Business Communication For Professional And Technical: Lessons Learned And Their Applications

Ethical Communication and Paralanguage

Discuss about the Business Communication for Professional and Technical.

Communication is an essential component of the existence of any business relation. The very success or failure of any firm is entirely dependent on how every part of the business organization communicates with one another. For instance, human resource which is pivotal in the operation and coordination of every aspect of the production process must have efficient and appropriately channeled communication systems to ensure that every process runs as expected.  Without proper communication, therefore, the organization risks the danger of unproductivity and ultimate shut down.  In effect, professional work environments demand effective and ethical business communications between the stakeholders and organizational management, management and the employees and finally among employees themselves. Since in a workplace, high-quality work related documents are part of the organizational structure since they not only formalize the operation but also enhances the professional image of the organization. To this end, the present course has played a significant role in enhancing the learners’ ability to move from their familiar academic environment to a professional climate with a high sense of confidence. This paper, therefore, highlights the various lessons learned from the six-course modules as well as the assigned weekly journal articles. It provides a highlight of two key concepts on each weekly module, and then integrates the element of the journal article before providing an analysis of the same. The main idea of the article is then synthesized with the two key concepts borrowed from the module in the effort to explicate the whole learning process. Besides, the paper also presents an application of the lesson learned from both the concept and article to real daily living and future career prospect as an organizational manager. 

Ethical communication is the art of passing on a message verbally, non-verbally or graphically to be perceived by another person or persons within a given code of ethics. In a professional setting, ethical communication is regarded as the pivotal element that organizes organizational life and processes since it not only coordinates and sustains relationships within the organizations but also provide professional working environment. Accordingly, a good and effective communication must be clear, honest, democratic, logical and respects the intended audience as it reflects the intended purpose or objective. Considering the alignment to the provided set of ethical standards, ethical communication enhances proper relations between the management and the employee. It also promotes good relations between the business organization and the potential clients. As such ethical communication within working environments must in every possible way respect these guidelines for it to convey the intended message as well as sustain and coordinate relationships within the organization. Paralanguage refers to any non-verbalized vocal message that is passed during communication such as frequency, timing, intensity, fluency and vocal quality. These elements often have considerable influence the vocal communication specifically how something is said. In effect, compelling ethical communication must take into great consideration of the proper utilization of paralanguage which improve the communication process as well as presentation approach.

Analyzing the Audience and Communication Apprehension

In the Journal article by Ticehurst and Ross-Smith (1998), the authors review professional communication between the management and the working personnel of different organizations in Australia. The authors argued that proper and effective communication by the Directorate go a long way in ensuring not only proper coordination within the organization but also increase organizational outcomes such as employees’ job satisfaction (Ticehurst, & Ross-Smith, 1998). To this end, the two key concepts ethical communication and paralanguage, as well as the article, provide an in-depth understanding of the importance that professional communication in a workplace. Through the module, I have understood the holistic nature of communication, especially within an organization and its significance in promoting relations between employees. In my current occupation, I will be able to use these concepts to improve my ability to communicate efficiently and ethically to my fellow employees and employers in the effort to ensure proper coordination within the workplace. As such, I intend to use these concepts in the future as an organizational manager to create a link between organizational strategic goals and communication. I will seek to overcome the conception that communication is merely a superficial element of an organization but regard it as a central organizational process that has multi-dimensional aspects.

Analysing audience is the act of examining the information of the targeted audience before an oral presentation. Doing an audience analysis is helpful in adapting the intended message to respond adequately to how the audience is expected to respond. The message to the public who is the end-user must in every possible way be appropriate for them, and all the associated communications must strictly target the defined audience. Subsequently, it ensures that there is proper communication between the speaker and the targeted audience.  Communication apprehension on its part is a person’s level of anxiety or fear which is often associated with anticipated oral presentation to an individual or a group of persons. Although, viewed as an individual trait, communication apprehension is common when one is to provide a presentation in a public forum, especially where a group of people is expecting a good delivery at the end of the session. Accordingly, issues such as novelty of the subject, the level of formality or informality of the expected presentation have a big role in affecting a person’s communication apprehension. Unfamiliarity with the targeted audience also brings about an increased comprehension apprehension, not until the sense of familiarity along the presentation sets in.

