Effective Business Communication: Skills, Analysis & Solutions

This report provides a comprehensive overview of effective business communication, covering the importance of clear and concise communication, different communication styles, and the use of communication skills to build rapport. It delves into the nature of common business problems, outlining a six-step process for analysis and solution-finding. The report also explores key elements of effective listening, factors contributing to effective telephone calls, and the characteristics differentiating productive from unproductive meetings. Furthermore, it differentiates between formal and informal agendas, describes the purpose and contents of meeting minutes, and outlines the responsibilities of a chairperson. It also discusses various occasions requiring information to be presented, characteristics of effective presentations, and the role of assertive communication. The report concludes with examples of effective business communication and an assessment of listening skills.

Effective Business
Communication

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Task 1...............................................................................................................................................1
The importance of clear communication and the impact of unclear communication to business
................................................................................................................................................1
The different communication styles ......................................................................................1
The use of communication skills to build rapport with others...............................................2
The purpose of different types of questioning........................................................................2
The importance of clear, concise and complete written communication...............................3
The importance of non-verbal communication including ‘personal space’...........................3
The kinds of non-verbal signals which can be sent through own personal appearance.........3
Task 2...............................................................................................................................................4
The nature of common business problems.............................................................................4
The six-step process of analysing a problem and finding the right solution .........................4
Task 3...............................................................................................................................................5
The key elements of effective listening..................................................................................5
The factors that make a telephone call effective....................................................................6
Describe the factors that differentiate a productive meeting from an unproductive one and
explain how one can make a positive contribution to any meeting........................................6
Differentiate between a formal and an informal agenda........................................................6
Describe the purpose and contents of the Minutes of a meeting............................................7
Describe the responsibilities of a Chairperson.......................................................................7
Describe the different occasions which require information to be presented to others..........7
Explain the characteristics of an effective presentation, including the difference between an
effective and ineffective visual aid.........................................................................................8
Task 4...............................................................................................................................................8
Task 5...............................................................................................................................................8

You need to collate examples of effective business communications to show to the new
students...................................................................................................................................8
Task 6.............................................................................................................................................11
Virtual meeting.....................................................................................................................11
Assess your own listening skills...........................................................................................12
Describe the key elements of assertive communication and its impact on the planning process
..............................................................................................................................................13
An analysis of the characteristics of an effective meeting...................................................14
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................14
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................15
Books and Journals...............................................................................................................15

INTRODUCTION
Business communication is the process in which companies have to provide the
information to those people who are within the company and to those which exist outside which
means the customers. Effective business communication will include that process in which the
employees and the management of a company will develop a conversation between them in order
to achieve organisational goals(Lin and et. al., 2018). But in business communication there are
certain rules and policies which needs to be followed down as it is directly related with providing
the information. The information which are communicated to the people who are working for the
company includes advertisements, consumer behaviour, public relations etc. and for the customer
it includes providing the information about the products and their features. This report will
include about communication, importance of clear, concise communication, about the meetings
and nature of common business problems.
Task 1
The importance of clear communication and the impact of unclear communication to business
Good and clear communication is important in the company because this helps in proper
functioning of the activities. If there will be effective and clear communication then people
would be able to understand the things in a proper way which will help in the achievement of
goals(Mazzei, Butera and Quaratino, 2019). The relationship of employees will be built in a clear
way and when there is good relationship with the employees then the company will lead to more
innovation. For example- If the top management of a company will not be able to communicate
with the employees regarding what things they are required to do and what does the company
expects from them then this can make a huge impact on the achievement of business objectives.
But if there will be unclear communication then there will exist more misunderstanding between
people which will create hurdle in the achievement of goals. The main issue which arises in the
business is that of conflicts between the employees which is the result of lack in communication.
For example- If the message is not communicated in a clear way then at this point employees
will not undertake anything in a responsible manner and they will be doing the work according to
their own wish.
