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Business Communication for Success

[Author removed at request of original publisher]

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA LIBRARIES PUBLISHING EDITION, 2015. THIS EDITION ADAPTED FROM A WORK ORIGINALLY PRODUCED IN 2010 BY A PUBLISHER WHO HAS REQUESTED THAT IT NOT RECEIVE ATTRIBUTION. MINNEAPOLIS, MN

Business Communication for Success by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

This book was produced using Pressbooks.com, and PDF rendering was done by PrinceXML.

Contents

Publisher Information x

About the Author xi

Acknowledgments xii

Dedications xiii

Preface xiv

Chapter 1: Effective Business Communication

1.1 Why Is It Important to Communicate Well? 3

1.2 What Is Communication? 7

1.3 Communication in Context 16

1.4 Your Responsibilities as a Communicator 20

1.5 Additional Resources 25

Chapter 2: Delivering Your Message

2.1 What Is Language? 28

2.2 Messages 32

2.3 Principles of Verbal Communication 35

2.4 Language Can be an Obstacle to Communication 41

2.5 Emphasis Strategies 46

2.6 Improving Verbal Communication 53

2.7 Additional Resources 57

Chapter 3: Understanding Your Audience

3.1 Self-Understanding Is Fundamental to Communication 63

3.2 Perception 70

3.3 Differences in Perception 80

3.4 Getting to Know Your Audience 82

3.5 Listening and Reading for Understanding 88

3.6 Additional Resources 91

Chapter 4: Effective Business Writing

4.1 Oral versus Written Communication 94

4.2 How Is Writing Learned? 97

4.3 Good Writing 102

4.4 Style in Written Communication 107

4.5 Principles of Written Communication 111

4.6 Overcoming Barriers to Effective Written Communication 116

4.7 Additional Resources 120

Chapter 5: Writing Preparation

5.1 Think, Then Write: Writing Preparation 123

5.2 A Planning Checklist for Business Messages 128

5.3 Research and Investigation: Getting Started 137

5.4 Ethics, Plagiarism, and Reliable Sources 142

5.5 Completing Your Research and Investigation 149

5.6 Reading and Analyzing 153

5.7 Additional Resources 156

Chapter 6: Writing

6.1 Organization 161

6.2 Writing Style 175

6.3 Making an Argument 184

6.4 Paraphrase and Summary versus Plagiarism 192

6.5 Additional Resources 195

Chapter 7: Revising and Presenting Your Writing

7.1 General Revision Points to Consider 198

7.2 Specific Revision Points to Consider 201

7.3 Style Revisions 211

7.4 Evaluating the Work of Others 217

7.5 Proofreading and Design Evaluation 221

7.6 Additional Resources 225

Chapter 8: Feedback in the Writing Process

8.1 Diverse Forms of Feedback 228

8.2 Qualitative and Quantitative Research 239

8.3 Feedback as an Opportunity 244

8.4 Additional Resources 248

Chapter 9: Business Writing in Action

9.1 Text, E-mail, and Netiquette 250

9.2 Memorandums and Letters 256

9.3 Business Proposal 265

9.4 Report 270

9.5 R.sum. 277

9.6 Sales Message 286

9.7 Additional Resources 290

Chapter 10: Developing Business Presentations

10.1 Before You Choose a Topic 294

10.2 Choosing a Topic 299

10.3 Finding Resources 305

10.4 Myths and Realities of Public Speaking 314

10.5 Overcoming Obstacles in Your Presentation 317

10.6 Additional Resources 323

Chapter 11: Nonverbal Delivery

11.1 Principles of Nonverbal Communication 326

11.2 Types of Nonverbal Communication 333

11.3 Movement in Your Speech 341

11.4 Visual Aids 345

11.5 Nonverbal Strategies for Success with Your Audience 357

11.6 Additional Resources 359

Chapter 12: Organization and Outlines

12.1 Rhetorical Situation 362

12.2 Strategies for Success 366

12.3 Building a Sample Speech 373

12.4 Sample Speech Outlines 376

12.5 Organizing Principles for Your Speech 378

12.6 Transitions 383

12.7 Additional Resources 386

Chapter 13: Presentations to Inform

13.1 Functions of the Presentation to Inform 388

13.2 Types of Presentations to Inform 393

13.3 Adapting Your Presentation to Teach 397

13.4 Diverse Types of Intelligence and Learning Styles 407

13.5 Preparing Your Speech to Inform 409

13.6 Creating an Informative Presentation 415

13.7 Additional Resources 419

Chapter 14: Presentations to Persuade

14.1 What Is Persuasion? 423

14.2 Principles of Persuasion 426

14.3 Functions of the Presentation to Persuade 429

14.4 Meeting the Listener’s Basic Needs 433