Written and Verbal Business Communication

This is a similar case with dissimilarity that a presenter has with the target audience. As the perceive dissimilarity rises, the comprehension apprehension (CA) level also increases. In their article, Amogne and Yigzaw (2013) highlight the pervasive problem of communication apprehension, its impact on an individuals’ oral presentation ability as well as how to eliminate the problem especially among young people.  According to the authors, people with high CA will try in every way to avoid communication since that is the surest way of avoiding anxiety or fear he/she has associated with any communication avenue.  From the article and the two key concepts, I have learned that before any public presentation it is essential to analyze the target audience in the effort to familiarize myself with the anticipated communication. This is helpful in minimizing the level of CA. In my current job, I will be able to use these concepts as well as the ideas in the journal article to improve my ability to effectively communicate to a mass of people in more professional manner. I will be able to use these concepts in the future as an organizational manager to ensure that I deliver quality presentations to my fellow workers and the stakeholders at large.

Written business communications are those forms of communications that rely on print media in order to move from one party to another without which it is not regarded as so. Spoken business communications, on the other hand, are merely orally or verbally spoken business arrangements. These two business communications are much distinct in many possible ways. Spoken business communications are regarded as ephemeral while written communications are often static. That is to say, while spoken business communications are often fluid in nature in the sense that they can easily be changed, written business documents are static like the case of an email and therefore not easily changed after sending. Moreover, written documents can easily be stored for future references while spoken word can easily disappear unless recorded or transcribed immediately. Business communications often have varying genres which include application letters and resumes, curriculum vitae, reports and business emails. A good mastery of which particular genre is required for a particular business arrangement is essential in order to enhance effectiveness and authenticity of the message being communicated. However, regardless of the form of rendition of the business message, its sense of formality and professionalism should never be compromised in any way. This is because the very formal nature of the means of communication renders the message a sense of authenticity. Poorly done business documents fail to deliver the expected message, and it connotes a lack of seriousness a high level of unprofessionalism. Just like the written business documents, oral presentations must also portray some sense of competency and accuracy so that the quality of the content is not compromised.

In their article published in Technical Communication Quarterly Blythe, Lauer, & Curran (2014) argued that both spoken and written business communication should maintain professional demeanor although spoken word may have varying levels of deviations. Written business documents on their part must maintain in every possible way the formality and professionalism for them to equate the weight of their message. In view of the article by Blythe and colleagues (2014) and the two key concepts, I will be able to improve my written business communications in a manner that adapt the formality of my position in the workplace. Besides, I will be able to use these concepts in the future as organizational manager in the effort to enhance further my competence and oratory skills as a professional communicator. In the effect, I will be able to provide proper channels of communications for my staffs and fellow employees in my organization. In this way, I will improve the relations between the management and employees as well as provide an excellent avenue for feedbacks which is essential to an organization. Such feedback platforms will help the organization to keep in check of its progress especially in regards to personnel welfare.

Intrapersonal communication is the communication that an individual has with him/herself without necessarily making a sound verbally. In other words, this type of communication entails an individual’s thoughts, personal conversations, feelings or emotions. Such internal conversations are imperative in organizing one’s verbal, interpersonal communications with other people in at the workplace. It enables one to have critical cues that one need to identify while interacting with other people especially professionally.  Interpersonal communication, on the other hand, is the communication that takes place between two or more people and is often characterized by the participation of every party in the discourse. Broadly speaking, this type of communication have six different type of interpersonal relationships namely impersonal, professional, intimate, workplace, family and friendship.  In a professional work setting, excellent interpersonal communication skills are pivotal in keeping the good harmony and collaborative nature of an organization which is essential for optimal productivity and job satisfaction. Teamwork, for instance, relies entirely on good interpersonal communication abilities of every employee in a work environment in the effort to effectively work together for maximum output. It is worth pointing out that interpersonal communication capacity is a compressed skill set that keeps the management and their respective staffs and workmates in a healthy working environment that is conducive for everyone.

