Business Communications Discovering Strategy, Devloping Skills

The most important thing I learned in school was how to communicate. -- Lee Iacocca, Former CEO, Chrysler Corp. Successful Twenty-First Century Careers Require Excellent Communication Skills Career success comes to people who are good at giving correct information, developing strong working relationships, attracting and satisfying customers, working in teams, solving disputes, building consensus for decisions, picking other people's brains for useful insights, conveying ideas, listening, and building networks of friends and co-workers. What is the common denominator in all these activities? They all involve the functions ofbusiness communication:writing, speaking, interviewing, and group interaction skills. In fact, excellent communication skills can do more to jump-start a promising career than almost any other factor. More than ever before, the ability to communicate well determines an employee's capability to thrive in today's business world. Organizations cannot function without effective communication. Businesses must communicate in a number of different contexts. They must communicate with their customers through advertising, sales, public relations, and customer service activities. They must share ideas, apply new knowledge and information, and motivate and train employees. Without these kinds of functions, organizations will be less productive and companies may fail. People with well-developed communication skills are crucial to organizational success. Such people are always in demand. How do your skills measure up against the requirements of today's workplace? What skills will best serve you as you begin your career and contribute your skills to the businesses and organizations of the twenty-first century? How confident are you in your ability to devise a communication strategy, write effectively, prepare and deliver a good oral presentation, participate in meetings and interviews, and gather feedback? This book will help you develop those skills. Five Barriers That Hinder Business Communication Success What are some of the hurdles to building communication competence? We have found five typical barriers that make the process difficult for many people. A major function of this book is to teach you ways to overcome these barriers, so let us begin our study by looking at five common barriers to effective personal communication. Barrier 1: The "I-Already-Know-How" Attitude We have all been communicating since we were children, and most of us think we are pretty good at it. We assume that because what we say and write makes sense to us, it also makes sense to--and should be accepted by--others. Unfortunately, this attitude may cause us to bumble along the way we always have, thus missing the opportunity to improve the quality of our communication. This can be the worst form of tunnel vision. The reality is that none of us are perfect communicators, and most of us aren't nearly as good as we think we are--or could be. Barrier 2: An Oversimplified View of How Communication Works We mistakenly see communication as a controllable, mechanical activity irk which a speaker or writer says something and a listener or reader responds in some predictable way. The reality is that, in most cases, the process is nowhere near that simple and we cannot fullycontrolcommunication. We can, and should, seek toinfluenceother people with our messages, but ultimately it will be those other people who determine our success. This reality is frustrating for people who want to be dictators, persuaders, or motivators. We all want to get people to do what we ask, to get our peers to accept our point of view, to get customers to buy, and to get our bosses to be impressed with us. But whether such things happen or not is ultimately determined by our readers or listeners. The fact is thatthose who rBienvenu, Sherron is the author of 'Business Communications Discovering Strategy, Devloping Skills' with ISBN 9780130386076 and ISBN 0130386073.