Effective Business Communications: Diagnostic Tools, Issues, and Plan

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of effective business communication, focusing on the application of five diagnostic tools: social intranet software, private chat tools, issue tracking software, internal blogs and videos, and discussion forums. It examines how these tools can be utilized to enhance assertive communication styles within an organization. The report identifies two key communication issues: failure to edit work and lack of assertiveness, providing real-world examples from professional interactions. A thorough literature review explores the concepts of assertiveness, non-assertiveness, and the significance of thorough preparation in communication. The report concludes with an action plan designed to address the identified issues and improve overall communication effectiveness in a business setting.

Running head: EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS 1
Effective Business Communications
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EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATIONS 2
Effective Business Communications
Effective business communication skills are essential to the successful workmates and
consumer interactions. Both the communicator and the listener have equal duties to make the
message clear, however efficient communication goes far beyond simple hearing and speech.
Other than that, other communication methods such as body language, word choice and tone of
the voice, communication style, and message clarification among other communication styles
must come into play. Therefore, this paper intends to examine five diagnostic tools, two
communication issues, reflection of the recent professional interactions, literature review on the
two issues, and action plan.
Five Diagnostic and Reflection Tools
One of the areas that need changes in a business is the communication sector. Business
diagnostic communication tools in the current days are helping the small, medium-sized as well
as large companies to successfully achieve all of the above. The five diagnostic tools related to
communication include social intranet software, private, chat tools and group messaging, issue
tracking software, internal blogs and videos, and discussion forums (Bachate, 2016). These tools
can be used to analyze assertive communication style in various ways. Assertive is the capability
of an individual to clearly express his or her thoughts and feelings through honest, open, and
direct communication. This style of communication can be analyzed through the use of the five
communications tools.
Social Intranet Software
Every organization is in a transitional process and needs internal communication
improvement for it to adjust to the current technological advancement. The study shows that

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assertive communication style can be done through the use of information technology by looking
at the few symptoms such as:
 Not having the correct way to stay up to date with what is happening within an
organization pronouncement and news.
 The breakdown of communication between employees and departments
 Missing of documents
 Lack of clear and standardized orientation policy for new employees and interns
 Too much paper work
Therefore, it is clear that having social interactive software can help individuals to put forward
their assertions where response can get relayed in real time thus improving communication
within workplace. (Harris, et al. 2016).
Private, Chat, and Group Messaging Tools
Private, group messaging, and chatting tools help project teams and groups to be more
effective in the workplace. The ability to bring teams together through these tools provides an
opportunity for one to communicate his or her views in a more effective and simple way of
reporting progress. These tools provide a perfect business communication platform because one
is able to ask questions directly for their needs to be met, while willing to accept rejection.
(Baesens, et al. 2016).
Issue Tracking Software
Issue tracking software enables employees to forward a case, get it directed to the
concerned employee, and have it resolved on time. It also assists in centralizing customer support
questions, tracking team productivity, prioritizing the most vital questions, and collecting
essential customer feedback.

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Internal Blogs and Videos
It is also possible to use assertion communication style through internet blogs and videos.
It is because people believe in what they see. Any good looking content will attract people to
wanting to read. Therefore, one can communicate to the internal teams by providing great
content, while being ready to accept comments whether positive or negative (Boyle, et al. 2014).
Additionally, creating training videos, video messages, and behind the scenes footage can be
helpful in increasing retention and engagement amongst employees.
Discussion Forums
Lastly, a person can use discussion forums to put a cross his or her thoughts and feelings.
Also, an organization can use such forums to provide orientation to the new employees.
Moreover, the discussion forums provide a space where employees may ask questions, talk about
workplace problems, and discuss projects that may help in bonding everybody in an
organization.
Findings of the Tools
From the five diagnostic tools, it is evident that companies can improve their internal
communication strategies through the use information technology platforms. These tools are
capable of helping the company to increase efficiency across the board, simplify IT management,
discuss issues and find solutions, motivate employees, and to find the best solutions for the
employee issues. My opinion from the findings is that IT provides various platforms through
which one can use to make simpler all the communications within an organization. The
organization can reach to its employees without having to talk to them verbally and still get
feedback. Also the employees can raise issues they are facing through the discussion forums,