The key elements of effective listening
Different elements of effective listening have been discussed below-
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 Listening attentively- For effective listening it is important to listen in an active way in
which the person is showing full concentration on the things spoken. Attentively listening
shows the respect towards other person and on the other hand gets the message in a right
way.
 Pause before replying- If the person ends their conversation then the other person needs
to take some pause before replying to that other person. Pause is important because this
helps in identifying the words which has to be spoken to the other person(Schaltegger and
Burritt, 2018).
 Question for clarification- Clarification requires questioning the other person so as to
get the answers of that confusion. Questioning the other person helps in solving the doubt
which is in the mind of a person.
 Feed it back- It is very important to make the paraphrasing of words which the other
person have said because this helps in getting the right feedback to that person. Right
feedback involves that the person have understood on the things properly(Domazet and
Neogradi, 2019).
The different communication styles
Different communication style have been discussed below-
 Assertive communication style- Effective communication style which depicts high
confidence but does not include any aggression. They have the confidence to make the
communication with other people and will not go beyond the limits of any conversation.
 Aggressive communication style- This includes the aggression and is also a hostile one
and they always make the other people feel as if their conversation is more important
than the other person. They speak in the way of aggression which at some point of time is
not liked by the other person.
 Passive communication style- It is also the most effective type of communication which
goes in an easy manner and always tries to avoid the conflict(Downing and et. al., 2018).
They are not the one who makes their involvement in any conflict and makes their
agreement in almost everything.
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 Submissive communication style- It is that communication style in which people try to
make their full avoidance in reaching to any conflict. They feel that the words and the
needs which are spoken by other person is more important than theirs.
The use of communication skills to build rapport with others
For developing good relations with other people it is important for the person to develop
good communication skills. The reason for this is that if they engage in such conversation where
they have to make their influence then communication skills will be important at that
place(Pope-Ruark and et. al., 2019). Rapport is to develop a good and harmonious relationship
with the other person. It is important to build rapport because this will help in the achievement of
goals and the turnover ratio of employees in the organisation will also be less if the organisation
is building rapport. Communication skills plays a very important role because with this person in
an organization can ask for any help if they are facing any issues. Communicating effectively is
the only tool by which an individual can build network of relations with people otherwise people
who are not able to develop such skills faces the issue of communicating with others. For
example- If the person is good in communicating with others then it is obvious that they will
develop good relations with people which is necessary to build harmonious relationship with
other people.
The factors that make a telephone call effective
 Be clear in perspectives- It is very important for the person to be clear in what they have
to say in their telephone calls. If the person is clear in their way then they will not be
confused while making a call.
 Think about the tone- While speaking with other person it is important for the
individual who will be making a telephone call to check their tone. The reason for this is
that if the person will speak in rude and arrogant manner then no individual will make
their respond.
 Speak in a clear way- It is very important to speak with clear and concise manner
because this is the only way by which other person will get the things in a clear way and
will not face any confusion.
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The purpose of different types of questioning
Questioning is the process in which any individuals asks in a question form to get the answers. In
individuals it can include any number of people because confusion exist in every mind. Different
type of questioning have been discussed-
 Closed questions- These questions include the answers of just “yes” or “no” and is
considered to be quantitative one(G'iyosov, 2019). The main purpose of such type of
questions is that they are replied in a quick way and there will always be some
consistency with the response.
 Open questions- Open questions requires good explanation and discussion of answers
and this will not include replying with “yes” or “no”. The main purpose for this is when
any individual requires critical discussion on any topic for getting the answers.
The importance of clear, concise and complete written communication
It is very important to have clear, concise and complete written information because this will
help in increasing effectiveness. When the written information will be provided in clear manner
then there will be lack in confusion in between the employees which will not help in achieving
the objectives of a company (Thoti, 2018). Written information is considered to be effective
when it is provided in short and simple manner. The other factor which is important is to make
the identification that if the information which is available is complete or not. Clear
communication helps in removing the uncertainty which can result in non achievement of goals.
