Understanding communication

Communication is vital to organizations — it’s how we coordinate actions and achieve

goals. It is defined in Webster’s dictionary as a process by which information is exchanged
between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior. We know that
50% to 90% of a manager’s time is spent communicating.

In most work environments, a miscommunication is an annoyance — it can interrupt

workflow by causing delays and interpersonal strife. But, in some work arenas, like operating
rooms and airplane cockpits, communication can be a matter of life and death. So, just how
prevalent is miscommunication in the workplace? You may not be surprised to learn that the
relationship between miscommunication and negative outcomes is very strong. Data suggest
that deficient interpersonal communication was a causal factor in approximately 70% to 80%
of all accidents over the last 20 years.
In business, poor communication costs money and wastes time. One study found that
14% of each workweek is wasted on poor communication. In contrast, effective communication
is an asset for organizations and individuals alike. Effective communication skills, for example,
are an asset for job seekers. A recent study of recruiters at 85 business schools ranked
communication and interpersonal skills as the highest skills they were looking for, with 89% of
the recruiters saying they were important.
On the flip side, good communication can help a company retain its star employees.
Surveys find that when employees think their organizations do a good job of keeping them
informed about matters that affect them and when they have access to the information they need
to do their jobs, they are more satisfied with their employers. What are the bottom line results
of communicating? So can good communication increase a company’s market value? The
answer seems to be yes. „When you foster ongoing communications internally, you will have
more satisfied employees who will be better equipped to effectively communicate with your
customers,” says Susan Meisinger, president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource
Management. Research finds that organizations that are able to improve their communication
integrity also increase their market value by as much as 7%.

The Communication Process

Communication fulfills three main functions within an organization, including (1)
coordination, (2) transmission of information, and (3) sharing emotions and feelings.
All these functions are vital to a successful organization. The coordination of effort
within an organization helps people work toward the same goals. Transmitting information is a
vital part of this process. Sharing emotions and feelings bonds teams and unites people in times
of celebration and crisis. Effective communication helps people grasp issues, build rapport with
coworkers, and achieve consensus. So, how can we communicate effectively? The first step is
to understand the communication process.
We all exchange information with others countless times each day by phone, e-mail,
printed word, and of course, in person. Let us take a moment to see how a typical
communication works using this as a guide.

1
 Process Model of Communication

A sender (the person initiating a communication.), such as a boss, coworker, or

customer, originates the message with a thought. For example, the boss’s thought could be:
“Get more printer toner cartridges!”
The sender encodes (the translation of ideas into words - the message-, translating the
idea into words). The boss may communicate this thought by saying, “Hey you guys, let’s order
more printer toner cartridges.”
The medium (the way that a sender’s message is conveyed) of this encoded message
may be spoken words, written words, or signs.
The receiver (the person who a message is intended to reach) is the person who receives
the message. The receiver decodes (the process of assigning meaning to a received message)
the message by assigning meaning to the words.
In this example, our receiver, Bill, has a to-do list a mile long. “The boss must know
how much work I already have,” the receiver thinks. Bill’s mind translates his boss’s message
as, “Could you order some printer toner cartridges, in addition to everything else I asked you
to do this week…if you can find the time?”
The meaning that the receiver assigns may not be the meaning that the sender intended,
because of factors such as noise.
Noise is anything that interferes with or distorts the message being transformed. Noise
can be external in the environment (such as distractions) or it can be within the receiver. For
example, the receiver may be extremely nervous and unable to pay attention to the message.
Noise can even occur within the sender: The sender may be unwilling to take the time to convey
an accurate message, or the words that are chosen can be ambiguous and prone to
misinterpretation.

