The main methods of bussiness communications.

Read the following text about communication modes. It can help you to understand the TABLE below better.

The first major communication mode is the written word. In writing,

the prime rule is to keep everything short and simple: the words, the

sentences, and the ideas. It is never right to impress.

The other main communication mode is the spoken word. Most of us

find little difficulty in talking to each other. It is only when talking becomes

“speaking” that it becomes difficult.

But written and spoken words are not the only ones. A newspaper picture

can often speak louder than any commentary. And what about diagrams,

numbers and different visual aids?

Look at the TABLE below. Try to describe all the forms of written and spoken communication in the table.

COMMUNICATIONS	External	Advertising	1. TV
2. radio
3. newspapers
4. posters, leaflets, brochures
Internal and External	Verbal (spoken word)	5.personal contacts
6.telephone/mobile phones
7. negotiations
8. meetings
9. interviews
10. presentations
Verbal (written word)	11. memos
12. minutes
13. notices
14. reports
15. letters
External	Telecommunications and Post Office Services	16. telephone
17. telex
18. computers
19. letters
20. postal services

Unit 1

A. Discuss these questions

1. What forms of written and spoken communication can you think of?

2. Which of the above (mentioned in the table) do you like using? Why?

3. What problems can people have with them?

4. How can these problems be solved?

A GOOD COMMUNICATOR

B. What makes a good communicator? Choose the three most important factors.

1. fluency in the language 5. a sense of humour

2. an extensive vocabulary 6. grammatical accuracy

3. being a good listener 7. not being afraid of making mistakes

4. physical appearance 8. an awareness of body language

C. Which words below apply to good communicators? Which apply to bad ones? Use a dictionary to know the meaning of the words.

articulate	coherent	hesitant	eloquent	fluent
focused	inhibited	extrovert	persuasive	rambling
	responsible	sensitive	succinct	reserved

D. Which of the words in Ex. C have the same meanings?

1. coincide 5. clear and easy to understand

2. reluctant to speak 6. good at influencing people

3. talking in a confused way 7. outgoing

4. able to express ideas well 8. reacting in a positive way

E. Complete this talk by a communication expert with the verbs from the box.

listen	digress	interrupt	explain	engage
	clarify	confuse	ramble

Good communicators really …(1)… to people and take in what is said.

They maintain eye contact and have a relaxed body language, but they seldom …(2)… and stop people talking. If they don’t understand and want to …(3)….

something they wait for s suitable opportunity.

When speaking, effective communicators are good at giving information.

They do not …(4)… their listener. They make their points clearly. They will avoid technical terms, abbreviations or jargon, if they do need to use unfamiliar terminology they …(5)… by giving an easy to understand example. Furthermore,

although they may …(6)… and leave the main point to give additional information

and details where appropriate, they will not …(7)… and lose sight of their main

Unit 1

message. Really effective communicators who have the ability to …(8)… with colleagues, employees, customers and suppliers are a valuable asset for any business.

Task 1. For a good communicator the following characteristics might be important.

Read the following word combinations and give their translation. The definitions below can help you do the task.

1. articulate speech a ………………………………………………………

2. coherent answer b ……………………………….………………….…..

3. eloquent silence c ………………………………..………...……………

4. fluent language d ………………..…………………………...…………

5. focused person e ..………………………………………………...……

6. hesitant voice f ..………………………………………………………

7. inhibited person g .……………………………………………………….

8. lucid mind h ...……………………………………………….……..

9. persuasive document i ...……………………………………………...………

10. rambling monologue j ..…………………………………..………….……….

11. responsive person k ...……………………………………………………..

12. sensitive person l. ……………………….………………………………

13. succinct style m ………………………………………………………

14. tongue-tied person n ………...……………………………………………..

1.	articulate (adj)	a.	able to talk easily, clearly and effectively about things, especially difficult subjects
b.	writing or speech that is articulate is very clear and easy to understand even if the subject is difficult
2.	coherent (adj)	easy to understand because the information is presented in an orderly and reasonable way.
3.	eloquent (adj)	a.	able to express your ideas and opinions well, especially in a way that influences people
b.	showing a feeling or meaning without words; e.g. an eloquent reminder of the horrors of war
4.	fluent (adj)	able to speak a language very well
5.	focused (adj)	paying careful attention to what you are doing in a way that shows you are determined to succeed
6.	hesitant (adj)	uncertain about what to do or say because you are nervous or unwilling
7.	inhibited (adj)	not confident or relaxed enough to do or say what you want to; e.g. to feel inhibited
8.	lucid (adj)	expressed in a way that is clear and easy to understand
9.	persuasive (adj)	good at influencing other people to believe or do what you want

