Introduction
In this introductory article, I am discussing communication in all its form, which is important in business dealing with others. It determines how you come across and how others perceive you.
Perception plays a big part in all types of communication and its part of us as human, it can be our best friend or worth enemy, therefore knowing this fact it is important to present yourself to others in a good light and communicate in a clear concise manner and a positive tone to engage other in a conversation.
Therefore communication is key especially in business dealing where good communication can make a huge difference in acquiring customers and keeping existing customers, thus increasing sales and boosting your profit margin.
What is communication
Communication is the way we engage with others, there are various means of communication, however, the three principles of communication are verbal, non-verbal and in writing.
Non-verbal communication makes 93% of our conversation. The way we portrait ourselves, behave, body posture, eyes contact, gestures all this is part of non-verbal communication and it's the first thing our brain pick up on and we form quickly an opinion or worth a judgement on each other.
Impression
There is an old saying "first impression count" this is mainly with regard to the first impression we express through our body language and it is part of what called non-verbal communication. People use this non-verbal cue to cast judgement on you, without you opening your mouth to utter a word.
Therefore, your posture and gesture in meeting someone count, the way you stand up and your head movement, your eyes are all part of our bodily communication. We use these to send signal to others and they respond to these signals according to what they understand. In saying that we on occasion get the wrong impression and can dismiss someone on our wrong judgement.
People can try to understand you via various variables and can pick up on any of them to make a decision. It could be the way you stand, your hair, your face and body, your clothes, your office... and they see it as a validation for them to cast judgement on you. However, right or wrong it is this is a fact of life, therefore one should be aware of themselves in dealing with others and be aware of the environment they are in and behave accordingly in order to be accepted.
Appearance
I would not discuss physical appearance because it is irrelevant to the topic of discussion as French people say "les habilles ne font pas le moine" in English you would say "The clothes does not make the monk".
This saying is very true and people which based their decision on this factor alone are shallow and usually end up disappointed when they get to truly know the person who hide themselves behind beautiful clothes and surround themselves with material possession to impress others and make themselves like.
However, in saying this having beautiful clothes or being surrounded by material possession is not a bad thing it bowl down to what we like or love, what we feel comfortable with, pleasing to our eyes and how we want to live.
Therefore, the appearance discussed in this introductory article is about verbal communication and written communication which are another main form of communication we use to converse with one another.
Verbal communication
In business verbal communication is very important, there is a code of conduct and you must be professional and have a positive approach, confidence, consistency in speech, action and have good manners. Your action should follow your speech. Meaning what you say you will do for others, you do it to the best of your ability, skills, knowledge and others will view you as reliable and trustworthy.
As trust play a big part in business as well as transparency, consistency in speech and action is a must to increase your business dealing and keeping your existing customers, gaining new customers, building advocate, follower, growing your business by winning new business and keeping people interested for a long time, and being recommended to others due to the positive experience they had when dealing with you.
The latter increase your brand image and business positioning in your niche where ever you decide to conduct your business whether be locally, nationally or internationally the same code of conduct applies which is why it is said that you should do your homework when you want to do business internationally or even locally or nationally, hence it is very wise to do research before entering any business dealing and being informed.
In verbal communication is not what you say which matter most, it is how you say it and how it is received. There is a method to use if you want to say something to someone who has done something you do not like or upset you. There is no need to shout the odd as you cause yourself stress and the other person even in the wrong might get irate or threatening. Hence it is best to use the positive negative positive method.
As an example if you do not like people touching your thing and another person constantly do this. You might get irritated and start shouting to put your point across. You might get a negative result and an elevated situation for no reason apart from that the other person is tactile and like to touch.
This is where the sandwich conversation is good. You breath in and out then state clearly without shouting I do not like it when you touch my thing and I noticed you constantly doing it, you may be tactile and I understand your need to touch but you must understand that I do not like it, therefore, if you cannot stop yourself, I will no longer have you around me as you cannot respect my own need and wishes.
Most people would apologise and try not to do it again, if they carry on you follow through with what you said and do not have them around you. This also what it means being consistent in speech and action.
The same principle apply to business dealing let say someone miss the deadline to give you an important report instead of being an angry boss because you could lose a lucrative deal. You could ask why they miss the deadline, request the report immediately completed or not, and informed the person of the consequence for missing an important deadline.
if the report was not completed you then finish the report yourself and complete your business dealing with who ever you were meant to forward this report to and then decide if you want to keep and entrust this person with your important business dealing again.
Hence, with verbal communication it not what you say, it's how you say it so in a sense one could say anything to people but it's how it is said and in what context you say it.
When speaking to others; speak with a smile and look at people in their eyes without staring, nod your head gently to indicate to the receiver that you are actively listening and engage in the conversation, and that they have your full attention.
If you do not look at people when speaking you can appear uninterested or some people may thing you have ulterior motive and you cannot be trusted. You can make some people wary as perception plays a big part in people decision and in business dealing and it can help you or break a deal. You may be the best at what you doing but if people perceive you as not very trustworthy due to shyness and do not recognise shyness they would withdraw very quickly.
Hence being aware of your behaviour in meeting is mighty important especially in business meeting where there is a lucrative offer on the table that your business might get over your competitors.
Written communication
The same principles apply in writing, which people sometimes tends to forgot as they think because they are behind a screen and feel safer so to speak they could write anything but the effect on the reader is the same.
Therefore, be mindful of your tone of writing when writing content and bring out your best content to engage the reader and to keep them reading your content. Proofread your content before publishing it for others to read. Read your content from top to bottom and bottom to top to see if it flows.
As when something is well written from the introduction to the body of the document and the conclusion the reader should recognised the topic of discussion and follow the natural process of discussion as an introduction serve to introduce a topic of discussion, the body should fully talk about the topic and the conclusion conclude the main point of discussion and end the written document.
Many of us make mistake in written communication it is not a tar but it is not a comfortable place not to correct them. Try to write concisely and do not waffle, stay within your topic of discussion and try to give informative and valuable content for others to keep.
This applies to every written content piece you produce, whether be a post on social media, an email, a letter or a blog article, a report, an essay, a dissertation as well as other form of written communication these rules apply.
Conclusion
In conclusion knowing how to communicate to others is very important it makes a big difference in people response to you whether be in your personal life or business life, therefore, it is worth considering its values and apply them to your business and personal life.
Body language, verbal, and written communication are the tenet of what called communication and use daily to convey our message to others, hence a very important part of our life and should not be taken from granted and use lightly as bad or threatening communication can lend you in mighty trouble therefore being mindful, polite, respectful and friendly to others is a must for piece of mind and good business dealing.
if you are interesting in communication in business we written an e-book titled What Makes A Successful Entrepreneur and you can purchase it from our online store.