In reference to the assigned journal article by Sigmar, Hynes, and Hill (2012) interpersonal communication within a professional working environment is critical in the sense that besides demonstrating a sense of professionalism, it enhances relationships. In an organization, communication between the management and stakeholders, management and employees, and among employees themselves must be respectful and professional in order to have a good team working towards the same organizational goals. Sigmar and colleagues observed that in order to effectively develop one’s interpersonal communication skills, it is imperative to take into account one’s strength, weaknesses, skills set and abilities. Again, it is for the good to avoid ineffective and considerably deleterious communication and language in the effort to sustain and maintain a good relationship between people in an organization. Utilization of such offensive language within an organization may attract imposition of organizational sanctions that may have severe consequences on one’s personal and professional development.

In effect, in my current occupation, I will use these key concepts and the assigned weekly journal article to enhance my ability to understand as well as communicate professionally and relationally with other employees in my workplace. Besides, using these concepts, I will be able to choose an appropriate communication style for every business context and therefore become an excellent communicator. In addition, I will be able to use the concepts in my future career as a manager especially in ensuring harmonious coexistence among my staff members. As the organization’s Manager, I will be able to use my assertive skills to resolve internal organizational conflicts in a more professional and relational manner.

Professional or business writing refers to the writing of formal business oriented documents which are designed purposefully for business communication in effect to coordinate people as well as organizational processes. These professional documents are also written to ensure that the organizational processes and operations are run smoothly and efficiently with proper channels of communications and the sizeable window for interpersonal relations. While writing business communication documents, the author often has full control of the entire process before the document is reviewed by other authors or supervisors before the final presentation. In a professional work setting, the quality and authenticity of the written documents must be up to the standard in order to communicate a considerable demeanor of formality. This is to enhance one’s professional image as well as uplift organizational image. To this end, these documents often require a high level of accuracy with minimal or no latitude for error or oversights. This is because simple mistakes may permanently change the course of the history of the business operations of an organization owing to the miscommunication in the documents. This explains why a business or professional documents must be read and proofread by other authors just to ensure that the room of error is eliminated or minimized to insignificance.

Academic writing, on the other hand, is the terms used mostly in tertiary level of education, and it refers to the writing of documents primarily to enhance one’s learning process and knowledge on a particular subject matter. Academic writings are often used to demonstrate the students’ level of mastery of subject area since they must do thorough research in order to produce quality written documents. In the institutions of higher learning, students are often given a subject area on which to write his or her paper and therefore, they often have little control of the subject matter under discussion. They are then required to limit their research and analysis within the specified limit of words and given writing standard. These written documents aim at fostering a high sense of professionalism among students making them ready for their future prospective career choices.

In their journal article, Yates and Orlikowski (1992) argued that the genres of organizational communications should be viewed as embedded in the social processes rather than as an independent and isolated rational process. In other words, the communication genres within either business organizations or academic institutions should not be regarded in isolation from the daily communication efforts inasmuch a little level of formality and standard is often observed in both instances. In view of the journal article and the two concepts, I will be able to improve my ability to effectively write professional or business documents to an appropriate standard and format. In effect, I will be able to improve my professional communication skills as well as enhance my organizational image. I will be able to use these concepts in the future as an organizational manager in the effort to ensure effective communication between various organizational departments. These concepts will be useful for me to improve the personal relationship with fellow employees as well as ensure efficient and smooth organizational processes.

These are communications that take place within business environments between the stakeholders and the management, management and the employee and among employees themselves. In any organizational setting, there are two types of communication namely, internal and external communication. Internal communication is the employee themselves while external communication involves communication between the employees and the organization’s clients. Regardless of the type of communication, the process must be ethical and professional in order to sustain, coordinate and maintain the existing relationships as well as make new ones in the process.  Through organizational communications, the employees are able to work as a team to perform a task as a joint force. In a way, proper and effective communications channels within professional settings enhance interpersonal relations at workplace, and the result is optimal productivity and job satisfaction among employees.

