BasicBusinessCommunication:7Self-TestQuestionstoFreshenYourCommunicationSkillsEffectivemanagersunderstandbasicbusinesscommunication.It'snotaboutwhizzy(高科技的;overlyflashy;morestylethansubstance.Usuallyappliedtowebsitesorapplications)powerpointslidesorwordyreports.Effectivebusinesscommunicationisaboutbeingunderstood.Askyourselfthese7BasicBusinesscommunicationquestionstofreshenupyourcommunicationskills.1.Who'sMyAudience?Aretheyyoung,old,manyorfew?What'stheirbackground?Theireducationlevel?Theirinterestinthesubject?Knowingyouraudiencewillanswermanyquestionsaboutthebestmethodforcommunicatingwiththem.2.WhatRelationshipDoIHaveWithThem?Haveyoucommunicatedbeforeoristhisafirsttime?Isthereanybaggage(行李;过时的观念;intangiblethings(asfeelings,circumstances,orbeliefs)thatgetinthewayemotionalbaggage)thatmaycomplicateyourmessage?Whatcanyoudotobuild,thenmaintaintherelationship?3.What'sMyIntention?Peoplearemorelikelytorespondtoyourcommunicationiftheyhaveaclearunderstandingofwhatyouwantfromthem.Knowwhatyouwantfromthecommunicationbeforeyoubeginandyou'llbemoresuccessful.4.HowShouldICommunicatewiththem?Email,inperson,byphone,voice-mail,text,fax,mail,cards,onlinechat,forums,flip-charts,leaflets,townhallmeetings,skiplevelmeetings(召开越级会议)-thelistisendless.Youneedtochoosetherightmediumforcommunication,andmaybeevenuseacombination,togetyourmessageacrossclearly.5.WhatBarriersToUnderstandingExist?Arethereanyphysicalormentalbarrierstounderstanding,suchasdeafness,poorsightorability?Aretherelanguageorculturaldifferences?Doallinvolvedhavethesametechnicalhardware,softwareandability?Howseniororjuniorarethepeoplewithintheorganisation?Everythingisgibberishunlessyouspeakgibberishtoo.6.HaveYouUsedPlainEnglish?Whyuse100wordswhen10orevenonewoulddo.Here'sagreatresourcetokeepyouright-thecampaignforPlainEnglish.Indeed,doyouneedlanguageatall-wouldapictureordiagrambemoreeffective?7.HowCanICheckUnderstanding?Clearcommunicationresultsinaction.Providingadditionalback-upcommunicationcanhelp-frequentlyaskedquestions,telephonehelp-lines,on-line,opendoorpolicyetc.Andpreparetodoitallagain.Communicationisrarelyone-off,soyourmessagemayneedtoberepeatedtobereceivedandunderstood.These7basiccommunicationskillquestionsprovideaquickcheck-listwhichcanimproveyourcommunication.EffectiveBusinessCommunicationFace-to-facemeetingscanresultinawkwardpausesandinitialshynessforthosewhoarenotbrimmingwithconfidence.Tohelpyouoverthishurdle,youcanapproachthemeetingfullypreparedandwellarmedifyouhavealookatthefollowingfactors.Inordertogetyourmessageacross,thinkaboutwhatyouaretryingtoachieveduringthedialogue:Whatinformationdoyouwishtoconvey?Whatdoyouwanttheotherpersontodoasaresult?Organiseyourselfbeforehand.Jotdownnotesaboutyourmajorpoints.Bepositiveandkeepthemessagesimple.ClarityisParamountforEffectiveCommunicationWhatiscommunication?Inshort,it'ssignalling.Thetransmission,byspeaking,writingorgestures,ofinformationwhichevokesunderstanding.That'ssimpleenough,isn'tit?Straightforwardintheorybutinpracticeit'sfraughtwithdangers-particularlyifyouhavehighexpectationsfromtheseimportantbusinessconnections.Communicationisnotjustspeaking,writingorgesticulating.It'smorethanthetransmissionofinformation.Somethingelsehastooccurforthecommunicationtobecomplete.Theotherpartyinthecommunicationprocesshastoengagetheirbrainandreceivethemessage.Therearesomepointstorememberwhenconsideringthevariousmethodsofcommunicationandsomehazardstobeawareofwhendealingwithbusinessrelationships:Only7%oftheimpactyoumakecomesfromthewordsyouspeak.Therestisvisual-yourappearance,thesoundofyourvoiceandyourbodylanguage.Youcanbreakthat7%furtherdownintosections:thetypeofwordsyouusethesortofsentencesyouusehowyouphrasethem.VoicingYourThoughtsPayattentiontoyourvoice.Tone,inflection,volumeandpitchareallareastoconsider.Mostpeopledon'tneedtodeveloptheirspeakingvoice,buttherearemanywhodonotunderstandhowtouseiteffectively.Thesimplestwayistocomparethevoicetoapieceofmusic-itisthevoicethatistheinstrumentofinterpretationofthespokenword.Thosewhohavehadsometraininginpublicspeakingsometimesusemnemonicsasmemoryjoggersforoptimumvocaleffect.OnesimpleexampleisRSVPPP:RhythmSpeedVoicePitchPauseProjection.