Communication is used in every aspect of our lives. It requires skills and practice to excel at it. One of the most important communication is conducted in a business environment. It is crucial to have effective business communication skill, since that is one skill that almost all employers seek for in an employee. There are three characteristics that successful business communicators have in common: being strategic, professional and adaptable. Effective communicators are strategic and always have a plan in delivering a message that achieves Its purpose or desired outcome.
For example, writing a resume has the repose of getting hired for a desired position. If the objective of the resume was weak with no clear purpose, It would be difficult to find an employee willing to offer an Interview. Successful business communicators must be audience oriented and aware of whom their message is being directed to. Understanding who the audience is makes a huge difference in being able to deliver a message effectively. An email to a couple of colleagues for a laid back happy hour event can be casual.
However, an email to the board of directors proposing a potential increase in budget needs to one in a persuading and professional way. The language used for a casual email versus a professional tone differs completely due to the type of audience receiving the message. Understanding who the audience is will help achieve the desired outcome. Persuasiveness is an important part of being an effective communicator. If the desired outcome Is for the board of directors to Increase the budget for Arts and Idea department, the message delivered must be convincing In order for the agenda to be pushed through.
Persuasion Is being able to understand the perspective of the audience that is being convinced. Effective communicators are professional. Their behavior is appropriate and adaptable for specific situations, express clarity and conciseness in communication, and make ethical decisions. The interactions between so many different kinds of people require an accurate assessment of behaviors depending of the situation. For example, business introductions are conducted differently depending on which country it is.
A kiss on the cheek may be an acceptable greeting, but on the other hand, interpreted as an unacceptable act by a different culture. Having a good understanding of deferent cultures would enable proper behavior in different situations. In a business environment, people value clarity and conciseness because it avoids the ambiguity, confusion and wasted time. An email Invitation for a meeting should state a brief description of the meeting, date, time, and participants. It would be inefficient if the email went into detail of what would be discussed at the meeting. Asking the most ethical decision. It may not always be clear what is right or wrong, but it is the social responsibility of an individual to use the best Judgment and act orally especially in a business environment. There is a mutual trust established between employers and employees, clients and vendor, which should not be breached by unethical actions. Effective communicators are adaptable with keeping current with technology and social media, able to work with different cultures and being collaborative. Technology is changing constantly in order to find ways to be even more efficient.
It would be crucial for the success of a business to be able to catch up with the current trends and technology. For example, marketing used to be the most efficient dispersed through paper prints. Due to the advance in technology, everything has become digitized and the new effective way of advertising is through social media. Without being able to keep up with the current technology, a company will fall behind quickly preventing it from being successful. Social media today, is utilized for many purposes such as advertising, providing customer support, social recruiting, customer feedbacks and much more.
Cultural diversity is an important part of being a successful business communicator. As businesses expand globally, opportunities to work with different people from different ethnic backgrounds are becoming more frequent. Ensuring there is a mutual understanding in cultural background requires avoiding idioms and slang that is not mutually understandable. Different culture and values can clash in a business negotiation if prior research was not done properly. A simple handshake between a man and woman is casual in the American culture but may be looked down upon in a Middle Eastern culture.
Cultural sensitivity plies to all aspects of business communications. Collaboration is an important skillet for a successful business communicator. Often times, there will be projects too big for Just one individual to complete. A team composed of different people from different cultures bring different aspects and perspective into the project. With teamwork, an individual can learn how to manage work, negotiate terms, and mediate conflicts. Successful business communicators are effective, professional and adaptable. Communication is not something that one is innately good at.