Unit 1

10.	rambling (adj)	a.	a building that is rambling has an irregular shape and covers a large area
b.	speech or writing that is rambling is very long and does not seem to have any clear organization or purpose
11.	responsive (adj)	a.	ready to react in a useful or helpful way
b.	willing to give answers or show your feelings about something
12.	sensitive (adj)	a.	able to understand other people’s feelings and problems
b.	easily hurt, upset or offended by things that people say
c.	able to understand or express yourself through art, music, literature etc
d.	a situation or subject that is sensitive needs to be dealt with very carefully because it may offend people or make them angry.
13.	succint (adj)	clearly expressed in a few words
14.	tongue-tied (adj)	unable to speak easily to other people, especially because you feel embarrassed

Task 2. After suggesting your own ideas, compare your translation with the one in the Skills Checklist below and decide whether they are:

a) different ---- partially different ---- more different ---- absolutely different

b) the same ---- partially alike ----- more alike ---- absolutely the same

SKILLS CHECKLIST.

1. членораздельная, отчетливо произнесенная, четко сформулированная речь

2. связный, последовательный ответ

3. красноречивое молчание

4. беглый язык

5. сосредоточенный человек

6. нерешительный голос

7. замкнутый, заторможенный, скованный человек

8. ясный ум

9. убедительный документ

10. бессвязный монолог

11. отзывчивый человек

12. чувствительный, отзывчивый человек

13. краткий, сжатый стиль

14. косноязычный человек, лишившийся дара речи человек

UNIT 2.

IMPROVING COMMUNICATION

TEXT 1.

1. Read the text about “a breakdown” in communication and choose the best title. Write it at the top of the text.

1. The impact of culture on business.

2. The process of communication between companies.

3. Communication problems in our life and how to solve them.

4. Communication as a two-way process.

5. Breakdowns in communication in business.

TITLE: __________________________________________________________

A breakdown in communication is quite likely to happen if there is some kind of “social distance” between people. In organizations, people may have difficulty communicating if they are different in status, or if one person has a much higher position than the other. For example, two production workers will probably speak frankly to each other about things that are going wrong in their department. But if the Chief Executive of the company passes by and asks how thing are going, they’ll probably say, “Just fine, thank you.” It is risky to tell the truth to someone higher up in the hierarchy – they may not like what they hear and hold it against you.

For this reason, staff often “filter” information. They deliberately alter the facts, telling the boss what he/she wants to hear. They do not want to give bad news, so they give their superior too good an impression of the situation.

There is nothing new about all this. One thinks of Cleopatra and the problem she had in her military campaigns. She used to give gold to messengers bringing good news, but executed those bringing bad news. It is not surprising; therefore, that the information she received was unreliable.

One way of reducing social distance – and improving communications – is to cut down on status symbols. It is possible, for example, to have a common dining room for all staff. It is worth noting, that in Japanese companies, it is common for all the staff to wear uniforms.

Physical surroundings and physical distance limit or encourage communication. Studies show that the further away a person is, the less he/she communicates. The physical layout of an office must be carefully planned. Open-plan offices are designed to make communication easier and quicker. However, it is interesting to note that employees in such offices will often move furniture and other objects to create mini-offices.

Excellent companies use space to create good communications. The Corning Glass Company in the United States installed escalators rather than lifts in their engineering buildings because they wanted to increase the chances of employees meeting face-face.

Unit 2

Another important barrier to communication is selective perception. Put simply, this means that people perceive things in different ways. The world of the sender is not the same as the world of the receiver. (see text 1). Because their knowledge and experience is different, sender and receiver are always on slightly different wavelengths. Therefore, a manager will say something, but the employee will interpret his meaning incorrectly. The message become distorted.

Communication problems will arise from time to time. To minimize these problems managers must remember one thing. Communication should be a two-way process. Managers should encourage staff to ask questions and to react to what the managers are saying. Feedback is essential.

2. Read the text again and answer the questions.

1. What does “a breakdown” mean?

2. What are the reasons for a breakdown in business communication?

Name all of them in the order of appearance.

3. Do the staff speak frankly with their Chief Executive? Why? Why not?

4. How do the employees of a company behave with their top managers?

How can this problem be solved?

5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having open-plan offices?

6. What must managers remember if they wish to improve communication?

TEXT 2.

1. Read the text below and answer the question: “Why are the manager and

subordinate not communicating properly?

2. Before reading look at the following words and word combinations.

They are all taken from the text below. Read them and supply the translation.

N	word and word combination	meaning	translation ……/…….
1.	look into	examine, investigate, consider (a matter)
2.	tied up	very busy
3.	below par	not as good as usual
4.	screw up	make a mistake (US slang)
5.	you’re out	you’re fired
6.	rush order	goods required in a hurry
7.	match	offer as much as
8.	credentials	qualifications
9.	just your cup of tea	exactly what you want, very suitable for you

Unit 2

10.	look it over	inspect, examine
11.	straighten it out	solve a problem, deal with a problem