Examples of Business Communication Skills

When most people think of successful businesspeople, they think of those who can make sales and sign accounts, have good finance skills and attention to skills and display stellar record-keeping abilities. However, some of the most important skills that a businessperson can have are communication skills.

By communicating effectively, businesspeople can connect better with potential clients or customers. They can also lead teams, train workers and contribute to board meetings and other discussions. Reviewing a few effective business communication examples will help you improve your ability to send the messages you want.

Clarity and Conciseness

Whether writing or speaking, a businessperson with good communication skills knows how to get her point across clearly and concisely. She can fully explain all elements of her idea and use examples, analogies and evidence to help others completely understand the idea as well as make a good judgment on whether it is valid.

Business operations are done quickly, so good business communicators need to be able to write an e-mail that gets a complex idea or request across quickly or to explain a concern to their managers clearly without a lot of beating around the bush.

Ability to Choose the Right Channel

According to Walden University, good business communicators need to know how to do more than speak and write clearly. In addition, they must also know how to choose the right communication method: phone calls, face-to-face meetings, text messages, emails and letters are all different communication channels for businesspeople.

Choosing the wrong one can cause unnecessary confusion, according to Walden. A wrong choice can also mean wasted time and money, especially if something that could have been taken care of via text is addressed face to face. Good communicators know the benefits and costs of each type of channel and how to choose among them for each audience.

Understanding Your Audience

Different audiences, situations and purposes drastically change how business people communicate. The way that a businesswoman lets her boss know that there is a problem is likely much different than the way she tells her clients about the same issue. Effective business communicators must know how to analyze their audiences so that they know how they should disseminate information for each one.

In addition, they also need to be able to communicate in a variety of different situations – to give good news the excitement it deserves and reassure customers when bad things happen. Skilled communicators know their audiences and communicate effectively; they also understand the types of communication barriers that may exist and how to break through them, such as not getting too emotional.

Ability to Listen

Giving out information is only one half of communication, though it is the half that people tend to think about the most. The other half, perhaps the less glamorous half is taking in information – listening. However, skilled business communicators not only have the ability to give out information; they also have the ability to listen as well. Good communicators can listen to what others are saying, whether one-on-one or in a group setting, and understand the main message.

In fact, good communicators ensure that the people with whom they are communicating got the correct message by checking that message with the speaker or writer. Businesspeople who can listen well can make accurate reports to management and respond most effectively to others’ concerns because good listeners better understand what those concerns really are and what will put them at ease.