10 Recommendations for Improving the

Quality of Your Conversations

1. Be the first to say hello. Use your name in your introduction, in case others
have forgotten it.
2. Think before you speak. Our impulse is often to imitate movies by offering
fast, witty replies in conversation. In the real world, a careful silence can
make us sound more intelligent and prevent mistakes.
3. Be receptive to new ideas. If you disagree with another person’s opinion,
saying, “Tell me more,” can be a more useful way of moving forward than
saying, “That’s stupid!”
4. Repeat someone’s name to yourself and then aloud, when being
introduced. The form of the name you use may vary. First names work with
peers. Mr. or Ms. is common when meeting superiors in business.
5. Ask questions. This establishes your interest in another person.
6. Listen as much, if not more, than you speak. This allows you to learn new
information.
7. Use eye contact. Eye contact shows that you are engaged. Also, be sure to
smile and make sure your body language matches your message.
8. Mirror the other person. Occasionally repeat what they’ve said in your own
words. “You mean… ?”
9. Have an exit strategy ready. Ideal conversations are brief, leaving others
wanting more.
10.Be prepared. Before beginning a conversation, have three simple facts
about yourself and four questions about someone else in mind.
Small group communication refers to communication among three or
more people who interact verbally and nonverbal, perform certain
informal roles with respect to one another, feel a sense of belonging
and collaborate to achieve a desired goal. Small Group
Communication refers to interactions among three or more people
who are connected through a common purpose, mutual influence,
and a shared identity. In this chapter, we will provide an overview of
the characteristics and types of small groups and discuss their
advantages and disadvantages.

SIZE OF SMALL GROUPS

There is no set number of members for the ideal small group. A small
group requires a minimum of three people (because two people
would be a pair or dyad with a different communication pattern), but
the upper range of group size is contingent on the purpose of the
group. When groups grow beyond fifteen to twenty members, it
becomes difficult to consider them a small group based on the
previous definition. An analysis of the number of unique connections
between members of small groups shows that they are deceptively
complex. For example, within a six-person group, there are fifteen
separate potential dyadic connections, and a twelve-person group
would have sixty-six potential dyadic connections.
Group Communications in
Organizations
The nature and type of group communication depends largely on the
intent or purpose of the group. Communication between and within a
self-directed group is different from the communication with a focus
group. However, non-verbal communication and listening skills are
more important for groups.
Communication in small groups is task oriented. Unlike most interper-
sonal communication, communication in a small group is primarily
task oriented, as small groups are formed to achieve a specific task.
This helps in reaching a group consensus quickly. The blend approach
resolves differences of opinion, while motivation makes members
follow through. Hence, group communication requires managers to
have special skills such as understanding of group characteristics,
group dynamics, specific influence of group members, and the role of
leadership.

OFFICE MEMOS

An office memorandum meaning a memo issued by a member of a

governing body or an organization is simply a method of
communication which will convey certain details between two
members (or department heads in some cases) of the same
organization/governing body.
Types Of Modern Communication

Communication is key to building relationships, and modern forms of

communication allows us to stay in touch with friends and family
from anywhere in the world. Today, modern technology dominates
our communication. We have a massive range of ways in which we
can stay connected, but each channel of communication can influence
our relationships in a different way.

Here are 10 modern communication tools to help you stay in connect

with your audience:

Social Media

Social media has been around since the early days of the internet and
it still dominates most of our lives. The long list of social networks
continues to grow and each one is continuing to drive millions (and
even billions) of users to their sites everyday which is why it is one of
the most popular forms of communication. Social media may be all
about brand awareness, but it is also a great channel for
communication as it enables you to post open messages for everyone
to see, as well as engage with users through comments.
Social Media – Direct Message (DM)

Social media doesn’t necessarily need to be completely public. Almost

every social media channel offers a direct messaging option, some of
those messaging services even have their own messaging app such as
Facebook ,Messenger.Businesses should only contact someone
through Direct Message if the customer has reached out to them
through that channel.

Instant Message (IM)

While some forms on Instant Message falls under social media like
Facebook Messenger, there are a wide range of Instant Messaging
platforms that aren’t connected to social networks such as Google
Hangouts and WhatsApp.IM is a great tool for quick informal chats or
group chats.

SMS Text Messaging

We are all aware of the uses of text messaging. They are short,
generally informal and are a good way to communicate small bits of
information that can be received and replied to at the recipient’s own
leisure.
Email Marketing

The first mass email was sent back in 1978 and even back then it was
highly successful. However, today it is one of the most
underestimated marketing platforms around, despite being one of the
most beneficial in terms of return on investment. Email marketing can
be used for many different purposes, including to push products and
services, spread news, raise brand awareness or to deliver a message
to the masses.

