needed a refresher on communication skills and sought outside expertise and perspective to create what you’re now reading. I suppose it is possible to teach an old dog new tricks!
Chapter 2
Brushing Up on Business Communication Fundamentals
IN THIS CHAPTER
Defining communication
Comparing communication models
Examining the essential ingredients of effective communication
Auditing communication to identify areas for improvement
Even without formal training, you’ve managed to communicate from the day you were born (and maybe even before then) to get what you wanted. All you had to do was express your distress or discomfort and you’d send caregivers scrambling to feed you, hold you, or change your diaper. Since that time, you’ve had plenty of formal training and education to sharpen your skills — classes in reading, writing, and speech. In short, you know how to communicate, so why would you need guidance on business communication fundamentals?
The reason is simple: A conceptual understanding of the fundamentals ensures that your communication is as effective and efficient as possible, and that you are both understanding others and being understood without having to exhaust everyone involved with frequent repetition and clarification. An understanding of what communication encompasses and the various components that enable it can make you a more effective and efficient communicator.
In this chapter, I provide you with several definitions of communication to work with, several standard models, and a list of key components so that you have a clear understanding of everything required for communication to occur. I even provide guidance on how to conduct a communication audit so that you’re well-equipped to analyze your daily conversations and identify areas for improvement.
Checking Out Definitions of Communication
Given that communication focuses on exchanging information and establishing mutual understanding, you’d think it would have one clear definition that everyone agrees on. That’s not the case. There are multiple definitions, and they’re not mutually exclusive.
Celebrate the fact that most words have multiple meanings. That’s what makes language so rich. In fact, knowing the various definitions of communication that I present in the following sections gives you a broader understanding of what communication is all about.
Dictionary definitions
Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary contains five definitions related to human-to human communication:
An act or instance of transmitting
Information communicated
A process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behaviors
A system for communicating (like telephone or Wi-Fi)
A technique for expressing ideas effectively (as in speech)
A textbook definition
Back in the 1960s, communication researchers Katz and Kahn defined communication as “the exchange of information and the transmission of meaning.” They claimed that for communication to take place, someone had to send information to someone else who needed to receive and understand it.
Not bad for a definition from the ’60s, but I and many of my colleagues would quibble with it. I say communication happens whenever information is transferred, but that successful communication occurs only when the recipient understands the meaning of that information. To fully grasp the distinction, think back to an incident in which you heard what someone told you but didn’t fully understand their intended meaning. The speaker transferred information to you, so communication occurred, but the communication was unsuccessful because you and the speaker didn’t reach a mutual understanding.
A practical definition for business applications
To ensure that your communication is effective, I encourage you to embrace an outcome-based definition of communication. I define communication as “an exchange of information that drives action.” Action can range from increasing a person’s understanding to persuading them to do something. Here are a few examples:
A customer buys a product based on your sales presentation.
You receive a promotion based on a performance conversation with your direct supervisor.
Your supervisor understands why you’re upset about having your time-off request denied based on a brief conversation you had.
Communication isn’t merely about the message; it’s about the impact the message has on the recipient — what it causes the recipient to think, feel, or do.
Communication is effective in a business environment when it initiates action or change. In the process of communicating, understanding can evolve. Communication is a foundation of relationship-building and is multidirectional. For example, as you attempt to persuade someone else to accept your viewpoint, you may also find yourself persuaded to think differently based on theirs.
Exploring Communication Models
A communication model is a simplified representation of the exchange of information and meaning. Numerous scholars and researchers in the communication field have proposed various communication models over the years. These models can be broken down into three categories — linear, interactive, and transactional — all three of which I cover in the following sections.
Sorry (not sorry) for donning my professorial hat as I take you on a deep dive into communication models. Understanding these models and the components of communication they highlight is important, especially in a business environment, because it enables you to identify key factors that contribute to effective communication.
Linear models
The earliest and simplest communication models are linear. According to these models, communication flows in one direction and involves only four elements:
Sender:
The person who sends the message
Message:
The information being conveyed
Channel:
The mechanism used to transmit the message, such as phone, radio, or television
Receiver:
The person who receives the message
Shannon and Weaver, engineers at Bell Telephone Labs, came up with one of the more popular linear communication models that has been adapted for the study of human communication, as shown in Figure 2-1.
FIGURE 2-1: The Shannon-Weaver model of communication.
Interactional models
As researchers studied communication more and tested the elements of the linear model, they realized that communication doesn’t flow in just one direction. In fact, communication can be a dialogue, involving two people who share messages back and forth. The models that emerged from this line of thinking were categorized as interactional models.
According to interactional models, communication involves messages sent back and forth between sender and receiver during the course of a conversation, and sometimes over different communication channels, creating a communication history. (See Figure 2-2.)
FIGURE 2-2: An interactional model of communication.
“ONE CANNOT NOT COMMUNICATE”
Watzlawick, Bavelas, and Jackson, who outlined their interactional model in their 1967 book Pragmatics of Human Communication (W.W. Norton & Company), blew the minds of readers by claiming that “one cannot not communicate” — that people communicate as soon as they begin to interact with one another, whether intending to or not. In other words, everything you say and everything you don’t say in word, posture, gesture, facial expression, and absence thereof sends a message. Consider, for example, an email you haven’t responded to yet. That silence, your lack of response, communicates a message.
