Lecture Notes Business Communication Unit IV BBA

Business Communication

Unit IV BBA N202

Oral Or al Com C omm munication

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By:-Amit Kumar (Assist. Professor) FIT Group of Institutions [email protected]

Oral communication implies pli es communication through mouth. It It includes individuals conversing with each other, be it direct conversation tion or teleph telephonic onic conversation. S Spee peeches, presentati tations, ons, discus discussions sions are all forms of oral oral communication. Oral Oral comm communicatio unication n is is generally erall y recommended when the communicatio unication n matter is i s of tem temporary kind ki nd or where a direct direct interaction ction is is required. quired. Face to facecommunicatio unication n (meetings, etings, lecture ectures, s, conferences conferences, inte i nterviews rviews, etc.) is signifi significan cant so as to buil build a rapport and and trust. Advantages of Oral Communication The There is high igh lev level of understanding ing and transparency in oral communication as it is interpersonal.There is no element of rigidity in oral communication. There is flexibility for allowing changes in the decisions decisions previousl previously y taken.The .T he feedback is is spontaneous in in case of oral communication. Thus, decisions can be made quickly without without any delay.Oral communication is i s not only tim time saving ving,, but it also also saves upon money and efforts.Oral orts.Oral communicati unication on is is best in case of problem resolution. The conflicts, disputes and many issue i ssues/dif s/differencescan beput to an end end by talki talking ng themover. Oral Oral com communicatio unication n is is an essential for teamwork and group energy. Oral Oral comm communicatio unication n promotes promotes a receptive ptive and encouraging couraging morale orale among organizatio organizationa nal employees ployees.Oral .Oral communicatio unication n can bebest used to transfer private private and confiden confi dential tial info informa rmation/ma tion/matter. Disa Disadvanta dvantage ges/Li s/L imitations itations of Oral Or al Communicati Communication on Relyi Relying ng onl only on oral communication may not be suffi sufficien cient as business communicatio unication n is forma formal and very organized. organized. Oral Oral communicatio unication n is les less authentic ntic than written written communicatio unication n as they are inf informa ormal and not as organized organized as written communication. Oral communication is i s tim time-savi e-saving ng as fa far as daily inte interactions are concerned, but in in caseof meetings, etings, long long speeches consume lot of tim time and are unproductive roducti ve at tim times. Oral Oral communicatio unications ns are not easy to maintain aintain and thus they are unsteady. The There may be misu isunderstanding ings as the info inforrmation ion is not complete complete and may lack essential essentials. s. I t requires requires attentivene ntiveness and great receptivi ceptivity on part of the the receivers/audience. Oral Oral com communicatio unication n (such as speeches) is i s not freque frequently ntly used as legal records except in investigation work. Non Ve V erbal Com C omm munication I t is is communication of feelings, ngs, emotions, otions, atti attitude tudes, and thoughts through through body movements / gestures / eye contact, contact, etc. The components of Non Non Verba Verball Com Communica ication tion are: re: K inesics: I t is is thestudy study of facial expressio ressions ns,, postures & gestures. Did Di d you know tha that while whil e in Arge Argentina ntina to raise a fist in the air with knuckles pointing outwards expresses victory, in L ebanon, raising raising a closed fist fi st is is consi considered rude? Oculesics: I t is is thestudy of the role rol e of eyecontact in non verbal communication. Did Di d you know that that in in thefirst fi rst 90 sec - 4 mi min you decide decide that you are inte interested in someone or not. Studies Studies

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reveal that 50% of this this first fi rst im impression comes from non-verbal communication which which includes includes oculesics. Only Only 7% of comes from words - that weactually say. Haptics: I t is is the study of touching. Did Di d you know tha that acceptable level of touching touching vary from from one culture culture to another? I n Tha Thailand, touchi touching ng someone's head may be considered as rude. Proxemics: Proxemics: I t is is the study of measurable distan distance between people as they intera interact. Did Di d you know know that the amount of personal space when having ving an inf informa ormal conversation conversation should vary between between 18 inche inches - 4 fee feet whil while, the personal distan di stance needed when speaking aking to acrowd crowd of people people should should be around 10-12 fee feet? Chronemics: It is is thestudy study of useof tim time in non verbal communicatio unication. n. Have Have you ever observed that whil while AN employee ployee wil will not worry worry about running running afew minutes late to meet acoll col league, a manager who has a meeting ting with with the CEO, CE O, a latearrival arrival wil will be considere considered as a nonverbal cue that he / she does not give give adequate respect to his his superior? rior? Paralinguistics: Paralinguistics: It I t is is the the study of variat variatiions in pitch, speed, volum volume, and pauses to convey mea meaning. ning. Inte I nterestingl restingly, y, when the speaker is i s making aking a presentation tion and is is looki looking ng for for a response, he wil will pause. Howeve However, when no response is desired, sired, he wil will talk fas f aster with with minim nimal pause. Physical Appearance: Appearance: Y our physical appearance rance always ways contribute contri butes towards how people ople perceive rceive you. Nea Neatly tly combed hair, irone i roned clothes and a lively smile wil will always always carry more weight than words. Basic Principles of Oral Presentation KNOW YOUR LISTENERS AND ADAPT YOUR MESSAGE TO THEM THEM Thin Think k about your audien ience's demographics ics—ag —age, gender, occupation, race or ethnicity, religion, cultural heritage, etc. Consider onsider what your audience alrea already knows about about your topic, topi c, how familiar they are with with theterminol terminology, ogy, how close closely their views views match yours, and how committed they are to existi existing ng attitudes and beliefs. The The best communica icators are those who understand their listeners and adjust their their message in in order to "reach themwhere they are." SPEAKI NG I S F UNDAMENTALLY UNDAMENTALLY DIF FE RENT F ROM ROM WRITI RIT I NG BECAUSE BECAUSE LI STENING IS FUNDAMENTA FUNDAMENTALL LLY Y DIF FEREN FE RENT T F ROM ROM READING. A reader chooses chooses when and where to focus focus attention; attention; a speaker must focus focus a listen li stener's attention ntion on what he or she is is saying ying at this this moment. A reader controls controls how fast heor she wil will move through atext; a speaker controls control s how fas fast li listeners will wil l move through an oral presentation. tion. Readers have the option option of going going back and re-readi re-reading; li listeners must grasp material terial as thespeaker prese presents it. it. Readers have lots lots of graphic cues about order and iim mportance of points points and about the relationshi relationship p among idea ideas; li listeners rely on the speaker to be their guide and inte interpreter.


Unit IV BBA N202

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UNDERSTAND YOUR NERVOUS NE RVOUSNESS NESS I t's normal: 3 out of 4 people ople say they fee feel nervous rvous about speaking in in public. bli c. It's I t's like li ke getting up for for an athleti etic contest: you want to do well, well , you've prepared, and you're ready to go! Y our perform formance is important, but it's not the main thing. thing. The main thing is sharing shari ng your message—the ssage—the ideas, feelings, inform nformation. tion. It's I t's about about lea learning rning together. Nobody expects perfec rfecti tion. on. If I f you mess up something, just just fix it it and go on. Y our audience is your partner: partner: they want to lea learn from you; they want you to succeed. succeed. Some nervousne rvousness is a good thing. thing. Heightene Heightened activation activation can energize rgize your prese presentation, ntation, enhance your alertness alertness and anima animation, tion, and boost audience audience engagement. Use relaxation tion technique techniques s if if you think think you're too wound up. up. Before your presentation, sit quietly, focus on letting the tension go out of your body, breathe deeply ply from from your abdome abdomen (in (i n for for a 4 count, count, hold hold for 4, out for a 4 count). count). Do this this for several cycles cycles with norm normal brea breaths between so you don't hyperventilate hyperventil ate. Smi Smile. It's It's a mood el elevator. I f you think you are unusu unusually ally nervous about spe speaking in in front front of people, ople, contact the Oral Communicatio unication n Center. We We have methods for for helpi helping ng you understand and manage your anxiety. anxiety. Effe ffective Pre Pr esentation Skills Skil ls

Pres Presentation tation can be defined as a form formal event characterized rized by teamwork and useof audiodio-vi visua sual aids. The T he main purpose of presentation tion is is to give give informa information, tion, to persuade the audience udience to act and to create goodwil oodwill. A good presen presentation tation should have a good subject subject matter, should match with with the objectiv objective, e, should best fi fit the audience, and and should be well organized. organized. Characteristics of a Good/Effective Presentation The The presentation ion ide ideas should be well adapted to your audience. Rel Relate ate your prese presentation ntation message/idea ge/ideato the interests of the audien udience. A detailed audien dience analysis ysis must be madebefore the presentation, tion, i.e., an analysis ysis of the needs, age, educational cational background, lan l anguage, and culture culture of the target audien udience. The Their body lang l anguage instantly ntly gives gives the speaker the required required feedback. A good presentation should should be concise concise and should be focus focused ed on thetopic. I t shoul should d not move off-tr off -tra ack. A good presentation should should havethe potential ntial to convey the the required required informa nformation. tion. 4. The The fear should be transfor formed int into positiv itive e energy during ing the presentation. tion. Be Be calmand relaxe relaxed whil while giving ving apresentation. Before efore beginning, wait and develop velop an eye contact with with the audien dience. Focus Focus on conveying conveying your message well and use a positi positive ve body language. 5. To communica icate the desire ired info inforrmation ion, the speaker should use more of visua visual aids such as transparencies, diag di agrams, pictures, pictures, charts, etc. Each Each transparency/sli rency/sl ide should contain contain lim li mited and essential infor i nform mati ation only. No N o slide sli de shoul should d bekept kept on for a longer tim ti me. Try Try faci facing ng theaudience, rather than the screen. The T he speaker should not block bl ock the view view.. Turn T urn on theroom lights li ghts else the audience diencemight fall fall asleep and loose loose interest. Organize Organize all the visua visuals for for making aking alogical ogical and sound presentation. tion.