14.5 Making an Argument 439

14.6 Speaking Ethically and Avoiding Fallacies 447

14.7 Sample Persuasive Speech 451

14.8 Elevator Speech 455

14.9 Additional Resources 457

Chapter 15: Business Presentations in Action

15.1 Sound Bites and Quotables 459

15.2 Telephone/VoIP Communication 461

15.3 Meetings 465

15.4 Celebrations: Toasts and Roasts 468

15.5 Media Interviews 471

15.6 Introducing a Speaker 474

15.7 Presenting or Accepting an Award 476

15.8 Serving as Master of Ceremonies 479

15.9 Viral Messages 481

15.10 Additional Resources 484

Chapter 16: Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Business Communication

16.1 Intrapersonal Communication 487

16.2 Self-Concept and Dimensions of Self 489

16.3 Interpersonal Needs 493

16.4 Social Penetration Theory 497

16.5 Rituals of Conversation and Interviews 503

16.6 Conflict in the Work Environment 511

16.7 Additional Resources 518

Chapter 17: Negative News and Crisis Communication

17.1 Delivering a Negative News Message 520

17.2 Eliciting Negative News 530

17.3 Crisis Communication Plan 536

17.4 Press Conferences 539

17.5 Additional Resources 544

Chapter 18: Intercultural and International Business Communication

18.1 Intercultural Communication 548

18.2 How to Understand Intercultural Communication 551

18.3 Common Cultural Characteristics 554

18.4 Divergent Cultural Characteristics 558

18.5 International Communication and the Global Marketplace 564

18.6 Styles of Management 569

18.7 The International Assignment 572

18.8 Additional Resources 578

Chapter 19: Group Communication, Teamwork, and Leadership

19.1 What Is a Group? 581

19.2 Group Life Cycles and Member Roles 586

19.3 Group Problem Solving 594

19.4 Business and Professional Meetings 600

19.5 Teamwork and Leadership 608

19.6 Additional Resources 613

Please share your supplementary material! 614

Publisher Information

Business Communication for Success is adapted from a work produced and distributed under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA) in 2010 by a publisher who has requested that they

and the original author not receive attribution. This adapted edition is produced by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing through the eLearning Support Initiative.

This adaptation has reformatted the original text, and replaced some images and figures to make the resulting whole more shareable. This adaptation has not significantly altered or updated the original 2010 text. This work is made available under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

About the Author

Business Communication for Success is adapted from a work produced by a publisher who has requested that they and the original author not receive attribution. This adapted edition is produced by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing through the eLearning Support Initiative. Though the publisher has requested that they and the original author not receive attribution, this adapted edition reproduces all original text and sections of the book, except for publisher and author name attribution.

Unnamed Author is the Shadle-Edgecombe Endowed Faculty Chair at Arizona Western College. He serves as the professor of speech communication with an emphasis in business communication for a combined campus partnership with the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University–Yuma.

Unnamed Author is the author of The Basics of Speech Communication and The Basics of Interpersonal Communication, both currently published by Allyn & Bacon.

Beyond his classroom experience, Unnamed Author regularly serves as a communications advisor to the industry. He has extensive experience and publications in the areas of health communication, safe and healthy work environments, and organizational and crisis communication. He has served as an evaluator for the United States National Institutes of Health’s Small Business and Innovative Research (SBIR) program since 1995. He served as an evaluator of educational programs for the Ministerio de Hacienda de Chile. His development of the Tenio Natural Reserve in Southern Chile has brought together people from around the world to preserve and restore indigenous flora and fauna. Their collective effort will serve for generations to come.

