Effective Business Communication: A Reflective Essay

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Effective Business Communication
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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Section 1..........................................................................................................................................4
Section 2..........................................................................................................................................8
Section 3..........................................................................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
Reference.......................................................................................................................................11
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Introduction
Business communication can be understood as the process of delivering important business
information to other relevant parties or stakeholders. Business communication is the critical
determinant of the success of a person. A person needs to have the skill of effective business
communication to get placed in a multinational organisation or any organisation as thi9s is the
basic need of today's business environment. Business communication skills have various
advantages like it is useful for presenting the important business information in a manner that is
easily understandable by the other parties (Arnoldi, et. al., 2018). This reflective essay is written
to focus on the numerous skills that are involved in the process of effective business
communication. There will be a literature review included in the essay to present the viewpoints
of different authors. The essay will also focus on my personal opinion on the importance of the
process and skills of effective business communication.
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Section 1
The first section of the essay will throw light n the whole learning of the course subject and the
basic themes which I learned in the course.
When the course study started, the foist thing which I learned was the basic concepts of effective
business communication. The study made me understand the importance of ethical business
communication. Effective business communication is not complete if certain basic rules are not
followed in the process. While interacting or having any kind of communication, a person needs
to follow some basic ethi9ca of communication without which the commun9ication process is
ineffective. The study gave me insights about the
Effective business communication takes place through various methods and ways. All these
methods and ways are crucial to being understood to have better knowledge of the business
communication process. In the next week of the study, I learned about the various ways through
which effective business communication can be completed, and information can be transferred to
another party. In general, there are three ways through which the information can be
communicated to others. The ways are
Verbal communication method
Non-verbal communication method
Written communication method
In the non-verbal communication, the main thing which interested me was the concept of
Paralanguage. Paralanguage can be defined as the way the verbal message is communicated to
others. It involves the tone of the voice of the speaker, the voice pitch of the person conveying
the message (Bonaccio, et. al., 2016). The importance of paralanguage is important to be
understood as when is having interaction without the exact knowledge of the elements of
paralanguage, the meaning of the message is changed, which is not good for effective
communication. While having communication with anyone, one needs to take care of the
important aspects of paralanguage (Bonaccio, et. al., 2016).
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Then comes the next chapter of the course which was about the concept and relevance of one of
the main elements of the process of effective communication, which is the concept of effective
listening. As is important to convey the message, it is equally important to listen to others
message effectively. There is always a problem in organisations that the superior does not listen
to their subordinates and this creates a situation of conflict between both of them. This is not
good for the environment of the organisation. The only solution to this organisational issue is
effective listening by the superiors. The management of an organisation must listen to the
suggestions given by the subordinates and then take the effective organisational decisions. It also
motivates the employees as they think that they are also important for the organisation and their
viewpoints are also considered while taking important business decisions. Effective listening is
thus very important in every phase of life.
Writing is also an essential part of effective communication of business. There are various types
of documents that are prepared in an organization. To work in a good organisation, an individual
needs to have knowledge of effective writing skill. The course study gave me information about
the vitality of writing business reports in an effective manner. I studied about writing emails, and
other document which is necessary to be prepared in a business.
Report writing is also very crucial in an organisation. The next week’s study provided me with
information about the various types of reports produced in an organisation and the correct
method to write those reports. In a business organisation, everything communication takes place
in written form, so it is important to have knowledge of writing basic business reports. One more
important thing which I studied about in the course was Plagiarism. Plagiarism is considered as a
punishable offence as when reports are copied or stolen, and they are considered as plagiarised.
Plagiarism must be avoided in the writing part and all the documents must be authentic in a
business (Kam, et. al., 2018).
After that, I studies about writing essays. As a student, I have to write various essays, but the
course study made me understand the difference between the regular essays and business essays.
There are certain guidelines which are to be followed while writing a good academic essay. It
must be properly formatted, and the language is very important to be taken care of in the essay
writing. Essay writing is also essential form the point of view of business as in writing speeches;
essay writing is if great help.
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Another vital aspect of effective business communication is the skill of public speaking. Public
speaking is art of conveying the message to the audience and makes them interested in the
subject matter. A manager has to take various meetings, and for that, he needs to be very
confident in front of the employees. The skill of public speaking helps the manager to do so.
When an individual has the knowledge of public speaking, he is able to convey the correct
message to the audience. There is confidence in the speaker in front of the large audience. For
handling employees at the workplace, the manager needs to have the skill of public speaking.
Public speaking also includes various important elements like the body language of the speaker,
the voice tone, the pitch of the voice, eye contact with the audience and some other elements
(German, et. al., 2017).
In today's business environment, there are people in an organisation with different backgrounds
and cultures, and all have to be managed under one roof. The course study also provided me with
information about the significant concept of intercultural communication in an organisation. To
manage people with different languages and beliefs is a very difficult task. To have control over
the intercultural business environment, a manager needs to have the skill of effective
intercultural business communication (Tran, 2016). Intercultural communication is also
important so that there is coordination between all the employees of the organisation. They work
in cooperation when they are internally managed by the manager (Tran, 2016).
