Lecture notes on business communication. Учебное пособие

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Eye contact. As you begin, catch attention by surveying the entire audience to take in all listeners. Give yourself two to five seconds to linger on individuals to avoid fleeting, unconvincing eye contact.

Movement. Leave the lectern area whenever possible. Walk around the conference table or down the aisles of the presentation room. Try to move toward your audience, especially at the beginning and end of your talk.

Questions. Keep listeners active and involved with rhetorical questions. Ask for a show of hands to get each listener thinking. The response will also give you a quick gauge of audience attention.

Demonstrations. Include a member of the audience in a demonstration (e.g., “I’m going to show you exactly how to implement our four-step customer courtesy process, but I need a volunteer from the audience to help me”).

Samples/props. If you are promoting a product, consider using items to toss out to the audience or to award as prizes to volunteer participants. You can also pass around product samples or promotional literature. Be careful, though, to maintain control.

Visuals. Give your audience something to look at besides yourself. Use a variety of visual aids in a single session. Also consider writing the concerns expressed by your audience on a flipchart, a whiteboard, or a smart board as you go along.

Attire. Enhance your credibility with your audience by dressing professionally for your presentation. Professional attire will help you look competent and qualified, making your audience more likely to listen and take you seriously.

Current events/statistics. Mention a current event or statistic (the more startling, the better) that is relevant to your topic and to which the audience can relate.

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A quote or a soundbite. Quotations, especially those made by wellknown individuals, can be powerful attention-getting devices. The quotation should be pertinent to your topic, short, and interesting.

Self-interest. Review your entire presentation to ensure that it meets the critical What’s-in-it-for-me audience test. People are most interested in things that benefit them.

5.3.Negotiating process

Negotiation is a process where two or more parties with different needs and goals discuss a certain issue to find a mutually acceptable solution. In other words, negotiation is a dialogue between two or more people or parties, aiming to reach an understanding, resolve some sensitive points, or get advantage in the outcome of a dialogue, to produce an agreement upon courses of action, to bargain for individual or team advantage in order to satisfy various interests of two or more parties involved. One party will put its position forward, while the other will either accept the conditions presented or counter with its own position. The process continues until both parties agree to a resolution or negotiations break off without one. The length of time it takes for negotiations to conclude depends on the circumstances. Negotiation can take as little as a few minutes, or, in more complex cases, much longer. For example, a buyer and seller may negotiate for minutes or hours for the sale of a car. But the governments of two or more countries may take months or years to negotiate the terms of a trading deal. Negotiation occurs in business, nonprofit organizations, and state branches, among nations and in various personal situations.

Good negotiations contribute significantly to business success, as they:

•help you build better relationships

•deliver long-term, quality solutions instead of poor short-term solutions that do not satisfy the needs of either party

•help to avoid future problems and conflicts.

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Negotiating requires give and take. The aim is to create a courteous and constructive interaction that is a win-win for both parties. Ideally a successful negotiation is where you can make concessions that mean little to you, while giving something to the other party that means a lot to them. A good negotiation leaves each party satisfied and ready to do business with each other again.

The following functions of a negotiation process can be listed:

•Trade and economic exchange

•Interactive decision making

•Conflict resolution

•Drafting joint rules

Strong negotiators master written, verbal and non-verbal communication. They are always:

•flexible

•creative

•aware of themselves and others

•good planners

•honest

•win-win oriented

•good communicators. Communication styles.

During a negotiation, you may adhere to passive, aggressive or assertive communication style. Passive communicators often use ambiguous language, adopt under-confident body language, and give in to demands too easily. Aggressive communicators take a confrontational approach that tends to frustrate your other party and destroy negotiations. Assertive communicators, however, are both confident and considerate. Using an assertive style will help to increase your chances of negotiating successful outcomes for your business. Such communicators are more likely to keep discussion going and facilitate mutually beneficial outcomes. They make use of strong, steady tone of voice. They are factual, rather than emotional or even critical.

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Strategies for effective negotiation.

Understanding the other party's interests and tactics is crucial to successful negotiating. Choosing a strategy that best responds to the interests and tactics of your company will help you achieve the best outcome. Some of the different strategies for negotiation include:

1. Competitive Negotiation (I Win – You Lose).

In this negotiation strategy, the main focus is winning, sometimes without thinking about the other person. It means using hard tactics, and it’s all about personal goals rather than building a good relationship. For example, in a business deal, someone might insist on the highest price, not considering if the other person can afford it, which can strain the business relationship. The key skill here is persuasion, requiring making compelling arguments to influence decision-making.

