Modern Business Communications
IMPORTANT: MAKE A KEYWORDS BOX
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Parties will be referred to as ‘publics’
Means of communication through channels (medium) and message
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Omnibus: Applicable to all
Polybus: applicable to many
Unibus: Applicable to one
Community is a group of people with one goal. Communication is therefore, for
community consumption.
AIDA- Attraction, Interest, Decision, Action
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Communication is the gathering and presenting of information for a purpose
(Theory of communication by objectives)
KISS: Keep It Sharp and Simple (Or Keep It Short and Sweet)
Business- An aspirational economic activity with an exchange of goods and
services for money or value.
Modern- something relevant and pertaining to the present
Therefore, Modern Business Communications: Gathering and presenting
relevant business information with a purpose.
Business Communications only discusses three things: People, Events, Ideas
(importance in ascending order)
Stated objectives of business communication: to facilitate making a profit for the
business by sharing relevant information.
All modern business communications will be done in the English language using the
Roman script. We use English for modern business communications as it is the
international language of business
What are the capitals of business?
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Money – profits, investments, we need to communicate to earn money (since
business is an aspirational economic activity)
Image (reputation) – how people outside the business see the business,
reputation can be either good or bad
People – the people working in the business who supply the business with
means to carry out its activities
7 Ms (elements of Business)
 Money
 Man
2Ms of Communication
 Message
 Medium
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Machines
Markets
Methods
Mission
Materials
Profits of communication:
1. Business
2. Intelligence
3. Profits
The Communications Grid
Basis
1) Markets
2) Money
3) Men
4) Machines
5) Material
6) Methods
7) Mission
Message
Marketing Communications
(Marcomm)
Medium
Print ad, Radio Commercial
spot, TV commercial, Promo
(Socmed)
Project report, proposal
Human Resources (HR)
Instruction manuals, technical
writings, techno-commercial
documents
Purchase, Supply, Inventory
and Vendor management
(IVM), Customer relationship
management (CRM)
Standard Operating
Procedure (SOP), Protocol
Statement, Review
HR (Men Message)
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Recruit
Fitment/Training
Retainment (Promotion or stagnation)
Separation (Retirement or Fire)
No Negative Conveyance
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The message must be truthful, positive, and considerate
It should keep the other person’s feelings in mind, and must treat the other
person as an equal (meaning no show of ego from the sender)
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It should be assertive in order to get the message across
Example: Instead of saying “I’m sorry I can’t come to your party. I have something
more important to do”, say, “I wish I could come to your party but I’m a bit busy. I’ll
definitely come next year!”
Is language a channel or a medium?
In communication, a medium refers to the form or type of content (e.g., written, oral,
visual) used to convey a message, while a channel is the specific platform or
physical path through which the message is transmitted (e.g., a phone, a letter, an
email, a billboard, a specific social media platform). A medium is a broader concept,
defining the nature of the communication, whereas a channel is more concrete and
refers to the means of transmission.
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It can be considered a medium as it is a way to transmit information and to
convey thoughts
But medium can also be considered a channel as medium involves the
understanding of the language.
Language is both a channel and a medium.
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Personal communication vs. Business Communication
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Personal
Takes feelings into account
Very feelings based (rooted in “I
feel” statements)
Emotional Quotient (EQ)
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Business
Takes facts, thoughts, and
context into account
Very facts based (rooted in “I
think” statements
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
Media mix: the selection of media to use for communication
The medium is the message
Headlines Essentials
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Maximum of 10 words (There must be brevity in the headline)
Optimum coverage (ask yourself, does this headline give me all the
information I need to know)
Factual: give information that makes sense regarding the context of the event.
Do not include falsifications
Necessity: Only include words or facts that are necessary to the reporting of
the event, anything else can be omitted.
Relevance: Make sure the headline is relevant to the event you are reporting
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Active voice not passive (for example, I kicked the ball, not the ball was kicked
by me)
Present tense only.
Appeals
It is importing to appeal to the person/group you are communicating to. Appealing to
the receiver makes it more likely for them to take your communication seriously and
prevent any miscommunication from happening.
1. Profit/Growth: eg. Joining this company can help you reap higher profits than
you ever did before
2. Cooperation/Collaboration: eg. By applying for this program, you can get
better opportunities to network with people having similar goals
3. Dominance: eg. You can dominate the market share by….
4. Fear: I will have to let you go if you are unwilling to comply with company
standards
5. Novelty: eg. This idea has never been put forward in the market before! (In
the context of start-ups)
6. Ethics: eg. Don’t you want to be a good person?
7. Success/Achievement: eg. If we go forward with this proposal, we are
definitely going to succeed in the market.
