Communication In Business Environments

To the Managerial and Business Coach

As definitions of management have changed, the role and definition of the managerial coach has likewise changed. It is no longer sufficient to have business and managerial savvy or skill sets that may prove to be dated. It is now necessary for coaches to also understand business work groups, integrated product teams, virtual employees and the ways businesses are re-structuring to meet market demands.

The coaching task is increasingly complex and challenging partially due to increasing requirements from businesses for greater employee output with declining resources. The task is also impacted by competition from companies that out-place jobs to domestic or off-shore companies, or both. As a result coaches are challenged understand ways to manage business resources, systems and processes that were never designed for these new demands. Coaches must now help managers to learn and settle in to the new roles and responsibilities required by businesses.

Communication is one of the Essential Management Skills modules offered by Mentorsys. These modules are resources for managerial coaches when working with both new and seasoned managers.

Communication is written for coaches to use in part, or as a workbook. It is intended as a guide for coaches who may be new to business coaching. It is also written in a manner that directly addresses and tasks the manager. Please use this method as a guide, and feel free to adapt the words to your particular coaching situation.

This module is designed to aid Managerial Coaches to instruct managers, supervisors, and team leaders in processes of interpersonal and interdepartmental communication. Instruction consists of one-on-one, and one-on-group communication.

As a result of this module, participants will be familiar with:

• the communication process
• barriers to effective communication
• hidden agendas
• active listening
• intra-personal reflections
• eliciting information from employees and others in the communication process
• checking for accuracy in understanding that which is communicated
• effective questioning
• helping others listen to what you are saying
• probing
  

Sara Jeanette Duncan
“If you have anything to tell me of importance, for God’s sake begin at the end.”

UNICATION IS A TWO-WAY PROCESS

The first steps toward achieving effective interpersonal communication include: 1. recognizing and understanding miscommunications, 2. understanding and avoiding miscommunications, and 3. Understanding "gaps" that frequently occur during the communication process. Understanding these steps may help reduce the confusion that often develops between you and someone else. Understanding the steps may also help clarify assumptions both may have about each other's intentions.


There are four elements in the communication model:

During the sending process, information the sender conveys to the receiver is transformed into behavior, the message, which consists of 7% words, 55% nonverbal and 38% inflection and tone components.

During the receiving process, the message is interpreted by the receiver who reacts or gives verbal and nonverbal feedback to the sender on what was interpreted. Messages are affected by a number of factors.

What can affect a sender's message?

Voice conveys approximately one-third of the meaning of a message. Voices can be insistent, pleading, questioning, whining, demanding, etc. Voice strength and variation may also affect meaning. How seriously do you take a person who speaks in a soft monotone?