2
 Picture the next scene. The place: a staff meeting. The time: a few days later. Bill’s boss
believes the message about printer toner has been received.
“Are the printer toner cartridges here yet?” Bill’s boss asks.
“You never said it was a rush job!” Bill protests.
“But!”
“But!”
Miscommunications like these happen in the workplace every day. We’ve seen that
miscommunication does occur in the workplace, but how does a miscommunication happen? It
helps to think of the communication process. The series of arrows pointing the way from the
sender to the receiver and back again can, and often do, fall short of their target.
Communication Barriers
Filtering is the distortion or withholding of information to manage a person’s reactions.
Some examples of filtering include a manager’s keeping a division’s negative sales figures from
a superior, in this case, the vice president. The old saying, “Don’t shoot the messenger!”
illustrates the tendency of receivers to vent their negative response to unwanted messages to
the sender. A gatekeeper (the vice president’s assistant, perhaps) who doesn’t pass along a
complete message is also filtering. Additionally, the vice president may delete the e-mail
announcing the quarter’s sales figures before reading it, blocking the message before it arrives.
As you can see, filtering prevents members of an organization from getting the complete picture
of a situation. To maximize your chances of sending and receiving effective communications,
it’s helpful to deliver a message in multiple ways and to seek information from multiple sources.
In this way, the impact of any one person’s filtering will be diminished. Since people tend to
filter bad news more during upward communication, it is also helpful to remember that those
below you in an organization may be wary of sharing bad news. One way to defuse this
tendency to filter is to reward employees who clearly convey information upward, regardless
of whether the news is good or bad.
Here are some of the criteria that individuals may use when deciding whether to filter a
message or pass it on:
1. Past experience: Were previous senders rewarded for passing along news of this kind
in the past, or were they criticized?
2. Knowledge and perception of the speaker: Has the receiver’s direct superior made it
clear that “no news is good news?”
3. Emotional state, involvement with the topic, and level of attention: Does the sender’s
fear of failure or criticism prevent the message from being conveyed? Is the topic within the
sender’s realm of expertise, increasing confidence in the ability to decode the message, or is the
sender out of a personal comfort zone when it comes to evaluating the message’s significance?
Are personal concerns impacting the sender’s ability to judge the message’s value?
Once again, filtering can lead to miscommunications in business. Listeners translate
messages into their own words, each creating a unique version of what was said.
Selective perception refers to filtering what we see and hear to suit our own needs. This
process is often unconscious. We are bombarded with too much stimuli every day to pay equal

3
attention to everything, so we pick and choose according to our own needs. Selective perception
is a time-saver, a necessary tool in a complex culture. But it can also lead to mistakes.
Think back to the example conversation between the person asked to order more toner
cartridges and his boss earlier in this chapter. Since Bill found the to-do list from his boss to be
unreasonably demanding, he assumed the request could wait. (How else could he do everything
else on the list?) The boss, assuming that Bill had heard the urgency in her request, assumed
that Bill would place the order before returning to previously stated tasks. Both members of this
organization were using selective perception to evaluate the communication. Bill’s perception
was that the task could wait. The boss’s perception was that a time frame was clear, though
unstated. When two selective perceptions collide, a misunderstanding occurs.
Information Overload
Messages reach us in countless ways every day. Some messages are societal —
advertisements that we may hear or see in the course of our day. Others are professional — e-
mails, memos, and voice mails, as well as conversations with our colleagues. Others are
personal — messages from and conversations with our loved ones and friends. Add these
together and it’s easy to see how we may be receiving more information than we can take in.
This state of imbalance is known as information overload, which occurs “when the
information processing demands on an individual’s time to perform interactions and internal
calculations exceed the supply or capacity of time available for such processing.”

Others note that information overload is “a symptom of the high-tech age, which is
too much information for one human being to absorb in an expanding world of people and
technology. It comes from all sources including TV, newspapers, and magazines as well as
wanted and unwanted regular mail, e-mail and faxes. It has been exacerbated enormously
because of the formidable number of results obtained from Web search engines. Other research
shows that working in such fragmented fashion significantly impacts efficiency, creativity, and
mental acuity.
Going back to our example of Bill, let’s say he’s in his office on the phone with a
supplier. While he’s talking, he hears the chime of his e-mail alerting him to an important
message from his boss. He’s scanning through it quickly while still on the phone when a
coworker pokes her head into his office saying Bill’s late for a staff meeting. The supplier on
the other end of the phone line has just given him a choice among the products and delivery
dates he requested. Bill realizes he missed hearing the first two options, but he doesn’t have
time to ask the supplier to repeat them all or to try reconnecting with him at a later time. He
chooses the third option—at least he heard that one, he reasons, and it seemed fair. How good
was Bill’s decision amidst all the information he was processing at the same time?
Emotional Disconnects
An effective communication requires a sender and a receiver who are open to speaking
and listening to one another, despite possible differences in opinion or personality. One or both
parties may have to put their emotions aside to achieve the goal of communicating clearly. A
receiver who is emotionally upset tends to ignore or distort what the sender is saying. A sender
who is emotionally upset may be unable to present ideas or feelings effectively.