The importance of non-verbal communication including ‘personal space’
Non-verbal communication is that in which person does not uses any words to express
their feeling but for expressing they use non-verbal things which includes facial expressions,
body gestures, eye contact and other things(Blewitt, Blewitt and Ryan, 2018). Non verbal
communication helps in establishing relationship with people. Personal space is related with
developing relationship with people but with proximity and they will not try to make any other
sought of conversation with those people with which they are not comfortable. People usually
makes non verbal communication with those people only with whom they are comfortable the
most because this type of communication does not involves any communication in words but
only in actions which can't be made with other people. Thus, non verbal communication on one
end includes having communication with those people who are closed enough.
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The kinds of non-verbal signals which can be sent through own personal appearance
There are different types of communication which has been discussed below-
 Facial expressions- Human face are considered to be the most expressive one in which
all the emotions of people can be communicated. Facial expressions are made by those
people only with whom they are close with.
 Eye contact- Eye contact is the other factor which is used in a non-verbal signal a lot
because eye expressions are considered to be the most important either in the personal or
in professional ways. Eye contact helps people in communicating with the other person
which might be asking about their interest(Zairis, 2021).
 Gestures- Movement of body and providing the signal with the gestures is the other way
with which non-verbal communication can be made. These gestures includes pointing,
waving which can be done in a meeting of a company and in other areas also.
Task 2
The nature of common business problems
There are some of the problems which are faced every businesses and those are explained below-
 Uncertainty- Uncertainty is the basic business problem which is faced by every owner
and this is the issue which at some point of time restricts them for earning success.
Business environment is dynamic and on the other hand in uncertain also and there are
chances that if any new plan is made by the business but it does not get any
success(Flynn and Lide, 2021). Uncertainty is the urgent business problem which has to
be faced by the businesses as the environment is dynamic. But such issues are achieved
effectively by the businesses because they make proper planning for this and knows how
the things has to be achieved.
 Not having a strong brand identity- Small businesses have to face this problem of not
having a strong brand identity and this is the reason why they lacks in achieving success.
Increasing brand identity will require huge investment which are out of the budget for
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such businesses. This is not a urgent business problem because not every business faces
this issue so this problem will come under the category of non-urgent. But for the
maintenance of this issue every business tries to plan their activities in such a way so that
they can build and develop strong brand identity.
The six-step process of analysing a problem and finding the right solution
 Identify and define the problem- It is very important to first make the identification of
the problem as what is the actual problem which business is facing.
 General possible solutions- Now after making the identification of problem the next step
is to make the identification of solutions(Fiedler and et. al., 2021). The solutions include
those which can be used for solving the issue.
 Evaluate alternatives- The other step is to find out the best possible alternative which
can work the best and according to the preference.
 Decide on a solution- The other step is to make the decision on finding and deciding the
solutions. This includes that in which manner solutions will be used and what results they
will provide with the application of that solution.
 Implement the solution- After the decision the next step is to finally make the
implementation of that solution. With the decided planning, the solution is then
implemented which will be helpful for the company(Findler, 2019).
 Evaluating the outcome- It is very important to make the evaluation of the outcomes
which was the result of applied solution.
Task 3
“How to run an effective Business meeting”
Describe the factors that differentiate a productive meeting from an unproductive one and
explain how one can make a positive contribution to any meeting
Productive meeting is that meeting in which there is some agenda which needs to be
achieved by the managers of a company or the leaders(Dong and Rim, 2019). Unproductive
meeting on the other hand, does not have any sought of agenda and is also not organized in a
proper way. Productive meeting are always time oriented whereas unproductive meeting are not
time oriented and does not involve any time limit. Positive contribution will involve preparing
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the points in advance so that the person is prepared already. It is also important to question on
some or the other points in a meeting so that the person can know that people are understanding
the points.
