Effective Business Communication Skills

(Oral and Written)

(A Sure Step to the Next Level)

Rationale

Effective Communication
 is essential and beneficial to any organization
 lessens the time for clarifying the message
 promotes better human relations in the workplace.
 increases production

General Objectives

 help the participants learn and apply the fundamental BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
TOOLS and TECHNIQUES
 develop competencies in composing EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNCATION both
in oral and written.

Specific Objectives:

At the end of the course, the participants should be able to:

 Identify and correct the common errors in business communication.

 Organize and compose different types of business correspondence following the
standards and principles of effective business communication.
 Present ideas more systematically and clearly.
 Review grammar.
 Be competent and confident in oral and written communication.

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS: A MUST IN AN ORGANIZATION

Communication

 The process of sharing ideas, information, and messages with others in a particular time
and place.
 The exchange of thoughts and ideas with the intention of conveying information
 A two way street that includes vocalization as well as gesticulation (sign, signal, gesture,
wave, motion, movement)

Types of Communication

 Verbal Communication
 Nonverbal Communication
 Visual Communication
  Written communication

Different Forms of Business Communication

Internal Communication

Business Letters
Memos
Presentations
Notices
Agenda
Letters
Announcements
Meetings
Feedback
Policies
Group Discussions

External Communication

Advertisements
Letters
Declarations
Press Releases
Campaigns
Annual General Meetings
Meetings
Publications
Researched Articles for Journal
Addressing to the Public at Large
Manuals and Notices

Importance of Communication in an Organization

 promotes motivation
 source of information
 altering individual’s attitudes
 helps in socializing
 controlling process

Importance of Communication in Business Organization

The need for communication and the ability to communicate helps in

 developing efficient management
 developing organizational skills
 laying down plans
  establishing a healthy work culture
 resolving impending issues

Lack of communication in relationships results in

 frustrations
 misunderstandings
 unrealistic expectations
 guilt
 creation of personal differences

Communication Styles in Format

Formal
A presentation or written piece that strictly adheres to rules, conventions, and ceremony, and is
free of colloquial expressions

Informal
A casual form of information sharing typically used in personal conversations with friends or
family members

Within a business environment, informal communication:

 is sometimes called the grapevine

 might be observed occurring in conversations, electronic mails, text messages and phone
calls between socializing employees

There are 3 types:

 downward - (flowing from upper management down to subordinates)

 upward - (flowing from employees to upper level management)
 horizontal - (flowing across peers within the group or organization)

Basic Communication Process

 Forming the idea to be communicated

 Encoding the idea
 Transmitting the message through a medium
 Receiving the message
 Decoding the message

Enhancing Language Skills

Why Language Proficiency is Essential in Business Communications

Communications are EXTENSIONS OF THE INDIVIDUAL or group (government, business,
education, industry).

Your GRAMMAR TELLS a great deal about you.

SPELLING ERRORS spoil an effective message

PROPER PUNCTUATION tells the reader when to slow down, when to speed ahead.

IMPROPER SYLLABICATION damages your image and sometimes makes it more difficult for
reader to recognize a word.

There is no excuse for MESSY MESSAGE.

Pre-test

Instructions: Supply the appropriate part of speech as indicated in the parentheses to complete
the paragraph below:

As soon as (noun) got home, he called his (noun) and (noun). He told (pronoun) that he will
(verb) them a surprise. He (adverb) (verb) something (preposition) a (adjective) bag
(conjunction) showed (pronoun) (preposition) them. “(interjection), what a (adjective) bird!”
They both (verb). “Where did (pronoun) (verb) it?” I bought it (preposition) the pet (noun) near
(pronoun) school. “(interjection), I want (preposition) have a bird like that, too! Let (pronoun)
go to that store (conjunction) (verb) a bird.” (noun) nodded, so (pronoun) all (adverb) (verb) to
the (noun) to (verb) a (adjective) bird.

Instructions: Underline the correct answer.