4
 Lack of Source Familiarity or Credibility
Have you ever told a joke that fell flat? You and the receiver lacked the common context
that could have made it funny. (Or yes, it could have just been a lousy joke.) Sarcasm and irony
are subtle and, therefore, they are potentially hurtful commodities in business. It’s best to keep
these types of communications out of the workplace, as their benefits are limited, and their
potential dangers are great. Lack of familiarity with the sender can lead to misinterpreting
humor, especially in less rich information channels such as e-mail. For example, an e-mail from
Jill that ends with, “Men should be boiled in vats of oil,” could be interpreted as antimale if
the receiver didn’t know that Jill has a penchant for exaggeration and always jokes to let off
steam. Similarly, if the sender lacks credibility or is untrustworthy, the message will not get
through. Receivers may be suspicious of the sender’s motivations (Why is she telling me this?).
Likewise, if the sender has communicated erroneous information in the past or has created false
emergencies, the current message may be filtered.
Workplace Gossip
The informal gossip network known as the grapevine is a lifeline for many employees
seeking information about their company. Researchers agree that the grapevine is an inevitable
part of organizational life. Research finds that 70% of all organizational communication occurs
at the grapevine level. Employees trust their peers as a source of information, but the
grapevine’s informal structure can be a barrier to effective communication from the managerial
point of view. Its grassroots structure gives it greater credibility in the minds of employees than
information delivered through official channels, even when that information is false. Some
downsides of the office grapevine are that gossip offers politically minded insiders a powerful
tool for disseminating communication (and self-promoting miscommunications) within an
organization. In addition, the grapevine lacks a specific sender, which can create a sense of
distrust among employees: Who is at the root of the gossip network? When the news is volatile,
suspicions may arise as to the person or person behind the message. Managers who understand
the grapevine’s power can use it to send and receive messages of their own. They can also
decrease the grapevine’s power by sending official messages quickly and accurately, should
big news arise.
Semantics
Words can mean different things to different people, or they might not mean anything
to another person. This is called semantics. For example, companies often have their own
acronyms and buzzwords (called business jargon) that are clear to them but impenetrable to
outsiders. For example, at IBM, GBS is focusing on BPTS, using expertise acquired from the
PwC purchase (which had to be sold to avoid conflicts of interest in light of SOX) to fend off
other BPO providers and inroads by the Bangalore tiger. Does this make sense to you? If not,
here’s the translation: IBM’s Global Business Services (GBS) division is focusing on offering
companies Business Process Transformation Services (BPTS), using the expertise it acquired
from purchasing the management consulting and technology services of
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which had to sell the division due to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
(SOX; enacted in response to the major accounting scandals such as Enron). The added
management expertise puts it above business process outsourcing (BPO) vendors who focus
more on automating processes rather than transforming and improving them. Chief among
these BPO competitors is Wipro, often called the “Bangalore tiger” because of its
geographic origin and aggressive growth. Given the amount of messages we send and receive

5
everyday, it makes sense that humans would try to find a shortcut—a way to communicate things
in code. In business, this code is known as jargon. Jargon is the language of specialized terms
used by a group or profession. It is common shorthand among experts and if used sensibly can
be a quick and efficient way of communicating. Most jargon consists of unfamiliar terms,
abstract words, nonexistent words, acronyms, and abbreviations, with an occasional euphemism
thrown in for good measure. Every profession, trade, and organization has its own specialized
terms.