Direct Email

Email is similar to direct messaging through social networks, but it is

generally more formal. It is the most popular way of communicating
between businesses with over 200 billion emails being sent every day.

Blogging

A blog is a conversational styled website that enables you to publish

messages, news, knowledge or any other kind of information on the
world wide web for everyone to see.Most blogs include a comments
section in which you can engage with those likeminded people that
are interested in your blog post. This is why it is a great platform for
communication.
Voice Calling

Voice calling is even more personalized than the channels previously

mentioned. The telephone or mobile phone instantly allows both
parties to hear the tones and emotions of the other caller and is one
of the most commonly used communication tools.

Video Chat

Video chat enables both parties to see each other, allowing you to be
able to read body language and facial expressions. This form of
communication isn’t as popular as the voice calling but it does have its
advantages. With several video-calling apps available for free such as
Apple’s FaceTime, Facebook messenger, Skype and WhatsApp, video
calls are definitely worth considering.

Video Marketing

Video has really taken off over the last few years with the help of
social channels like YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram. It
also helps that it is easier than ever to record videos with
smartphones and cameras always handily available.
It’s important that you get your message across in a variety of formats
and video is one of the most popular ways in which you can do so as it
significantly boosts engagement.

Live Web Chat

You are likely to have seen a lot of these on websites already and they
can be very helpful if you are able to manage them correctly. Live web
chats allow people on your website to ask you questions directly in
real time without leaving your website.

You should only consider using live web chat if you can guarantee
someone will always be actively using the widget. If it takes more
than a few seconds to respond to someone via web chat it will reflect
poorly on your business so it’s best to avoid these widgets if you can’t
maintain the demand.

Virtual Reality

The video above shows us the potential virtual reality can have for
communication. Facebook has been developing social VR for several
years now and although it isn’t a common way of communication yet,
it has a lot of potential
Here are the most common
devices used for modern
communication:
Smartphones

The world saw the first handheld mobile phone back in 1973 but it
wasn’t until the early 1980’s that they were more widely available.
Motorola developed the first handheld device which weighed over a
kilogram and was roughly the size of a brick. It also only offered 30
minutes talk time and took 10 hours to re-charge. Today, there are
almost 2.5 billion smartphone users. These devices have a range of
ways in which you can communicate such as text, voice call, video call
and email. They also enable you to gain access to the internet, as well
as various other tools such as cameras, video recorders and a
multitude of apps.

Tablets
The first tablets began to appear in the 1980’s but it wasn’t really until
the first iPad was released in 2010 that tablets really became
mainstream. The iPad sold over 100 million units between 2010 and
2012 but Apple’s market share dropped the following year due to the
arrival of Android tablets.
Laptops

A laptop is a portable computer that comes in a wide range of

different sizes. These days, they pretty much have the same
functionality as desktop computers but with the added bonus of being
able to carry them around with you.Laptops enables you to use
various communication tools (as long as you have internet access)
such as social media, email and video chat (if it has a webcam).

Virtual Assistants

Personal virtual assistant usage is growing at a rapid rate with Google

having reported that their Google Home Assistant has quadrupled in
active usage year-on-year since its release in 2016.Virtual assistants
such as Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa are now multifunctional and
can send text messages and emails as well as make phone calls
through either your smartphone or smart speaker such as Amazon
Echo or Google Home.
What is a Business Report?
A business report is a bunch of facts written in a systematic way
related to specific business matter as per a set of standard protocol. It
helps concerned stakeholders to get a thorough knowledge about the
problems and how to overcome the problem. Businessgy reports are
about showcasing a set of business related information like facts,
analysis, figures and such. The objective of business reports is to give
the information in an organized manner which helps to make major
decisions and plan for the future. Reports help businesses plan
budgets, decide on promotions and advertisements based on the
drafted information.

Types of Business Reports

Analytical Reports
Analytical reports are critical for any company and help in times of
crucial decisions. It helps the management to get the relevant data
with related descriptions. The analytical reports help the businesses
to analyses the business operations that has occurred during the first
quarter of the year - this helps businesses to make future decisions.

Informational Reports
Informational reports include non-specific facts that it does not
explain the “how top’s” and “what ifs of the scenario. If you require
any objective type answers, then information report is what you must
look for. It gives the information on the number of employees,
departments they work, number of employees, and what is the role of
each employee in the organization.