2. Collaborative Negotiation (I Win – You Win).

Collaborative negotiation is like teamwork, where both people want to win. It’s about talking openly, solving problems, and finding creative solutions. The example here are two business partners talking about how to share profits, thinking about each other’s contributions, and working together so that both are happy with the result that strengthens their partnership. The skills crucial in collaborative negotiations are effective communication and solving problems collectively.

3. Compromising Negotiation (I Lose / Win Some – You Lose / Win Some).

This negotiation strategy is like finding a middle ground. It’s giving and taking from both sides to reach an agreement. For example, you’re buying something, and the seller wants a high price, but you want it lower. In a compromise, you might agree on a fair price that works for both, or in a business contract, both parties might give up a bit on what they want to make a deal that satisfies both. Adaptability and problem-solving skills are essential to identify solutions that satisfy the needs of both parties.

4. Avoidant Negotiation (I Lose – You Lose).

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Avoidant negotiation is when people avoid talking about things to solve possible problems. While it might seem like a quick fix, it often leads to more significant problems later. For example, if colleagues avoid discussing who should do what tasks, it can create confusion, making the team less efficient and satisfied in the long run. In the cases where team members avoid discussing responsibilities, emotional intelligence becomes crucial. Understanding and managing emotions are vital in preventing long-term issues originating from unresolved conflicts.

5. Accommodating Negotiation (I Lose – You Win).

Accommodating negotiation is about keeping the relationship good, even if it means giving in to the other person. It’s like saying, “I’ll let you have your way because our relationship is important.” In a group project, someone might agree to the idea of some member of a team, even if it changes the plan, to keep the group happy and maintain a positive working atmosphere. It’s about valuing the relationship over personal preferences, ensuring everyone feels respected and heard. The skills here include emotional intelligence and building and sustaining positive relationships.

Your chosen strategy will depend on who you are negotiating with and the type of relationship you have with them. It will also depend on what you are negotiating, as well as time frame and setting you are negotiating in. Besides choosing a strategy, your approach to the issue being negotiated can be considered. Three key approaches to negotiations can be singled out: hard, soft and principled negotiation. Many experts consider the third option

— principled negotiation — to be the best practice.

Hard approach involves contending by using extremely competitive bargaining. Soft approach includes yielding, where one party tries hard to meet the interests of the other party and forgoes their own interests. Principled negotiation focuses on achieving a lasting, win-win outcome by:

•separating people from the problem;

•focusing on the interests but not on the positions;

•generating various options before settling on an agreement;

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• coming to the agreement on objective criteria.

Stages of Negotiation Process

Usually five common steps that most effective negotiations follow to achieve a successful outcome are listed:

1.Prepare: it is a vital stage of the negotiating process. A good negotiator must always prepare, research both sides of the discussion, identify any possible trade-offs, determine most-desired and least-desired possible outcomes. Then it is advisable to make a list of concessions that you can put on the bargaining table, understand who in your organization has the decision-making power, know the relationship that you want to build or maintain with the other party, and prepare your BATNA (“best alternative to a negotiated agreement”). Knowing your BATNA can help you set the lowest or highest point at which you are willing to accept an offer. It can also help you assess the strength of your position and avoid accepting unfavorable terms. This stage can also include the definition of the ground rules: determining where, when, with whom, and under what time limits the negotiations will take place.

2.Exchange information: in this part of the negotiation both parties exchange their initial positions. Each side should be allowed to share their underlying interests and concerns uninterrupted, including what they aim to receive at the end of the negotiation and why they think the way they do.

3.Clarify: during this step, parties discuss their views regarding the conflict and justify the reasons for their demands. If one side disagrees with something the other side is saying they should discuss that disagreement in calm terms to reach a point of understanding.

4.Bargain and problem-solve: this step is the milestone in the process of negotiation, when both sides begin give-and-take. After initial first offer, each party should propose different counteroffers for the problem, paying attention to their concessions. During the bargaining process, you should be reserved; best negotiators use strong verbal communication skills (active listening and calm feedback as well as body language). The purpose of this step is to get a win-win outcome that means a positive course of action.

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5. Conclude and implement: once an acceptable solution has been agreed upon, both sides should thank each other, no matter the outcome of the negotiation; successful negotiations always create and maintain good longterm relationships. This step often includes a written contract and a followup to confirm the implementation is going well.

5.4. Telephone Communication

Telephone is one of the most important and commonly used tools in business. Great variety of businesses, organizations, and departments use telephones in their work every day; however, most of us don’t think of the telephone as a tool, and as a result, accidentally misuse it. The telephone is a link between us and the world outside our business or department. Telephone conversation can be defined as the exchange of information between two persons over telephone. This is not a face-to-face conversation rather a person-to-person conversation where nobody sees but hears each other and interacts instantly. It is most effective when distance is longer and time is a great factor.

