2.
Definitions
Topics
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Effective and ethical business communication
Professionalism in the workplace
Intercultural business communication
Writing tips for the business professional
The use of electronic messages and digital media for business
communication
◦ Positive and negative messages
◦ Business presentations
◦ Business reports, plans and proposals
Whenever there is the above pause symbol – we will
stop for a short interactive discussion
3.
Business Writing
◦ According to Troy University, business writing is technical
communication or technical writing (Troy, 2013)
Communication
◦ According to Merriam-Webster
Dictionary, communication is the act or process of using
words, sounds, signs, or behaviors to express or
exchange information or to express your
ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc., to someone else
4.
Think of an example or time when you may have
used business writing
◦ This could be at work or extracurricular activities
You will have 1 minute to think of an example
2 volunteers to share their examples
5.
Where would you like to work?
◦ Several thousand employees in many different
organizations were asked if they would recommend their
company to prospective employees.
◦ Overall, 66% said that they would. Among those
employees who believed that their top management
strives to live by the company’s stated ethical
standards, the number of recommenders jumped to 81%.
◦ But among those who believed top management did not
follow the company’s stated ethical standards, the
number was just 21%.
The importance of ethical business
communication starts from the top down
6.
We must first ask the question why – why is
effective, ethical business communication
◦ Many organizations are implementing policies and
procedures to encourage an ethical culture
Ethical dilemmas can happen anywhere
◦ Inflated sales numbers
◦ Experience someone doesn’t have listed on a resume
◦ Plagiarism for a report
When in doubt – check back to ensure you are
following your company’s ethical standards
7.
Importance of Professionalism in the Workplace
◦ The face of the workplace is constantly evolving as one
generation begins to retire and another moves up to take
its place.
Professionalism is when a person conforms to the
technical and/or ethical standards of his/her
profession.
A professional is courteous, conscientious, and
generally businesslike in his/her workplace.
8.
What can you do to increase professionalism in
the workplace
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Attitude
Dress
Appearance
Character
Written & Verbal Communication
10.
Your Turn
◦ What is one thing you learned from the video?
◦ Discuss with your group a take-a-way that can be
implemented into your organization.
11.
Culture - complex systems of
values, traits, morals, and customs shared by a
society
Why?
◦ Many Fortune 500 organizations have operations
overseas.
◦ According to McKinsey & Company US multinationals
accounted for 23 percent of US private sector GDP (or
value added) in 2007, although they only make up less
than 1% of companies in the US.
13.
Intercultural communication is easier than we may
think
◦ 90% of communication is non-verbal
◦ Importance of choosing the correct communication
channel
◦ Avoiding ethnocentrism; believing own race is superior
when communicating interculturally
◦ Understanding how cultures communicate
In Western cultures, silence is perceived as negative
14.
Learn foreign phrases
◦ Example: Hello (English), Guten Tag
(German), Konnichiwa (Japanese), God dag (Norwegian)
Use simple English
Speak slowly and enunciate clearly
Observe eye message
Encourage accurate feedback
15.
Check frequently for comprehension
Accept blame
Listen without interrupting
Smile when appropriate
◦ Roger Axtell, international behavior expert, calls the smile
the single most understood and useful form of
communication in personal and business transactions
Follow up in writing
16.
According to Forbes
◦ Put metaphors on the back
burner
◦ Use simple concrete
language
◦ Omit needless words
◦ Stay active
◦ Use English
◦ Curb your enthusiasm
◦ Match your subject to your
pronoun and verb
◦ Limit your use of adverbs
◦ Know when to use ―that‖ and
―which‖
◦ Don’t confuse ―affect‖ and
―effect‖
18.
79% of companies use or
planning to use social
media, although only
12% feel they are using it
effectively
What is your company
doing right now?
19.
Electronic Messages
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Benefits
◦ Quick response
◦ Can be short
◦ Ability to be organized
E-mail
Instant messaging
Text messaging
Podcast
Blogs
Wiki’s
Social Networking
Did you know?
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21% of companies have
been ordered by courts to
surrender employee
email.
20.
Positive messages are
straightforward
requests, replies and
goodwill.
◦ Can be direct because they
carry nonsensitive, routine
information
Writing positive
messages is broken into
3 phases
Phase 1
◦ Analysis, anticipation and
adaptation
Phase 2
◦ Research, organization and
composition
Phase 3
◦ Revision, proofreading and
evaluation
21.
Phase 1
◦ Answer the who, what, where, when, why and how?
Phase 2
◦ Gather your information, research and compose your
drafts.
Phase 3
◦ Revise, review, repeat
Note – ensure that you are using the correct
communication channel for your positive
messages
22.
Negative messages are difficult to write because
the audience is being told exactly what they don't
want to hear.
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Buffer the opening
Cushion the bad news
Be empathetic
Provide reasons
Avoid negative words
Close pleasantly
Have you ever to write a negative message?
◦ 1 person share an example of a negative message they
are to write.
23.
Best practices for a business presentation
◦ Nick Morgan; CEO, Public Words Inc.
◦ 5 Steps to create an audience centered presentation
Find a story to tell
Draw them in quickly
Explain the threat
Outline the solution
Give them an action step
25.
Take away – now what?
◦ Think about a time that you had to present a topic you
were not that familiar with? How did you prepare? How
did the presentation go?
26.
Proposals are written offers to solve
problems, provide services or sell equipment.
◦ Most proposals are external
Informal proposals – 6 components
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Introduction
Background, problem and purpose
Proposal, plan and schedule
Staffing
Budget
Authorization request
27.
Formal proposal – special components
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Copy of the RFP
Letter of transmittal
Abstract or executive summary
Title page
Table of contents
List of illustrations
Appendix
28.
First Data Corporation states
◦ For too long, the RFP process has inhibited state
agencies in two critical ways: it discourages successful
and potentially valuable vendors who don’t want to
compete on price, and it stifles creativity by requiring
conformity to preconceived ―solutions.‖
◦ Adapting RFP processes to include considerations such
as innovativeness, strategic value propositions and
cultural fit can greatly improve outcomes—both in the
RFP process itself and in the eventual project results for
state agencies.
29.
Andrew Burke, Professor at Cranfield School of
Management in the UK states
◦ ―the essence of business planning is how you approach
the task. It is not either to plan or not. The best business
plans take both the information gathering and the formal
plan approaches together. Ultimately a plan is not so
much about trying to predict the future with pinpoint
accuracy, it is a plan about how to be adaptable, how to
sustain the business and how to develop it towards
exploiting the target market opportunity.‖
