Business Communication

Chapter 2 – Mastering team skills and interpersonal

communication

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Learning Objectives

1. List the advantages and disadvantages of working in teams and describe the
characteristics of effective teams.
2. Offer guidelines for collaborative communication, identify major
collaboration technologies, and explain how to give constructive feedback.
3. List the key steps needed to ensure productive team meetings and identify
the most common meeting technologies.
4. Identify the major types of listening, describe the listening process, and
explain how good listeners overcome barriers at each stage of the process.
5. Explain the importance of nonverbal communication and identify six major
categories of nonverbal expression.
6. Explain the importance of business etiquette and identify three key areas in
which good etiquette is essential.
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Communicating effectively in teams

◼ Collaboration—working together to meet complex challenges—is a

prime skill expected in a wide range of professions.

◼ A team is a unit of two or more people who share a mission and the
responsibility for working to achieve their goal.
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Advantages of teams

Teams can provide businesses and individuals with a variety of benefits:

◼ MORE INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE. By pooling the experience of

several individuals, a team has access to more information in the
decision-making process.

◼ LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES. Teams that bring together people with

various work specialties give people the chance to learn from each other.

◼ BOLDNESS. People who might hesitate to take calculated risks on their own
may be more willing to make bold moves as part of a team.

◼ ACCOUNTABILITY. Most people want to avoid letting others down, and

participating in teams creates a built-in sense of accountability to others.
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Advantages of teams

◼ TRUST BUILDING. Working closely in teams lets people develop trust in their
colleagues, which can be beneficial outside the confines of the team activities as
well.

◼ A BROADER RANGE OF VIEWPOINTS. Diverse teams in particular can

bring a variety of perspectives that improve decision making.

◼ BUY-IN FOR SOLUTIONS THE TEAM CREATES. Those who participate

in making a decision are more likely to support it and encourage others to accept
it.

◼ IMPROVED PERFORMANCE. Effective teams can be better than

top-performing individuals at solving complex problems.

◼ A SENSE OF COMMUNITY IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD. Being on a

team helps individuals share in the celebration of successes and provides
emotional support during challenging periods.
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The potential disadvantages of teams

◼ GROUPTHINK. Like other social structures, business teams can generate tremendous
pressures to conform. Groupthink occurs when peer pressures cause individual team
members to withhold contrary or unpopular opinions and to go along with decisions
they don’t really believe in. The consequences of groupthink can range from bland,
unimaginative work to outright disasters.

◼ HIDDEN AGENDAS. Some team members may have a hidden agenda—private,

counterproductive motives, such as a desire to take control of the group, to undermine
someone else on the team, or to pursue an incompatible goal.

◼ COST. Aligning schedules, arranging meetings, and coordinating individual parts of a

project can take a lot of time and money.

◼ OVERLOAD. Some companies have embraced collaborative work approaches to such

an extent that they’re overloading employees with team assignments.3
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Characteristics of effective teams

◼ A shared sense of purpose and compatible values

◼ A clear and challenging goal

◼ A belief in the value of the team’s efforts

◼ A well-balanced mix of people who can provide the insights and skills needed to achieve the
goal

◼ Positive behavioural norms that promote psychological safety, encouraging people to share
information, propose unproven ideas, and express vulnerability without fear of repercussion

◼ A willingness to put the team’s needs ahead of individual needs

◼ Open and honest communication

[Link]
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Conflict Resolution in Team Settings

◼ Conflict in team settings isn’t necessarily bad; diverse points of view can boost
creativity and help avoid groupthink.
◼ By looking at challenges from different angles, teams can often reach a deeper
understanding of situations and design more effective responses. Conflict
becomes destructive when it begins to derail the team’s efforts.
◼ Teams should take proactive steps to avoid conflicts and move quickly if conflict
does arise.