At first glance, jargon sounds like a good thing—a quicker way to send an effective
communication similar to the way text message abbreviations can send common messages in a
shorter, yet understandable way. But that’s not always how things happen. Jargon can be an
obstacle to effective communication, causing listeners to tune out or fostering ill feelings
between partners in a conversation. When jargon rules the day, the message can get obscured.
A key question to ask yourself before using a phrase of jargon is, “Who is the receiver of my
message?” If you are a specialist speaking to another specialist in your area, jargon may be
the best way to send a message while forging a professional bond—similar to the way best friends
can communicate in code. For example, an IT technician communicating with another IT
technician may use jargon as a way of sharing information in a way that reinforces the pair’s
shared knowledge. But that same conversation should be held in Standard English, free of
jargon, when communicating with staff members outside the IT group.
Gender Differences in Communication
Men and women work together every day, but their different styles of communication
can sometimes work against them. Generally speaking, women like to ask questions before
starting a project, while men tend to “jump right in.” A male manager who’s unaware of how
most women communicate their readiness to work may misperceive a ready employee as not
being prepared.
Another difference that has been noticed is that men often speak in sports metaphors,
while many women use their home as a starting place for analogies. Women who believe men
are “only talking about the game” may be missing out on a chance to participate in a
division’s strategy and opportunities for teamwork and“rallying the troops” for success.

“It is important to promote the best possible communication between men and women
in the workplace,” notes gender policy advisor Dee Norton, who provided the above example.
“As we move between the male and female cultures, we sometimes have to change how we
behave (speak the language of the other gender) to gain the best results from the situation.
Clearly, successful organizations of the future are going to have leaders and team members who
understand, respect, and apply the rules of gender culture appropriately.
As we have seen, differences in men’s and women’s communication styles can lead to
misunderstandings in the workplace. Being aware of these differences, however, can be the first
step in learning to work with them instead of around them. Keep in mind that men tend to focus
more on competition, data, and orders in their communications, while women tend to focus
more on cooperation, intuition, and requests. Both styles can be effective in the right situations,
but understanding the differences is a first step in avoiding misunderstandings.

6
 Differences in Meaning Between the Sender and Receiver
„Mean what you say, and say what you mean.” It’s an easy thing to say. But in business,
what do those words mean? Simply put, different words mean different things to different
people. Age, education, and cultural background are all factors that influence how a person
interprets words. The less we consider our audience, the greater our chances of
miscommunication will be. Eliminating jargon is one way of ensuring our words will convey
real-world concepts to others. Speaking to our audience, as opposed to speaking about
ourselves, is another.

Managers who speak about “long-term goals and profits” to a staff that has received
scant raises may find their core message (“You’re doing a great job—and that benefits the folks
in charge!”) has infuriated the group they hoped to inspire. Instead, managers who recognize
the contributions of their staff and confirm that this work is contributing to company goals in
ways “that will benefit the source of our success—our employees as well as executives,” will
find that their core message (“You’re doing a great job—we really value your work.”) is
received as intended, rather than being misinterpreted.
Biased Language
Words and actions that stereotype others on the basis of personal or group affiliation are
examples of bias. Below is a list of words that have the potential to be offensive. The column
on the right provides alternative words that can be used instead.
Avoid Consider Using
Black attorney Attorney
Businessman Business person
Chairman Chair of chairperson
Cleaning lady Cleaner or maintenance worker
Male nurse Nurse
Manpower Staff or personnel
Secretary Assistant or associate

Effective communication is clear, factual, and goal-oriented. It is also respectful.

Referring to a person by one adjective (a brain, a diabetic) reduces the person to that one
characteristic. Language that inflames or stereotypes a person poisons the communication
process. Language that insults an individual or group based on age, ethnicity, sexual preference,
or political beliefs violates public and private standards of decency, ranging from civil rights to
corporate regulations.
The effort to create a neutral set of terms to refer to heritage and preferences has resulted
in a debate over the nature of “political correctness.” Proponents of political correctness see
it as a way to defuse the volatile nature of words that stereotyped groups and individuals in the
past. Critics of political correctness see its vocabulary as stilted and needlessly cautious.
Many companies offer new employees written guides on standards of speech and
conduct. These guides, augmented by common sense and courtesy, are solid starting points for
effective, respectful workplace communication.
Tips for appropriate workplace speech include, but are not limited to the following:

7
• Alternating our use of he and she when referring to people in general

• Relying on human resources–generated guidelines

• Remembering that terms that feel respectful or comfortable to us may not be comfortable or
respectful to others
Poor Listening
The greatest compliment that was ever paid to me was when one asked me what I thought, and
attended to my answer.
- Henry David Thoreau
A sender may strive to deliver a message clearly. But the receiver’s ability to listen
effectively is equally vital to successful communication. The average worker spends 55% of
their workdays listening. Managers listen up to 70% each day. Unfortunately, listening doesn’t
lead to understanding in every case. From a number of different perspectives, listening matters.
Former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca lamented, “I only wish I could find an institute that teaches
people how to listen. After all, a good manager needs to listen at least as much as he needs to
talk.”
Listening clearly matters. Listening takes practice, skill, and concentration. Alan Gulick,
a Starbucks Corporation spokesperson, believes better listening can improve profits. If every
Starbucks employee misheard one $10 order each day, their errors would cost the company a
billion dollars annually. To teach its employees to listen, Starbucks created a code that helps
employees taking orders hear the size, flavor, and use of milk or decaffeinated coffee. The
person making the drink echoes the order aloud.
How Can You Improve Your Listening Skills?
Cicero said, “Silence is one of the great arts of conversation.” How often have we
been in a conversation with someone else when we are not really listening but itching to convey
our portion? This behavior is known as “rehearsing.” It suggests the receiver has no intention
of considering the sender’s message and is actually preparing to respond to an earlier point
instead. Effective communication relies on another kind of listening: active listening. Active
listening can be defined as giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to
understand the points being made, asking questions as needed, and not interrupting at
inappropriate times.
Active listening creates a real-time relationship between the sender and receiver by
acknowledging the content and receipt of a message. As we’ve seen in the Starbucks example
above, repeating and confirming a message’s content offers a way to confirm that the correct
content is flowing between colleagues. The process creates a bond between coworkers while
increasing the flow and accuracy of messaging.
How Can We Listen Actively?
Carl Rogers gave five rules for active listening:
1. Listen for message content.
2. Listen for feelings.

8
 3. Respond to feelings.
4. Note all cues.
5. Paraphrase and restate.
The good news is that listening is a skill that can be learned. The first step is to decide
that we want to listen. Casting aside distractions, such as by reducing background or internal
noise, is critical. The receiver takes in the sender’s message silently, without speaking.
Second, throughout the conversation, show the speaker that you’re listening. You can
do this nonverbally by nodding your head and keeping your attention focused on the speaker.
You can also do it verbally, by saying things like, “Yes,” “That’s interesting,” or other
such verbal cues. As you’re listening, pay attention to the sender’s body language for additional
cues about how they’re feeling. Interestingly, silence has a role in active listening. During active
listening, we are trying to understand what has been said, and in silence we can consider the
implications. We can’t consider information and object to it at the same time. That’s where the
power of silence comes into play. Finally, if anything is not clear to you, ask questions. Confirm
that you’ve heard the message accurately, by repeating back a crucial piece like, “Great, I’ll
see you at 2:00 p.m. in my office.” At the end of the conversation, a thank you from both
parties is an optional but highly effective way of acknowledging each other’s teamwork.
Types of Communication
There are three types of communication, including: verbal communication involving
listening to a person to understand the meaning of a message, written communication in which
a message is read, and nonverbal communication involving observing a person and inferring
meaning. Let’s start with verbal communication, which is the most common form of
communication.
1. Verbal Communication
Verbal communications in business take place over the phone or in person. The medium
of the message is oral. Let’s return to our printer cartridge example. This time, the message is
being conveyed from the sender (the manager) to the receiver (an employee named Bill) by
telephone. We’ve already seen how the manager’s request to Bill („Buy more printer toner
cartridges!”) can go awry. Now let’s look at how the same message can travel successfully
from sender to receiver.

Manager (speaking on the phone): “Good morning Bill!” (By using the employee’s
name, the manager is establishing a clear, personal link to the receiver.)

