Improving Personal Effectiveness through Business Communication

1. Improving Personal Effectiveness through Business Communication contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

2. Trainer Bio

3. Session Plan for Today contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

4. Ice-Breaker • Degrees of Separation • First, find a partner. • Introduce yourselves to another participant and make a list of five to ten things that you have in common with each other. • Repeat with five other participants. • Introduce 2 people they have the most in common with. And what are the things you have in common. contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

5. What do you expect from the workshop? contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

6. Workshop Objectives • Provide the basic skills to the participants to improve spoken and written communication within the business environment. • Understand the tips and rules for written and oral communication in the business context. • Understand how to improve reading comprehension. • Understand how to communicate smoothly in the business environment. contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

7. Pre-training Assessment Assessment sheets are shared with you . You need 20 minutes to complete the assessment After the assessment, individual feedback will be given. The session will reconvene at 11:30 am. contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

8. The context for Business Communication: Facing Today's Communication Challenges.  Business Communication is central to organizational success. Let’s look at two scenarios and identify the issues that led to the problem and how can it be resolved. contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

9. Scenario 1: Bruce, a research chemist for a major petro-chemical company, wrote a dense report about some new compounds he had synthesized in the laboratory from oil-refining by-products. The bulk of the report consisted of tables listing their chemical and physical properties, diagrams of their molecular structure, chemical formulas and computer printouts of toxicity tests. Buried at the end of the report was a casual speculation that one of the compounds might be a particularly effective insecticide. Seven years later, the same oil company launched a major research program to find more effective but environmentally safe insecticides. After six months of research, someone uncovered Bruce’s report and his toxicity tests. A few hours of further testing confirmed that one of Bruce’s compounds was the safe, economical insecticide they had been looking for. Bruce had since left the company, because he felt that the importance of his research was not being appreciated. contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

10. Scenario 2: Joanne supervised 36 professionals in 6 city libraries. To cut the costs of unnecessary overtime, she issued this one-sentence memo to her staff: When workloads increase to a level requiring hours in excess of an employee’s regular duty assignment, and when such work is estimated to require a full shift of eight (8) hours or more on two (2) or more consecutive days, even though unscheduled days intervene, an employee’s tour of duty shall be altered so as to include the hours when such work must be done, unless an adverse impact would result from such employee’s absence from his previously scheduled assignment. After the 36 copies were sent out, Joanne’s office received 26 phone calls asking what the memo meant. What the 10 people who didn’t call  about the memo thought is uncertain. It took a week to clarify the new policy. contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

11. Good communication skills are essential for Job placement Job performance Career advancement Success in the new world of work contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

12. Writing for Business Audiences • The best business writing is • Audience oriented • Purposeful • Economical –clear, concise, brief To improve your writing skills, you need • Good teaching materials with excellent model documents • An effective writing process contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

13. The Writing Process contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

14. Characteristics of Business Writing The business communication must be realistic in nature It must avoid the imaginary or useless information for saving time Any business communication must have a clear purpose or target. There should be no doubt in communication. The concerned audience must be targeted The language used for targeting audience must not be attacking It must be a real exchange of information One cannot use any metaphor, poetic phrases or creative figures of speech It must be clear and brief contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

15. Characteristics of Business Writing Always use polite and well-mannered words while communicating It must be influential It must be based on facts and figures There must not be any personal opinion It must be based on mutual understanding One must use the exact format for business writing It is for providing information, advice, instruction, support or conveying a suggestion It can be used to give a warning or valuing good work contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

16. Improving Business Writing • Business writing must include certain style and grammatical requirements and norms as follows: • Know your audience. • Use nonsexist language • Don't overuse visuals. • Use simple, active verbs. • Avoid jargon and words that simply seek to impress. • Avoid unsupported generalizations contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

17. Tips for Effective Business Writing contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

18. Writing Business Messages  • Choosing a channel for business communication: • A communication channel is the medium, mean, manner or method through which a message is sent to its intended receiver. • Channels of communications: • Oral Communication • Written Communications contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

19. Which Channel Is Best? Written Oral Both- Written & Oral contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

20. Channel Selections contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

21. General Tips for Business Writing • Know your audience. • Know your message, be sure what you want to achieve. • Make sure your document includes the answers to the Five W’s and an H: Who, what, where, when, why and how. Show your document to someone outside your department or company and ask whether anything is missing. • Banish buzzwords and clichés. • Avoid using jargon or at least explain it. • Keep it tight. • Edit wisely. • Make it plain and simple: • Leave the symbols and abbreviations on your phone. • Write in active voice • Proofread contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape

22. Summary contentiSCAPE is a brand of Strengthscape