In today’s competitive business environment, corporations focus on generating a competitive advantage over their competitors to ensure that they are able to sustain their future growth. Effective communication is one of the key elements which play a major role in organisations to ensure that they are able to sustain their development. Communication is important for individuals because it assists them in building new relationships with others. In corporations, communication assists the management in bringing everyone on a single page to ensure that they all work collaboratively to achieve organisational goals (Shaw et al., 2015). The lack of effective communication in the workplace leads to promoting a hostile working environment in which employees are exploited, and it also increases workplace disputes. There are various communication style and techniques relating to personal and business communication which assist parties in effectively communicating in the organisation. Along with evaluation of these styles and techniques, it is important that the management must evaluate various types of barriers to communication in the workplace because they hinder the effectiveness of communication (Cardon, 2014). Based on this evaluation, the management can implement various policies to overcome these challenges in order to promote effective communication in the workplace. The purpose of this essay is to evaluate various personal and business communication styles and techniques for corporations. Different types of barriers to communication will be analysed in this report to understand how they adversely affect the effectiveness of personal and business communication. Lastly, this essay will provide various recommendations which can be used by enterprises in order to overcome the communication barriers to create a successful business practice.
The word communication is linked with exchanging ideas and information by means of words or other mediums, however, the verbal communication is just a small component of communication. The role of communication has evolved across the globe with the popularity of the internet and other technological advancements. In the 21st century, there is a wide range of methods of communication which businesses use in order to communication with internet as well as external audiences (Linton, Boersma, Traczyk, Shaw & Nicholas, 2016). Workplace communication is significant for corporations because it allows organisations to be productive and manage their operations in an effective manner. Effective communication assists in increasing the morale of employees and it reinforces their productivity and commitment. A positive work environment can be achieved if the employees are able to communicate up and down the communication chain in a company. Traditional business meetings are considered as the main method of communication which is used by corporations. Other popular methods of communication in organisations include video conference, social media and others (Katz, 2017). Businesses use various tools which enable them to connect with audience who are located both near and far. Although the importance and use of new modes of communication channels have increased in corporations across the globe, however, the value related to the use of traditional methods of communication still exists. Therefore, it has become important for organisations to effective choose between different styles and techniques of communication to determine which method is right for them.
Verbal communication is a personal communication technique which involves usage of words to deliver an intended message. Verbal communication can be one-on-one or in a group. It is an effective communication method which is personal and which is used by people through phones and emails as well (Wierzbicka, 2016). This communication style can be used by parties for storytelling which assist them in building relationship. It can also be used by the management for crucial conversations in order to share their business ideas with staff members. Another technique is asking questions which is a personal communication technique; the questions can be open-ended in which a comprehensive answer can be given by parties, or they can be closed-ended in which they receive can just give simple yes or no response. Feedback is a business communication style which is used by the management to convey crucial information to the employees which are a way for them to share criticism of the employee’s performance. In corporations, feedback enables employees and the management to learn where they are lacking and how they can improve their performance through constructive criticism (Brink & Costigan, 2015). Another style of business communication includes impromptu speaking in which the part starts speaking at the moment in order to deliver a speech to the audience with any prior preparation. This style of communication is spontaneous, and the speaker improvise during the conversation. In the memorised speech communication style, the speaker rehearses in advance regarding the speech to deliver the information without any notes.
Interpersonal communication is a key technique of personal communication which is used by people to exchange information, feelings and meaning through various verbal and non-verbal messages. Mostly, interpersonal communication is relating to face-to-face communication in the workplace. This style of communication is not just about what is actually said by the party or what language is used; instead, this approach emphasis on how the verbal or non-verbal message is delivered by the party through body language, the tone of voice, gestures and facial expression (Berger, 2014). There is a wide range of key elements which break down the interpersonal communication to understand who this technique is used by individuals in organisations. The first element is the communicators that are related to parties which include the sender and the receiver. Communication is not a one-way process, instead, it is a two-way process in which people send and receive messages from each other. For example, while delivering a message, the receiver sends the acknowledgement of the message through gestures, smile, head nods or others (Parks & Faw, 2014). The second key element is the message itself which contain the information that is being conveyed by the sender to the receiver. After receiving the message, the receiver sends the acknowledgement message through facial expressions, body language, tone of voice and gestures. The use of effective interpersonal communication assists corporations in giving and collecting information which influences the attitude and behaviour of parties in the workplace (Hargie, 2016). It enables employees and the management to form contacts and maintain relationship in the workplace which is crucial for them to improve their productivity. It also assists them in making sense of the world around them and expresses their personal needs while understanding the needs of others.
Written communication is another form of personal and business communication techniques which is becoming popular with the advancement of technologies. The popularity of social media is a good example; many corporations use these websites to instantly communicate between different branches which are situated across the globe (Shaw et al., 2015). It is an easy way to stay connected globally without any delay, and it allows the management to deliver a message to every branch which is situated in different locations. The use of emails as a way to communicate in organisations is very common way to communication which has become an essential tool for sharing information and communication in the organisation. Effectiveness of face-to-face communication styles such as meetings and interviews are still a great way to know the person and to ensure that the person is able to understand the message because he/she can ask the questions to resolve any queries on the spot. There are various non-verbal methods of communication which are used by people to deliver their message. Sending and receiving wordless messages is a key part of non-verbal communication in which the message is not the vital part of the communication, however, it is conveyed through parties own feelings and thoughts (Moore & Morton, 2017). Many times employees use physical non-verbal communication styles of communication which include body language, signs, facial expressions, eye contact and other ways. It is important that both the sender and the receiver are aware the non-verbal communication because they must be able to understand the meaning of the gestures or body language in orders to interpret the message.
