Communication Skills

Role of Women

Women are involved in American business and should be treated with the same respect as men. In some cultures, women are not as accepted in business. Some men from these cultures are more comfortable dealing with men.

Individualism

American business people tend to value individual accomplishments. Decisions are often made by individuals rather than groups. In many other cultures, group harmony and consensus is more important. Decisions may require agreement from many people.

Future Outlook

American business people often focus more on short-term objectives than long-term relationships. Americans often move between companies or change roles within a company. In many parts of the world, business people stay with one company for a long time and form lasting relationships with other business people. They may be more focused on long- term goals.

Emotion

Americans are often enthusiastic and excited, which can make them seem emotional. Some cultures frown upon emotion in the workplace and seem more reserved and cold to Americans.

Decision Making

Americans often make business decisions fairly quickly compared to many other cultures. In many cultures, business decisions are made much more slowly. This can make Americans impatient or feel like no progress is being made. In some cases, pushing too hard for a decision may result in failure, when patience may have been more successful.

Communication Style

Americans tend to use direct language and say what they are thinking. American also use body language to express themselves. They are usually not afraid to argue or disagree with someone else. In some cultures, this may make Americans seem negatively impulsive, dominating, disrespectful, or inappropriate. In these cultures, it may be inappropriate to openly disagree with someone else, particularly if that person is at a higher level in the company. In some cultures, it is inappropriate to say no directly, so it can be difficult for an American to understand whether an agreement has been reached. In a culture that is less direct, it can be difficult for Americans to understand what people are thinking. Learning about the communication style in this particular culture can make it easier for an American to understand others and to avoid offending or upsetting them.

Respect

Americans usually respect achievement, success, and wealth. They are not as concerned with age, social standing, or educational background. In some cultures, age and other factors are given more respect.

Language differences and cultural differences can strongly affect your communication ability. What makes sense in one language and culture might be perceived very differently in another language or culture. If you will be doing business with people who speak another language, it may be a good idea for you to learn about that language and culture or to hire someone who is fluent in that language and knows the culture. If you will be selling many of your products to people who speak Spanish or Chinese, it may make sense for you to find someone who can translate your brochures, marketing materials, Web sites, and other materials into that language.

As globalization continues, more and more companies will market to or form business relationships with people from other cultural backgrounds. American culture itself includes many different subcultures. If your company will be involved with customers, employees, or companies from another culture or subculture, it's important to learn about how that culture may perceive your company and its products. You may need to make some changes to your behavior when interacting with people from another culture. You also may need to change the way you market your product in a different culture. EXAMPLE: Certain colors, words, or images may be considered offensive in another culture, or certain phrases may not translate well into a different language. Or an advertising campaign that relies on humor may not make sense in a different culture.

Posture and Position

Body posture and position can give you clues about what a person is thinking or feeling. Sitting up straight and using an open stance can indicate openness, interest, and focused attention. Slouching, crossing arms, or turning away may indicate disinterest or disagreement. Fidgeting may suggest nervousness or impatience.

Eye Contact

Eye contact can mean many things. It can indicate honesty, openness, interest, and focused attention. Eye contact may also communicate confidence. Avoidance of eye contact can indicate disinterest or dishonesty. It may also communicate shyness or insecurity.

Facial Expression

Facial expressions can express emotions, interest, encouragement, surprise, frustration, and much more. Smiling is a positive facial expression that usually shows happiness, appreciation, or interest. You can use a facial expression to show how much you care about something or how well you are listening.

Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication skills are the skills of using and interpreting body language and behavior. Nonverbal communication often happens along with verbal communication, but it can also happen when there is no verbal communication happening at all. Nonverbal communication is easy to misread, because it can mean many different things, and a particular gesture or expression may not mean any of the common ways that it is interpreted. People also often express nonverbal messages that contradict one another or that contradict what they are saying. Learning about nonverbal messages can help you make sure yours support what you are saying. If your body language contradicts what you are saying, people are less likely to trust you. Nonverbal communication is also used differently in different cultures, so eye contact or posture may mean something very different in one culture than another.

Which of the following is a good way to make sure you understood a speaker's message correctly? (Select the best answer.)