Manager: “Your division’s numbers are looking great.”

(The manager’s recognition of Bill’s role in a winning team further personalizes and
emotionalizes the conversation.)

Manager: „Our next step is to order more printer toner cartridges. Would you place an
order for 1,000 printer toner cartridges with Jones Computer Supplies? Our budget for this
purchase is $30,000, and the printer toner cartridges need to be here by Wednesday afternoon.”
(The manager breaks down the task into several steps. Each step consists of a specific
task, time frame, quantity, or goal.)

9
 Bill: „Sure thing! I’ll call Jones Computer Supplies and order 1,000 more printer toner
cartridges, not exceeding a total of $30,000, to be here by Wednesday afternoon.”
(Bill, a model employee, repeats what he has heard. This is the feedback portion of the
communication. Feedback helps him recognize any confusion he may have had hearing the
manager’s message. Feedback also helps the manager hear if she has communicated the
message correctly.)”
Storytelling has been shown to be an effective form of verbal communication that
serves an important organizational function by helping to construct common meanings for
individuals within the organization. Stories can help clarify key values and also help
demonstrate how certain tasks are performed within an organization. Story frequency, strength,
and tone are related to higher organizational commitment. The quality of the stories is related
to the ability of entrepreneurs to secure capital for their firms. While the process may be the
same, high stakes communications require more planning, reflection, and skill than normal day-
to-day interactions at work.
Examples of high stakes communication events include asking for a raise or presenting
a business plan to a venture capitalist. In addition to these events, there are also many times in
our professional lives when we have crucial conversations, which are defined as discussions
in which not only are the stakes high, but also the opinions vary and emotions run strong. One
of the most consistent recommendations from communications experts is to work toward using
“and” instead of “but” when communicating under these circumstances. In addition, be aware
of your communication style and practice being flexible; it is under stressful situations that
communication styles can become the most rigid.
2. Written Communication
In contrast to verbal communications, which are oral, written business communications
are printed messages. Examples of written communications include memos, proposals, e-mails,
letters, training manuals, and operating policies. They may be printed on paper or appear on the
screen. Written communication is often asynchronous. That is, the sender can write a message
that the receiver can read at any time, unlike a conversation that is carried on in real time. A
written communication can also be read by many people (such as all employees in a department
or all customers). It’s a “one-to-many” communication, as opposed to a one-to-one
conversation. There are exceptions, of course: A voice mail is an oral message that is
asynchronous. Conference calls and speeches are oral one-to-many communications, and e-
mails can have only one recipient or many.
Normally, a verbal communication takes place in real time. Written communication, by
contrast, can be constructed over a longer period of time. It also can be collaborative. Multiple
people can contribute to the content on one document before that document is sent to the
intended audience.
Verbal and written communications have different strengths and weaknesses. In
business, the decision to communicate verbally or in written form can be a powerful one. As
we’ll see below, each style of communication has particular strengths and pitfalls. When
determining whether to communicate verbally or in writing, ask yourself: Do I want to convey
facts or feelings? Verbal communications are a better way to convey feelings. Written
communications do a better job of conveying facts.

