Business English

Communication In Organizations
By : Nadda KORRET

 Effective commuication lies at the heart of all successful organizations, people have to
communicate to make anything happen. You need to communicate to :

1. Negotiate
2. Developing relationships
3. Motivations
4. Participating in meetings
5. Making presentations ……

 Broadly speaking, Communication is divided into two types : the spoken

communication, and te written communication.
 The process of communication is relatively straightforward and can be represented in
five steps :

1. The sender who has something to communicate.

2. Translates into words.
3. Reciever who hears or reads the words.
4. Interprets what the sender intended to communicate.

 Becoming more effective at communicating is about becoming more skilled at the

process and more sensitive to the context.
 The first modal of the communication was developed by Claude Shannon and Warren
Weaver in 1949.

1. Information source
2. Encoder
3. Channel
4. Decoding
5. Reciever

 Encoding the message : Most of people focus on selecting the wordsto convey a
message. In fact, it is even more important to be aware of the messagesthat your body
language and tone are giving.

 Body language : Non verbal communication covers al the ways in which we send
messages to people when interacting with them that does not involve the use of
words, it includes :
  Facial expressions
 Eye contact
 Posture and gestures
 Use of space and touch

 Your body language will be sending messages every time you interact with other
people, the more you tune in to other people’s body language, the more effective you
can become in interpersonal relationships.

 The words you choose : most of the time we speak spontaneously often not knowing
which words we are going to use until they are spoken. However, at work you often
need to think through the main points you want to make to :

 Give structure to what you say.

 Make sure you include all the points you want to make.

 Choosing the channel : Whether Verbal either group, phone, presentation…. Or,
Written either Email message, print, publication …

 Effective listening : Listening is not the same as hearing.

1. Stop talking, you can’t listen if you are talking.
2. Imagine the other person’s viewpoint.
3. Look, act and be interested.
4. Stop talking, this is the first and last because all other techniques of listening
depend on it.
5. Observe non verbal behaviour.
6. Listen between the lines for things left unsaid or unexplained. Ask about them.

 Listening openly and sending convincing messages : people with this competence are
listen well, seek mutual understanding and welcome sharing of information fully. And,
deal with difficult issues straitghtforwadly, people who are skilled are effective in give
and take, registering emotional cues in attuning their message .

 Communication is a two way process : you can only be sure that communication has
taken place if it becomes a two way process. Well, feedback from the reciever is
returned to the sender to show that the message has been recieved.

 In the 1950s, Eric Berne developed the theory of ‘’Transactional Analysis’’, he believed
that each person’s personality is made up of the following states of mind :

 Adult
 Parent
 Child
  Your state of mind will affect te body language you sendwith any verbal message as
well as how you say it. Based on Berne’s work, Thomas Harris explored the theory of
OK life positions. The four main positions were :

 I am OK / You are OK.

 I am OK / You are not OK.
 I am not OK / You are OK.
 I am not OK / You are not OK.

 Being Assertive : Behaviour can be categorized into three types :

 Assertive Behaviour.
 Aggressive Behaviour.
 Passive Behaviour.

 Attitudes and Assumptions : Our attitudes and the assumptions have a significant
impact on how we communicate, everyone has their own personal belief and value
system formed as a result of :

 The way they live and were brought up.

 The messages they recieve from the media.
 Knowledge or lack of it about a particular topic.

 Trust at an organization level : Organizational culture is a major influence on :

 How organizations communicate.

 What they communicate.
 The effect of the communications.
‘’Culture is how things are done around here, it is what is typical of the organization, the
habits, the prevailing attitudes, the grown up pattern of expected behaviour.’’

 Becoming a more effective communicator you should :

 Know what you want to communicate.

 Consider the needs of who you are communicating with.
 Choose an appropriate method or channel.
 Identify how you will get feedback.
 Think about your audience.
 Convey Conviction.
 Shup up and listen.
 Stay Conscious, think and plan.
 Recognize the importance of storytelling.
 Section 3 looks at a variety of work situations which involve tailoring the
communication process to meet specific objectives, it covers the skills involved in :

 Giving feedback.
 Influencing.
 Networking.
 Negotiating.
 Making a presentation.

 Giving feedback : Giving feedback to your team should be an integral part of daily
routine. It does not have to be formal, a few words of appreciation or encouragement
can have a positive impact on motivation. Indeed, motivation is the inner drive that
makes us do things. One theory about motivation was put forward by Maslow, he
identified that people have the following needs :

 The need to maintain our bodies with food and water.

 The need to feel safe from danger.
 Social needs, which include the need to feel we belong and are liked and loved.
 The need to feel good about yourself.
 The need to feel personal satisfaction from achievements.

 Influencing : An effective manager needs to be good at influencing people to be able

to modify either attitudes or behaviours. Influencing involves being skiiled at
communicating.

 Sources of power : Physical power, Resource power, Position power, Expert power,
Personal Power …..

 Networking : Networks are at the heart of most organizations and involve managers
building up contacts outside the normal line management structure so informal
conversations can help either or bot parties, it leads to an informal resevoir of ideas,
informations, advice, supports that can tap into. Networking is all about using
opportunities around you so that :

 You can help others.

 Others can help you.

 Negotiating : is about reaching an agreement which is often a compromise. Two

parties have different objectives, each party has to accept a different outcome to
accommodate the other party’s position.

‘’Negotiation is the skill of trading off differences to reach a win win agreement for
both parties’’
 The three models of leadership :

 Model 1 :

 Model 2 :

 3. Model 3 :

 Delivering a presentation or briefing : Delivering an effective presentation depends on good

communication skills to engage the audience, it has become a two way process, you need to do
the following :

1. Know what you want to achieve.

2. Know your audience.
3. Make it two way.

 Types of meetings : The term « meeting » is a catch all term to describe anything from a brief
exchange of ideas or information.

1. Formal meeting
2. Informal meeting
3. Planned work meeting
4. Decision makingmeeting
5. Problem solving meeting
6. Team building meeting
7. Brainstorming meeting
8. One on one meeting
9. Check in meeting ……

 Who’s who in a meeting : Meeting need someone to take control and lead them. This role of the
‘’Chair’’ and involves the following :

 Preparing for the meeting.

 Running the meeting.
 Meeting preparation :
Preparation is the key to maximazing the effectiveness of a meeting, and after identifiying the
outcomes and the purpose of a meeting. You need to identify who should attend. You need people at
a meeting who have :

 The knowledge and experience to contribute.

 The skills to be constructive.
 The motivation to want to see the outcomes.
 Th autority to make decisions.
 A need to be informed.

 Leading meeeting : If your role is to lead a meeting, whether or not you are in
the formal role of the chair, you need to make sure that :

 All participants can contribute and that there is constructive discussions

 The agenda is followed within time constraints.
 You set the framework by opening the discussion, summa rzing the main
points and ensuring action points are agreed.

 Managing a discussion : During meetings participants will discuss matters, and it

is easy for participants to enjoy discussing and forget the purpose of the meeting.
Therefore, your role is to control the discussion.

 Creativity in meeting : meetings can give an opportunity to think creatively.

Allowing a group of people to think laterally and generate ideas can either :

 Reaffirm that the planned approach is the best one or

 Introduce new approaches or methods of solving issues.

Consider using creative ativities in meetings such as :

1. Group thinking.
2. Six thinking hats.
3. Mind mapping.

Minutes are a record of what happened durig a meetig, they ensure everyone has the
sale understandingand highlight action points are agreed.
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