Research Reports
Research reports are comprehensive which are required when a
company is planning to venture into new areas, like launching a new
product in the market or planning an expansion of its office in a new
geographical area. A research report includes a specific information
on relevant details and stats on a specific topic.

Purpose of Business Reports

Reports are a key to communication in any organization. In big
organizations, there are no other options other than reports. It
highlights the key points and the purpose of business reports

Transmitting Information: Business reports are the best

source to transmit information from one person to the other. In large
enterprises, where there are complex data to handle reports comes in
handy to managers to acquire necessary information

Interpretation and Explanation of event: Reports helps

the users to understand the information easily. It explains and
interprets the data to an understandable format.

Making Decisions: A report is a tool to help stakeholders take

decisions. A report is the basic management tool for making decisions
and to help solve problems.
Communication with external stakeholders: It helps
to communicate information to not just the internal stake holders but
also with external stakeholders.

Development of knowledge base: Reports also help in

establishing a rich source of information base in an organization. It
records all the activities of the business operations permanently
which are archived for future references.

Controlling: Reports provide the required information to enforce

controlling techniques.

Recommending actions: Reports not only provide

information but also stands a source to provide solutions to problems.

Different styles of writing reports

1. Informational Reports
The first in our list of reporting types are informational reports. As
their name suggests, this report type aims to give factual data about a
specific topic. This can include performance reports, expenses reports,
justification reports, among others. A differentiating characteristic
from these reports is their objectivity, they are only meant to inform
but not propose solutions or hypotheses
2. Analytical Reports
This report type contains a mix of useful information to facilitate the
decision-making process through a mix of qualitative and quantitative
data as well as real-time and historical data. Unlike informational
reports that purely inform users about a topic, this report type also
aims to provide recommendations about the next steps and help with
problem-solving.

3. Operational Reports
These reports track every pertinent detail of the company's
operational tasks, such as its production processes. They are typically
short-term reports as they aim to paint a picture of the present.
Businesses use this type of report to spot any issues and define their
solutions, or to identify improvement opportunities to optimize their
operational efficiency.

4. Product Reports
As its name suggests, this report type is used to monitor several
aspects related to product performance and development. Businesses
often use them to track which of their products or subscriptions are
selling the most within a given time period, calculate inventories, or
see what kind of product the client values the most.
5. Industry Reports
Next in our list of the most common types of reports we have
industry-specific reports. Typically, these reports provide an overview
of a particular industry, market, or sector with definitions, key trends,
leading companies, industry size, among others.

6. Department Reports
These reports are specific to each department or business function.
They serve as a communication tool between managers and team
members that need to stay connected and work together for common
goals.

7. Progress Reports
From the brunch of informational reports, progress reports provide
critical information about the status of a project. These reports can be
produced on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis by employees or
managers to track performance and fine-tune tasks for the better
development of the project.

8. Internal Reports
A type of report that encompasses many others on this list, internal
reports refer to any type of report that is used internally in a
company. They convey information between team members and
departments to keep communication flowing regarding goals and
business objectives.
9. External Reports
Although most of the report types listed here are used for internal
purposes, not all reporting is meant to be used in closed doors.
External reports are created with the aim of sharing information with
external stakeholders such as clients or investors for budget or
progress accountability as well as to governmental bodies to stay
compliant with the law requirements.

10. Vertical & Lateral Reports

Last but not least in our rundown of the top 10 types of reports we
have vertical and lateral reports. This reporting type refers to the
direction in which a report travels. A vertical report is meant to go
upward or downward the hierarchy, for example, a management
report.

NOTICE

The word notice has to do with paying attention to something. For

example, you usually notice a flashing light, and an overdue bill might
come with the word "NOTICE" written on it to make sure you see it.
The Latin nōtitia, a noun meaning "something known," was the
ancestor of notice. Use the verb to mean “to see or point out" and the
noun to mean "formal warning." When you give “advance notice,”
you let someone know early or ahead of time.
Meeting Minutes
Meeting minutes are notes that are recorded during a
meeting. They highlight the key issues that are
discussed, motions proposed or voted on, and activities
to be undertaken. The minutes of a meeting are usually
taken by a designated member of the group. Their task
is to provide an accurate record of what transpired
during the meeting.

