HRM, Management, Marketing, Finance, Operations > Business Communications

Guidelines for Effective Communication

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Shamim Ansary:

Effective communication is a part and parcel of any successful organization. A communication should be free from barriers so as to be effective. Communication is a two way process where the message sent by the sender should be interpreted in the same terms by the recipient. The characteristics of effective communication are as follows :

Clarity of Purpose: The message to be delivered must be clear in the mind of sender. The person to whom it is targeted and the aim of the message should be clear in the mind of the sender.

Completeness: The message delivered should not be incomplete. It should be supported by facts and observations. It should be well planned and organized. No assumptions should be made by the receiver.

Conciseness: The message should be concise. It should not include any unnecessary details. It should be short and complete.

Feedback: Whether the message sent by the sender is understood in same terms by the receiver or not can be judged by the feedback received. The feedback should be timely and in personal. It should be specific rather than general.

Empathy: Empathy with the listeners is essential for effective verbal communication. The speaker should step into the shoes of the listener and be sensitive to their needs and emotions. This way he can understand things from their perspective and make communication more effective.

Modify the message according to the audience: The information requirement by different people in the organization differs according to their needs. What is relevant to the middle level management might not be relevant to the top level of management. Use of jargons should be minimized because it might lead to misunderstanding and misinterpretations. The message should be modified according to the needs and requirements of the targeted audience.

Multiple Channels of communication: For effective communication multiple channels should be used as it increases the chances of clarity of message. The message is reinforced by using different channels and there are less chances of deformation of message.

Make effective use of Grapevine (informal channel of communication): The employees and managers should not always discourage grapevine. They should make effective use of grapevine. The managers can use grapevine to deliver formal messages and for identification of issues which are significant for the employees. The managers can get to know the problems faced by the employees and can work upon it.

Shamim Ansary:

Increased and improved communication in today’s internet age has led to intercultural communication. People talk and communicate across states, cultures, and / or religion. While technology has made communication faster and easier, it is important that intercultural communication is handled with a lot of sensitivity.

What can possibly go wrong ?

People encode and decode or interpret messages basis their values, beliefs, culture, and assumptions. This could lead to greater misunderstanding.

How to improve Intercultural Communication ?

01. While conversing / communicating with an audience that is not of a similar culture, one must thoroughly research about the culture of the
     other party. This will reduce the chances of making sensitive remarks and hence can avoid confusion.

02. Slang's and idioms should be avoided. Choose specific and relevant words.

03. Be an attentive listener. Check for understanding. Ask questions if there is a doubt.

04. Understand the importance of intonation while communicating. Stress on a specific word can change the entire meaning of a sentence. For
    e.g.: I never said HE stole the money lays stress on “HE” while “I never said he STOLE the money” lays stress on “STOLE” and hence it
    focuses on how was the money taken [not by stealing but by any other means].

05. Check your body language / gestures. Some countries might find a particular gesture as offensive as compared to other countries / cultures.
     Level of eye contact, distance between two people while making a formal vs. Informal communication are such examples of situations one
     must study about before starting an intercultural communication.

06. In China while exchanging visiting card, one must accept it with both hands and have a good look at the card. One should not keep it in his /
     her pocket immediately. Also, if you are visiting China and are having a meal with a Chinese host, make sure you leave some food in the plate.
     It implies that you are full and can’t have more. If you eat all ingredients on the plate it could mean you are still hungry and want more.

To understand various cultures is interesting and could go a long way in making intercultural communication fruitful and worthwhile.

Shamim Ansary:

Communicating in a meeting is an essential part of effective communication. Some meetings are not conducted in an efficient manner due to which they fail in accomplishing the sole objective of the meeting. It may be because:

>They do not involve participation of all, or
>They may be too long, or
>They may be unsystematic, or
>They may lack a clear agenda, or
>They may not begin on the planned time, or
>They may end without any conclusion.

As a result, such meetings lead to agitation and sheer wastage of time. In order to ensure effectiveness of a meeting, it must be planned, systematic and rational.

The process of running an effective meeting includes the following steps:

A.  Plan the meeting: Plan the meeting in advance. With the plan clear in mind, the objective of the meeting can be well accomplished. Planning
     includes-

    01. Outline the objective of the meeting.
    02. Decide the attendees/participants of the meeting.
    03. Plan an agenda for the meeting, i.e., the topics to be discussed, the sequence in which they will be discussed, in how much detail they will
         be discussed, the time given to each agenda topic, etc.
   04.  Plan the starting time of the meeting, plan for the breaks, and also plan the approximate time by which the meeting should end.

Announce/declare the meeting: After planning the meeting and before actually beginning the meeting, the participants should be delivered a message/memorandum to make them aware and ready for the topics to be discussed in the meeting. Give each participant responsibility for the agenda item. Issue the agenda.
   
Conduct the meeting: Be punctual. Try and arrive before time for the meeting. The meeting should begin on time. State the objective of the meeting in the very beginning so that all are clear with the purpose of the meeting. Give a brief introduction of the members/participants so that all are familiar. Circulate notes and handouts. Involve all attendees during the discussion. Encourage new ideas from the participants. Respect their ideas. Ask for a feedback. Make sure that there are no distractions during the meeting (such as ringing cell phones, or participants fiddling with pen, or gossiping, etc.). Give a quick review of the issues discussed in the meeting. Make sure that all the issues are discussed within the time frame. If time does not permit discussion of all issues, ask the participants if they are comfortable in discussing those issues in next meeting. Fix and decide upon the time for the next meeting.