The seven steps of a meeting are discussed below-
 Clarify the aims- It is very important to start the meeting by clarifying the aims so that
the people who are there in a meeting can know what topics will be discussed and what
will be the time which each topic will take.
 Review or assign the meeting roles- For the meeting there are many people who are
involved and those individuals are assigned with the defined roles. There can be
designated person who will do the task for the meeting.
 Reviewing the agenda- It is very essential to review to agenda of meeting for which it is
designed. Agenda provides the objective for which the meeting has been designed so that
the leader of a team can allot the specific time.
 Working through the agenda- It is the duty of a leader to keep all the things on track so
that people who are assigned for the meeting knows things well. Facilitator of a meeting
also have to see that members in the meeting are participating in this.
 Review the meeting actions- All the meeting notes are recorded in a flip-chart so that if
any changes have been made in the meeting can be seen by members. The recorder who
makes all the records of the notes keep a check that the discussions are made on that
basis.
 Plan the next actions- After all the things, it is important to make planning of next
meeting as to what will be the objective and agenda of conducting that meeting.
 Evaluate the meeting- It is essential to make the evaluation of what decisions are made
in the meeting and what changes are required to be made in a meeting.
Differentiate between a formal and an informal agenda
Formal meeting is that meeting in which there are defined roles and having string
business structure. Formal meetings usually have some agenda for which the meeting is
conducted and is such type of meeting people here take notes so that they can work in that
defined manner. In these meeting, minutes are counted which needs to be accurate and must
provide full detail. While Informal meetings are those which is not organised in a structured
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manner which includes brainstorming sessions, progress updates(Muhamad, Wiryasti and
Novitasari, 2021). These meetings does not requires any agenda but for every meeting there must
be some agenda which helps the meeting to be in track.
Describe the purpose and contents of the Minutes of a meeting
Meeting minutes are notes which are has to be noted down in a meeting as in which time meeting
was completed. The main aim of minutes is to make the highlight of key issues which have been
in motions or have been discussed in a meeting. They are the records of actions which has been
taken by a board or the committee of a company and includes the legal purpose(Levius, Safa and
Weeks, 2018). All the things are covered in a meeting which is important to make an analysis in
the future time. The contents of minutes of meeting includes-
 Name, place, date and time
 Meeting participants
 Meeting purpose
 Agenda items
 Documents are of meeting and which needs to be included in it
Describe the responsibilities of a Chairperson
Chairperson are those who head the company work and all the activities and have to make ensure
that the management committee are functioning in a proper way. They have the responsibility of
leading the organisation activities in a proper way and this includes to develop the aims and
policies of their clients and telling what needs to be done. They have to sit in both the general as
well as board meetings and have to determine the agenda of a meeting. They have to act as a
leaders as they have to define the structure of a company and for that they have to make the
review the size and composition of a business so that the operations of a business can be
conducted in a proper way. The chairperson in a meeting chairs the meeting by checking that all
the things have been discussed and the views of every member in a meeting have been heard so
that effective one can be taken into consideration.
“How to make an effective Business presentation”
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Describe the different occasions which require information to be presented to others
In business there are different occasions and functions which needs to be presented to the
employees in the form of presentations. Different occasions which needs to be presented
involves the seminars and team building event whose information is provided in the form of
presentations. Company at some time also provide the parties so that the employees must be
provided with breaks and they can make their mood uplifted. For such type of occasions
information is provided in a form of presentations.
Explain the characteristics of an effective presentation, including the difference between an
effective and ineffective visual aid
Ideas of presentation needs be displayed in a good way and should include image and pictures
and this helps the presentation to look more good. It should not be covering lot of information.
Ineffective visual aid involves that the colours are not used properly and also includes small
fonts. Effective visual aid have proper presentation of ideas as well as involve images. Examples
of visual aid are models, infographics and for ineffective visual aid are complicated graphs,
putting too much information which is irrelevant.
Task 4
Presentation 1
Covered in PPT
Presentation 2
Covered in PPT
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