[Link]
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Collaborating on Communication Efforts

In any collaborative effort, team members coming from different backgrounds may
have different work habits or priorities:
- a technical expert may focus on accuracy and scientific standards;
- an editor may be more concerned about organization and coherence;
- and a manager may focus on schedules, cost, and corporate goals. In addition,
team members differ in writing styles, work habits, and personality traits.
To collaborate effectively, everyone involved must be flexible and open to other
opinions, focusing on team objectives rather than on individual priorities
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Guidelines for Collaborative Writing

The following guidelines will help you collaborate more successfully

◼ ALLOCATE ROLES TO BEST APPLY THE STRENGTHS OF YOUR TEAM

◼ AGREE ON PROJECT GOALS BEFORE YOU START

◼ ALLOW TIME FOR THE TEAM TO BOND BEFORE YOU BEGIN

◼ CLARIFY INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITIES.

◼ ESTABLISH CLEAR PROCESSES

◼ THINK CAREFULLY ABOUT COMPOSING AS A GROUP

◼ MAKE SURE TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES ARE READY AND COMPATIBLE ACROSS
THE TEAM

◼ CHECK TO SEE HOW THINGS ARE GOING ALONG THE WAY

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Technologies for Collaborative writing

A variety of tools are available to help writers collaborate on everything from short documents to
entire websites.

- The simplest tools are features in Google Docs, Microsoft Word, and similar products that
support commenting (which lets colleagues write comments in a document without modifying
the document text) and revision tracking or reviewing (which lets one or more writers propose
changes to the text while keeping everyone’s edits separate and reversible).

- The widely used Adobe Acrobat digital document system (PDF files) also has group review and
comment features, including the option for live collaboration. Live collaboration allows two or
more people to work on a document at the same time and see each other’s changes as they are
made.

- Most of the major writing tools offer cloud-based collaboration, which means the content is
stored in a server somewhere on the internet and each user accesses it through an app or web
browser.
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Collaboration Systems

Collaborating on websites often involves the use of a content management

system, which organizes and controls website content and can include
features that help team members work together on webpages and other
documents

a wiki, from the Hawaiian word for quick, is a website that allows anyone
with access to add new material and edit existing material. Public wikis
(Wikipedia is the best known of these) allow any registered user to edit
pages; private wikis are accessible only with permission.
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Giving and Responding to Constructive
Feedback

◼ When you give writing feedback, make it constructive by focusing on how the material can be
improved.

◼ collaborative communication often involves giving and receiving feedback about writing efforts.

◼ Constructive feedback, sometimes called constructive criticism, focuses on the process and
outcomes of communication, not on the people involved.

◼ In contrast, destructive feedback delivers criticism with no effort to stimulate improvement.

◼ “This proposal is a confusing mess, and you failed to convince me of anything”

◼ “Your proposal could be more effective with a clearer description of the manufacturing process
and a well-organized explanation of why the positives outweigh the negatives.”
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Making meetings more productive

◼ To a large degree, your ability to contribute to the company—and to be

recognized for your contributions—will depend on your meeting skills.

◼ Well-run meetings can help companies solve problems, develop ideas,

identify opportunities, and promote team building through social
networking and interaction
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Preparing for meetings

◼ A single poorly planned or poorly run meeting can waste hundreds or

thousands of dollars, so make sure every meeting is necessary and well
managed.

◼ To ensure a successful meeting, clarify your purpose, select the right mix
of participants, choose the venue and time carefully, and set a clear
agenda.
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Preparing for meetings

If a meeting is truly necessary, proceed with these four planning tasks:

1) CLARIFY YOUR PURPOSE. Most meetings are one of two types: Informational meetings involve
sharing information and perhaps coordinating action. Decision-making meetings involve analysis,
problem solving, and in many cases, persuasive communication.

2) SELECT PARTICIPANTS FOR THE MEETING. The rule here is simple: Invite everyone who
really needs to be involved, and don’t invite anyone who doesn’t

3) CHOOSE THE VENUE AND THE TIME. Online meetings are often the best way (and sometimes
the only way) to connect people in multiple locations or to reach large audiences. For onsite meetings,
review the facility and the seating arrangements. Are rows of chairs suitable, or do you need a
conference table or some other arrangement?