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Business Communication 6. A good presenta presentation tion must be plan planned. The T he speaker must plan plan how to begin begin the presentation, tion, what to speak in i n the middle ddle of presentation tion and how to end the presentation without wi thout losi losing ng audien dience inte interests at any point point of tim time. 7. Rehearse and practice ractice the presentation. tion. Thi This s wil will help the speaker to be more confi confident and self-assured. The The more the speaker rehe rehearses the better the prese presentation ntation turns turns to be. 8. The The speaker should encourage more question ions fro from the audience audience. He He should should be honest enough to answer those questions. stions. If I f any bias biased question stion is is put forth forth by the audience dience, rearticul rti culate ateit before answering. nswering. 9. Summarize arize the presen presentation tation at the end. Gi Give fi final comments. L eave a positive tive im impact upon theaudien dience. 10. The The speaker must have a presentable appearance while givin iving ga presentation. tion. The T he speaker should should stand with with fee feet far far apart maintaini aintaining ng a good balance. balance. He He must useconfi confident gestures. He He must use short and simple simple words. words. 11. Try to gain and maint intain audien ience int interest by using ing positiv itive e quotes, humour, or remarkable fact. fact. 12. The The speaker must be affirm ffirmative ive and optimist istic befor fore givin iving g presentation. tion. He He should ould ensure all tools tools and equipm quipments to be used in presentation tion are working worki ng well. 13. The The speaker must state the objec jective ives of the presentation ion at beginning nning of the presenta presentation. tion. What is a effective presentation? A effectiv effective e presentation tation makes the best use of the relationship ationship between the presenter and the audience udience. It I t takes full ful l considera consideration tion of the audien udience’s ce’s needs in order to capture their interest, develop their understanding, inspire their confidence and achieve the presenter’s r’ s objectiv objectives es. Careful planning is essential. Seve Seven n stages in planni planning ng a pre presentation ntati on 1. Pre Pr eparation Many fact factors ors affec affectt the design of your presentati tation. on. A powerful rful presenter wil will acknowledg acknowledge and address each of the foll ollowing: owing: objectives; audience audience; venue; remit. Objectives Why you you are making aking your presentation? tion? Bea Bear in in mind what you want to achieve achieve and what you want your audience to take away with with them. Once Once you have decided upon your objectiv objectives es, you you are in a much much better positi position on to make strategic gic decisi decisions ons about the design and tone of your pres presentation. tation. For For example, ple, a presentation tion to a seminar group might require require a balance balanced argument, wherea whereas a charity charity appeal might require require a more ore creative tive approach. Ask Ask yoursel yourself: what do you want your your audience audience to have understood? rstood? what action ction do you want your your audience to take following your presentation? how can you best design your prese presentation ntation to meet your obje objectives ctives? •

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Unit IV BBA N202 Audience Y our audien ience will have a varie riety of different experien iences, interests and level levels of knowled knowledge. A powerful rful presenter wil will need to acknowl acknowledge edgethese and prepare for for and respond to them accordi ccordingly. A Ask sk yourself: how much wil will your audience alrea already know about about your topic? how can you li link new material rial to things thi ngs they might already already understand? wil will you need to win win themover to a particular rticular point point of view? Y ou may not be able to answer these question ions for for each member of your audience but but you should have enough informa information tion to ensure that you have targeted your material rial at theright ri ght leve level for their needs. This might involve avoiding technical jargon or explaining aining abst abstract ract concepts with with clea clear practi practica call examples ples. I f you fail to consider your audience’s needs, you will fail to appeal to their interest and im imagination. Venue Where will wil l you bemaking king your your presentation? tion? Wha What wil will the room be like? What atmosphere wil will thephysi physical cal conditions conditions create? te? A large lecture theatre might create a form formal atmosphere. Si Similarly, arly, a seminar room might crea create aless form formal tone. Ask A sk yoursel yourself: what kind kind of atmosphere do you wish wish to create? how might might the room arrangement affect aff ect your relationshi relationship p with with the audience? can you do anythi anything ng to change the arrangement of the room to sui suit your obje objectives ctives? what audiodio-vi visua sual aids can you use? Remit Y ou may well have been give iven a remit for for your presentation ion; you wil will need to stick stick to this. this. For For example, ple, you may have been asked to present a paper at aconference conference in a certain certain style style or meet certain assessment criteri criteria a on your course. Ask A sk yourse yourself: how much tim time have you been allocated? all ocated? are you required required to stick tick to a comm common forma format or style? styl e? have any guidel guideliines been set regarding regarding the content of your presentation tation (i.e. (i.e. a predetermined titl title, e, or a fixed fi xed number of overhead transparencies ncies)? 2. Choosing your main points Once you have thought about about the desi design gn of your presentation, you can define defi ne your main points. poi nts. Try Try presenting ting no more than three main points points in a ten minute presentation. Always allow tim time for an adequate introducti ntroduction on and conclusion. conclusion. It It is dif difficult cult for an audience to foll fol low a more complex plex argument without without signif significant hel help from from the the presenter. A powerful rful presentati tation on delivers information in a logical, structured manner, building on the previous previous point point and avoidi voiding ng large jumps in sequence. Ask Ask yourself: what are the main ain points points you wish wi sh to make? are these points points structured in a logi logical, cal, coherent way? do these main points points reflect reflect your own obj objectiv ectives es and take account of the needs of your audien dience? •

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Business Communication 3. Choosing Choosing your suppor upporting infor i nform mation The The supporting ing info inform rmation ion helps lps your audien ience understand, believe beli evein and agree with with your main points. points. Thi This s eviden vidence might take take theform of factual data, ta, points poi nts of detail or an expl explan anation of process. It It might bepresented in im imaginative aginative ways using diag diagrams, pictures pictures or video video segments. Thi T hink nk about: what will add clarity to your argument (explaini (explaining ng complex terms, reminding nding your audi audience of any supporti supporting ng theories)? what will add authorityto authority to your argument (making king connections ctions with other people ople's work, quoting experts experts,, off of fering evidencefrom your own res research)? rch)? what will add colour to your argument (showing (showing a video clip or a slide, using a practical practical example ple or a vibrant vibrant analogy)? ogy)? 4. Esta Establish bli shiing linki li nking ng statem tatements The The next stage is to develop lop the line linear flow flow of your presentation ion. This This can be achiev ieved by using ing link linking ing statements to show clea clearly rly how your your main main points fi fit together. Com Comm mon linki li nking ng statements include: nclude: “The next stage stagein our proj project ect was to …”; …”; “Another im i mportant iss issue ue of consideration consideration was was …”; “By foll fol lowing this this argument wecan now se see that that …”. …” . L inking nking statements send signals to your audience, highli highlighting ghting thenext point point in in your argument, li l inking nking to earli earlie er ide i deasor clari clariffying ying thestage you have reached in your argument overall overall. This This may be of particu icular lar importance in a len lengthy presentation ion where even the most eff effective ective presenter has to work work hard to keep an audien udience invol involved. ved. 5. Deve Developing oping an an opening opening The The int introduction ion to your presentation ion is crucial. ial. It is your firs first point point of contact with with your audience; you you can either capture or lose your audi audien ence’s ce’s inte interest in in a matter of seconds. Use Use your introduction to lay a clear foundation for the presentation to follow. Try using the following structure: introduce yourself; statewhat state what you wil will be tal talking king about (a ti title tle or subje bject area); stateh state how you will wil l be tal talking king about it (e.g. by comparing ring test test resul results ts or reviewing reviewing the sup supporti porting ng li literatu terature); state what you intend intend to bethe outcomeof your prese presentation ntation (an informed group, a li livel vely discu discussi ssion); state what you expect your audien audience to do (l (listen, take notes, read a handout, ask questions questions before/duri before/during/after) ng/after).. Always give your audien udience amoment to absorb this this info informa rmation tion before moving oving into your first fi rst main point. point. 6. Developing oping a conclusion conclusion Y our conclus lusion ion is another important stage in your presentation ion. Y ou can use it to remind ind your audien ience of your main point ints, draw these points points to a stim stimulating ulating conclusi concl usion on and lea leave your audience with a lasting impression of the quality of your presentati tation. on. The T he foll following owing structure structure provi provide des a powerful rful conclusion: •

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Unit IV BBA N202 a review of your title or subject area “In this presentation I wanted ted to explore xplore the the relati relationsh onship between X and Y.” Y.”; a summary of your main points points “Wehave have di discussed the foll following points points…” …”;; a summary of the process process you have been through “By looki looking ng at X we havefound that Y …”; …” ; a conclusion clusion clea clearly rly drawn from your main points points (this must must be supported by thedetail of your pres presentation) tation) “It is is clear that there can be be no subs substantive tantive relati relationsh onshiip between X and Y” Y”; a parting rting statement to stim stimulate ulate your audience’s thoughts (this might be a question stion or a bold bold comment). 7. Reviewing Reviewing your presentati tation on Once you have wri written tten your pres presentation tation make sure that that you you review its content. Ask Ask yourself yourself:: does the presentation meet your your objectiv objectives es? is it logically structured? have you targeted thematerial rial at theright right leve level for your audience? is thepresentation tion too long long or too short? •

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Factors Affecti ecting ng Pres Presentati tation on Following factors affect the effectiveness of the presentation: 1) Audience A udienceAnalysis: ysis: I f the spe speaker has analyzed theaudien dience in a proper way way before presen presentati tation, his his presentation tion wil will be more effecti effective. ve. On the other hand, poor or iim mproper audi audience analysis alysis lea leads to ine ineffective ff ective prese presentation. tion. The T hestyle of the presentation tion is is large largely dependent upon the typeand size of the audien dience. If If audi-ence audi-ence is large large, presentation tation should ould bemore formal whereas informa nformal presentation tion can work in i n small audience. 2) Communication Environm nvironment: Communication environm vironment affects affects the effecti effectivene veness of the presentations. tions. Much Much of the audien dience notices notices thephysical physical thi things ngs surroundi rrounding ng thespeaker, the stage, li l ighting ghting arrang rrangement, background, etc. Proper P roper arrangement of these things things can enhancethe impa impact of the presentati tation. on. If I f there is is noise in in the surroundi urrounding environm nvironment, ent, it it detracts the audience udiencefrom li listening and consequently tly lea leaves unhealthy unhealthy messages.

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3) Personal Appearance: Persona Personal appearance of the speaker has great im i mpact on the audi audience ence. Well Well dressed up person can deliver deliver good presentation. tion. The T herefore, refore, the speaker should should wear neat and clean clean clothes clothes and take tim time to check his hi s appearance jus just befor fore starting ing presentation ion. 4) Use Use of Visuals: Vi V isuals can enha enhance theprofes professional image of the presentation. Dif Di fferent research studies demonstrate that presenters using using late latest visua vi sual techniques are perceived perceived as better prepared, more persuasive, more credibl credible e and more inte interesting resting than speakers who do not use visuals. But B ut visu visuals als work only only if if

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Business Communication the technology ology on which which they depend works well. well . The Therefore, refore, presenter should should check the equipment equipment in in advance before before presenting. nting. 5) Ope Opening and and Closing Cl osing of Pres Presentati tation: on: The T he beginning ginning and closi closing ng of a presentation are the positi positions ons of emphasis. sis. Those Those presenters who can open the presen presentation tation with with inte interesting resting remarks which which are li likely kely to createmore inte interest and enthusiasm usiasm for li l istening thepresentation. On the other hand, presenters with with poor opening opening arelikely to lea leave the the audiencebored. bored. Sim Si milarly, the ending nding of the presentation tation has profound profound im impact on the audie dience. Endings, Endings, with with vivi vivid d and positive positive pictures are more likely kely to haveprofound profound impact on the audience dience. 6) Organization of Presentation: Clarity in presentation is essential tial that comes with with proper organi organizati zation on of the the information. Organizing the information in a proper manner can make the message more ore understandable, understandable, keep keep the audience audience happy and boost theimage of the speaker. Proper Proper organizatio organization n of presentation enhances the effectivene ectiveness of the presentation. tation. On the other hand, im improper organizati organization on of the presentation tion wil will not infl influence theaudien dience. Im Improper organization of presentati tation on is is reflect reflected ed as fol folllows: i) Taking king along timeto get to the point. oint. ii) Inclusion I nclusion of irreleva irrelevant materi teria al. iii) Le L eaving out out necessa cessary infor inform mation. tion. iv) Mixing up of ideas. To overcome these problem lems, presentation ion can be organize ized in one of the five fi ve standard patterns: i) Chronological Chronological:: It starts starts with with past, moves moves to to the prese present and and ends by looki looking ng ahead. ii) Probl Problem em-Cau -Causes-Solution: s-Sol ution: I t explains xplains the symptoms of the problem problem, identif tifies its its causes and suggests the remedial measures. iii) Excluding Al A lternatives: It I t shows shows the the sym symptoms of the the problem problem, suggests possible ble soluti solutions, ons, explains explains the reasons why these don't work work and ends thediscussion discussion with wi th a soluti olution on that will work. iv) ProsPros-Co Cons: ns: It I t explains explains the advantages and disadvantages of problem(s). v) 1-2-3: 1-2-3: It I t discus discusses three aspects of a topi topic: introdu i ntroducti ction, on, body and conclusion. conclusion. 7) L anguage and Words: The T hequality of presentati tation on is is affecte affected by the langua language and words. words. To T o make the audience udience understand the message, the speaker has to talk talk in i n the langua language known to the audience. To T o enhance theimpact of presentation, he should ould choose the catchy words words that appeal to the heart and emotions oti ons of the audience dience. If I f the language spoken by prese presentator is i s dif different from audience dience's lang language, and words used are stereotyped, it i t is is likely kely to have least im impact on the the audience udience. 8) Quality Quality of Voi V oice: ce: Quality of voice voi ce of the presen resenter ter affe affects the effe effectiven ctiveness of the prese presentation. tion. Voi Voice ce modu-la odu-lation tion is li likely to have greater im i mpact upon the audi audience ence whereas monotonous onotonous