The above mentioned are different types of personal and business communication style and techniques which are used by parties while conveying their message. However, there are various barriers relating to communication which makes it difficult for parties to convey their message to others. One of the key barriers to communication is physical barriers. Physical barriers in corporations include marked out territories in the workplace based on which the employees are not able to communication with anyone outside their territory (Hargie, 2016). Many times physical barriers include closed doors, separate areas for people and large working areas which physically separate people from one another. Semantic barriers are other key factors which parties are required to evaluate in order to effectively communicate in the workplace. During communication, there is always a possibility that the receiver might misunderstand the feelings of the sender or vice versa and it resulted in creating a barrier in their communication. In case the parties misunderstood sign, gestures, and figures, then it resulted in creating doubtful situations in which the parties find it difficult to convey their message in its actual form (Mira, Guilabert, Perez-Jover & Lorenzo, 2014). Semantic barriers are occurred due to badly expressed messages, use of symbols or words with different meanings, unclear assumptions, faulty translation, or technical jargon. Perceptual barriers also result in creating a problem during communication because people see the world differently. Many times the difference in the perception of employees resulted in making it difficult for parties to correctly convey their message without offending other parties.
Cultural and language are two of the most common type of communication barriers which are faced by multination corporations. Culture is all socially transmitted behaviours, ideas, gestures, signs, beliefs, norms and others. Culture differences are caused due to difference in nationality, ethnicity, or religion of parties. It is important for parties to evaluate these factors while communication with employees from other cultures to ensure that they avoid offending anyone (Ray, 2014). For example, thumbs up is a common sign which is used by people across the globe as a symbol for everything is fine, however, in New Zealand, it is considered as a rude symbol. The difference in language, especially in the case of multinational corporations which operates in different nations, makes it difficult for everyone to understand each other. Due to faulty translation and different meaning of different words, parties find it difficult to communicate the message (Meuter, Gallois, Segalowitz, Ryder & Hocking, 2015). The issues relating to gender barriers is also increasing in organisations because many times people find it difficult to communicate their message to opposite gender. For example, if a female HR is not available in the office, then it becomes difficult for female employees to share the gender-specific issues faced by them in the workplace which hinders their productivity. Emotional barriers are also resulted mainly due to mistrust, suspicion and fear between employees and the management which makes it difficult for them to convey their message.
The barriers of communication resulted in adversely affecting the effectiveness of communication which makes it difficult for parties to convey their message in appropriate form. To address these challenges, various policies can be implemented by corporations which can assist them in avoiding communication-related barriers and improve the effectiveness of communication in the workplace. Parties can avoid communication barriers by using plain language while communicating with others. The use of plain language assist parties in avoiding any double meaning context in the message, and it enables the sender to ensure that the receiver has appropriately understood the message (Wang, Pauleen & Zhang, 2016). It assists parties in avoiding language-related barriers, and it also clears out any misunderstanding which arises between parties due to use of signs, gestures, facial expressions or body language to convey the message. Another way to overcome communication barriers is to find a reliable translation service. This is an appropriate option for multinational corporations which deal with employees who speak different languages. The language translator must have appropriate knowledge of both languages to understand the context of the message rather than just translating it exactly to avoid misunderstanding (Visser, Deliens & Houttekier, 2014). It also increases efficiency of the communication, and it builds trust between the parties. Multinational corporations should hire a trusted interpreter to ensure that parties are able to understand the message and the instruction are not misused due to language barriers.
The corporations should provide training to their employees to help them understand difference between cultures to ensure that they did not accidentally offend an employee (Lenartowicz, Johnson & Konopaske, 2014). Training will also assist employees from different departments to understand the operations to avoid confusion while working together. For example, the marketing department must know about the products and its production process which assist them in doing their job, and it avoids any misunderstanding between employees caused due to lack of knowledge regarding other departments’ operations. Organisations can also use visual methods of communication which assist them in effectively conveying their message. Use of pictures and diagrams assist the management in explaining complicated concepts to employees without creating difficulties. Emotional aggression caused due to emotions such as fear, hostility, resentment or anger makes it difficult for parties to convey their message; therefore, these factors should be considered by parties while communicating the message to ensure that it is rightly interpreted by the receiver (Swani, Milne, Brown, Assaf & Donthu, 2017). The sender must also collect feedback from the receiver after sending the message to understand whether or not it is conveyed correctly. Being respectful is also important to ensure that the receiver takes the sender seriously to understand the message in the right manner.
In conclusion, communication is a key part in corporations to ensure that they are able to manage their productivity and create a positive working environment to support the employees. Various personal and business styles and techniques are used by parties in organisations to convey the message in order to ensure that it is appropriately conveyed to the receiver. Verbal and written communication channels are traditional form of communication methods which are still effective ways to deliver a message in the workplace. The methods of using these techniques have changed with the advancement of technologies. Employees also use many non-verbal mediums of communication through gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice and others to convey the message. While using these methods, parties face various barriers relating to communication which makes it difficult for them to convey the message. These barriers are relating to difference in language, culture, perception, emotions, gender, and others. In order to overcome these challenges, the parties can use simple language and a trusted translator to ensure that the message is conveyed correctly. The management should also provide training to employees regarding culture difference, and they should use visual mediums of communication. The parties should also be respectful, and they should collect feedback in order to ensure the effectiveness of communication in the workplace.
References
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