Understanding the Principles of Business Communication

Understanding the Principles of Business Communication-

Business communication, especially the correspondence among people within organizations or between those people and their clients or customers, is essential to the success of individuals and businesses. Because of their importance, such communication should be well written; those that are not waste time and money.

Selecting the Appropriate Medium and Form-

Important as they are, letters and e-mail messages are not the only means of communication available to businesspeople. You can choose from a wide array of possibilities, including:

• e-mail
• instant messaging
• fax
• voice mail
• videoconferencing

In addition to more-traditional means of communication, such as:

• letters
• memos
• telephone calls
• face-to-face meetings

In selecting the appropriate medium, first consider the context, audience, and objective of the communication.

Negative Messages and the Indirect Pattern-

Communicating bad news is sometimes necessary in the workplace. Doing so effectively can benefit the writer and the professional image of any organization. As with any type of writing, consider how your audience will react to your message. Research has shown that people form their impressions and attitudes very early when reading letters. At the same time, bad news is easier to accept when the reasons behind it are explained first. For this reason, presenting bad news or refusals indirectly is often more effective than presenting them directly, especially if the stakes are high. Further, in international correspondence, far more cultures are generally indirect in their business communication than they are direct.