Unit IV BBA N202 voice voice will wil l bore the audience. 9) Body B ody Lan L anguage: The effectivenes ectiveness of thepresentati tation on is is also affecte affected by the body lang language of the speaker. A speaker having ving eyecontact with with audien dience is li l ikely kely to im impress more than a speaker rea reading ding out the hand outs. A speaker who who looked looked more at the audience udience is judge j udged as better informe nformed, more experien experienced, more honest honest and fri friendliest than a speaker who deli delivers the speech with with less less eye contact. With Wi th eyecontact members of audien dience fee feel that speaker is is talki talking to them. Sim Similarly, confide confi dently ntly moving oving speakers are likely li kely to have more impact than nervous speakers. To calm calm one's nervo nervousne usness, one should be well-prepared, take several deep breaths, relax relax one's muscles, cles, pauseand look look at the audience audience and usebody energy in in strong strong gestures and movement. 10) Answ A nswering ering Questi Questions: ons: The The effectivene effectiveness of presentation tion is is also affecte affected by presenter's skil ski ll in handling questions stions asked at the end of prese presentation. ntation. A speaker who answers the audience's audience's questions and and handles handles hostil tile questions tions with with tact tact is is li likely to infl nfluence the audience udience more. On On the other hand, a speaker who answers rudely wil will leave negative im i mpact upon theaudience dience.

Effe ffective L istening istening Skills Skil ls - A n es essential for good good communication L istening is is a signif significant part of communication process. process. Communicati unication on cannot take place until and unles unless a message is is heard and retained thoroughly thoroughly and positi positivel vely y by the receivers/l vers/liisteners. Li L istening is is adynamic process. process. Li Listening ning means attentiveness ttentiveness and interest interest perceptibl rcepti ble e in the posture as wel well as expressions. Li L istening ning implies decoding (i.e., (i.e., translating the symbols bols into into meaning) aning) and interpreti interpreting ng the messages correctly in communication process. L istening dif differs from he hearing in in sensethat: Heari Hearing ng impli plies just ust perceiving rceivi ng the sounds ounds while while listening means listen li stening with with understanding whatever you are listening. Both the body as well as mind is involved in listening process. L istening is is an active ctive proces process s while whil e hea hearing ring is a passive activity. Hearing is an effortless activity while listening is an act requiring ring conscious scious efforts, concentra concentration tion and interest. Li L istening involves both physical and psychological efforts. Effective ctive li listening ning requires both deliberateefforts efforts and a keen keen mind. Effective listeners appreciate flow of new ideas and inform nformation. tion. Organizations nizations tha that foll follow the principl principles es of effective effective li listening are always informe informed tim timely, updated ated with the changes and im implem plementations, tions, and are always out of cri crisi sis s situation. Ef Effective ctive listening ning promotes otes organizational nizational relationshi relationships, ps, encourages product delivery and innovation, as wel well as helps organization nization to deal deal with with thedivers diversiity in in employees ployees and customers it it serves. To improve your communica ication ion skills ills,, you must lea learn to list listen effectivel effectively. y. Ef E ffective ctive liste li stening gives gives you an advanta dvantage and •

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Business Communication makes you more im impressive when you speak. I t also boosts your performance. Effective Listening Skills 1. Discov Discove er your inte i nterests’ field. 2. Grasp Grasp and understand the matter/content. atter/content. 3. Remain calm. calm. Do Do not loose l oose your temper. Ange A nger hampers and inhibits nhibits communication. Angry people jam jamtheir minds to the words of othe others. 4. Be open to accept new idea ideas and informa information. tion. 5. J J ot down and take a note of important point ints. 6. Work Work upon li listening. Ana Analyze and evalua valuate the speech in spare tim time. 7. Rephraseand summarize arize the speaker’s ker’ s idea ideas. 8. K eep on asking sking questions. stions. Thi T his s demonstrates that how well you understand the speaker’s ker’ s idea ideas and also that that you are listening. 9. Avoid distra distractions. 10. “Step into the shoe shoes of others”, i.e., put yourself in the positi position on of the speaker and observe things things from his view view point. point. This This will help creating ing an atmosphere of mutual understanding ing and im improve the exchange of ideas in in communicatio unication n process. Characteri cteristics stics of Good Good and Effective fective L istener Good Good and effecti effective ve listen li stener tries tries to give give maxim aximum amount of thought to the speaker’s aker’s idea ideas being communicate unicated, lea l eaving ving a minim nimumamount of tim ti me for mental exercise exercises to go off track. A good listener: 1. I s attentivetive- Good Good li listener must pay attention to the key points. He should be alert. He should avoid any kind of distraction. 2. Do not assume- Good Good li listener does not ignore theinforma nformation tion he considers is is unnecessary. He should ould always always summarize arize the speaker’s r’ s idea ideas so that there is is no misunderstanding nding of thoughts of speakers. He avoids voi ds premature judgem judgements about the speakers message. 3. L isten for fee feelings and facts- Good liste li stener deliberately liste li stens for the feel feelings of the speaker. He concentrates totally totall y on the facts. acts. He evaluate evaluates thefacts acts objectively. objectively. Hi His liste li stening is is sympathetic, etic, active active and alert. alert. He He keenly nly observes the gestures, facial expression sion and body lang language of the speaker. In short, a good listener should be projective (i.e. one who tries to understand the views views of the speaker) and empathic (i (i.e. one one who concentrates concentrates not only only on the surface surface meaning ning of the message but tries tries to probe the the feelings feelings and emotions otions of the speaker). 4. Concentrate oncentrate on theother speakers kindl ki ndly y and generouslyrously- A good li listener makes deliberate efforts to give give a chance to other speakers also also to express their thoughts and views. views. He tries tri es to learn from from every speaker. He evalua valuates thespeaker’s r’ s idea ideas in in spare tim time. He He focuses focuses on the content of the speaker’s aker’s message and not on the spea speaker’s ker’s personality rsonali ty and looks. looks. 5. Opportuni Opportunizes- A good liste li stener tries tri es to takebenefit from from the the opportuniti opportunities es arising. arising. He asks “What’ “What’s s in it it for for me me?”

Effe ffective Res Resume ume Writi Writing ng


Unit IV BBA N202 A resum resume is also known a as s CV or curriculum curriculum vitae. vitae. Re Resume is an influe nfl uential and credible dible sum summary of an individua ndivi dual’s employm ployme ent qualificati cations. The There is is no standard form format at for a resume. It I t gives gives an ideato the reader that how you can be an asset to their organizatio organization. n. A resume should hould be: - Neat - Have factual and relevant infor i nform mation - Self describing -C Cllearly rly indicate indicate why you are be best suited suited for this this job job - Up to date Resumes should be written written not for for yourself yourself but for for the reade reader. A good resume must beproperly properly plan planned, drafted drafted and fina fi nally revise revised. Rega Regard your res resume as work in i n progress and give give it a poli polish every coupl couple of months months.. Y ou never know when you will wil l be asked for for it. i t. Y our res resume needs to recap recap and capture the spiri spiritt of our our competency/what’s tency/what’s best about you. Resumes are of two types: types: i. Chronol Chronologi ogical cal Resu Resume- The These resume gives a quick quick brief bri ef up of wha what the candidate has donein a tim timeline eli ne-beginning nning with with the latest events and moving ovi ng back in in reverse chronology. chronology. I t stresses upon the degrees, job job headings and the dates. Such Such a resume demonstrates onstrates steady developme development/m nt/movement to the current tim ti me. ii. Skil Ski lls Resume- The T hese resume stresses upon the skil kills and competencies tencies possessed and used by the the candidate, rather than than the job and the date in which which those skil skills have been used. It I t is is generall rally prepa prepared when the candidate freque frequently ntly cha changes his his job job or when his education ion and experien ience do not harmonize/m rmonize/match with with thepositi position on for which whi ch thecandidate didateis applying. Do’s and Dont’s in your Resume

1. Shouldn’ Shouldn’tt be too long. long. It I t should not exceed two pages generally. 2. CV should be trueand fa factual. 3. The The firs first page should contain enough personal details for for a recruitm recruitment consultan consultant or potential employer ployer to contact you easily. 4. Choose aformat that highli highlights key skill skil ls, key competencies, ncies, key achievements or key attributes attri butes. 5. Y our employ loyment background should begin with ith your current job job and work backwards. 6. L ist all re relevant vant qua qualifica fi cations. tions. 7. Do not include negative or irrelevant information. 8. I nclude details tails of training training or skill skil ls development even events ts attended. 9. I nclude personal detai tails. 10.Use a very good quality quali ty paper. 11.Do not use atype size size less less than 11pt. 12. Typ Typefaces such as Times New New Rom Roman or Arial should be used. 13.CV should becarefull ully typed. No spelling errors shou shoulld be be there.

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Business Communication 14.Use bull ulleted paragraphs. Thi T his s wil will savespace and make the CV more effective. 15.Emphasize phasize achievem chievements that are recent, and are most relevant relevant for theposition position for for which which thecandida didate is applying. ying. 16.I tems in in resume must be concise and parall rallel. 17.Whil While submitting tting a resume, it it must be accompanied nied with with a cover cover letter letter to make the readers aware of what what is is being send, and how can it be benefi benefici cial al to the readers. 18.I nclude reference references if possible in in aresume. If If givi giving ng references, references, use three to fi five. Incl I nclude ude at least onelecturer, and at least one employer. ployer. 19. To To stress upon the key point ints in a resume, put them in appropriate headings, list them vertically, and provide details. Plann Pl anning ing & Conducting onducting Effec Ef fective tive Surveys Surveys Conducting Conducting Surveys What are surveys?

Unit IV BBA N202 respondents' experien experiences, not due to how the inte interviewe rvi ewer words words the questions. questions.