4) SET AND SHARE THE AGENDA. People who will be presenting information need to know what is
expected of them, nonpresenters need to know what will be presented so they can prepare questions,
and everyone needs to know how long the meeting will last.
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Preparing for meetings

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Conducting and Contributing to effective
meetings

Everyone in a meeting shares the responsibility for keeping the

meeting productive and making it successful.

To ensure productive meetings, be sure to do the following:

◼ KEEP THE MEETING ON TRACK.
◼ FOLLOW AGREED-UPON RULES.
◼ ENCOURAGE AND MODERATE PARTICIPATION
◼ PARTICIPATE ACTIVELY.
◼ DON’T INTERRUPT
◼ USE MOBILE DEVICES RESPECTFULLY.
◼ CLOSE EFFECTIVELY.
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Putting Meeting Results to Productive Use

Pproblems or opportunities brought up during a meeting need to be

addressed, any action items assigned during the meeting need to be
acted on, and key decisions and announcements should be
distributed to anyone who is affected but was unable to attend.

◼ Minutes are a written summary of the key discussion points and

decisions made during a meeting.

Refer to textbook for a sample of Meeting Minutes

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Using Meeting Technologies

Replacing in-person meetings with virtual meetings can dramatically lower

costs and resource usage, reduce demands on employees, and give teams
access to a wider pool of expertise.
◼ A great feature of these systems is the ability to record the meetings so
that anyone who missed a meeting can replay it later.
◼ Expect to attend many meetings virtually, using the growing array of
online meeting technologies.
◼ Online meetings can save considerable time and money, but they can
require extra planning and management steps.
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Improving your listening skills

◼ Listening is one of the most important skills in the workplace, but most people don’t do
it as well as they assume they do.

◼ The primary goal of content listening is to understand and retain the information in the
speaker’s message. With this type of listening, you ask questions to clarify the material
but don’t argue or judge

◼ The goal of critical listening is to understand and evaluate the meaning of the speaker’s
message. The goal of critical listening is to understand and evaluate the meaning of the
speaker’s message on several levels:
◼ the logic of the argument,
◼ the strength of the evidence,
◼ the validity of the conclusions,
◼ the implications of the message,
◼ the speaker’s intentions and motives,
◼ and the omission of any important or relevant points
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Improving your listening skills

◼ critical listening” does not mean you are listening with the intent to criticize but rather to
understand the full meaning and implications of the speaker’s message.

◼ The goal of empathic listening is to understand the speaker’s feelings, needs, and wants so that
you can appreciate his or her point of view.
◼ This style of listening gives the other person the freedom to share without fear of being judged or
evaluated. In this sense, empathic listening is a complementary skill to content listening because you
need to silence those critical faculties and focus your attention on the other person.
◼ Empathic listening can be a difficult habit to get into, particularly for people who are used to solving
problems and taking charge of situations. All modes of successful listening are active, in which listeners
make a conscious effort to turn off their own filters and biases to truly hear and understand what the
other party is saying.

◼ Active listening can be a challenge for extroverted and assertive people, who may need to learn
to switch off their impulses to lead the conversation so they can be more receptive to what others
are really trying to say
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Understanding the listening process

To listen effectively, you need to successfully complete five steps:

1) RECEIVING. Start by physically hearing the message and recognizing it as
incoming information.
2) DECODING. Assign meaning to sounds, according to your own values,
beliefs, ideas, expectations, roles, needs, and personal history.
3) REMEMBERING. Store the information for future processing.
4) EVALUATING. Evaluate the quality of the information.
5) RESPONDING. React based on the situation and the nature of the information.
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Overcoming barriers to effective communication

◼ You may not be able to control some factors, such as conference room
acoustics or poor phone reception.
◼ However, you can control other factors, such as not interrupting speakers,
not multitasking when someone is talking to you, and not creating
distractions that make it difficult for others to pay attention.
◼ And don’t think that you’re not interrupting just because you’re not
talking. Such actions as texting, checking your watch, or sighing can
interrupt a speaker and lead to communication breakdowns.
Refer to the text book for the chart
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Improving your Nonverbal Communication
Skills

◼ Nonverbal communication is the process of sending and receiving

information, both intentionally and unintentionally, without using written
or spoken language

◼ Nonverbal signals are a factor in virtually every instance of

communication and they convey a significant portion of the information
and emotions shared in interpersonal communication.

