Business Communication Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 12-07-2022

Today’s employers want more from their employees than technical knowledge and expertise. They’re looking for people who are willing to work as team players, have strong communication and problem-solving skills, and demonstrate good character, good work ethic, leadership, and a positive workplace attitude. Soft skills (also called life skills) help you create a powerful, positive, and productive life outside of work. In fact, professional success starts with personal success, and a strong set of soft skills can go a long way to making both happen.

Article / Updated 09-19-2022

Whether presenting as part of a team or alone, asking someone to evaluate your performance during rehearsal can help hone your presentation and skills. Ask a trusted colleague or mentor to watch your presentation — ideally someone who is similar to a typical audience member or can put himself in the audience’s state of mind. After your presentation, the evaluator can either complete this form or give you verbal feedback on the aspects of the presentation. Some of the questions relate to the content, so you can determine if you delivered your desired message, while others are about your specific performance. What was the title of my presentation? What three main points did I make? What is the call to action I want the audience to take? What parts of the presentation were confusing? Did I use any jargon or words that you didn’t know or understand? Which parts of the presentation are too simplistic or contain information that the audience already knows? Were my visuals interesting or boring, helpful or distracting? How did you feel during and after the presentation? Objectively describe me — during the presentation — in two or three words, such as professional, nervous, knowledgeable, warm, confident, cold, unorganized, pushy. Did I do any of the following: Talk too fast Talk too slow or in a monotone voice Pace or shift my weight nervously Display a nervous tic, such as grimacing or playing with an object

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-26-2022

Business etiquette is vitally important for representing your company in the best manner possible. Having excellent business manners means two things above all else: respecting others, and treating people with courtesy and kindness. To get started, you should know how to deliver a proper handshake, master the art of gift-giving, and travel abroad without missteps.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-25-2022

To get people talking about you, your company, or your product, you need to develop a good public relations (PR) plan. Applying some PR fundamentals, knowing how to deal with the media, getting your press release to stand out and your blog noticed are all key steps in your public relations campaign.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-22-2022

Are you looking to change behaviors in employees and create productive and dynamic team players? Critical conversations are a way to do just that! Staying ahead of possible conflicts and intervening when issues do arise are what critical conversations are all about. They are the best way to keep employees motivated and ensure productive teamwork.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-03-2022

Even though some make it look easy, public speaking requires effort. But you don’t want the audience to see that effort. You want your voice to be the same one you use when talking to family, friends, and colleagues. You can develop your own style and sound like yourself. However, many issues can arise while preparing for and during your speech. You may be afraid, your body language may make you look and feel shaky, or your breathing may not be helping you as much as it could be. All these things can be addressed.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-25-2022

Effective communications involves listening as well as speaking. When you speak to a group, how you deliver your message plays a part in how it’s received. In the workplace, effective communication techniques can help foster positive relationships — just be sure to avoid some communication pitfalls so that you don’t undermine your good work.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-10-2022

If you’re a small- to medium-sized business owner, a salesperson, or a lone proposal writer, this Cheat Sheet provides you with a helpful reference for writing commercial business proposals. This information will help you understand how to write customer-focused, persuasive proposals that win more business. If you boil down a good proposal to its essence, you can take away four overarching principles that will significantly improve your ability to write winning proposals.

Article / Updated 12-01-2021

You are about to end a negotiation, either by closing a deal or walking away from it. If you are going to close the deal, be sure that the deal is positive for both parties, producing a win-win situation. If you are thinking about walking away, be sure that you aren't overlooking some way to achieve a mutually satisfying outcome. This may be the most valuable moment in the entire negotiation. In the commonly used sense of the phrase, a win-win negotiation is a deal that satisfies both sides. In an ideal world, a win-win agreement is the only kind of deal that would ever close. Nevertheless, even in today's world, the vast majority of negotiations end in win-win situations. Win-win negotiating does not mean that you must give up your goals or worry about the other person getting what they want in the negotiation. You have your hands full looking out for your own interests. Practice honesty and respect in all of your negotiations, but looking out for the other side isn't your job. It's theirs. Recognizing a good deal A good deal is one that is fair under all circumstances at the time the agreement is made. It provides for various contingencies before problems arise. A good deal is workable in the real world. To be sure that you have a good deal and a win-win situation, ask yourself the following questions just before closing: Does the agreement further your personal long-range goals? Does the outcome of the negotiation fit into your vision statement? Does the agreement fall comfortably within the goals and limits that you set for this particular negotiation? Can you perform your side of the agreement to the fullest? Do you intend to meet your commitment? Based on all the information, can the other side perform the agreement to your expectations? Based on what you know, does the other side intend to carry out the terms of the agreement? In an ideal situation, the answer to all six questions is a resounding yes. If you are unsure about any one of them, take some extra time. Review the entire situation. Assess how the agreement could be changed in order to create a yes answer to each question. Try your best to make the change needed to get a firm yes to each question. Then, close the deal. Don't go for any more changes even if you think that the other person wouldn't mind. You never know! When you work in a culture other than your own, being sure that you have a win-win solution takes a little extra effort. During a cross-cultural negotiation, be thorough in your investigation of what is and isn't acceptable. If you can't alter the deal so that you can answer yes to each question, be very thoughtful about closing. If you decide to go forward, write down exactly why you are closing the deal anyway so that you don't become part of that army of people with tales of exploitation. This exercise is particularly helpful to your state of mind if the results don't work out; you have a record as to why you took the deal. You won't be so hard on yourself. Knowing your counterpart Remember that the people you are dealing with are more important than the paperwork you draft. Know your counterpart very well before you enter into a long-term relationship. No lawyer can protect you from a crook. Lawyers can just put you in a position to win a lawsuit. People do bad things all the time. Checking out references is one of the most overlooked resources. You can learn a great deal from checking out references, even from the most obviously biased sources. Some people tend to be overly concerned about the other party's welfare in a negotiation, smothering their own goals in the process. When you're engaged in a negotiation, you must allow other people to take care of themselves. You don't have to make things "nice" for everyone. That's not a negotiator's job. Your job as a negotiator is to get what you want. Remaining true to that objective may involve upsetting someone. Part of negotiating well is having the strength to take that risk.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 10-28-2021

In today’s workplace, influence is more important than ever. When you know how to exert influence at work, you can control and more rapidly advance your career than others can. Four basic steps can help you achieve influence, no matter where you are in your career; if you’re higher up in your company, consider leadership best practices to further boost your impact.