Why should you conduct a survey? Y ou can collec llect info inforrmation ion about the behavior iors, needs, and opini opinions ons using surveys. Surveys Surveys can beused to find fi nd out attitude attitudes and reactions, ctions, to measure cli client satisf tisfacti action, on, to gauge opinions opinions about various various issue issues, and to add credibil credibi lity to your research. research. Surveys are a prim rimary source of inform nformation --- that is, is, you directl directly y ask someonefor a response to a question, stion, rathe rather than than using using any secondary sources like written written records. When should hould you conduct a survey? A survey may be your best choi choice ce when: Y ou need a quick ick and efficie fficien nt way of getting ing information. Y ou need to reach a lar large number of people. Y ou need statist istica ically valid info inforrmation ion about a lar large number of people. The The info inform rmation ion you need isn isn't readily available through through other means. Writt Wr itte en sur surve veys: ys: Pros Pr os and Cons Advantages of written surveys: L arge numbers of people can give give their input input L ow cost People can respond respond at their convenience convenience Avoids inte interview rviewe er bia bias Provides a written record Easy to li list or tabulateresponses Wide Wi de range of res respondents No training training nee needed as wi with inte interviewing rviewing Disadvantages of written surveys: Often Often has low return rate L imited ted alternati alternative ve expressio ression n of respond responde ent's reaction ction Depends on the selected sample ple May not truly truly represent of the whole group Respondent may skip ski p sections sections •

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A survey survey is is a way way of coll col lecti ecting ng informa information tion that that you you hope hope represents the views views of the whole whole community unity or group group in in which which you are intere i nterested. The There are three main ways of going ing about this: is: 1) Case study surve surveys, ys, which collect information from a part of a group or community, unity, without wi thout trying trying to choosethemfor overa overall representation tation of the larger population. population. Y ou may need to conduct several of these before you get a sense of how the larger community unity would would respond to your survey. survey. Cas Case study surveys only only provide provide specif cific infor i nform mati ation about about thecomm community studied. 2) Sampled surve surveys, ys, which are the the type type we'll 'll be focusing on in in this this section, ction, ask a sample ple portion orti on of a group to answer your questions. If I f done well, the results for the sample ple wi will reflect reflect the the results you you would would havegotten by surveyi surveying ng theentire tire group. For example, ple, let's let's say you want to know what percentage of people in in your county woul would d make useof an adult li literacy program. Getting Getting every person person in in a county with with 10,000 people ople to fi fill out a survey would would bea hugetask. Inste I nstead you decide cide to survey a sample ple of 500 people and find fi nd out what they think. think. For For the sample ple to accurately repre represent the large larger group, it must be carefully ull y chosen. We'll We'll speak to that lat later er in in this secti section. 3) Census surve surveys, ys, in which you give your survey questionnaire to every member of the the population population you want to llea earn about. Thi This s wil will give give you the most accurate informa information tion about thegroup, but it may not be very practical practical for for large largegroups. A census is best donewith with smalle aller groups -- all all of thecli clients of a particular rticular agency, for example, as opposed opposed to all of theciti citizens zens of a city. city. Surveys are usually all y wri written, although sometim etimes the surveyor reads the questions stions aloud aloud and writes wri tes down the answe answers for f or another person; they can be distri distribute buted by mail, ail , fax, fax, e-mail, through through a web page, or or the questions questions can be asked over the phoneor in i n person. Surveys collect coll ect inform informat atiion in in as uniform nif orm a manner as possi possibl ble e- asking asking each responde respondent the same questions stions in in the same way so as to insure insure that the answers are most inf inflluenced by the


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I f you havedecided that what you need is is a large-scale, formal formal survey, survey, hiri hiring ng someon omeone to do it for for you or working worki ng with local local coll colleagues or a nearby university versity may be your best bet. If If you're going going to do it it on your own, k kee eep in in mind that some people you present your report to may not give give much credit credit to a survey you you did on your own. How do you prepare a survey? 1. Decide Decide on the purpose of the sur surve vey. I f you havedecided to do a survey, you must fi first be sure exactly ctly why you're you're doing oing it. What questions stions do you want to answer? Is I s it it to get a general ideaof the demographics of your area? To To fi find out what people think think about a particul rti cular ar issue or idea? Or Or is is there another reason you're you're considering considering a survey?

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Business Communication I n any case, you you wil will need to keep the purpose of the survey in in mind throughout the process, rocess, as it wil wi ll influe nfl uencethe choice of questions, stions, the survey populatio population, n, and even theway the survey rvey is is delivered deli vered (e.g., (e.g., a computer-sa r-savvy population population can be surveyed over the the Inte Internet; rnet; a population tion that is is la largely il i lliterate terateshouldn't be asked to take a written written survey, rvey, and so forth) forth).. Example ple: 1997 Y outh Risk Ri sk Behavior Behavioral al Surve Survey y purpose The The Y outh Risk Risk Beh Behavior ioral Survey (or (or Y RBS) RBS) is done annually by theCenters for for Di Disease Control to ide identify ntif y behaviors that posehealth risks risks among young young people ople in Am A merica. We We will wil l be using the1997 1997 and 1999 Y RBS RB S for for exam examples in in this secti section. on. The The CDC CDC decide ided its its purpose in this survey was to track the health risk ri sk behavior behaviors s that cause themost deaths among youth. youth. Also, many of those behaviors aviors are include included in in thesurvey becausethey begin gin in in youth and and continue continueinto adulthood, having having signi signifficant impact on adult dult health late later on. Here Here are some of the behaviors aviors the Y RBS attempts to measure: Behaviors aviors that contribute contribute to unintentional unintentional and intentional tional injuri njuries es (li (l ike not usi using a safety belt when driving) drivi ng) Tob Tobacco use Alcohol and other drug use Sexual behaviors aviors tha that contri contribute to uninten unintended pregnancy and sexua sexually transmitted tted dise diseases, including ncluding HI HI V Unhealthy die dietary behaviors behaviors Physical inactivity •

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Unit IV BBA N202 The The Sample Size ize Calcu lculat lator fro from UCLA's online line statist istics ics textbook is i s a bit more advanced. advanced. •

Sample Desi Design I ssues ssues Y ou migh ight also lso need to give ive some thought to the design ign of your sample, ple, especiall cially y if if you are hoping to get get representative tative responses from fromtwo or more groups. For For example, ple, let's let's say you you are doing a survey on youth viol vi olen ence and you want to get responses from from youth, parents, and educators; thi this s means that you'll you'l l need to come up with with separate population ulation counts counts for each of these groups and and then select a sample ple from from each. The T he samples ples should ould be large large enough to represent the group it it is is drawn from, from, but thesample ple sizes should hould be proporti proportional onal to the groups they they represent. For example, ple, you might design a sam sample ple that comes out li like this: Population Y outh Parents Educators

650 200 500

Sample 65 20 50

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2. Decide whom you will survey. The The next step is find finding ing out who has the answers to your question or questions. In I n other words, it's i t's tim time for you to determine your audience audience -- the the people people who can best answer the questions your initi initia ative tive needs to ask. Who wil will you survey? Is Is it the general publ public? The T hecurrent programbeneficiaries? ciaries? Pe People in a specif cific neighborhood or segment of the comm community? unity? Potential members? Sampling Almost all survey surveys s rel rely on sampling pli ng -- that is, is, ide identifyi ntifying ng a section ction of your population that satisfi tisfies es the characteristics ristics you're you're trying trying to survey, rathe rather than tryi trying to do acensus. To have a truly representative ive sample, le, you must be sure that every member of the group you you want to survey has an equal chance of being in in the sample, ple, and/or you must havea fairl fairly y largesample. ple. It's I t's im i mportant to make sure that the sample ple size size you choose is adequate and not excessively xcessively large large or small. all . If I f too large, it it may be impossibl possible e to survey everybody effecti effectivel vely y and within your budget; if too small, your credibility may suffer. A general rule rule to keep in in mind is is that the larger the sample ple size, size, the more accurate ccurate areflect reflectiion of thewhole it it wil will be. Y ou can figu figure out how big your sample should be by using ing a sample size size cal calculator, several of which can be found online. Here are where a few of these calculators calculators are located: The The Sample Size ize Calcu lculat lator at ResearchInfo Info.c .co omallow llows you to decide whether you want to calculate culatefor 95% or 99% confide confidence nce level (the statistical tistical term term for the amount of certainty you have about the accuracy of your res results). ults). •


Sampling pli ng is a big big topic; there aremany dif different kinds kinds of sampli pling and we could easily devote an entire tire section ction to sampli pling methods and practices. practices. Rather thando that, we'll we'll direct direct you to some sites on the I nternet with with more detailed tail ed informa nformation tion on sampli pling to get you started. Y ou don't have to be a profes professional statistici tistician an to unde understa rstand sampli pling, but knowing knowing some of the terminol terminology ogy and concepts on thefoll ollowing owing pages wil will help you better understand what you're doing: doing: Potential Potential pitfalls pitf alls Sampli pling is a challeng all enge to conducting cting good surveys, but there are othe other pitfal pi tfallls. For For example, ple, when when people ople volunte volunteer to respond to a survey, we say they are self-selected. The T hese people ople may have a special cial inte i nterest in in answering swering your survey, so the their answers may not be truly truly representative tive of the group you're interested in. There are ways of dealing with self-selected audien diences, such as only only using using a randomselection ection of their surveys surveys when only self-selecti self -selection on is invol involved ved. For For example, ple, if you get back 300 completed surveys, surveys, you you might decide cide to only only useevery thi third rd one in in order to randomize the results. results. 3. Decide what method you will use to collect your survey data. Wil Wi ll your survey survey bewritte written n or oral? Is I s there theregoing to bea number where people ople can call to register their rres esults? ults? Are A re you going going to have a post off office box to which which complete pleted surveys should be mailed? ail ed? You Y ou need to decide whether it's it's going going to be administere nistered by people people known to the audience and whether it it wil will be done in person, by phone, or by mail. Rem Remember that the more personal you make it, it, the highe higher the return ratewil will be. Surveys that are delivered cold cold have areturn rate of only only two to threepercent, unless unless they're on a very hot topic topi c for for the community unity you're surveying. surveying. K eep in in mind whomyou want to survey. Does Does your publi blic fee feel more comfortable writing or speaking? Will it be efficient to leave surveys somewherefor people to pick pick up at their wil wi ll, or should you do something something to make make sure they get one? If I f your

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Business Communication survey is is to beadministered nistered orally, orall y, wil will people fee feel honored or annoyed about being asked for their opi opini nions? ons? Mailed questionnai stionnaires are a very usef useful tool in your informa nformationtion-ga gathering thering bag of tools. tool s. It's It's a much cheaper alternative to other types of information gathering and it allows you to get informa information tion from from many people across long dista distances without without payi paying ng extremely high high phonebil bills. If If you're considering considering doing doing amailed ail ed survey, be sure to check check with with your local local post office for information on mailing regulations, bulk mail rates, and so on. Som Some advantages of mailed questionnai questionnaires res are: The The respondent can fill out the survey at his or her convenience -- it can befilled out whenever the responde respondent has tim time. Y ou can make it anonymous, which ich is much more comfortable comfortable for for some respondents. All respondents wil will haveread thesame questions, stions, elim eliminating ting any inte interviewe rviewer bia bias. The The respondent will have time to check his or her records before answering nswering --- if heor she needs to verif rify infor inform mation, tion, he or she will wil l havethe chance to be accurate. accurate. Some disadvantage disadvantages of mailed ail ed questionna stionnaires are: The They're not very flexible ible;; there is no int interview iewer present to probe probe for for answers, so yo you u can only only read what the respondent has written written, with with no opportunity to look look at facial expre express ssiions or body langua language. The The return rate is generally low low Respondents may lea leave answers blank blank Y ou can't control wh when respondents will send the survey back Y ou may not be able to tell the difference between those who sim simply ply didn't didn't return the survey and thosefor whom you had an incorr incorrect ect address. How long should your survey be? When determining ning the length of your survey, survey, rem remember that les less is more. ore. The T helonger it it is, is, theless like li kelly it it is is tha that people will wil l take take the tim time to do it. People ople get bored with with long long surveys, and and usually won't even bother to look l ook at a survey that is is more than a page and a half long. Al A lso, requi requiring ring long long answers may lose l ose your audience. Through Through editing editi ng and condensing, you shoul should try to keep your sur survey vey down to one one page. What it it is is you want to know and the method of survey ((e.g., e.g., phone survey, survey, maile ailed survey) survey) wil will also infl influe uencethelength ength of your survey. Phone Phone surveys, for for example, ple, can take alittle ttle longer to complete. •