1. I demand an answer (by, from) you at once.

2. Our lessons give us much to think (about, through).
3. The nurse injected (anesthesia, anesthetics) to the patient.
4. They decided to schedule the operation (in, on) December.
5. Henry works (for, from) high grades.
6. All the doctors will meet (at, in) Robinsons Galleria.
7. He sells goods (in, at) a low price.
8. Do you have an (elicit, illicit) love affair?
9. He easily (adopted, adapted) to his new environment.
10. We ran out (from, of) paper and had to buy more.
11. (It’s, Its) a great day for a picnic!
12. The students (is, are) excitedly planning for their grand ball.
13. Try to learn that poem (at, by) heart.
14. The express train (passes, pass) to many towns at which it does not stop.
15. She is very popular (among, between) the other girls.

Grammar
Parts of Speech - building blocks used to construct sentences

A combination of the eight parts of speech:

1. nouns
2. pronouns
3. adjectives
4. verbs
5. adverbs
6. prepositions
7. conjunctions
8. interjections

Rules on Subject-Verb Agreement

Verb is in agreement with subject in number.

The participant (listen, listens) attentively.
The participants (listen, listens) attentively.

The number of the subject is not changed by a prepositional phrase following the subject.
A knowledge of rules (help, helps) you use English correctly.

Indefinite pronouns (each, either, neither, one, everyone, everybody, no one, nobody, anyone,
anybody, someone, somebody) take singular verb.
Each (was, were) sure he would bring in more sales.

The following common words are plural: several, few, both, many
Several of the memos (say, says) nothing.

Don’t and doesn’t must agree with their subjects.

I (don’t, doesn’t ) know him.
You (don’t, doesn’t ) mean that.
He ( don’t, doesn’t ) eat vegetables.
It (don’t, doesn’t ) really matter.

Most of compound subjects joined by and are plural and take a plural verb.
Katrina and Hayden (is,are) good friends.
My laptop and ipod (was,were) in his locker.
The secretary and treasurer (plan, plans) to resign.
The secretary and the treasurer (plan, plans) to resign.

Subjects
Subjects joined
joined by
by or
or or
or nor.
nor:
 Neither the living room nor the bedroom (was, were) redecorated.
Either Kate or her brothers (was, were) to entertain the guests.

Collective nouns (team, orchestra) usually take singular verbs (and are referred to by singular
pronouns); but they take plural verbs when the individuals of the group are regarded separately.

When the subject follows the verb,

take special care to determine the
subject and to make sure that the
verb and subject agree.

There (was, were) arguments after the last committee meeting.

.Here (is, are) my suggestion.

A title of a book or a word used in a special sense, takes singular verb.

The committee (issue, issues) a monthly report.

The team (has have) been unable to agree on a leaverb and subject agree.

Ex. How to Communicate in Business (was, were) written by Mabel Sanchez several years ago.

Verb Tenses

The property of a verb that indicate the time in which the action described by the verb takes
place.

Three simple tenses are:

Present: I write a letter

Past: I wrote a letter

Future: I will/ shall write a letter

Three perfect tenses are formed by adding the auxiliary have o had:

Present perfect I have written a letter

Past perfect I had written a letter

Future perfect I will/ shall have written a letter

To suggest ongoing action, the perfect participle (present + -ing) is used to create a progressive form.
Present progressive I am writing a letter.
Past progressive I was writing a letter.
Future progressive I will/ shall be writing a letter.
Present perfect progressive I have been writing a letter.
Past perfect progressive I had been writing a letter.
Future perfect progressive I will have been writing a letter.

Correct Use of Prepositions

A preposition shows the relation of a noun or pronoun to another.

Preposition of Time [at, on, and in; for and since]

Preposition of Place [at, on, and in]
Idioms and Prepositional Phrases

Preposition of Time [at, on, and in; for and since]

We use at to indicate specific times.

Ex. The bus leaves at 5:30 p.m.