As everything has a structure, business communication also has a detailed structure. The next
week of the study gave me insights about the different structures of effective business
communication. According to my study and knowledge, there are four basic types of
communication structures in an organisation which are as follows:
Upward communication: Upwards communication is the type of communication in
which the important business information is transferred from the lower level hierarchy to
the higher management.
Downwards communication: Downward communication is the type of communication
structure in which the relevant business information is transferred from the higher
management to the lower level of employees.
Formal communication: In this stricture of communication, the relationship is
established between the employees by the top level management.
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Informal communication: Informal communication is the communication in which the
employee forms friends groups in the organisation to make themselves comfortable in the
workplace.
Team building is another vital factor in the success of a business. A manager needs to develop
teams and then coordinate their works. The next thing which I learned about was the process of
team building in an organisation. Team building has a set process which is as follows;
 Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning
A person needs to communicate with others and sometimes to oneself. The last week of the
course study was about interpersonal and intrapersonal communication. Interpersonal
communication is the communication in which the person communicates with other people
around him. Intrapersonal communication is the communication in which the person interacts
and communicates with inner self to have self-knowledge and actualisation.
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Section 2
Section 2 of the essay is the literature review presenting the viewpoints of various authors on the
topic of effective business communication. As per Caspersz & Stasinska (2015), any
communication is incomplete without effective communication and development techniques
adopted by an individual. These communications includes verbal and non-verbal communication
along with the application of both in the development of attitude and personality of an individual.
The most important part is effective listening, as per the study of Caspersz & Stasinska (2015),
listening is a skill that enables an individual to deal with the needs and perception of the other.
This includes the amount of knowledge and perception that has been included in the working of
an individual. According to Drollinger (2018) listening is very important activity an individual
can invest in order to deal with the need and ideas of an individual. This is important to deliver
effective decision making policy and effective strategy to be used in an organization for future
needs.
As per Longweni & Kroon (2018) a manager is always needed to be used in an organization to
help the employees develop creativity and develop ideas for the organization’s development.
Listening is a skill that helps an individual to develop patience and thoughts. The need for
effective listening skills is important to identify the needs of the organization and match up with
the aspiration of the management. As per Longweni & Kroon (2018), effective listening skills
are an important part of the personality of a manager as this provides a platform to the
development needs of the employee and they share the issue and innovation with the manager.
Effective listening defines the attitude and personality of an individual and the amount of interest
they have been putting in understanding the needs of others.
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Section 3
This section of the essay is a self-reflection.
After five years from now, I want to become a successful manager in a multinational business
house. My dream is to lead the team with great capabilities and efforts. I want to serve the
organisation in the best possible manner. For serving the employees and the organisation, I think
my course study of effective business communication will help me a lot. One central element
which I think will help me is the art of public speaking. As a manager, I would be responsible to
take meetings and handle the queries of the subordinates, and at that time my skill of public
speaking will assist me. I will be confident while handling my team of employees.
Another concept of effective business communication that will be of great help to me will be the
skill of effective listening. To manage the workforce at the workplace, I need to listen to them
effectively and attentively. Listening to the subordinates will be important to motivate them and
also make them comfortable in the organisation. This will also reduce the chances of conflicts
between me and my subordinates.
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Conclusion
To conclude the essay, I want to say that effective business communication is a very important
part of an individual's life. In the globalised business environment, it is vital to have knowledge
of different skills involved in the process of effective business communication. As
communicating the message has its importance, listening to others is also crucial to provide
effective feedback. Report writing and documents preparation is also a part of effective
communication which will assist me in my future job position.
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Reference
 Arnoldi, J., Villadsen, A. R., Chen, X., & Na, C. (2018). Multi-Level State Capitalism:
Chinese State-Owned Business Groups. Management and Organization Review, 1-25.
 Bonaccio, S., O’Reilly, J., O’Sullivan, S. L., & Chiocchio, F. (2016). Nonverbal behavior
and communication in the workplace: A review and an agenda for research. Journal of
Management, 42(5), 1044-1074.
 Caspersz, D., & Stasinska, A. (2015). Can we teach effective listening? An exploratory
study. Journal of University Teaching & Learning Practice, 12(4), 2
 Drollinger, T. (2018). Using active empathetic listening to build relationships with major-
gift donors. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 30(1), 37-51.
 German, K. M., Gronbeck, B. E., Ehninger, D., & Monroe, A. H. (2017). Principles of
public speaking. Routledge.
 Kam, C. C. S., Hue, M. T., & Cheung, H. Y. (2018). Plagiarism of Chinese secondary
school students in Hong Kong. Ethics & Behavior, 28(4), 316-335. Schneider, W. J.,
Lichtenberger, E. O., Mather, N., & Kaufman, N. L. (2018). Essentials of assessment
report writing. John Wiley & Sons.
 Longweni, M., & Kroon, J. (2018). Managers’ listening skills, feedback skills and ability
to deal with interference: A subordinate perspective. Acta Commercii, 18(1), 12.
 Tran, B. (2016). Communication (intercultural and multicultural) at play for cross
cultural management within multinational corporations (MNCs). In Handbook of
research on impacts of international business and political affairs on the global
economy (pp. 62-92). IGI Global.
 Tran, B. (2016). Intercultural Communication for Global Business: How leaders
communicate for success. Routledge.
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