1.

EXCELLENCE IN
BUSINESS
COMMUNICATION

John V. Thill
Courtland L. Bovée

Prepared by Jimidene Murphey

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.2

Chapter 1
Understanding Business
Communication

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.3

Chapter 1 Objectives
 Explain why effective communication
is important in organizations and how
it can help you succeed in business.
 Discuss four changes in the
workplace that are intensifying the
need to communicate effectively.
 Describe how organizations share
information internally and externally.
 List and define the six phases of the
communication process.

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.4

Chapter 1 Objectives
continued

 Identify four types of communication

barriers.
 Discuss four guidelines for overcoming
communication barriers.
 Differentiate between an ethical dilemma
and an ethical lapse.

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.5

Effective Communication

Communication is the process of sending

and receiving messages.
It is effective only when people
 understand each other
 stimulate others to
take action
 encourage others to
think in new ways

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.6

Organizational Benefits
 Increase productivity
 Anticipate problems
 Make decisions
 Coordinate workflow
 Supervise others
 Develop relationships
 Promote products
 Shape impressions
 Understand needs of stakeholders
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
 1.7
Adapting to the
Changing Workplace

Internet speed

Culturally diverse
work force

Age of Information

Team-based groups
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
 1.8
Formal Internal
Communication Network

Downward Upward
Supervisor Supervisor

Staff Staff

Horizontal
Department Department
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
 1.9

Horizontal Communication

Top-level
Supervisors managers

Departments Departments

Lower-level Staff
managers

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.10
Quick Upward or Downward
Quiz
Communication?
 Weekly accident report from line
supervisor to personnel manager
 Memo from department supervisor to
staff members telling them of
upcoming departmental meeting
 Meeting between marketing team and
production team
 Upward
 Downward
 Horizontal
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
 1.11

External Communication

Customers
Customers

Venders
Venders Investors
Investors

Company
Distributors
Distributors Journalists
Journalists

Competitors
Competitors Community
Community
Representatives
Representatives

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.12

Outside Communication

Formal
 Press statements, investor letters,
advertisements, price changes, and
litigation updates
 Usually prepared by marketing or public
relations team
Informal
 Employees create an impression of the
organization and gain information when they
interact or network with the outside world.

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.13

Communication Process

Sender Sender Sender

has an encodes transmits
idea
idea

Receiver
gets
message
Receiver Receiver
gives decodes
feedback message

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.14
Let’s
Discuss Communication Barriers

Give examples of each of the following

communication barriers or noise:

Distractions Restrictive
environments

Perceptual Deceptive
differences tactics

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.15

Activity Overcoming Barriers

 Improve communication by
evaluating responses to your
messages.
 Change your approach by
choosing another medium or by
reworking your message.

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.16

Traits of Good Communicators

Perceptive
Perceptive

Precise
Precise In
In Control
Control

Congenial
Congenial Credible
Credible

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.17
Guidelines to Becoming a Good
Communicator
1. Adopt an audience-centered approach.
2. Foster open communication.
3. Create clean, efficient messages.
4. Be ethical in your communications.

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.18

Audience-Centered Approach

 Always make your message

meaningful to your audience.
 Learn all you can about your
audience.
 Use common sense and imagination
to project yourself into the
audience’s position.

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.19

Climate of Open Communication

 Modify number of organizational

levels..
 Facilitate feedback.

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.20

Lean, Efficient Messages

Give examples of how you could do

each of the following:

Reduce messages

Minimize distractions

Use technology
responsibly
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
 1.21

Ethical Communication

 Ethics are the principles of

conduct that govern a person
or group.
 Ethical Communication includes all
relevant information, is true in every
sense, and is not deceptive in any
way.
 Commit to ethical communication.

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.22
Let’s Test Your
Discuss Knowledge
 Define communication and list four of
the eight benefits of effective
communication.
 How is technology changing
communication in the workplace?
 How does internal communication
differ from external communication?
 In what direction can information travel
within an organization's formal
hierarchy?
To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall
 1.23
Let’s Test Your
Discuss Knowledge continued

 What is the grapevine, and why should

managers know how it works?
 In which of the six phases of the
communication process do messages
get encoded and decoded?
 How can information overload affect
communication?

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall

 1.24
Let’s Test Your
Discuss Knowledge continued

 Why should communicators take an

audience-centered approach to
communication?
 How does corporate culture affect the
communication climate within an
organization?
 Define ethics, and explain what ethical
communication covers.

To accompany Excellence in Business Communication, 5e , Thill and Bovée © 2002 Prentice-Hall