8. Knowledge: eg. Don’t you want to become smarter than your peers?
9. Honor
10. Pleasure
11. Control
12. Rational/logical
MODERN BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS = MODERN BUSINESS WRITING
Modern Business Writing: Communications of the last resort
Finished Form Communication (FFC)
Letter: Emails, Notes, Memos, Proposals
Reports:
1. Annual Report (pertains to the past events)
2. Actions taken report (ATR)
3. Status report
Parts of a Business Letter
Constants
1) Letter head/Letter mast – visual identity of the business (logo)
2) Date: Format- 28 August 2025 (International standard)
DD/MM/YYYY or XXth XX, XXXX are NOT permitted in business letters
3) Inside Address : full name of the receiver
Full address including PIN code, state, country
4) Reference code/Number
5) Salutation : title is very important (in the case of Women, use ‘Ms.’ Not
‘Mrs.’
6) Headline (subject) : after initial salutation (do not use the word subject in the
headline)
Do not mention subject, date, place
7) Text (body content)
8) Complimentary Close
Yours sincerely : regular business matters
Yours truly : only when making a statement in the letter that is made for the
first time and you wanted the other person to believe it to be true.
Yours faithfully : when you are in a subordinate position writing to a higher
authority (to show that you are loyal)
9) Sender’s name and designation
Designation especially important when the sender represents the
organisation
For & On Behalf of
ABC
(Signature)
Authorised Signatory
10) Enclosures : attachments
11) Copies : who gets a copy of this letter (BCC, CC)
12) Special markings/guidance : almost always at the top (after letterhead) of
the letter in bold and different colored ink)
a. Embargo : to inform the letter holder to not publish the letter (or leak
it) before a designated time
b. CONFIDENTIAL
c. To be opened by the addressee only (on the envelope)
Variables
Text/Matter
o Text : written/printed information (hard copy)
o Matter : in terms of electronic information (soft copy)
Functionality of Business Communications
1) Internal Communication
 Money (Finance)
 Men (HR)
 Materials, Machines, Methods (operations)
 Mission (Top Level)
 Markets (Marketing)
2) External Communication
 Government: Legislative, Executive, Judiciary
 International Govt.: UN General Assembly, Secretariat, ICJ
 International: IMF, OECD, ADB, WB
 Financial Institutions: Banks, Exchanges
 NGOs
 Media
3) Sustainability communication:
 Profits
 People
 Planet
What does functionality mean?
It means that Business communications:
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Reduces conflict in the organization
Increases efficiency of work
Reduces internal competition
Provides a unified and logical presentation of the business
Docket
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Documents of basic factual information
Has historical reports
Follows accretion (growth over time)
Written in a simple fashion
In the creation of a docket, the promoter is of prime importance
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A docket is the only document that has philosophical intelligence
Types of reports
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Past-Historical
Present-Status
Future-Proposal
7 Masters of Communication
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How
What
Where
Why
When
Which
Who
1) How is that communication made?
 Spoken
 Written (scripted)
 Signaled (gestures)
2) What does that communication consist of?
 Spoken word – Verbal communication in the form of films, plays, public
speeches. Most simplistic form is when two people talk to each other
 Written word – written communication in the form of scripts, letters,
reports, emails, etc.. (most prevalent and relevant form of
communication for this course)
 Displayed word (guidance) – in the form of signage, billboards
3) Where is that communication taking place?
 Internal (within the business)- vertical communication, horizontal
communication, diagonal communication, formal and informal
communication
 External- to customers, suppliers, creditors, investors, media. Used to
build a strong relationship with the external forces
 Mass – communication through mass media to the general populace
(large population segments). In a business context, the best example
would be public relations communications.
4) When is that communication taking place?
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Regarding the past – historical reports
Present – status reports
Future – Proposals, forecast reports, sales pitches
5) Who is that communication directed to?
 Stakeholders
 Governments
 Statutory bodies
 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
6) Why? To explain, share information
7) Which type of communication is taking place?
 Personal – informal, relationship focused, casual language
 Private
 Corporate – formal, strategic, designed to build relationships with
stakeholders and communicate company procedures.