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Once you've decided on your method, you you can go on to wri write your questions. We'll talk in more detail about distributing your survey late later on. Example ple: 1997 1997 Youth Y outh Risk Ri sk Behavior Behavioral al Surve Survey y sam sampling pling The The 1997 Y RBS used a type of sampling ling called clus luster sampling. pli ng. In In cluster cluster sampli pling, theentire tire population ulation is is divide divi ded d into groups, or cluste clusters, and a random randomsample ple of these cluste clusters are selected. For For example, ple, age group or geographical locati l ocation on determ termiined theY RBS's RB S's cluste clusters. Al A ll observations in in theselected


Unit IV BBA N202 cluste clusters are include ncluded in in thesample. ple. Thi This s technique chnique is used in large-scale surveys where it it may be more convenient convenient to sample ple clusters clusters than to do a pure random sample. ple. 4. Write your questions. When preparing ring the questions, bear in mind that they they can take many forms. forms. Questions Questions might be: Open-ended: Des Designed to prom prompt the responden respondent to provi provide de you with with more than just one or two word res responses. The T hese are often "how" or "why" questions. For example: "Why is it important portant to usecondom condoms?" Thesequestions questions are used when you want to fi find out what leads people ople to specifi pecific behaviors, viors, what their attitude attitudes are towards di different things, things, or how much they know about a gi given topic; topic; they they provide provide good anecdotal evidence. The The drawback to using using open-ended questions tions is is that it's hard to compile their results. Closed-ended (also (also sometimes referred to as as forced forced choice oice questions): stions): Specif Specific questions stions that prompt yes or no answers. answers. For example: ple: "D "Do you use condoms?" These are used when the information you need is fairly clear-cut, i.e., if you need to know whether people use a particul rti cular ar service rvi ce or have ever heard of a specific local resource. Multiple ulti ple choice: choice: Al Allow the responde spondent to select one answer from afew possible sible choice oices. s. For For exam example: "When "When I have sex, I usecondoms... ... a) every tim time, b) most tim times, c) sometim etimes, d) rarely, e) never." Theseallow allow you to fi find out out more more detai tailed informa nformation tion than closed-ended closed-ended questions, stions, and theresults results can be compiled more easil sily than openopen-ended questions. stions. L ikert scale: Each Each respondent is is asked to rateitems on a response scale. For For insta i nstance, they could could rate each item on a 1-t 1-too5 response scale scale where: 1 =strongly disagree 2 =disagree 3 =undecided 4 =ag =agree 5 =strongly agree I f you want to weed out neutral and undecided cided responses you can use an even-num n-numbered scale with with no middle middle "neutral" or "undecide cided" choice choice.. In I n this situa situation, tion, the respondent is is forced forced to decide decide whether he or she lean leans more ore towards the "agree" or or "disa "disagree" gree" end of thescale for each item item. The T he final score for the respondent on the scale might be the sum sumof his his or her ratings ratings for all of the items. Exam xample: Us Using the L ike ikert scale scale Here are a few sample ple survey questions stions in in Li Likert scale form format, done without without a neutral category: Please che check ck the the answ answe er indica indi cati ting ng your reacti action on to the questions listed below. Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 1. Vi Violen olent crim crime is a signif signifiicant problem in my neighborhood ghborhood 2. The T he poli olice have doneenough to prevent crim cri me in my neighborhood. •

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3. If I f a citizens citi zens watch program were implem plemented in in my neighborhood, ghborhood, I would partici rticipa pate in it. 4. I would be supportive supportive of orga organized nized acti activi viti ties es for for youth in my my neighborhood.

The The question ions you ask depend on the audien ience you're trying ing to reach and the informa nformation tion you're trying tryi ng to obtain. For For example, ple, for demographic info i nforma rmation tion (e.g., questions questions that determine where people are from, their their ages, and their income incomes), you should make the survey all check-o check-offfs, yes/no questions, stions, and fill-in-the-blank -i n-the-blank questions so that it?s it?s as as easy as possible ble to complete. complete. Creating surveys people people will will answe answerr with with the Total Total De Design M ethod L ow responserates are a major ajor problem probl emwith with surveys; it's it's common for for the the responserate to be as low low as 30%. One One way of avoiding avoiding low low response responserateis to use the the Total Design Meth M ethod, which was developed by by Don Di Dillman of Was Washingt hington on State State Univers niversiity. Dil Di llman's an's me method has been shown to yield yield an averagereturn return rate of 73%. 1) Mail M ailed ed questionna stionnaires should hould beprinted printed on standard lette letter paper (8.5 x 11"), then folde folded in hal half into i nto abooklet booklet.. This T his size size of envelope is les l ess li likely to be view viewed ed as advertisement or "jun "j unk" k" mail by the recipient, cipient, so more more people ople will wil l open your survey. 2) The T here should ould be no questions stions on the front or back of the folded booklet. 3) The T hefirst question should be dir dire ectly ctly related to the overall topic topic of the survey, and it should should be something that is easy to answer. Any questions questions that may be threatening to tthe he reader should appear later in i n the survey, but not grouped together. Demographic questions stions should should cometowards the end; having having themat the beginni ginning ng often often puts people ople off off and prevents them from complet pletiing the survey at all, all, but they wil will be more likely li kely to com complete plete themif they are asked after responding to other questions. 4) In I n layout, layout, avoid avoid cramming too much type onto a single page. I t's better to use more pages with with a good amount of white white space than to try to save on paper by crowdi crowding ng the pages, because overly-de overly- densetype is intimidating i ntimidating to a potential potential survey survey partici participan pant. Y ou should also make sure you don't break any questions stions up over a page break --- the entire ntire question stion and its possibl possible e answers should should appear on the same page. 5) Y our questionnair stionnaire e should hould be no more than 125 questions stions or 12 pages long long -- anything longer longer is going going to reduce your response rate. 6) Includi I ncluding ng awel well-writte written n cover le letter tter is is extremely im i mportant. I t nee needs to be clear about what what you're looking looki ng for, for, why you're looking ooki ng for it, i t, what member of the household hold should ould complete plete the survey, and what will wil l be done with with theresults. For F or insta i nstance, if you're doing doing aliteracy programsurvey, you may want to explain explain that the answers wil will help determine whether whether the


Unit IV BBA N202 community unity might might need an adult dult education tion program program and what kind kind of program it might might need, and that the results ults of the survey wil will be presented ted to possibl possible e funders. Y our cover letter should be individua ndividually typed typed or las laser printe printed and and signed personally with with a blue ballpoi ball point nt pen (survey partici participan pants pay more attention ntion to real letters with real signatures). 7) Typi Typing ng therecipi recipien ent's name directly rectly on theenvelope, inste instead of using mailing labels, wil will bring bring a higher gher response rate. Using Using first class postage -- especially commemorative, colorful stamps -- wil will increase your response response rate even more. 8) Fol Folllow up with with those who haven't responded responded after a week with with a postcard, poli politely reminding remindi ng themabout the survey. Af A fter the second week, send a new cover letter l etter and questionnai tionnaire re to those who have not yet responded. Af A fter the fourth fourth week, send yet another nother ques questionna tionnaire, this tim ti me by certif rtified mail, ail, along along with a letter reminding nding therecipi recipient ent that you haven't yet received his or her survey and that that his his or her res responseis very im i mportant. Questions Questions should be worded careful carefullly in in order to yield yi eld exactly ctly the information you're looking for. To make sure your survey works rks the way you want it to, try it out on a few members of the population ation you're aim aiming at before before you actually distribute it. Some Some gui guide delinesfor writin writing g your surve survey questions: Plac Pl ace e easier questions tions first fi rst Address sensiti sitive ve issues as discreetly discreetly and sensiti sitivel vely y as possible Avoid void words that provoke bias bias or emotional otional responses Use a logical ogical order order and place sim similar questions stions together Example ple: 1999 1999 Youth Y outh Risk Ri sk Behavior Behavioral al Surve Survey y questions Here are a few examples ples of questions stions from from the 1999 YR Y RBS. 10. Duri During ng thepast 30 days, how many tim times did did you ride ride in a car or other vehi vehicl cle e driven driven by someonewho had been drinki drinking ng alcohol? A. 0 times B. 1 time C. 2 or 3 times D. 4 or 5 tim times E. 6 or more tim times Duri During thepast 12 months, did did you ever seriousl riously y consider consider attempting pting suicide? cide? A. Y es B. No How old old were you when you sm smoked a whole ole cigarette for the first time? A. I have never smoked a whole ole cigarette B. 8 years old old or younger C. 9 or 10 years old D. 11 or 12 years old E. 13 or 14 years old F. 15 or 16 years old G. 17 years old or older During During your li life, how many tim times haveyou sniff snif fed glue glue, breathed thecontents of aerosol spray cans, cans, or or inha i nhaled any paints or sprays to get high? high? • •

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Business Communication A. 0 times B. 1 or 2 times C. 3 to 9 tim times D. 10 to 19 tim times E. 20 to 39 times F. 40 or more times Duri During your li life, with with how many people have you had sexual intercourse? A. I havenever had sexual intercourse i ntercourse B. 1 person C. 2 people D. 3 people E. 4 people F. 5 people G. 6 or more peop people This This should give ive you some ide idea of the types of question ions asked on this this survey. How do you distribute your survey? The There are several strategies ies for for dist istribu ibuting ing surveys. We'll talk about the most common one -- direct direct mail -- in the most detail, but there are many methods to choose fro from m and there is is no one perfect method. Y ou may want to use acombination combination of methods. Here are a few thoughts to help you decide decide on your method: Self Self-administe -administered questionnair stionnaires es are better than interviews intervi ews when you're deali dealing ng with with respondents who can read and write wri te and thequestions stions you're asking sking don't require require any visua visual aids li like charts, graphs, etc. that might might need explan xplanation. ation. Phone surveys work work wel well in thepla place of self-adm self -administered questionnai stionnaires if at le least 80% of thepopulation tion you're working worki ng with with have phones in in their homes. The They also work work better if if the the questions questions are of a nature that respondents might be uncomfortable ortable or embarrassed to give give their answers to an interviewe nterviewer. For F or example, ple, if if you are doing doing asurvey on sexua sexual risk risk behaviors, haviors, people people may beuneasy tell telling an interviewe intervi ewer how many partners they'v they've e had or other such detail tails. Drop Drop boxes work work best if if you have limited human resources or if you are in in a place where the mail and phone systems aren't adequate. Direct mail Direct Di rect maili ail ing your survey to people whose addresses are known is is the most common strategy. Di Distributi stributing ng asurvey by mail has ahigh high percentage of non-res non-responders (you're (you're lucky lucky if i f 30% respond, although although it tends to be hi higher in i n small communiti unities), es), but it's it's a lot lot easier than many other methods methods and takes less less staff hours. 1. Gather theitems you'll you'll need to do a direct direct maili ail ing: M ailing aili ng labels labels or a maili mailing ng lis li st: I f you're you're mailing the survey to everyone in town, the city's billing lists for water bills might ght be a good source of a maili ailing list. list. The The maili ail ing list of releva relevant agencies can also be useful. ul. Good Good resources might be the public publi c health alth department, theSalvatio Salvation n Army, Army, releva relevant United nited Way agencies, cies, emergency medical dical services, servi ces, or •