Steps Involved in Recording Meeting Minutes

There are five main steps involved in recording the
minutes of a meeting. They are:
 Pre-planning
 Record-taking
 Writing or transcribing the minutes
 Sharing meeting minutes
 Filing or storage of minutes for referencing in the
future
Pre-Planning
If a meeting is well-planned in advance, taking
minutes will be a lot easier. That said,
the chairperson and the secretary or minutes-
recorder should work together to determine the
agenda of the meeting beforehand. For example,
the person recording minutes could work with the
chair to draft a document that will serve as an
agenda and provide the format for the meeting.

Meeting Agenda
If it’s not possible for the chair and secretary to
meet and come up with a draft, then it’s up to the
secretary to get a copy of the agenda before the
meeting starts. The meeting agenda will serve as a
guide for how to take notes and prepare the
minutes. In addition, the agenda also includes
other details, which need to be incorporated in the
minutes.
What to Include in Meeting Minutes?
Before recording any details, a designated minutes
recorder should familiarize themselves with the type of
information that they should record. A group may be
using a specific format to record notes but, overall, the
minutes of a meeting typically include the following
details:
 Date and time the meeting happened
 Names of attendees, as well as absent participants
 Acceptance of, or amendments made to, the
previous meeting’s minutes
 Decisions made regarding each item on the agenda,
such as:
o Activities undertaken or agreed upon
o Next steps
o Outcomes of elections
o Motions accepted or rejected
o New business
o Date and time of the next meeting
The Process of Writing Meeting Minutes
When the meeting ends, the individual tasked with
writing minutes should get all the resources he needs to
write up the minutes in a clear, presentable way. Here
are some tips to consider:
 Once the meeting ends, don’t take too long to write
the minutes. This way, everything that took place in
the meeting is still fresh in your mind.
 Review the outline that had been created earlier
and make adjustments where necessary. This might
include adding extra information or clarifying some
of the issues raised. Also, check to see that all
verdicts, activities, and motions were clearly
recorded.
 Revise the minutes and ensure they’re brief but
clear.

What is Circular Letter?

A letter that circulates or announces some
information or message to a large number of
people at a time is called a circular letter or a
circular. when it is used for external
communication for conveying messages to
customers and suppliers, it is called a circular
letter or a trade circular and when it is used
for internal communication or within the
organization, it is called an office circular
letter.

Features of Circular Letter in Business

Communication
A letter that circulates or announces the same
information or message to a large number of people at
a time is called a circular letter or a circular. Launching
new business, changing business premises, changing the
name of business, admission or retirement of any
partner or director, trademark notice etc. are
communicated with people through circular letter. An
effective circular letter has some unique characteristics
which are discussed below-
 Wide Circulation: The most important feature of
circular letter is that it circulates the message to a
 large number of audiences at a time. It is in fact a
mass communication method. No other
communication method enjoys this advantage.
 Drafting Method: Drafting a circular letter follows
certain method and style. the art of writing circular
letter varies depending on the situations. it is
written in simple language so that most of the
people understand the information it contains.
 Attractiveness: Another important feature of
circular letter is that it is always furnished in an
attractive way to that it can easily gain the
attention of people information is arranged here in
distinct manner.
 Conciseness: A circular letter is always concise but
complete. It expresses the message briefly and
precisely. There is no scope of including any
unnecessary information in a circular letter.
 Reader’s Interest: Another feature of circular letter
is that it always focuses on readers interests. It
explains how the readers will be benefited from the
message.
 Authenticity and Reliability: Offering authentic and
reliable information is another characteristic of
 circular letter. It never pushes fake or irresponsible
information to the public. authenticity of
information increases the reliability of the message.
 Courtesy: Courtesy is an essential principle of every
business letter and circular letter is not an
exception. The information is put here in courteous
way so that people feel good to read it.
 Universality: Circular letter is open to the people of
all age groups. So, the message, language and
format of circular letter should be acceptable and
comprehensive to all.
 Relevancy: A circular letter includes only relevant
information and excludes all irrelevant or
unnecessary information.
 Asking for Action: Every circular letter calls for
certain action from the readers. After reading the
message in the circular letter the readers should be
intended to do specific job like purchasing the
product or telling the news to others and so on.
 Specific Purpose: A circular letter is written for a
specific purpose. It is not written to attain several
objectives at a time.
  Persuasiveness: Persuasiveness is also a feature
of circular letter. since circular letter is written for
specific objective, persuasive and convincing
language should be used to motivate the readers to
go for certain action.
 Special Structure: Circular letter has special
structure. It takes the form of letter but contains
something more than a letter.
From the above discussion we see that a circular letter
has some salient features that give it a special position
in the family of letters. Everybody should be aware of
these characteristics of circular while drafting it.