We use on to indicate days and dates

Ex. George is arriving on Thursday.
They will use the fireworks on January 1.

We use in to indicate non-specific times.

Ex. She likes to eat ham and egg in the morning.
The manager will call a meeting in January.

Preposition of Time [at, on, and in; for and since]

We use for to measure time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years)
Ex. She has lived there for twenty-five years.

We use since with a specific date or time.

Ex. The pregnant woman has been waiting in the delivery room since 12:30 a.m.

Preposition of Place [at, on, and in]

We use at to indicate specific address

Ex. The President of the company lives
at 123 Fourth St., Diliman, Q.C.

We use on to indicate names of streets, avenues, etc.

Ex. Mary’s school is on Rizal Avenue.

We use in to indicate the names of cities, provinces, countries and continents

 Ex. George bought the perfume in France.

Idioms and Prepositional Phrases

agree to
a proposal or something
Ex. I agree to what you just said

agree with a person

Ex. I agree with you.

in behalf of
for the benefit of; in the interest of
Ex. The fundraising is in behalf of the needy.

on behalf of
representing; on the part of
Ex. On behalf of my wife, let me accept the gift.

compare to
Something
Ex. George’s love to Cecile was compared to
Mt. Everest.

compare with
a person
Ex. Compared to them, he is the most honest.

compare with a person

Ex. Marian is always compared with Angel.

cope with to survive; to get by or manage

Ex. Filipinos do their best to cope with poverty.
depend on to rely on
Ex. You need a friend that you can depend on.

differ in disagree in opinion

Ex. Ms. P and Ms. Moody differ in taste for clothes.

differ with disagree with person

Ex. Filipinos differ with each other in political
opinion.

fill in answer; to supply with answers; be a substitute

Ex. Fill in the blanks with the correct answer.

fill up to put something (container); fill completely

Ex. Please fill up my glass with water.

fill out supply what is needed in forms

Ex. You have to fill out the application form for
the job interview.

with regard
as regards
in regard About; regarding; an aspect to be considered

Ex. I have some questions with regard to the correct use of the preposition.

As regards to the questions, it would be best to ask the authority.

In regard to the increase in sale, I congratulate everyone.

Post-Test

Part 1: Subject-Verb Agreement

Directions: Underline the correct answer among the choices given.

1. There (is, are) many ways to achieve your dream.
2. Both patience and hard work (is, are) necessary to succeed in life.
3. Procrastination, together with pessimism, (prevent, prevents) a person to become an achiever.
4. Education is a one of those elements which (contribute, contributes) to achieving what
you want in life.
5. Sometimes you will fail, but success (isn’t, aren’t) possible without risk.
6. A list of successful people and their contributions (was, were) published.
7. One of these successful people (don’t, doesn’t) let anybody (drag, drags) him down.
8. All of these achievers never (give, gives) up, though failures (get, gets) in their way.
9. Focus, flexibility, motivation, and responsibility (is, are) all necessary to reach one’s goal.
10. Neither a loser nor a sucker (finish, finishes) a thing.
11. (Are, Is) there anything a dreamer won’t do to fulfill his ambition?
12. Not a million pesos (equal, equals) a successful person’s happiness.
13. Millions of pesos (don’t, doesn’t) necessarily make a person very happy and contented.
14. Very few (seem, seems) to be aware that success (is, are) in their hands and doings.
15. (Has, Have) you thought why many Filipinos are poor?
16. (Has, Have) your seatmate taken the first step to reach his goal in life?
17. Nobody, except you, (is, are) responsible for your own successes in life.
18. A number of ambitious men and women (is, are) on their way up to the ladder of success.
19. Each member of my family (know, knows) what he wants in life.
20. My family (has, have) been working very hard to get what each of them wants.

Part 2: Prepositions

Directions: Complete these sentences with the correct word from the column on the right.
Underline your answers.