Talking on the phone or producing a recording lacks interpersonal context with the variety of nonverbal messages. Unless you use vivid language and clear descriptions, your audience can often be left in misunderstanding. They may create mental images that don’t reflect your intention. In order to avoid this, try always structure your conversation over the phone the following way.

1.Opening the conversation

2.Feedforward

3.Business

4.Feedback

5.Closing

Cell phones are a part of many, if not most, people’s lives in the current world. Computer users can also make use of voice interaction and exchange through voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) programs like Skype, Zoom, Telegram & others. With the availability of VoIP, both audio and

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visual images are available to the conversation participants. But here, we’ll focus primarily on voice exchanges. Since you lack the nonverbal context, you need to make sure that your voice accurately communicates your message. Your choice of words and how you say them, including spacing or pausing, pace, rhythm, articulation, and pronunciation are relevant factors in effective delivery. Here are five main points to consider:

1.Speak slowly and articulate your words clearly.

2.Use vivid terms to create interest and communicate descriptions.

3.Be specific.

4.Show consideration for others by keeping your phone conversations private.

5.Silence cell phones, pagers, and other devices when you are in a meeting or sharing a meal with colleagues.

You don’t have to slow down your normal pattern of speech by a large degree, but each word needs time and space to be understood or the listener may hear words that run together, losing meaning and creating opportunities for misunderstanding. In this respect it is important to know some basic rules of telephone etiquette:

•Speak directly into the mouthpiece of the phone or a headset while talking

•Do not eat or chew gum while talking on the telephone

•If you are interrupted or must talk to somebody else in your workplace while you are on the phone, simply ask the caller if they can hold and press the HOLD button.

•Do not lay the receiver on the desk, without placing the caller on

hold (the caller will hear everything being discussed in your office).

When answering the telephone:

•Always try to answer your own telephone whenever possible

•Always practice answering your telephone within 2-3 rings

Phrases such as “He’s in conference” or “She’s in a meeting,” are greatly overused, so many people don’t believe you when you use this phrase. The

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most appropriate response you can give a caller is that someone is not available; but it is crucial to indicate when the person will be available. E.g., “He is not available, but I do expect him back in the office at 2 p.m.”

When returning a phone call:

Playing phone tag can be frustrating, so to avoid returning phone calls to a person who is unavailable, try establishing specific times to callback or try asking, “When is the best time for me to call again?” or “When is the best time for him to call me back?”

When placing Outbound Calls:

Be sure you have the right telephone number before you place an outbound call. Keeping a “frequently called numbers” list within reach could prove be very helpful. Try utilizing a few of these suggestions:

•Prepare yourself. Visualize your caller as a friendly person

•Plan the objectives you want to accomplish pointing them down before

•Think about the possible questions or objections you may have prior to placing the call and develop answers to them to avoid making additional calls

•Take notes during the call

When you are leaving a message:

When you reach an answering device, such as a voice mail, be sure to leave the following information:

•Your name with the correct spelling (if necessary).

•Your department and telephone number

•The date and time you called

•Message

•When you are available to take calls To conclude the conversation:

Many people get afraid of polite bringing a telephone conversation to an end. Here are some tips to avoid any awkwardness and to close your conversation with professionalism:

•Talk in the past tense.

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•Try using such “closing” phrases as, “I’m really glad you called” or “I’m glad we resolved this issue.”

•Thank for calling and say “Good-bye”. Refrain from using slang, or phrases like “Bye-bye,” or “Okie-dokie.”

Avoid being unprofessional by all means, and refrain from using the expressions that may seem rude to others, such as:

•“Hang on.”

•“Who’s calling?”

•“I can’t hear you, speak up!”

•“I can’t help you. You’ll have to speak to someone else.”

The following phrases would be more appropriate:

•“May I say who is calling, please?”

•“I’m having a little difficulty hearing you. Can you, please, speak up?”

•“I need to transfer your call to (some department) so that they can answer your question. May I do so?”

EXERCISES

1.Look for one or more sentences or phrases that capture the elements of a successful sound bite and test them on your classmates or colleagues. Can a sound bite, slogan, or quote be delivered without stumbling? Is it easy to read? Does it get the job done?

2.Prepare your own presentation on any topic of the course & get ready to share it in class.

3.In your opinion, what is the most preferable method to communicate with family and friends? Phone calls, text messaging, other? Why? Explain your choice.

4.What is the most preferable method to communicate at work? Using your own words and ideas, why is it so?

5.Does communication method depend on the age? What communication method do the teenagers, the adults, the older people prefer and why?