The management utilizes the defined organizational communicational channels to regulate, control and effectively coordinate the production processes which aim at realizing the organization’s objectives and mission. Besides, organizational communication often provides the employee together with their managers and supervisors to engage in interpersonal or social activities that seek to bind them towards one particular goal. As such, providing an efficient and open organizational communication channels within an institution encourages a healthy environment where the employees can personal develop, and so enhance their creativity. It is worth pointing out that organizational communication efficiency is dependent on the existing organizational structure which encompasses how the communication is to flow within the organization. The organization’s complexity, its formalized communication channels as well as centralization of the communication systems play a significant role in determining the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the communication process. To this end, organizational communication within a professional workplace determines to a great length the success or failure of the production process and the productivity of the employees.

In the journal article, Tourish (2014) argued that in a leadership position, the most effective panacea for employees’ underdevelopment and business unproductivity is effective organizational communication channels. The author observed that proper organizational communication, its structure, and channels bring workers plight right before their management and stakeholders who in turn have the power to change their welfare in order to achieve their maximum productivity.  Communication should in every way neutralize the traditionally envisioned leadership positions as masters and the employees as slaves but make it possibly accessible to everyone in order to improve organizational productivity. Workers would prefer to work best in environments where they can communicate well with their immediate supervisors and proper channels for feedbacks are also open to them.

Excellent organizational communication often tends to break down rigid leadership hierarchy that may perhaps hinder the productivity of the employee. It also encourages efficient the flow of essential communication from one department to another provided there are excellent communication channels within the workplace. Therefore, in my current job, I will be able to use these concepts in organizational communication and the argument in the journal article to improve my ability to communicate professionally but also seek to ensure that working relationship is maintained. Besides, I will be able to use these concepts in the future as an organizational manager to properly coordinate, control the production capacity of the organization with a strong emphasis on the human resource. I will use the concepts to properly coordinate my staffs’ activities that are necessary for producing system outputs within the organization.

Conclusion

Effective business communication is considered as the most critical aspect that determines business success or failure. In any business relations, communication is pivotal in ensuring successful employee and customer interaction which result in both customer satisfaction and maximum productivity on the part of the organization. For any business communication to be efficient and effective, it goes beyond mere speech and hearing, but a great sense of ethical considerations must apply.  As such communication must be clear, honest, democratic, logical and it must also respect the intended audience. Within a professional environment, a non-verbalized vocal message such as frequency, timing, intensity, fluency and vocal quality must be used during communication in order to enhance the quality of the communication. Again to ensure the message lands well to the target audience as expected, proper and thorough analysis must be done to reduce chances of communication apprehension which is often associated with public speaking or presentation. This applies even in both written and verbal business communication which demands a considerable level of professionalism and formality. This is considered critical especially in light of the sensitive nature that business relation often have in its wake.

Like in any communication, effective business communication within professional working environment demands a good sense of interpersonal communication skills that will promote cohesion and proper relation among workers. Besides, to ensure good relations within the workplace, ineffective and considerably deleterious language should be avoided as this may distort the existing relationships within the organization. In the modern day working environment, great sense of formality and professional demeanor is required to ensure effective organizational communication. Needless to say, effective business communication is essential in ensuring proper coordination of different organizational processes that aim to achieve the organization’s objective and long-term goals. Moreover, embracing effective and ethical communication also helps maintain the existing working relationships in workplaces. In effect, good communication within the organization will not only improve the employee work relations among themselves but also enhance its productivity.

References

Amogne, D., & Yigzaw, A. (2013). Oral communication apprehension, competence and performance among maritime engineering trainees. Journal of Media and Communication Studies, 5(1), 5.

Blythe, S., Lauer, C., & Curran, P. G. (2014). Professional and technical communication in a web 2.0 world. Technical Communication Quarterly, 23(4), 265-287.

Sigmar, L. S., Hynes, G. E., & Hill, K. L. (2012). Strategies for teaching social and emotional intelligence in business communication. Business Communication Quarterly, 75(3), 301-317.

Ticehurst, G. W., & Ross-Smith, A. 1998. Professional communication, organizations, and management: Reclaiming the functions of the executive. Australian Journal of Communication, 25 (2), 1-12.

Tourish, D. (2014). Leadership, more or less? A processual, communication perspective on the role of agency in leadership theory. Leadership, 10(1), 79-98.

Yates, J., & Orlikowski, W. J. (1992). Genres of organizational communication: A structuration approach to studying communication and media. Academy Of Management Review, 17(2), 299-326.