10
 Picture a manager making a speech to a team of 20 employees. The manager is speaking
at a normal pace. The employees appear interested. But how much information is being
transmitted? Probably not as much as the speaker believes.
The fact is that humans listen much faster than they speak. The average public speaker
communicates at a speed of about 125 words a minute, and that pace sounds fine to the audience.
(In fact, anything faster than that probably would sound unusual. To put that figure in
perspective, someone having an excited conversation speaks at about 150 words a minute.)
Based on these numbers, we could assume that the audience has more than enough time to take
in each word the speaker delivers, which actually creates a problem. The average person in the
audience can hear 400 to 500 words a minute.
The audience has more than enough time to hear. As a result, their minds may wander.
As you can see, oral communication is the most often used form of communication, but it is
also an inherently flawed medium for conveying specific facts. Listeners’ minds wander. It’s
nothing personal—in fact, it’s a completely normal psychological occurrence. In business, once
we understand this fact, we can make more intelligent communication choices based on the
kind of information we want to convey.
Most jobs involve some degree of writing. According to the National Commission on
Writing, 67% of salaried employees in large American companies and professional state
employees have some kind of writing responsibility. Half of responding companies reported
that they take writing into consideration when hiring professional employees, and 91% always
take writing into account when hiring. Luckily, it is possible to learn to write clearly.
Here are some tips on writing well. Thomas Jefferson summed up the rules of writing
well with this idea: “Don’t use two words when one will do.” Put another way, half the words
can have twice the impact. One of the oldest myths in business is that writing more will make
us sound more important. The opposite is true. Leaders who can communicate simply and
clearly project a stronger image than those who write a lot but say nothing.
Putting Jefferson’s Rules Into Action: Five Ways to Communicate More With
Fewer Words
1. Picture the receiver in your mind before you begin to write. After all, a written
communication is a link between people.
2. Choose simple words. When in doubt, choose the shorter word („Automobile or car? Car!”)
3. Be polite and clear. Your message will make a strong, clear impact.
4. Make your message brief and direct by trimming redundant words or phrases. „Having
thus explored our first option, I would now like to begin to explore the second option that
may be open to us.” Versus „After considering Option 1, I would like to look at Option 2.”
5. Choose strong, active verbs. „I suggest…” instead of „It would seem to me that we might
…”
Remember, concise writing equals effective communication.

Direction of Communication Within Organizations

Information can move horizontally, from a sender to a receiver, as we’ve seen. It can
also move vertically, down from top management, or up from the front line. Information can
also move diagonally between and among levels of an organization, such as a message from a
customer service rep to a manager in the manufacturing department or a message from the chief
financial officer sent down to all department heads.
11
 Organizational communication travels in many different directions.

The organizational status of the sender can impact the receiver’s attentiveness to the
message. For example, consider the following: A senior manager sends a memo to a production
supervisor. The supervisor, who has a lower status within the organization, is likely to pay close
attention to the message. The same information conveyed in the opposite direction, however,
might not get the attention it deserves. The message would be filtered by the senior manager’s
perception of priorities and urgencies. Requests are just one kind of communication in business.
Other communications, either verbal or written, may seek, give, or exchange information.
Research shows that frequent communications with one’s supervisor is related to better job
performance ratings and overall organizational performance.
Research also shows that lateral communication done between peers can influence
important organizational outcomes such as turnover.
How Managers Spend Time Communicating at Work

12
External Communications
External communications deliver specific businesses messages to individuals outside an
organization. They may announce changes in staff or strategy, earnings, and more. The goal of
an external communication is to create a specific message that the receiver will understand and
share with others. Examples of external communications include the following.
 Press Releases
Public relations professionals create external communications about a client’s product,
services, or practices for specific receivers. These receivers, it is hoped, will share the message
with others. In time, as the message is passed along, it should appear to be independent of the
sender, creating the illusion of an independently generated consumer trend, public opinion, and
so on.
The message of a public relations effort may be b2b (business to business), b2c (business
to consumer), or media related. The message can take different forms. Press releases try to
convey a newsworthy message, real or manufactured. It may be constructed like a news item,
inviting editors or reporters to reprint the message in part or as a whole, with or without
acknowledgement of the sender’s identity. Public relations campaigns create messages over
time through contests, special events, trade shows, and media interviews in addition to press
releases.
 Ads
Advertising places external business messages before target receivers through media
buys. A media buy is a fee that is paid to a television network, Web site, magazine, and so on
by an advertiser to insert an advertisement. The fee is based on the perceived value of the
audience who watches, reads, listens to, or frequents the space where the ad will appear. In
recent years, receivers have begun to filter advertiser’s messages. This phenomenon is
perceived to be a result of the large amount of ads the average person sees each day and a
growing level of consumer wariness of paid messaging.
Advertisers, in turn, are trying to create alternative forms of advertising that receivers
won’t filter. The advertorial is one example of an external communication that combines the
look of an article with the focused message of an ad. Product placements in videos, movies, and
games are other ways that advertisers strive to reach receivers with commercial messages.
 Web Pages
A Web page’s external communication can combine elements of public relations,
advertising, and editorial content, reaching receivers on multiple levels and in multiple ways.
Banner ads, blogs, and advertiser-driven “click-through” areas are just a few of the elements
that allow a business to deliver a message to a receiver online. The perceived flexibility of
online communications can impart a less formal (and therefore, more believable) quality to an
external communication. A message relayed in a daily blog post, for example, will reach a
receiver differently than if it is delivered in an annual report. The popularity and power of blogs
is growing, with 11% of Fortune 500 companies having official blogs (up from 4% in 2005).
In fact, blogs have become so important to companies such as Coca-Cola Company, Eastman
Kodak Company, and Marriott International Inc. that they have created official positions within
their organizations titled “chief blogging officer.”Chief blogging officer title catching on
with corporations. The “real-time” quality of Web communications may appeal to receivers