◼ Nonverbal communication is complex: Not all signals are controllable, and

signals don’t always mean what people think they mean.
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Improving your Nonverbal Communication
Skills

In interpersonal communication, six categories of nonverbal signals are particularly

important:

◼ FACIAL EXPRESSIONS: Your eyes are especially effective for indicating attention
and interest, influencing others, regulating interaction, and establishing dominance
◼ facial signals can vary widely from culture to culture. For instance, maintaining eye contact is
usually viewed as a sign of sincerity and openness in Canada, but sustained eye contact is
considered disrespectful in many other cultures.

◼ GESTURES, POSTURE, AND GAIT. The way you use your hands, your posture when
standing and sitting, and the way you walk send nonverbal signals
◼ Leaning forward in your chair is a way to let someone know you’re paying attention.
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Improving your Nonverbal Communication
Skills

◼ VOCAL CHARACTERISTICS. Voice carries both intentional and unintentional

messages. A speaker can intentionally control pitch, pace, and stress to convey a
specific message

◼ PERSONAL APPEARANCE
◼ Many employers also have guidelines concerning attire, body art, and other issues, so
make sure you understand and follow them

◼ TOUCH.
◼ Touch is an important way to convey warmth, comfort, and reassurance—as well as
control. Touch is so powerful, in fact, that it is governed by cultural customs that
establish who can touch whom and how in various circumstances.

◼ TIME AND SPACE

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Workplace Etiquette

Follow these tips to help ensure a pleasant and productive workplace:

- Respect other people’s time, such as showing up for work and meetings on
time and not taking up a colleague’s time with gossip or personal chit-chat.

- Don’t interrupt people in conversations or in meetings.

- Watch your language. You might be comfortable with profanity in casual

conversation but it has no place in a professional environment.

- Dress appropriately for the situation. This isn’t a question of mindlessly

conforming or surrendering your individuality
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Workplace Etiquette

▪ Pay close attention to cleanliness and avoid using products with powerful scents.
Many people are bothered by these products and some are allergic to them.
▪ Avoid eating at your desk, particularly in open-plan offices. Many foods have
strong smells and no one wants to listen to you eat.
▪ Respect other people’s personal space.
▪ Knock before entering offices and don’t barge into someone’s cubicle without
being invited.
▪ Don’t gossip. Not only is gossip a waste of time, it’s often disrespectful to
others.
▪ Don’t come to work when you’re sick.
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Workplace Etiquette

▪ Keep the noise level down. This is a huge concern in open-plan

workspaces, where people are separated only by short cubicle walls and
sometimes not even that.

▪ Keep your voice down, avoid having meetings in your cubicle, and don’t
play music at a level that disrupts others (even if you’re wearing earbuds
or headphones).

▪ Don’t discuss religion, politics, or other potentially emotional issues.

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Telephone Etiquette

Here are some important tips for using phones at work

◼ BE CONSCIOUS OF HOW YOUR VOICE SOUNDS. Don’t speak in a monotone; vary

your pitch and inflections so people know you’re interested. Slow down when conversing with
people whose native language isn’t the same as yours.

◼ BE COURTEOUS WHEN YOU CALL SOMEONE. Identify yourself and your

organization, briefly describe why you’re calling, and ask whether you’ve called at a good
time.

◼ CONVEY A POSITIVE, PROFESSIONAL ATTITUDE WHEN YOU ANSWER THE

PHONE. Answer promptly and with a smile so that you sound welcoming. Identify yourself
and your company (some companies have specific instructions for what to say when you
answer). If you need to forward a call, put the caller on hold first and call the next person
yourself to verify that he or she is available.