Evaluate the meeting: Assess the meeting after it is conducted. Distribute an evaluation form to all participants which provides you a feedback on the effectiveness of the meeting. To get credible and honest feedback, do not give a space for name of the attendee on the form. Ask questions such as whether the objectives of the meetings were well met, did it involve participation of all, which part of the meeting did the attendee found most constructive and which part of meeting was not significant.

Shamim Ansary:

Corporate Meetings are very crucial part of business activities. They are a significant means of formal communication. Meetings are a venue for generation of new and innovative ideas. These meetings are multipurpose in nature actually. They aim at discussing feedback and receiving feedback on the spot. The information of prior importance is given during meetings. They are a true means of conveying feelings and expressions. Meetings involve people of the company. Meetings, thus, encourage participation and motivate them. Participants in a meeting, if given responsibility, turn out to be more productive and contribute to organizational success.

Corporate Meetings thus turn out to be a place where various aspects of business management are discussed- the performance of the company, the mission and vision of company, the weaknesses of company, the obstacles faced and how to overcome them. Effective meetings involve presentations and lead to personality development. Efficient meetings save time, money and resources of the company.

While conducting business meetings, certain things have to be taken care of. Decisions should be based on facts and based on circumstances, they shouldn’t be based on presumptions. The participants should be optimum in number, not too much. Don’t go off track or don’t forget the agenda of the meeting. Avoid distractions during meetings, such as- looking here and there, talking on phone, fiddling, etc. Decision-making should be unambiguous. Don’t waste time waiting for latecomers. Start discussion on time.

A successful and effective business meeting is one which is well planned. It should be planned well in advance that who all would be the participants in meeting, the time, venue, and agenda of meeting. The agenda of the meeting should be clear to all. Do not try to make a fish market in meeting. Respect everyone’s views. Respect the leader. Try and co-operate. It has to be ensured that the decisions that are reached through a meeting should be implemented. Also, all participants must get minutes at the end of meeting.

Corporate Meetings tell where the company is and where is it heading. They are communication drivers behind organization’s success. Successful Corporate Meetings are productive, creative, well- focused, timely and well-led.

Shamim Ansary:

There are 7 Causes of effective communication which are applicable to both written as well as oral communication. These are as follows:

01. Completeness - The communication must be complete. It should convey all facts required by the audience. The sender of the message must take into consideration the receiver’s mind set and convey the message accordingly. A complete communication has following features:Complete communication develops and enhances reputation of an organization.
Moreover, they are cost saving as no crucial information is missing and no additional cost is incurred in conveying extra message if the communication is complete.

A. A complete communication always gives additional information wherever required. It leaves no questions in the mind of receiver.
B. Complete communication helps in better decision-making by the audience/ readers/ receivers of message as they get all desired and crucial information.
C. It persuades the audience.

02. Conciseness - Conciseness means wordiness, i.e, communicating what you want to convey in least possible words without forgoing the other C’s of communication. Conciseness is a necessity for effective communication. Concise communication has following features:
        A. It is both time-saving as well as cost-saving.
        B. It underlines and highlights the main message as it avoids using excessive and needless words.
        C. Concise communication provides short and essential message in limited words to the audience.
        D. Concise message is more appealing and comprehensible to the audience.
        E. Concise message is non-repetitive in nature.

03. Consideration - Consideration implies “stepping into the shoes of others”. Effective communication must take the audience into consideration, i.e, the audience’s view points, background, mind-set, education level, etc. Make an attempt to envisage your audience, their requirements, emotions as well as problems. Ensure that the self-respect of the audience is maintained and their emotions are not at harm. Modify your words in message to suit the audience’s needs while making your message complete. Features of considerate communication are as follows:
        A. Emphasize on “you” approach.
        B. Empathize with the audience and exhibit interest in the audience. This will stimulate a positive reaction from the audience.
        C. Show optimism towards your audience. Emphasize on “what is possible” rather than “what is impossible”. Lay stress on positive words
           such as jovial, committed, thanks, warm, healthy, help, etc.

04. Clarity - Clarity implies emphasizing on a specific message or goal at a time, rather than trying to achieve too much at once. Clarity in communication has following features:
        A. It makes understanding easier.
        B. Complete clarity of thoughts and ideas enhances the meaning of message.
        C. Clear message makes use of exact, appropriate and concrete words.

05. Concreteness - Concrete communication implies being particular and clear rather than fuzzy and general. Concreteness strengthens the confidence. Concrete message has following features:
        A. It is supported with specific facts and figures.
        B. It makes use of words that are clear and that build the reputation.
        C. Concrete messages are not misinterpreted.

06. Courtesy - Courtesy in message implies the message should show the sender’s expression as well as should respect the receiver. The sender of the message should be sincerely polite, judicious, reflective and enthusiastic. Courteous message has following features:
        A. Courtesy implies taking into consideration both viewpoints as well as feelings of the receiver of the message.
        B. Courteous message is positive and focused at the audience.
        C. It makes use of terms showing respect for the receiver of message.
        D. It is not at all biased.

07. Correctness - Correctness in communication implies that there are no grammatical errors in communication. Correct communication has
      following features:
        A. The message is exact, correct and well-timed.
        B. If the communication is correct, it boosts up the confidence level.
        C. Correct message has greater impact on the audience/ readers.
        D. It checks for the precision and accurateness of facts and figures used in the message.
        E. It makes use of appropriate and correct language in the message.

Awareness of these 7 Causes of communication makes you an effective communicator.

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