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group messaging, charts and social intranet software, and being answered satisfactorily through
the same media.
Two Main Communication Issues
The two main communication issues are:
 Failure to edit the work, and
 Not being assertive.
When one fails to edit any information before it reaches the recipient and later finds out
that it had errors, the sender may end up looking messy and unprofessional. This can result to
more serious consequences such as lose of revenue, tarnishing one’s reputation and upsetting of
customers. (Gray, 2017). On the other hand, not being assertive can lead to disappointment and
embarrassment. Assertiveness means stating what one needs, while considering the needs of
others. Assertive person may not get his or her way, but has a high chance of reaching a
compromise due to being clear about an agenda.
Two Recent Professional Interactions
In a previous company’s weekly meeting Tom undermined Brandy and Brandy’s
patience started to wear thin. Tom did the same in the next meeting; Brandy again got humiliated
and decided to tell him how he made her feel. However, when she was about to face him, she lost
her nerve. Tom continued with his comment, but she couldn’t have courage to speak to him. She
feels disappointed with herself, but gave up to the situation. In this case, if Brandy could have
learnt to be more assertive, she could have stood up for herself, and became strong and confident
communicator.
Other than that, in another situation George who is an employee wrote a letter to his
employer explaining the reason why he was not able to go to work. In his letter, he failed to

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mention the duration he will be out of work. He later realized his mistake of not editing his letter
and got disappointed and got worried about his job retention. If he could have edited his letter
then the communication could have been clear and effective.
Literature Review
The two issues from my diagnosis and reflection of the communication diagnostic tools
are:
 Lack of assertiveness, and
 Not preparing thoroughly.
Not being assertive means the desire to win without considering for the other people’s
view or feelings. It means failing to state what you want and standing up for your point of view,
while disrespecting the rights and believes of others. On the other hand, not preparing
thoroughly is the failure of an individual to correct mistakes or think before communicating.
Lack of Assertiveness
It is not always easy to identify the exact assertive character. This is because there is a
thin line between assertiveness and anger, and the difference is confusing. However, the
difference is that assertiveness is centered on balance. This means that it requires a person to be
straightforward about what he or she needs, but bearing in mind the rights and needs of others.
An assertive person is self assured and is able to get his or her view across in a firm, fair, and an
empathy way (Gray, 2017). On the other hand, aggressive centered on winning. An aggressive
person do what is in his best interest regardless of the rights, feelings, and needs of others. Such
people use the power of selfishness. An aggressing boss is the one who places a pile of job on the
desk of an employee in the afternoon before the employee go on vacation, and demands the work

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to be done immediately (Yordanova, 2016). The work needs to be done but placing it
inappropriate time shows that he disregards your rights, needs, and feelings.
People who are assertive have features such as speech expressiveness, emotional speech,
easy to oppose and counter suggestions of others, refusal, impulsive in his acts, and ready to
accept praises. While those who are non-assertive do not have the ability to maintain acceptable
limits between his or her needs and wants and those of others (Holland & Albrecht, 2013). Non-
assertive individual tends to adopt strains and feelings and to experience stressful emotions such
as fatigue, anxiety, depression, and fear.
The evaluation on assertiveness generated other related concepts, for example assertive
communication, conflict management, and self-confidence. Other than that, assertiveness is a
desirable and healthy character for every individual who communicate in a group state of affairs
as long as it influences against personal weaknesses. It can lead to personal empowerment that
can benefit the workplace in general. Moreover, it is possible to say that assertiveness is the
product of expectations and values, which means that individuals who believe that high
assertiveness expectation is harmful could be simply concerned with conserving relationships
(Lear, Hodge & Schulz, 2015). Further, the research from various studies show that assertiveness
does not involves excess or undue amount of anxiety and fear, but represents practicing
individual’s rights without breaching the rights of other people. The same argument has been
lauded by the scholars who said that assertiveness is learned and rely on the situation to situation.
Finally, being assertive means that one should find the correct balance between apathy
and aggression. It means respecting and valuing oneself, and recognizing that you are justified to
get what you want. On the contrary, assertive does not mean acting in your own interest without
considering the desires, rights, needs, or feelings. It is also important to know that assertive

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behavior might not be applicable in all workplaces. Certain national and organizational norms
might prefer persons to be passive and interpret assertive behavior as bad-mannered or even
aggressive.
Not Preparing Thoroughly
Communication issues can have more serious consequences. It is because they can
tarnish ones reputation, lead to loss of revenue, or upset customers. People sometimes write
emails, letters, chat, or video message without confirming grammar, tone, and spelling mistakes.
This can lead passing of distorted information that could be harmful to either the sender or the
recipient. The common mistake that people do when chatting, sending e-mail, and group
messaging, is that they trust using spelling checkers to help correct mistakes in their messages.
The problem with the spelling checkers is that they do not pick up words that are used
incorrectly (Leaf, Taubman, Milne, Dale, Leaf, Townley-Cochran, &McEachin, 2016). The best
thing is to proofread the work and to use dictionary where possible to look up any word that you
are uncertain about.
Additionally, it can be hard to see mistakes in a personal work; it is therefore,
commendable to consider asking a teammate to look over the document before distributing it to
the discussion group or sending it to a client. Otherwise, read the work loudly to make it easier to
recognize tone and typing errors(Määttä, Laakso, Tolvanen, Westerholm, &Aro, 2016).After
realizing the errors, it is vital to take some time to reflect on the document, and correct the
mistakes.
Moreover, when sending a sensitive e-mail, it is essential to type the information in word
processing program or in a blank email with no recipient, proofread, and then paste the text into
the new message area. This way will prevent accidental forwarding the previous information