◼ END CALLS WITH COURTESY AND CLARITY. Close in a friendly, positive manner and
double-check all vital information such as meeting times and dates.
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Telephone Etiquette

◼ USE YOUR OWN VOICEMAIL FEATURES TO HELP CALLERS. Record a

brief, professional-sounding outgoing message for regular use. When you will be away
or unable to answer the phone for an extended period, record a temporary greeting that
tells callers when you will respond to their messages. If you don’t check your messages
regularly or at all, disable your voicemail or use your outgoing message to tell callers
you don’t check it. Letting voicemail messages pile up without answering them is
extremely thoughtless.

◼ BE CONSIDERATE WHEN LEAVING VOICEMAIL MESSAGES. Unless

voicemail is the best or only choice, consider leaving a message through other means,
such as text messaging or email. If you do leave a voicemail message, make it as brief
as possible. Leave your name, number, reason for calling, and times you can be
reached.
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Mobile Device Etiquette

Your mobile device habits say a lot about how much respect you have for the people around you. Avoid these
disrespectful choices:

◼ Using obnoxious ringtones

◼ Failing to mute your phone during meetings or other situations where it will interrupt people

◼ Talking loudly in open offices or public places

◼ Talking on your phone right next to someone else

◼ Making or taking unnecessary personal calls at work Invading privacy by using your phone’s camera without
permission

◼ Taking or making calls in restrooms and other inappropriate places Texting during meals or while someone is
talking to you

◼ Allowing incoming calls to interrupt meetings or discussions

◼ Using voice recognition to the extent that it disrupts others

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Online Etiquette

Digital media seem to be a breeding ground for poor etiquette. Follow these guidelines to
avoid mistakes that could hurt your company or your career:

- AVOID PERSONAL ATTACKS. The anonymous and instantaneous nature of online

communication can cause even level-headed people to lose their tempers.

- STAY FOCUSED ON THE ORIGINAL TOPIC. If you want to change the subject of an online
conversation, start with a new message or thread.

- DON’T PRESENT OPINIONS AS FACTS; SUPPORT FACTS WITH EVIDENCE. This

guideline applies to all communication, of course, but online venues in particular seem to tempt
people into presenting their beliefs and opinions as unassailable truths.

- FOLLOW BASIC EXPECTATIONS OF SPELLING, PUNCTUATION, AND

CAPITALIZATION. Sending careless, acronym-filled messages that look like you’re texting
your high school buddies creates an unprofessional impression.
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Online Etiquette

Digital media seem to be a breeding ground for poor etiquette. Follow these
guidelines to avoid mistakes that could hurt your company or your career:
- USE VIRUS PROTECTION AND KEEP IT UP TO DATE. Sending or posting a file
that contains a computer virus puts others at risk.
- WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE AND KEEP YOUR EMOTIONS UNDER CONTROL.
A single indiscretion could haunt you forever.
- AVOID MULTITASKING WHILE USING INSTANT MESSAGING OR OTHER
TOOLS. You might think you’re saving time by doing a dozen things at once but
you’re probably making the other person wait while you bounce back and forth
between tasks.
- NEVER ASSUME YOU HAVE PRIVACY. Assume that anything you type will be
stored forever, could be forwarded to other people, and might be read by your boss or
the company’s security staff.
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Online Etiquette

Digital media seem to be a breeding ground for poor etiquette. Follow these
guidelines to avoid mistakes that could hurt your company or your career:
- DON’T WASTE OTHERS’ TIME WITH SLOPPY, CONFUSING, OR
INCOMPLETE MESSAGES. Doing so is disrespectful.
- RESPECT BOUNDARIES OF TIME AND VIRTUAL SPACE. For instance, don’t use
colleagues’ or employees’ personal social media accounts as a venue for business
discussions and don’t assume people are available to discuss work matters around the
clock, even if you do find them online in the middle of the night.
- BE CAREFUL OF ONLINE COMMENTING MECHANISMS. For example, many
blogs and websites now use your Facebook login to let you comment on articles. If your
Facebook profile includes your job title and company name, those could show up along
with your comment.