So, the question to ask yourself at all times is are you communicating what you intend to be communicating? If you ghost someone, for example, what message are you sending? What meaning and emotion are you trying to convey or evoke?
In a business context, what does a lack of intentional communication say to others? If you’re a manager who fails to respond to your team members in a timely fashion, how are they likely to interpret your lack of communication? When you’re not sending a message, you’re leaving the meaning of that unsent message wide open for interpretation — and misinterpretation.
Transactional models
Transactional models of communication describe communication as an ongoing process in which participants exchange information and develop understanding within a context (see Figure 2-3). Instead of being labeled as senders and receivers, participants are communicators, and both are responsible for exchanging information and influence, often communicating with one another simultaneously.
FIGURE 2-3: A transactional model of communication.
Wait a minute! You can send and receive at the same time? Yep, you sure can. Think about it. When you convey a message and someone is listening to you, that person is simultaneously conversing with you nonverbally (as I explain in greater detail in Chapter 3). If they furrow their brow to convey confusion, you may alter your communication on the spot to clarify.
Transactional models are the most complex and precise. Though the linear and interactional models simply have one or more messages being exchanged between sender and receiver over one or more channels, transactional models account for additional elements, including feedback, context, and noise, as described in the next section.
Recognizing the Elements of Communication and Why They Matter
When people are communicating with one another, they tend to focus on the message. People often assume that if their message is clear, their communication will be effective. Unfortunately, communication is more complicated than that. Multiple elements contribute to determining communication success:
Communicators (sender and receiver):
In linear and interactional communication models, the sender encodes the information in a form that can be understood (for example, language, images, video), and the receiver gets the information from the sender and decodes (interprets) it. In transactional models, all participants send, receive, code, and decode messages simultaneously. Each communicator’s knowledge, personality, communication skills, and other qualities impact communication success.
Message:
The message is the information, meaning, or feeling that the sender constructs to convey information or meaning to, or evoke a response from, the receiver. It must be clear to both sender and recipient to convey the intended meaning or evoke the desired response.
Channel:
The channel is the medium used to convey the message. It may be face-to-face communication, videoconference, email, text, video, another medium, or a combination of media. The channel has a significant impact on the information exchanged and the speed and synchronicity of transmission. See
Chapter 4
for more about choosing communication channels.
Feedback:
Communication isn’t just linear; it includes a feedback loop that describes the circular and synchronous nature of communication. The feedback loop’s effectiveness and efficiency affect the ability of the communicators to exchange information, collaborate, and achieve mutual understanding.
Context: The situation or setting can impact the message and how it’s conveyed and interpreted. Communication doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Physical, psychological, social, cultural, and relational contexts all influence how communicators exchange information and understand one another.
The less two people have in common, the greater the communication challenge. Imagine two people speaking different languages, being raised in vastly different cultures, or even working in totally different industries and trying to establish a shared understanding of a complex topic that one of them is familiar with and one is not.
Noise:
Noise is anything that blocks or impairs sending, receiving, or understanding. For example, external (environmental) noise can prevent people from hearing one another, and internal noise (for example, being distracted by a problem unrelated to the current conversation) can prevent people from processing the information they’re hearing. Proceed to the next section to find out more about noise and how to reduce or eliminate it.
All these elements are interrelated. For example, context impacts how communicators present and interpret information; the choice of channel (for example, email versus face-to-face) affects the feedback loop; what one communicator thinks about the others influences the message and can be a source of noise. All elements must work in concert to ensure effective, efficient communication.
Identifying and Addressing Sources of Noise
Noise is anything that detracts from the transmission, meaning, reception, or understanding of a message. It’s not only a physical sound that makes hearing difficult. In this section, I present four common sources of noise — all of which can impair communication success — and provide guidance on how to reduce noise from each source.
Be more mindful of noise. The greater your awareness of different sources of noise interfering with your communication, the more likely you are to notice and address it before it has a chance to impair your message.
Quieting physical noise
Physical noise is anything in the environment that can interfere with communication. It could be a sound, such as sirens from emergency vehicles, or even something that can be seen, smelled, tasted, or felt (for example, a room being uncomfortably hot, cold, or crowded).
Whenever you’re in a meeting, regardless of whether you’re leading it, take note of any sources of physical noise and do your best to address them. For example, if you feel uncomfortably warm, you may ask whether anyone else is feeling the same way. If they are, you can request that the thermostat be adjusted or request to hold the meeting somewhere else.
Calming the sources of psychological noise
Psychological noise consists of thoughts and emotions that interfere with the mental processing of information. In other words, it’s all in your head (or the heads of the people you’re trying to communicate with). If you’re the one who’s distracted, you can do something about it immediately by focusing on the message you’re delivering or receiving and blocking out everything else. If shifting your focus isn’t possible, consider taking a time-out and dealing with whatever’s distracting you and then returning to the conversation or meeting later. Most people would rather you excuse yourself than engage in the conversation in a distracted state of mind.
If other participants are distracted internally, you face a more daunting challenge because you can’t read minds. If you’re communicating face-to-face or via videoconference, you may be able to sense distraction by observing nonverbal cues.