1. I take delight _____ walking along the shore. at, from, in, of
2. Good nurses are _____ demand now. at, in, on, under
3. The amount you have to pay depends _____ how long they’ve worked for you. at, from, on, in
4. Who’s _____ (1) charge _____(2) this office while the manager is away? (1) at, for, in, on
(2) by, from, of, with
5. When Pablo lost his ticket, he was _____ despair. at, in, on, under
6. Unless you really devote yourself _____ your studies, you won’t pass your examinations.
at, into, onto, to
7. Japanese books differ _____ ours in that they start at the other end. at, from, to, with
8. Start now, and if you find yourself _____ difficulties, I’ll help. at, for, in, on
9. Can you distinguish _____ the French and the Italian flags? among, between, from, under
10. Rey is _____ doubt the cleverest student in the school. out of, outside, over, without
11. I’m sure that Bog’s cough is due _____ smoking. at, from, of, to
12. After winning our last match, we’re eager _____ the next one . at, for, of, to
13. Well, now that you’ve learned the rules of the game, we can start playing _____ earnest.
at, in, on, with
14. I always feel _____ ease with Ely. at, in, on, with
15. When does the new law come _____ effect?at, in, into, on,
16. Icaatar was born _____ midsummer’s Night. at, by, on, under
17. You can take many different courses – art and design, ____ example . at, by, for, with
18. You can have my bicycle _____ (1) exchange ____(2) your carpet. (1) at, in, on, with
(2) for, of, off, out of

Complete Sentence
- group of words or
a single word that
EXPRESSES A
COMPLETE
THOUGHT,
feeling, or idea.

Constructing Sentences
It usually contains an
explicit or implied
SUBJECT and a
PREDICATE containing a
finite verb

Sentence Types by
Function

declarative sentence
Ex. Kevin writes the report.

imperative sentence
Ex. Write the report, Kevin.
Kevin, would you please write the report.

interrogative sentence
Ex. Is Kevin writing the report?

exclamatory sentence
Ex. I can’t believe Kevin is writing the report!

Sentence Types by Structure

simple sentence
compound sentence
complex sentence
compound-complex sentence
simple sentence
has one main clause and no subordinate clauses.

Please read thoroughly the enclosed brochures.

It will answer any questions you may have.

compound sentence

has two or more main clause but no subordinate clauses

George wants to begin the meeting, and Gina is waiting at the conference room.

The department has already received our request but it would take sometime for them to respond to it.

complex sentence

has one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses

After I came home, I made dinner.

(dependent clause: "After I came home")
(independent clause: I made dinner)

We visited the museum before it closed.

(dependent clause: before it closed.)
(independent clause: We visited the museum)

compound-complex sentence

contains two or more main clauses and one or more subordinates.

We decided that the movie was too violent, but our children, who like to watch scary movies,
thought that we were wrong.

independent clause: "We decided that the movie was too violent"

independent clause: "(but) our children thought that we were wrong"

dependent clause: who like to watch scary movies

Developing Paragraphs

Paragraphs
a piece of writing that consists of one or more sentences,
begins on a new and often indented line, and
contains a distinct idea or the words of one speaker

A paragraph may be developed by specific details –facts, examples, incidents, etc. –

which support the topic sentence

Developing Paragraphs

Use EXAMPLE to develop a paragraph.

Use INCIDENTS from your experience to develop a paragraph
A paragraph could be improved by listing some SPECIFIC EXAMPLES after the second sentence,
and by using a separate paragraph to explain the third sentence.
In writing paragraph, you need to BRIDGE THE GAPS BETWEEN SENTENCES so that your paragraph
will read smoothly.

Use CONNECTIVES such as: first, second, third, finally, at the same time, in this connection,
similarly, likewise, therefore, for this purpose, however.

Use Linking Expressions

therefore on the other hand in the next place
thus after all next
consequently such meanwhile
as a result instead soon
accordingly furthermore later
similarly moreover finally
likewise in fact in spite of this
besides for instance also
nevertheless an example of this in addition
however at first in other words
on the contrary at last then