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Unit IV BBA N202 companies that develop velop phonebooks. I f you're using using an agency's mailing list, li st, be sure to get permission ssion from from the agency's director director bef before doing the maili ail ing. Give Gi ve the the director a sample ple survey and a copy of the cover lette letter to review review and invite nvite him or her to suggest any changes that might further further protect his or her clients. Two busine iness envelop lopes and two two stam tamps for for each participant: One set to send the survey to the partici rti cipant pant and one for it i t to be returned in. The T he return envelope should be prestamped and prepre-addressed. addressed. One copy of the the survey, survey, demog demogrraphics aphics sheet, and cover letter for each participant. 2. Com Complete pletethe cover lette letter. A sample ple cover letter you may want to use as a guide appears in in the Examples section. 3. Make M ake enough copies copies of the the survey, demographic sheet, and cover lette letter for for each survey recipi recipien ent. 4. Prepa Prepare the two busine business-si ss-size ze envelope velopes for for each person. One One should have the agency's return return address and a maili ail ing labe label for the survey partici parti cipan pant; the other should havethe agency's address listed li sted as both the mail ailing and the return addresses. Stamp both envelopes. nvelopes. 5. Stuff Stuf f the envelopes that have the recipi recipien ent's mailing address with with all the survey materials rials --- the the survey, the dem demographic sheet, the the cover cover letter, letter, and thereturn envelope. envelope. 6. If I f you want want to track thesurveys surveys in in any way -- trying trying to see what sort of answers you get from different parts of town, for example ple -- you may wish wi sh to code the envelopes in in some way. One way you can do this this is is by numbering bering each return envel envelope and keeping ping acopy of the maili ail ing list li st with with matching numbers -for example, if i f J ohn Doe at at 123 Ma Main Street is is assigne assigned number 007, then the number 007 wil will also be on his his return envelo envelope. pe. Another nother option is is to color color code the the surveys surveys by zip zip code. 7. Mail M ail themout! Try T ry to get abulk bulk rate to reducecosts. 8. If I f les l ess than 10% of the distri distribute buted surveys are returned, try one or more of the following strategies: Send a reminder to all or a randomsample ple of people on the mailing li ng list list.. Contact the local newspaper and reque request an articl rti cle e on the survey, submit a letter to the editor about it, it, or publi publish an announcement about the survey. T Thi his s is is something you you should should do before before you send out the survey. survey. Contact radio dio stations tions to run announcements inviti nviting ng people ople to take part in i n the survey. I nvite citi citizen zens s to partici rticipa pate in the survey through announcements in in local local agency newsletters, consum consumer group meetings, tings, and publ public com community unity events. Post Post announcements of the the survey in in publi blic place places, li like the library or grocery stores. •

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I ntervi ntervie ews and phone surveys For those who have difficulty reading or using printed materials, or for for surveys that require require more in-depth in-depth answers, inte interviews rvi ews might bethe most appropri ropriatething thing for you to do. Phone Phone

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Business Communication surveys work simila simil arly rly to face-to-f -to-faceinterviews rviews, so we've grouped these two methods togethe together. 1. Put Put together a teamof interviewe nterviewers. The T he people you choose should should be able able to answer any questions stions respondents might have, and if necessary they should should be people people who can handle ndle meeting ting diverse diverse respondents. People People who work iin n thesocial social scien sciences often often have interviewi rvi ewing ng experien ri ence. 2. Trai Train n theinterviewe nterviewers to act as ateam. The T hey should all all be given given thesame info informa rmation tion about the survey, its i ts purpose, and your organization or initiative to make sure that the information they pass on to res respondents is is unif uniform. 3. For F or a phonesurvey, your your sample ple can beas simple simple as every fifth phonenumber in the white pages of your your local local phone book, book, or you you may need to work with with a survey consultant consultant to get a phonelist of a more specif cific sample ple group. 4. Phone Phoneinterviewe rviewers should be pol poliite, te, call call during reasonable ble hours (not at meal tim ti me and not too late lateat night or early rly in in the morning, orning, etc.) etc.),, and they they shoul should d all be consistently tly aski asking ng the same questions. questions. Drop Dr op boxes Agencies that haverelatively relatively frequent contact with with cli clients -such as once a month --- you may find fi nd that setting setting up a drop box in their offices are a good source point for distributing surveys. This This may also lso be a good option ion for for agencies ies that have an incomple plete maili ailing list. li st. It I t can also be agood way to contact cli clients of other agencies who have have littl li ttle e contact contact with your group or agency. Howeve However, if i f you usethis method of distri di stributing buting surveys, conside consider using using it it along along with with at least one other method of distri distributi bution, on, becauseonly only those alrea already using the services rvi ces can respond. M edia distr distribution For general distribution, publishing a survey in the local paper or attaching ching a survey to your newslette newsletter might might be agood idea idea. Convenience sampling Tak Taking ing surveys in a public plac lace -- setting ing up a booth or table in theparking rki ng lot at a local discou discount nt store, on the si sidewa dewallk in i n the shopping distri district, ct, etc. --- provide provides an an opportunity opportunity to get some exposure for your organization. Group administration I f your group or organization tends to have large group group gatherings, ri ngs, providi provi ding ng surveys to everyone who attends attends a particular rticular gathe gathering ring might be areally ef efficien cient way for you to gather inf informa ormation. tion. Exam Examples ples of gatherings rings where you might want to distribute distribute your survey survey would include: i nclude: im immuniza unization tion cli clinics, nics, commodity odity food food distribut distri butiion sites, health fairs, fairs, and meal sites for olde older adults. If If you want to gi give your survey survey out out at some sort of group meeting ting or gathering, ri ng, get thegroup's director director to put you on the agenda. At At the meeting, ting, introduce introduce yourself and explain explain thepurpose of the survey. The T hen distri distribute the survey, answer any questions, tions, and coll collect complete pleted surveys. Don't Don't forget to thank everyone for their participation! Using multiple methods of distribution: Y ou can combine ine or adapt two or more of the above methods to suit your own own purpose purposes, if if you'd li like. If I f more than one method ethod is used, each survey should ould include incl ude instructions nstructions that each citi citizen zen


Unit IV BBA N202 shoul should d comple plete only one survey. So, for for example ple, if i f you're having ving people ople complete pletesurveys at abooth at the county fair fair,, they should ould not complete thesurvey if if they've already completed completed one that came in the mail to their their homes.

Collecting the surveys Soon after the surveys surveys are distri distributed, some of themwil will begin to arrive arri ve at the sponsoring ponsoring organi organization. zation. Here Here are the steps you shoul should d taketo coll col lect ect your surveys: 1. Gat Gathe her incom i ncoming surveys coll collected ected at participa partici pating ting sites. sites. A representative tive of your organization should col colllect incom incoming surveys as they arri rrive in the mail or your drop drop box. He He or she shoul should d al also call or stop by collect coll ectiion sites from timeto tim time to pick pick up any surveys that have been dropped off off. 2. Review Review returned surveys, checking checking for any that are incomplete plete. If I f any surveys were returned for for having an improper maili ail ing address, try try to fi find thecorrect correct address and mail it out again, if if you can. 3. Secure Secure a larger return, iiff necessary. This his may mean distri distributi buting ng surveys again or expanding nding your sample ple size. size. Example ple: Admini A dministe stering and coll colle ecting the 1997 1997 Y outh Risk Ri sk Behavioral Survey The The CDC CDC wanted to do everything ing it could to protect the students' privacy pri vacy and insure insure that questions tions would would be answered honestly stly while whil e complet pletiing the Y RBS. RB S. In I n order for for thesurvey survey to be administere nistered volunta voluntaril rily and anonymously, ously, it i t was done in a self -administe nistered writte written n questionnai stionnaire containing 84 multi multipleplechoice choice questions. stions. Befor Before e thesurveys were administe nistered, parental permissi permission on was obtained obtained through through whatever methods those local schools schools used. Stude Students recorded their their responses to the questionna stionnaires on computer-scan able able answer sheets, further allowing for for anonym anonymity. How do you analyze and compile the results of your survey? Now that you've gathered the complete pleted surveys, you'l you'lll need to figure out the results. Some Sometim times all you have to do is tabul tabulate the results --- tha that is, is, add themup and display display in in a table. For For instance, if i f 100 questionnair stionnaires es were returned returned in in a survey about problem problems in in the neighborhood, you just just need to count the answers. Let's L et's say that that there was a question tion asking asking what peopl people e felt was thebigge biggest challenge facing facing theneighborhood; 70 people mentioned law law enforceme nforcement, 10 cited cited transportation, sportation, 15 marked pothol potholes es, and 5 said noise noise. The T he result in i n case cases li like this is is clear. However, analysis ysis can be far more compli plicated than that. I f you're looki looking, for for inst instan ance, ce, at how people ople feel about a service ervice or probl problem em, you you may end up with with a lot lot of answers to open-ended questions stions that are apparently ntly unrelated. unrelated. In I n this case, you wil wi ll need to try to fi f ind patterns. Once you've you've done that, what do thesenumbers mean? Wel Welll, you you wil will need to look look at theoverall survey to see how each percentagecompares to the others. For For example, ple, what questions stions had thehighe highest proportions proporti ons of sim similar responses?

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Business Communication We suggest that you write write up a brief brief report --- one one page is suffi sufficien cient -- summarizing arizi ng the results of the survey. survey. In In your report, look for any patterns -- do people in a particular part of town fee feel more strongly strongly about aparticul particular ar issue issuethan those in other areas? Share Share this informa information tion with with your staff. Get Get their fee f eedback and discuss discuss whether any further further surveying surveying needs to bedone before completing. Now that you've ffiigured out what the resul results mean, you need to decide what what to do with wi th them. To T o whom are you going going to communicate unicatethem, and how? In I n case of a community unity ini initi tiati ative, ve, the results sults should should be madepubli public as soon as possibl possible e so that members in in the community unity and comm community unity lea l eaders can be made aware of a problem probl emor potential potential probl problem emand start worki working ng to solve solve it. I f other other simil similar surveys have done in thesame area, you may want to compare your results with with the other other surveys' results. An organization conducting a survey about about its' its' servi service ces s mi might want to use results sults to provi provide de abetter service service or to change a current policy poli cy to a more effici fi cie ent one. In I n a situation where where funding unding is is at stake, the results woul would d need to go to the funder to convince convince the funder of the need for for new or continue continued support. The The results lts could also lso be used by the organiza ization ion its itself to determine where and what kinds ki nds of services services are needed. Body languagei language is a form of mental and physi physical cal ability of human non-verbal communication, consisting of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and inte interpret such signa signals al almost entir entire ely subconsciously. sciously. (Body (Body language, in in this sense, should should bedisti distinguished nguished from sign language.) ge.) Ja J ames Bor Borg states that human communicatio unication n consists of 93 percent body langua l anguage and paralinguistic cues, while only 7% of communicatio unication n consists of words themselves Body lang language may provide provide clues as to the attitude ttitude or state of mind mind of a person. For example, ple, it it may indicate indicateaggression, ression, attentiveness attentiveness, boredom, relaxed relaxed state, plea pleasure, amusement, and intoxication. Body language is significant to communicatio unication n and relatio relationships. nships. I t is is im important to note that somemarkers of emotion otion (e.g. smiling/lau ng/laughing ghing when happy, frowni frowning/cryi ng/crying ng when when sad) are largely argely universal. The T henewly wly include included d emotions otions are: 1. Amusement 2. Contempt 3. Contentment 4. Embarrassment 5. Excitement 6. Guilt 7. Pri Pride in achieve chievement 8. Relief 9. Satisfaction 10. Sensory plea pleasure 11. Shame Body lang language signals signals may have agoal other than communicatio unication. n. Physi hysical cal expre xpression


