Basic Form of Business Communication Skills
Communication accounts for a significant amount of time in any business, and many experts consider communicating one of the most critical aspects of business success. Business communication skills fall into a few basic forms that include oral, written, mediated and listening. Each of these forms of communication holds its own significance.
Other People Are Reading
-
Oral Communication
-
A significant amount of business revolves around oral communication. Managers and supervisors talk with employees, employees talk with their colleagues, groups engage in conversations and many members of the organization use oral communication to interact with customers. Oral communication can range from very casual to high formal, and the audience for this type of communication may include one person, a few people or a large group. Oral communication typically saves time over more formal methods, but misunderstandings and absence of written records can sometimes lead to confusion.
Written Communication
-
Like oral communication, written communication can take a number of forms in a business environment. Channels for written communication include memorandums, letters and even sales brochures and formal contracts. Written communication typically focuses on one topic at a time, with other topics either relegated to another portion of the document or addressed in a separate communique altogether. Because written communication leaves a permanent record of the sender's thoughts, business experts at MoreBusiness recommend senders keep written messages short and simple, create these communications with the recipient's perspective in mind and take time to proofread and revise the document before sending.
-
Mediated Communication
-
When communication takes place by way of some technology, such as a telephone or a computer, the channel is known as mediated communication. An increasing amount of communication takes place through mediated channels, and some examples include Web conferences, video chats, webinars, conference calls and even traditional telephone conversations. Some large businesses use call centers to facilitate mediated communication with large numbers of customers, and some call centers also handle text chats with Internet customers. Many businesses encourage employees to communicate using instant messenger applications, as these programs save time and reduce telephone expenses. Email and websites also offer popular channels for mediated communication.
Non-Verbal Communication
-
During face-to-face communication, participants subconsciously look for and evaluate physical cues from the other involved parties; these cues, known as nonverbal communication, reflect subtle information about the communicating party. In a business meeting, for example, employees who make frequent eye contact and lean forward in their chairs signal that they are involved in the conversation and interested in the content, while those who lean back in their chair and look away from the speaker signal disinterest. Nonverbal communication can take a wide array of forms, and can range from subtle, involuntary cues such as posture and facial expressions to deliberate statements such as the color and style of dress.
Listening
-
According to most models, communication consists of a two-way flow of information between participants. As each participant receives information, he must process that information, evaluate it and develop a response; these actions are collectively known as listening. Listening, according to the business website BusinessLISTENING, allows employees to sense and interpret information from colleagues or customers, then appropriately respond.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit business communication image by Clark Duffy from Fotolia.com