Unnamed Author studied at Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile and at Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow School of Communication. He and his family divide their time between the United States and Puerto Montt, Chile.

Acknowledgments

I would like to say thank you to Jeff Shelstad for answering my e-mail. To say his model just makes sense is an understatement. I am honored to be a part of it all. Jenn Yee has been an excellent project manager. When I needed feedback she made sure it was available, and when I needed space to create, she helped facilitate it. Writing can be a solitary activity but she made the journey

positive and productive.

Elsa Peterson, you are wonderful. Your sharp eye for detail, consistent dedication to the text, and quick turnarounds on requests were invaluable to this project. I have never worked with a better developmental editor.

Dan Obuchowski also offered valuable insight into the construction industry and practices that lends real-world credibility to this text.

To my reviewers in the field, I appreciate all the specific feedback that contributed to clear improvements in the text.

• Brenda Jolivette Jones, San Jacinto College – Central Campus (brenda.jolivette@sjcd.edu)

• Christina McCale, Regis University (cmccale@regis.edu)

• Billie Miller, Ph.D., Cosumnes River College (millerb@crc.losrios.edu)

• Joyce Ezrow, Anne Arundel Community College (jezrow@aacc.edu)

• Sally Lederer, U of M Carlson School of Management (sally@melsa.org)

• Greg Larson, Salt Lake Community College (Greg.Larson@slcc.edu)

• Gayla Jurevich, Fresno City College (gayla.jurevich@fresnocitycollege.edu)

• Laura Newton, Florida State University (lpnewton@fsu.edu)

• Judy Grace, Arizona State University (judy.grace@asu.edu)

• Rita Rud, Purdue University (ritarud@purdue.edu)

• Edna Boroski, Trident Technical College (edna.boroski@tridenttech.edu)

Your words of encouragement and constructive criticism have made this effort worthwhile.

Finally, to Lisa, my life partner, you are amazing. You were a draft recruit on this project and quickly learned the formatting requirements in short order. You are a valuable part of this team. Your relentless editing serves as a clear example of Strunk’s axiom: “Omit needless words.” This text is the better for it. Writing with you, like life, gets better with each year.

• Unnamed Author, Puerto Montt, Chile

Dedications

For Lisa and our children, Mackenzie, John, and Katherine

Preface

Business Communication for Success (BCS) provides a comprehensive, integrated approach to the study and application of written and oral business communication to serve both student and professor.

This series features chapters with the following elements:

• Learning Objectives

• Introductory Exercises

• Clear expectations, relevant background, and important theories

• Practical, real-world examples

• Key Takeaways or quick internal summaries

• Key terms that are easily identified

• In-chapter assignments

• Post chapter assessments linked to objectives and skills acquisition

Each chapter is self-contained, allowing for mix-and-match flexibility and custom or course-specific design. Each chapter focuses on clear objectives and skill demonstrations that can be easily linked to your syllabus and state or federal requirements. Supported by internal and external assessments, each chapter features time-saving and learning-enhancement support for instructors and students.

BCS is designed to help students identify important information, reinforce for retention, and demonstrate mastery with a clear outcome product.

The text has three content categories:

1. Foundations

2. Process and products

3. Contexts

The first three chapters form the core foundation for the study of oral and written business communication. The next sequence of chapters focus on the process of writing, then oral performance with an emphasis on results.

The final sequence focuses on contexts where business communication occurs, from interpersonal to intercultural, from groups to leadership.

In each of the process and product chapter sequences, the chapters follow a natural flow, from prewriting to revision, from preparation for a presentation to performance. Each sequence comes together in a concluding chapter that focuses on action—where we apply the skills and techniques of written or oral communication in business, from writing a letter to presenting a sales speech. These performances not only serve to reinforce real world applications but also may serve as course assessments. All chapters are compartmentalized into sections so you can choose what you want to use and eliminate the rest, and here the beauty of it rings true—you can adapt and integrate content from other texts or your own work to truly make it fit your course and student needs.

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