Unit IV BBA N202 Physica Physicall expres expressions sions li like waving ving,, pointing, pointing, touching and slouching are all forms of nonverba of nonverbal communicatio unication. n. The study of body movement and expressi expression on is is known known as kinesics. Humans move their their bodies bodi es when communicati unicating ng because, as research has shown, it helps helps "ea "ease the mental effort effort when communication is difficult." Physical expressions reveal many things things about the person using using them. For For example, ple, gestures can emphasize phasize a point point or relay relay a message, posture posture can reveal boredom boredomor great interest, interest, and touch can convey convey encouragement or caution. Prevalence valence of of non-ver non-verbal comm communication unication in i n humans Dif Di fferent studies dies have found diff dif fering ring amounts, with wi th some studies showing howing that facial comm communicatio unication n is believed 4.3 tim times more often often than verbal meaning, ning, and another fi finding nding that verbal verbal communication in i n a flat flat tone is 4 tim ti mes more likely li kely to be understood than a pure facial expression. ssion. Al Albert Mehrabian Mehrabian is noted for for fi finding a 7%-38%-55% rule, suppose supposedly dly denoting oting how much communicatio unication n was conferred conferred by words, tone tone, and non-verbal language (facial expression in this case). However he was only only referring referri ng to cases of expressing expressing feelings or attitudes.

I ntroduce ntroduced d by Edward T. Hall in 1966, proxemics is the study of measurable asurable distances distances between people ople as they interact interact with with one another. The The distan distance between people in in a social social situation situation often often discl discloses oses informa nformation tion about thetype of relati relationship onship between the people involved. involved. Proxi Proxim mity may also reveal reveal the typeof social setting tting taking taking place place. 1. I ntim ntimatedistan distance ranges from from touching touching to about 18 inches (46 cm) cm) apart, and is is rese reserved for lovers, overs, chil children, dren, as well as close close family members and fri friend ends, and also pet anim nimals. 2. Personal dista distance begins gins about an arm's leng length away; starting rti ng around 18 inches inches (46 cm) fro from m the person and ending ding about 4 feet (122 cm) away. Thi This s space is used in in conversations tions with with frien riends, to chat with with associate ssociates, and in group discussi discussions. ons. 3. Social Soci al dista distance ranges from from 4 to 8 fee feet (1.2 (1.2 m- 2.4 2.4 m) away from the person and is is reserved for for stran strangers, newly formed groups, and new acquaintances. acquaintances. 4. Publi Public distan distance include incl udes anything nything more than 8 feet (2.4 m) away, and is is used for for speeches, lecture lectures, and theater. Publ Publiic distan distance is essentiall ntially y that range range reserved for larger audiences. Prox Pr oximity imity r ange vari varie es with culture cultur e. Beginning nning in in the 1960s, there has been huge interest in in studying studying human behavioral avioral clue clues that could could beuseful for developing oping an interactive ctive and adaptive ptive human-machine chine system. Uninten nintentional tional human gestures such as making aking an eye rub, a chin chin rest, a li lip touch, a nose itch, itch, a head scratch, an ear scratch, crossi crossing ng arms, and a finge fi nger lock l ock have been found conveying conveyi ng some useful inform nformation tion in in specif cific contexts. contexts. Some Some researchers have tried tried to extract such such gestures in a specif cific context for for educational tional appl pplications. In In poker games, such gestures are referred referred to as "tells" and areuseful to playe players for for detecting cting deception clues cl ues or behavioral avioral patterns in in opponents.

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Business Communication The There is also lso a huge int interest in lea learning ing to avoid any uninten unintentional tional gesture that might lea leave a negative im i mpression on on the onlookers. onlookers. A large number of people ople are starting rti ng to attend special cial sessions on controll controlled body behaviour haviour and take advice dvice from expert sociol sociologists. ogists. Lea Learning rning good body language, such as living styles of foreign people, is important during interaction in any sort of global community.

Eyes Eyes, although not first thought of when talking about body language, can revel a lot lot about how someonefeels or how they are thinki thinking ng about a certain topic. topi c. Our Our eyes are highl highly y aware of what we‘see’ in i n other people’s people’s eyes. For For example ple you can recognize recogni ze that you have made eye contact with wi th someone that is 100 or 130 fee feet away with wi th out actually being able able to see the detail of a person’s eye. We usually understand aglaze glazed over look or a blan blank stare, moisten oistened eye that indi indicate cated tears would woul d come or a secret gl glance. ance. Here are some of the the signals signals the eye gives gives away: L ooki ooking ng right (ge (gener nerally): Usuall sually y indicate indicates theperson is creating ting,, fab fabrica ricati ting, ng, lyi lying ng or story story telli tell ing. In In som some cas cases this may mean that the person is i s making ki ng up something, thing, but other cases(li (l ike telling astory to a child) it it can can beperfe rfectly ctly normal to be creating ting somethi ething. ng. Looki L ooking ng down and right right indicate indicates feelings that can be genuine or not depending on the the context of what theperson is doing. doi ng. L ooki ooking ng left left (generally): Usually indicate indicates theperson is recalling facts, remembering. ring. This This incl include udes recalling and stating stating facts acts from from memory, usually ally the truth. truth. But But ‘f ‘facts’ acts’ can be incorrect, ncorrect, which which is another matter all together. Dir Direct eyecontact: When speaking ki ng to someone this this can bean indication of of hones honesty by that person, although trained li liars have practi practiced ced this skil skill and can copy it well. well. Whe When you arelistening to som someone and have eye contact that generall rally means you have interest, attentivene attentiveness and some kind kind of attraction attraction to the person. person. Wideni dening ng eyes: This indicate i ndicates appe appeal, interest rest and and invitati invitation. on. Usually inte interest in someone or something thing you are looki looking ng at, and a positi positive ve response. The T he exception ption is is when wide widening ning eyes are paired with with raise raised eyebrows, which which can be ashock res response. Wom Women tend to widen wi dentheir eyes to try try and increa increase their attractiveness. Rubbing eyes: Can be associate sociated with with disbelief disbeli ef about something (as in checking checking your vision) vision) or something that is related to crying crying or tired tiredne ness. Usually if paired with with long bl blinks then it it meansthe person is is tired tired or bored bored. Eye shrug/roll: When an eyehas anupward roll roll, it it usually means it is i s a sign sign of frustrati frustration on or annoyance annoyance. Pupils dilated: The black black center of a person’s rson’s eyegets large larger to let in light and smaller to let in less light. When it is dark that is one of the reasons pupil pils are dilate dil ated. Anothe A nother reason pupils pupil s dil dilateis when someonesees something that is i s appealing ali ng to them or attractive. Blinking: When blinking is frequent it is a sing of excitement or pressure, but it it is is not areliab reli able way way to tell if someone is lyi lying ng..


Unit IV BBA N202 When thebli blink rate is infr infreq equent it it usually means boredom if the eyes are not focused focused or it it can mean concentrati concentration on if if they eyes are focused. focused. Arms Arms canindicate ndicatemany things things to a person, when they are across you body iitt can be adefensive defensive barrier rri er and when they are by your side si de it can mea mean you fee feel open and secure. Arms A rms signals are reli reliable indic indicators ators of your your mood, more so so when combined with with other body lang language symbols. bols. Here are some signals: gnals: Crossed arms arms: Crosse Crossed arms usually are associate ssociated with with protecti protective ve barrie rri er. This T his could could be dueto a number of things li like concern, boredomor fee feeling threatened. If I f the the person is cold cold they wil will also cross their arms arms someti etimes, which can give give off mixed signals. Gripping own upper arms: This his can beseen as insecurity curity in in some males and females. It I t is is a way of self hugging, and attempt to reassure one self. Anothe A nother from from of self hugging is is when you take your one arm across body cl clasping asping other arm by side, which is typical in females only. Ar ms hel held behi behind nd body with with hands clasped: This is a signal of authority ority or conf confidence dence. IItt is seen in auth authori orita tati tive ve figures like like poli police men, and armed forces forces offi officers. Many of the arm signa signals haveto do with wi th nervousness and are done to createa barrier rri er between oneself and theoutside outside world world here are some typical typical barrier barri er signals: signals: handbag held in in front front of body, pape papers in in front front of your chest, adjusting cuff cuff, watchstra watchstrap, tie, tie, etc., using using anarmacross the body, body, arms/hands covering covering genital regi region, holding holding a drink drink in in front of body with both hands seated, holdi holding ng drink drink on one side side with with hand from from other side, touching touching or scratching scratching shoulde oulder using using arm across body L egs and and Fe F eet L egs and fee feet body lang language is is known for for being being more authentic ntic than the other signa signals dueto the fact it it is is harder to fake fake or do consci consciously. ously. This makes it a good indica indicator tor of people’s ople’s feelings feelings. When looki ooking at leg leg and feet signals signals we must remember that women and men sit dif di fferently, erently, men tend have a more ore open leg leg positi position on whil while women do not, so therefor therefore e when a women sits sits with with open legs legs it has a diff dif ferent meaning ning then when a men does. L eg signals are supported by the corresponding arm signa signals they go along with wi th them. Here are some signals: gnals: L eg Dir Direction, sit sitti ting-ge ng-gener neral: When aperson is is seated they usually have their leg direction pointed in the direction of their point point of inte i nterest. Whe When they are uninte uninterested in in a conversation conversation or a person their legs legs wil will point point away from from them. When When legs are crossed crossed the upper knee dictates dictates what thethey are interested interested in or disinterested in. Uncrossed legs, sitting-general: When legs are uncrossed that generall rally means they havean open attitude no matter if if it is is male or female. Crosse ossed legs, sitting-ge sitti ng-gener neral: This his usually all y means they are cautious or disi di sinte nterested in in what is is going going on, there is is a degree of uncertainty. rtainty. They T hey may fee feel threaten or inse insecure.

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Business Communication Parallel Par allel legs legs: L egs together generally erall y mean properness when it it is concerning a fem female, ale, this thi s is is a very unusual stance in males. This This can be due to the female’s le’s upbring inging ing. Open le legs, gs, sitti sitting: ng: This is mainly a male posture; this can be associate sociated with with arrogan rrogance, sexual posturing posturing or combativ combative e feelings. This T his is is not usually seen seen in women, espe especia cially when when in in skirts. skirts. Thi T his s is is conside considered to becombative ative because it makes the person look look bigg bigger er than they really really are. Confi Confide dence signals are increased when arms are open and wide. wide. Ankle lock: lock: This his is is considere considered to be anegative tive signal and may mean defensiveness defensiveness in in both both men and women. Standing ‘at attention’: this this means someone is is standing standing upright with with their shoulders back and and arms by side. This This is is a military positi position on and considered to be asigna signal of respect and subservien ervience when in the presence of someonein authority. thori ty. L egs inter ntertwine twined, d, sitti itting: ng: This is i s usua usually a fem female stance. Depending ding on what is is going going on this can mean inse insecurity curity or sexual posing. posing. Thi This s would would beconsidere considered sexual posing posing because the tight tight crossed leg leg would would tend to emphasize phasize the muscle uscle and tone of the leg. Thi This s should ould beassessed while whil e also interpreting interpreting other body signa signals. L egs cross crossed, standing: standing: This is i s diff dif ferent rent than than when leg legs are are crossed when sitting. tting. Thi This s may mean insecurity insecurity or/subm or/submission ssion or engagement. When When legs and arms are crossed crossed it usually usuall y means less less confiden confi dent and inse insecure when just just the legs legs are crosse crossed but arms are open it it can can mean a comm committed agreement to stand and engagewith with the other perso person. n. Shoe-play: Usually seen in fem females, this this can mean relaxation, relaxation, flirting rting and sexu sexual fee feelings. In I n more case then oneplaying playing with with a shoe and slippi sli pping ng it it on and off can have sexual overtones.