13
who might filter out traditional ads and public relations messages because of their“prefab”
quality. Despite a “spontaneous” feel, many online pages can be revisited many times in a
single day. For this reason, clear and accurate external communications are as vital for online
use as they are in traditional media.
Customer Communications
Customer communications can include letters, catalogs, direct mail, e-mails, text
messages, and telemarketing messages. Some receivers automatically filter these types of bulk
messages. Others will be receptive. The key to a successful external communication to
customers is to convey a business message in a personally compelling way—dramatic news, a
money-saving coupon, and so forth.
Cross-Cultural Communication
Culture is a shared set of beliefs and experiences common to people in a specific setting.
The setting that creates a culture can be geographic, religious, or professional. As you might
guess, the same individual can be a member of many cultures, all of which may play a part in
the interpretation of certain words.
The different and often „multicultural” identity of individuals in the same organization
can lead to some unexpected and potentially large miscommunications. For example, during
the Cold War, Soviet leader Nikita Khruschev told the American delegation at the United
Nations, „We will bury you!” His words were interpreted as a threat of nuclear annihilation.
However, a more accurate reading of Khruschev’s words would have been, „We will overtake
you!” meaning economic superiority. The words, as well as the fear and suspicion that the West
had of the Soviet Union at the time, led to the more alarmist and sinister interpretation.
Miscommunications can arise between individuals of the same culture as well. Many
words in the English language mean different things to different people. Words can be
misunderstood if the sender and receiver do not share common experiences. A sender’s words
cannot communicate the desired meaning if the receiver has not had some experience with the
objects or concepts the words describe.
It is particularly important to keep this fact in mind when you are communicating with
individuals who may not speak English as a first language. For example, when speaking with
nonnative English-speaking colleagues, avoid „isn’t it?” questions. This sentence construction
does not exist in many other languages and can be confusing for nonnative English speakers.
For example, to the question, „You are coming, aren’t you?” they may answer, „Yes” (I am
coming) or „No” (I am coming), depending on how they interpret the question.
Cultures also vary in terms of the desired amount of situational context related to
interpreting situations. People in very high context cultures put a high value on establishing
relationships prior to working with others and tend to take longer to negotiate deals. Examples
of high context cultures include China, Korea, and Japan. Conversely, people in low context
cultures ‚get down to business” and tend to negotiate quickly. Examples of low context cultures
include Germany, Scandinavia, and the United States.
Finally, don’t forget the role of nonverbal communication. As we learned in the
nonverbal communication section, in the United States, looking someone in the eye when
talking is considered a sign of trustworthiness. In China, by contrast, a lack of eye contact
conveys respect. A recruiting agency that places English teachers warns prospective teachers

14
that something that works well in one culture can offend in another: „In Western countries, one
expects to maintain eye contact when we talk with people. This is a norm we consider basic and
essential. This is not the case among the Chinese. On the contrary, because of the more
authoritarian nature of the Chinese society, steady eye contact is viewed as inappropriate,
especially when subordinates talk with their superiors.” Chinese culture—differences and
taboos.
Gestures Around the Globe Adapted

It’s easy to see how meaning could become confused, depending on how and when these
signals are used. When in doubt, experts recommend that you ask someone around you to help
you interpret the meaning of different gestures, that you be sensitive, and that you remain
observant when dealing with a culture different from your own.

15