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together with the new message (Yordanova, 2016). Again, if you are sending a confidential or
sensitive attachment, make sure that there is no “tracked changes” or commentaries can be
found, and ensure that the correct message is sent.
Although, everybody makes mistakes most of the time, editing the work before it reaches
its recipient can help in protecting one’s or an organization’s reputation. However, avoiding the
most common mistakes, which include failing to edit your work, accidentally breaching
individual’s privacy when forwarding e-mails, and being non-assertive you will be able to
protect your reputation and that of your organization (MacDermott& Ortiz, 2017). The key to
good business or personal communication is to put into consideration about the needs of the
audience. Furthermore, because communication is a two-way process, one should be ready to be
asked questions, and listen to the recipient’s response (Brink &Costigan, 2015). Good
communication can enhance the relationship in working place, and help in providing job
satisfaction.
Action Plan
My vision is to achieve better communication skills within the next six months. Some of
the plans that I will put in include:
 Undertaking specific short courses such as Communicating with impact
 Undertaking advanced post graduate communication courses at Bond University
 a reading plan to acquire conceptual knowledge, that may include specific
communication texts and self-help books
 Maintaining of personal journals reflecting on communication interactions, Identification
of a mentor
Communicating With Impact

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In the first and second months, I intend to take Communication and impact course to help
me in identifying communication problems and how to overcome them. The course provides the
students with an opportunity to ask questions and to get the information. Other than that, the
course assists the students to further build the information they already have. Moreover, the
student is able to communicate by taking personality differences into account, and recognize and
manage body language. Furthermore, the course also helps the student to give and to receive
effective feedback (Holley, 2016). Lastly, the course also helps one to craft messages that help in
getting communication skills puts across. Having all these will assist my communication skills
and make me recognize how to be assertive but not aggressive communicator.
Advanced Post Graduate Communication Courses
After completing Communication and Impact course, I intend to pursue a Masters of
Communication (Professional) at Bond University. This will allow me to further my professions
in communication by equipping myself with a suitable mix of practical and theoretical
knowledge that will improve my communication skills. It culminates with a professional
segment that comprises of expert assortment, field project and the project report (Devi, Rekha, &
Satpal, 2015). With such knowledge I will be able evaluate my communication style that will
best fit my audience. It will also allow me to get what I would need, while respecting the rights
and needs of others.
A Reading Plan to Acquire Conceptual Knowledge
Furthermore, while pursuing my Masters course, I will also set side my free time for a
reading plan that will involve looking for resources that are beyond what I have learned in the
college and beyond the textbooks provided in the course. It will involve consulting more than
one library or internet source. On the other hand, I will have to read books such as ‘Verbal Judo:

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The Getle Art of Persuasion’ by George J. Thomson, ‘Just Listen: The Secret to Getting Through
to Absolute Anyone’ by Mark Goulston, and ‘Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When
Stakes Are High’ by Grenny, Patterson, Ron, and Switler. Reading these books and visiting
various internet sites will help me to improve my communication skills both in written and
verbal forms. Additionally, the books will also assist in improving the language of
communication, thus, helping in reducing spelling and grammar mistakes (Anuradha,
&Thirunagari, 2016).
Maintaining of Personal Journals Reflection and Identifying a Mentor
Lastly, in the last month, to be able to maintain personal journals reflection on
communication interactions, I will have to foster a reflective and creative group that will help me
in analyzing phone conversations, text messages, e-mail, face-to-face, and non-verbal gestures.
Moreover, I will reach out to the University of Queensland (UQ) mentors for more advice to help
me perfect my communication and interpersonal skills. Thus, I believed that adhering to my
action plan, I will be able to obtain the best communication proficiency that will assist me solve
the communication issues and be a better communicator.

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Bachate, A. K. (2016). Teaching of Communication Skills Using Multimedia and Language
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Baesens, B., Bapna, R., Marsden, J. R., Vanthienen, J., & Zhao, J. L. (2016). Transformational
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Boyle, D. M., Mahoney, D. P., Carpenter, B. W., &Grambo, R. J. (2014). The Importance of
Communication Skills at Different Career Levels. CPA Journal, 84(8), 40-45.
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Gray, A. (2017). Personal issues on business time. Fairfield County Business Journal, 53(13),
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