Unit IV BBA N202

Domination - A police officer talking in firm tone and uniform pitch would be standing upright, bluffing his chest, stiffening neck and perhaps putting putting hands on hips or holdi holding ng themon back. Exhaustion - A lady ady speaking in in monotonous onotonous and slugg sluggish voice voice (on telephone) might might be physical physical exhausted, fee feeling sad or nervous, sitti sitting ng alone and consol consoliing herself. rself.

Body L anguag anguage e - Para Para L anguag anguage e How words are pronounced is most important than their literal meaning. There’s re’s strong rel relation ation between vocal and physi physical expressions - condition. condition. We We cannot nnot pronouncewords the way we want until until everythi rything ng required quired for same is perfectl rfectly y combine bined or arrang arranged - conscious consciouslly or unconsciousl unconsciously. y. This This is is what wecall as scien cience of PARA of PARA LANGU L ANGUAGE. AGE.

Play time - A laughing, twittering and singing boy in joyous tone would would besurelymaking surelymaking merry, playi playing, ng, jum jumping ping and dancing.

As li like paying ying keen atten attention tion to visua visual clue clues while whil e reading ding body language, listening to voice also gives insight of person’s emotional otional and physical state. Li L ike making aking gestures by han hand, we also modulateour voices voi ces depending ding upon dif different circumsta circumstances, conditi conditions, ons, and needs. eds. Theemotion tional and homeostatic ostatic proce pr ocesse sses are deciding decidi ng factor factors s for sam same.

Conflict - Y elli elling and shouting coupl couple (at ne neighborhood) ghborhood) would be making aking aggressivege sivegestures, clen clenching ching fi fists, bearing ring teeth, crossing crossing hands on chests and fi fiercely gazing gazing towards each other.

Humans havevery well well developed veloped systemfor crea creating ting diff different sounds and vary tone, vol volume umeand speed of pronunciation. Torso, throat, oral cavity, lips, jaws, tongue, rate of breat breathing hing and facial muscles play dif different roles roles altogether. Physical hysical movements, leve l evel of energy, body mass and hormones also also add to them. K ind of sound sound wecre create while whil e talki talking is like a signature. We can roughly co-rel co-relate atethe physical ysical and mental stateof persons shown in foll fol lowing owing images with kind ki nd of voice voices s they would be interacting with.


Gossip - Two T wo collea coll eagues gues whispering (behind your back) back) would would be sitting tting close close to each other and may not be making aking any gestures and meeting ting gaze with with other.

Convincing - A salesman buttering buttering up your boss to place place an order order or sign a contract contract would be sl slightl ghtly le leaning forwa forward, titl titliing hi his neck at once once side and smiling. Study of PARA of PARA LANGU L ANGUAGE AGE is most useful when wecannot observe somebody face face-to-to-fface. InterviewSkills kills

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Business Communication A job intervi interview ew can be an extremely stressful stressful social soci al encounter. All interviews rviews may appear sim similar, but they di differ in in terms of what the interview rvi ewer er is is seeking king and the skill skil l level the interviewe rviewer brings bri ngs to the process. Situa Situations tions may differ, differ, but there are certain rtain skill skil ls that wil will increase the odds of a successful interview nterview or at lea least reducesome of the stress. Preparation Prepare for the the interview rvi ew as soon as it is i s scheduled. duled. I mmediately place pl aceyourself yourself or or someone who is is better suited into into therole role of the interviewe rviewer. Ma M ake alist of questions tions you woul would ask if if you were the interviewer. rvi ewer. Recall Recall questions stions you have been asked in sim similar job j ob inte interviews rviews. The T here are certain topics topics that you know wil will come up, such as your job job history, educat educatiion, goals and your positive positi ve and negative tive qualiti ali ties es. Conduct Conduct an entire ntire interview rview with yourself no matter how ridic ri diculous ulous it it seems. Attire Dres Dress appropriate propri ately. If I f you are unsure unsure whether the company dress code is casual or demands strict strict business attire, ttire, play play it safe by wearing aring form formal busine business clothi clothing. ng. You Y ou must also appear comfortabl ortable in in busi business atti attire. re. To T o accompli plish this, wear wear these clothe clothes as ofte often n aspossible bef before theinterview. rview. This This is is especiall cially y useful if i f you've onl only worn suits to weddi weddings ngs and funerals. •

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Exude Confidence One of the qui quickest ckest ways to kil kill an interview rview is to appear frighte rightened or unsure unsure of yoursel yourself. Y ou scored theinterview, rview, so there must be something thing about you that makes the com company confi confident that you are up to thejob. Make M ake sure that confidence confi dence is not not lost. lost. Maintain Maintain eyecontact with the interviewe rviewer. Think T hink before before you speak so you don't stumble ble over words. words. Sit Si t up straight straight and resist sist theurge to fi fidget, scratch, run your fi fingers through your hair or engage in any other body lang language that suggests you arenot totally in in control control of yourself. Converse The The typica ical job job int interview iew is constructed in the form formof question followed by answer. Don't allow the interview to become agame of verbal ping-pong. ping-pong. Elaborate on your answers and ask ask your own foll fol low-up ow-up que questions. Turn T urn the the intervi interview ew into a conversation tion between equals. Thi This s allows you to express your interest in the position, to let some of your personality come through through and to il illustrate ustrateyour peopl people e skil kills. It I t also make makes the interview rview les less daunting. Honesty Y ou may have heard that everybody fud fudges a litt little during ing interviews rviews--and that interviewe rviewers expect it. it. This T his is is si simply ply not true. Resist Resist any temptation to li lie about yourself, yourself, your education, tion, your experien experience or your qualif quali fications cations because chances are those those lies lies wil will catch catch up to you. Eve Even if if your dishonesty isn't caught duri during ng the hiring hiri ng process, ss, it i t wil will probably bly come come out out la later. ter. I t is is easier to remember the truth, so stick to it. it. Research arch Arrivi rri ving ng at a job interview with with astrong knowled knowledgeof the company pany for whom you'd like li ke to to work inst instiills several qualities ties •

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Unit IV BBA N202 that wil will impress press the theinterviewe rviewer. Y ou will will able to speak intelligently about thecompany's operations, you wil will demonstrate onstrate that you are serious serious about your career and you wil will illustrate your initiative. Surprises Y ou never know what is going ing to be asked during ing an interview, rview, and some intervi interviewe ewers li like to toss toss in in wild wil d cards cards jus justt to see see how you react react.. I f you don't know the answer, nswer, admit it. it. As As long as you retain your poise poise, you've you've donethe job. Don't Don't try to overtalk your way out of tough or tricky tricky question. Addre A ddress it to the best of your abil ability and move on. HowtoTeachInte InterviewingSkills Skills Jo J ob int interview iews can be stressful ful fo for both the int intervie rview wer and the interviewe nterviewee. Prepa Preparation ration on both accounts accounts takes some of the the edge off off. Whi Whille there are subtle subtle dif differences in each person's interviewi nterviewing ng style, style, there are are some basic sic com components that can be taught to get a new iinte nterviewe rvi ewer started. Here Here is a suggested plan for basic interview rviewiing. •

Instruc tructions o 1 Be prepared. An An intervi interviewe ewer must be prepared going into into the interview. intervi ew. He He should ould have received and read the appli pplicant's cover lette letter and resume (or CV CV) as well as any prescreening ning notes from from previous vious conversati rsations ons or inte interviews rviews with other staff. This This elimina inates duplica licate question ioning ing and saves both parties ies tim time. 2 Start by asking asking any questions tions relate related to the appli pplicant's o resume that have not been previousl previously y asked. Thi T his s is is not required required and should ould only only be done based on questions stions that have some merit rit in in the hiring ring process. 3 Continue with a basic line of questioning. Develop three o to five questions related to the job specifically (i.e., Are you familiar with with spreadsheet creation creation and editi diting? ng? Do you you have any direct direct experien rience with with program development?). o 4 Close Cl ose by giving givi ng the applican ppli cant an an opportunity opportunity to selfself promote. ote. Aski A sking ng aquestion li like "How "How would your experien rience be an asset to our our orga organizati nization?" on?" is a great way to promp prompt the discussion. o 5 Give Gi ve the applicant an opportunity opportunity to ask you questions about the positi position, on, the department or teamor the organization. zation. Appli pplicants who don't ask questions stions are ared flag flag - asking asking questions stions signals interest. o 6 Provide contact information for additional correspondence. I f there are no further further questions tions on either side side, off offer your card card in in casethe appli pplicant has further further questi questions. ons.

HowtoIm ImproveInte proveInterviewSkills Skills An inte interview rview can be intim intimidating ting for anyone. Whe Whether you are interviewing rviewing for a positi position on in a universi university's ty's program program or a company, you wil will need to keep some things in mind that will wil l improve your your inte interview rview skil kills and help you land theposition positi on for which you areapplying. plyi ng. Read on to to le l earn how how to im i mprove interview skill skills.

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Unit IV BBA N202

Instruc tructions 1 Dres Dress therole. role. Know Know thetype of job job or school school you are interviewi nterviewing ng for, for, and always dress better than the the average candidate. Being B eing neat and well put togeth together wil will help you give give a great fi first im impression-pression- -the hardest type to overcome. o 2 Be prepared. Study Study as much as you can about the company or program before you go in ffor or the interview. nterview. Being Being knowled knowledge geable and informe informed you wil will show azeal for for the position. position. Aski Asking ng inform nformed que questions will wil l also also show that you did did your homework homework and and aren't walking walki ng into into theinterview rview blind. bli nd. 3 L ook themin theeye. Exuding Exuding confide confi dence ncein the o interview rview wi will build buil d their their trust in in you. Whethe Whether you are are nervous or not, give give afirm handshake, and speak honestly stly and directl directly y about yoursel rself and your your goals. To To im improve interview rview skil skills it may take practice ctice with fri frien ends and family. Goi Going ng over your main points poi nts and questions stions before before hand can help you you fee feel more confident. 4 Close Cl ose theinterview rview well well.. Y ou will wil l need to prepare for the o entire tire interview to im improve your your skil skills. Not only only do you want to begin the inte interview rview on theright right foot, you should try and end end it it on theright right foot as well. End End the the intervi interview ew with an overview of the questions stions and points points madein your discussion, discussion, and let them know that you are looki looking ng forward forward to hearing ring from from them regarding their decision. 5 Foll ollow up. Send Send a thank you lett letter er via mail or o electronicall electroni cally. y. Let L et themknow that you appreciate reciatetheir tim ti me. Tha Thank themagain for for the int interview iew. Mak Make sure to mention ion specific discussions made in the interview. o


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Lecture Notes Business Communication Unit IV BBA

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