Paraphrase the information

Appearance

People also express messages by the way they dress and groom themselves, and by how they arrange and decorate their personal space.

Space

The space between people who are standing or sitting can also express a nonverbal message. Standing too close together can make people feel pressured or uncomfortable. Standing too far apart can make people feel distant or distracted. In a meeting, if someone sits far apart from the others, that may express a difference of opinion or some other feeling of distance or separation.

It's good to be aware of the standards and values of American business culture and to compare them to the standards and values of other cultures you may be dealing with.

There are many different aspects of business communications that can be affected by culture. Let us learn about some of them.

In what way are electronic communications sometimes different from other business communications? (Select the best answer.)

They are more casual.

Touch

Touch is used more frequently in personal relationships than in business relationships, but it occurs occasionally in the workplace. Shaking hands is a form of touch used often in the workplace as a way of greeting people and of saying goodbye.

Culture

is a collection of attitudes, values, and behaviors shared by a group of people. A cultural group can represent a nationality, such as American culture, Chinese culture, or Italian culture. Cultural groups can also be much more specific, such as inner-city Los Angeles teenage culture or suburban Midwestern culture. A small cultural group is sometimes called a subculture. Cultural groups can be related to race, ethnicity, religion, education, lifestyle, income level, geographical area, language spoken, or other shared characteristics.

Cultural etiquette

is a set of standards for proper behavior in a particular culture. If you don't pay attention to cultural etiquette, such as appropriate dress, body language, ways of speaking, and so on, people from that culture may consider you rude Learning about the etiquette of the culture you are interacting with can help you be polite and avoid offending people.

Communication skills are very important in the workplace. Good communication can make work happen more efficiently and accurately, build solid business relationships, and improve the overall quality of the work that is produced. Bad communication can lead to mistakes, misunderstandings, a flawed or poor quality product, and damaged business relationships.

Communications in the workplace happen within a company, within a department, between departments, or between individuals. Communication also happens with people outside the company, such as customers, investors, vendors, and others.

Voice

In addition to the words we say, the way we say them matters. The tone of voice used can change the meaning of something being said.

Gestures

Gestures are intentional body movements intended to make a point, support something being said, or express a message without using words. Gestures can be used as encouragement or discouragement. Gestures can show impatience, or they can be used to guide someone.

Gifts

Gifts are not common in American business, but they are common in some other cultures. It is important to learn whether gift giving is a part of business in the culture you are dealing with. If so, you will need to learn the way gifts are given and received. In some cultures, gifts should be given privately. In others, they should be given in front of as many people as possible. The gift may or may not be opened in front of the giver.

Personal Relationship

In American business culture, personal relationships are not as important as they are in many other cultures. American business people often make brief small talk, but they are less likely to care about building lasting personal relationships. In many other cultures, it's important to really get to know people personally before doing business. This may take time, and it may feel strange to an American business person, but it can be an important part of establishing a business relationship.

Meetings

In meetings, Americans often like to have a clear agenda and accomplish specific things. They also like to start and end meetings on time. In some other cultures, meetings are opportunities for relationship building and may not have a clear objective. Business people also may not care as much about starting and ending on time.

Confidence

Most Americans value self-confidence and are comfortable talking about their own achievements. In some cultures, it is more important to be humble and modest. They might view American confidence as pride or arrogance.

You may also need to adjust the tone and messaging of the language to be more culturally appropriate. If you don't pay attention to the culture of the people you are doing business with or marketing to, they may not like you as much and may not want to do business with you. They may feel that you don't care about their culture or that you don't consider their culture important enough to affect the way you do business.

Paying attention to cultural differences is a way for you to show your respect toward that culture. If you are making your best effort, people will probably notice and appreciate it. If people can tell you are trying, they may be more likely to forgive you for minor mistakes in etiquette. Encouraging cultural diversity within your company will make your company more well rounded and versatile in the business world, so that your company can communicate with many different sorts of people.

Reading

Reading and understanding written communication is important in most jobs. Company policies, safety and health procedures, instructions for completing tasks, and many other documents are recorded in writing. Being a careful reader with good comprehension will help you do your job well and make you more confident. Learn the words frequently used in your company and field of business, so you are prepared for them when you see them in written documents. Don't be afraid to look up words you don't know, or to ask what something means if the wording is unclear. Become familiar with the main types of written business communication used in your work and the normal formatting for them.

