Chapter 1
Communicating
Today
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Business Trends
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Innovative communication technologies
Flattened management hierarchies
More participatory management
Increased emphasis on self-directed work and
project teams
• Heightened global competition
• New work environments
• Move to a knowledge economy
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How Technology Improves Business
Writing
• Designing and producing professional-looking
documents, presentations, and Web pages
• Using templates
• Collecting information electronically
• Adding graphics for emphasis
• Improving correctness and precision
• Using software for team writing
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Examining the Communication
Process
• Communication is the transmission of
information and meaning from one individual
or group to another.
• The communication process has five steps:
idea formation, message encoding, message
transmission, message decoding, and
feedback.
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The Communication Process
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Developing Better Listening Skills
• Most individuals listen at only 25 percent
efficiency.
• Most North Americans speak at about 125
words per minute. The human brain can
process information at least three times as
fast.
• Barriers to listening may be physical, personal,
verbal, or nonverbal.
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Barriers to Effective Listening
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Physical barriers
Personal barriers
Language problems
Nonverbal distractions
Thought speed
Faking attention
Grandstanding
Technological barriers
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Tips for Becoming an Active Listener
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Stop talking.
Control your surroundings.
Establish a receptive mindset.
Keep an open mind.
Listen for main points.
Capitalize on lag time.
Listen between the lines.
Judge ideas, not appearances.
Be patient.
Take selective notes.
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Improving Your Nonverbal
Communication Skills
• Nonverbal clues affect how a message is
interpreted, or decoded, by the receiver.
• Nonverbal communication includes all unwritten
and unspoken messages, intended or not.
• When verbal and nonverbal messages clash,
listeners tend to believe the nonverbal message.
• Nonverbal messages often have different
meanings in different cultures.
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How the Eyes, Face, and Body Send
Silent Messages
• Eye contact
• Facial expression
• Posture and gestures
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How Time, Space, and Territory Send
Silent Messages
• People convey meaning in how they structure
and organize time and how they order the
space around themselves.
• The distance required for comfortable social
interaction is controlled by culture.
• Because nonverbal clues can mean more than
spoken words, learn to use nonverbal
communication positively.
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How Appearance Sends Silent
Messages
• Appearance of Business Documents. The way
an e-mail, letter, memo, or report looks can
have either a positive or a negative effect on
the receiver.
• Appearance of People. The way you look—
your clothing, grooming, and posture—sends
an instant nonverbal message about you.
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Tips for Improving Your Non-Verbal
Skills
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Establish and maintain eye contact.
Use posture to show interest.
Improve your decoding skills.
Probe for more information.
Avoid assigning nonverbal meanings out of context.
Associate with people from diverse cultures.
Appreciate the power of appearance.
Observe yourself.
Enlist friends and family.
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Controlling Ethnocentrism and
Stereotyping
• A stereotype is an oversimplified behavioural
pattern applied to entire groups.
• Ethnocentrism is the belief in the superiority
of one’s own culture and group.
• Developing intercultural tolerance means
practising empathy, being nonjudgmental, and
being patient.
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Improving Cross-Cultural Oral
Communication
You can improve cross-cultural oral communication
by
• using simple English,
• speaking slowly,
• enunciating clearly,
• encouraging feedback,
• observing eye messages,
• accepting blame, and
• listening without interruption.
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