If you want to express enthusiasm and interest while someone else is talking, which of the following things could you do to support that message nonverbally? (Select four answers.)

Sit up straight Nod your head Smile Make eye contact

Speaking

Speaking is also very important to your success in the workplace. Using clear, simple, and concise language helps make sure that your listeners will understand what you are saying. Being concise means not using more words than necessary. Try not to show off your vocabulary by using unnecessarily complicated words. It's more important to be understood than to impress your listeners or embarrass them by using words they don't know. Make sure your use of grammar is correct and your word choices are accurate, so you don't confuse your listeners. Speak slowly, and pause often, to give listeners a chance to ask questions. Respond politely and respectfully to questions. Don't make the listener feel bad or treat any questions as bad questions. Sometimes, speaking is used in a back-and- forth conversation in person or over the telephone. Other times, you may be expected to lead a meeting or give a presentation to a group of people. To prepare for leading a meeting, you should create an agenda. An agenda is a list of topics to be covered in the meeting. It will be up to you to keep the meeting participants on track and to make sure the topics in the agenda get covered before the meeting runs out of time. This is especially important if the meeting includes group discussion. Make sure that people speak respectfully and that one person doesn't dominate the conversation too much.

Greetings

There are many ways of greeting people. Americans usually shake hands, say hello, and look people in the eyes. In some cultures, it's more appropriate to bow, avoid eye contact, or use other greeting methods. Americans don't spend a lot of time making small talk before starting to talk about business. In many other cultures, it's rude to begin talking about business too early.

Writing

Your writing is a way to show your professionalism. Writing that is unclear, filled with mistakes, or too casual can give the impression that you are unprofessional. Writing skills are especially important if you are in a job that relies on your ability to communicate with or to educate others, such as writing or teaching jobs. Pay attention to spelling, grammar, and punctuation, and do your best to avoid mistakes. After you write something, read it over carefully to look for mistakes. Spell checking and grammar checking tools in word processing software can also help you identify mistakes. You may also want to have someone else review your work for mistakes before you finalize it and send it out to others. You'll learn more about writing professionally later. There are many types of writing you may be expected to produce, such as manuals, instructions, letters, reports, and more. You'll learn more about some common business documents later. There are also many types of electronic written communication you may use, such as e-mails, posts to online forums, online chats, and so on. Electronic communications are often more casual than other types of business communications, but it's important not to be too casual, or you may seem unprofessional.

Written communication skills

are the skills of reading and writing. There are many written documents used in business, such as manuals, books, letters, e-mails, reports, meeting notes, and many other forms of written communication. Developing strong reading and writing skills will make you more confident and professional in your business communications.

Verbal communication skills

are the skills of speaking and listening. Verbal communication skills are used when speaking over the phone, in meetings, or in daily conversations with others. Workers use verbal communication to interact with customers, coworkers, supervisors, vendors, and others.

Negotiation

is the act of bringing two different parties with different interests to an agreement. It may be used to make a business deal or other agreement, or it may be used to resolve a conflict. Negotiation often requires combining verbal, nonverbal, and written communication to achieve a goal. You might negotiate to bring two parties to an agreement, or you might be one of the parties directly involved in the outcome of the negotiation. A good negotiator must look out for the interests of both parties and help find a solution that will be satisfactory to both.

Cultural diversity

is when a variety of differing cultures are combined in one place, such as a nation, region, school, or workplace. Different cultural groups have different ways of communicating and behaving. It's important to be aware of cultural differences so that you can communicate well and be respectful of others. If you are doing business with people from another cultural group, you should learn about the standards for behavior in that culture.

Sarcasm

is when the person speaking doesn't really mean the words they are saying. Their tone or body language is used to show this. Sarcasm can be used as humor, but it can sometimes be difficult to identify. The speed and volume at which a person talks also affects how people interpret their message. Speaking quickly or loudly may indicate impatience or frustration. Voice can also be used to express interest or encouragement in ways that aren't quite words, like "mmmhmm," "ahhhh," or "ummm."