Types Of Business Communication

Understanding that there are different types of communication for business allows you to maximize your team’s effectiveness. Email, meetings, and interpersonal communication are all different but play an integral part in team performance. Jenny Rae breaks down these three types of communication, and how each one should be utilized within the proper context. Heed the advice that she gives, and watch your team’s effectiveness go through the roof! Typically, one small tweak is all that it takes to make a big difference!

Business Communication Types- YouTube Transcription:

There are a lot of mistakes to me made, but just a few keys to success. When you’re thinking about how to communicate clearly inside and outside your organization. Hi, I’m Jenny Rae Le Roux the Managing Director of Management Consulted. We’re a group of ex-MBB consultants, McKinsey, Bain, and BCG, who focus on training organizations and universities, on how to develop professionals on how to be successful in consulting and beyond.

Our focus today is on types of business communication. What I want to do, is I want to walk through three forms or types of business communication, and then I want to talk about a few highlights of what makes business communication successful.

Business Communication Type 1: Email

Type of communication number one, is emails. I want to talk a little bit about this because there is version of email that has become a lot less professional over time. It used to be that emails were really like letters. They were headers, and detailed information, and guidance, it was literally just writing a whole bunch of different stuff. And with the emergence of things, like Slack channels, and text messaging, as a popular form of communication, we’re seeing emails used in different ways today.

1. A Takeaway At The Beginning

First of all, an email always needs to have a takeaway at the beginning. Why you’re writing the email, and what the purpose is of what you’re writing.

2. Bullet Data

If there is data that you need to support it, then bullet that data. Make sure that it’s not the kind of email that somebody opens and thinks, I’ll never read this.

3. Only Ask For One Thing

You need to bold specific information in order to highlight some action item someone needs to do, and you need to ask people on the email for one thing, and one thing only.

I’m guilty of not doing this well, and so are other people, but overall, if you can get this 80% right, or 90% right, you’re going to find that the emails that you do right actually drive action, which is the whole point in investing in them in the first place.

Business Communication Type 2: Meetings

Second type of communication, you’ve got meetings. What’s the biggest problem with meetings? It’s when people show up, expecting to figure out, in the meeting, what they’re going to do in the meeting. Meetings need to have clear agendas before hand and clear takeaways.

1. Begin Meetings With “Next Steps”

We recommend starting every meeting with next steps, here are things we want to cover after the meeting, and we want to be prepared to do.

2. Begin With Your Assertion

Then, begin with what your assertion is. This is what we think this is where we are, this is what we see happening.

3. Focus On Process

And then focus on the process, that you either need approval, or input, or an update on.

If you’re able to do that, you’re using the Pyramid Principle method of communication, and you’re driving shorter, more effective meetings where you can get more done.

Business Communication Type 3: Interpersonal Communication

Finally, the third type of communication is discussion, or interpersonal. When you are having conversation with folks that are inside your organization.

1. Be Guided By Structure

It’s imperative that when you’re having conversation, just verbal, without any guidance like like a meeting, no agenda, and no presentation, you’re still guided by one key principle, and that is structure. Structure means that you’re asking questions that have a purpose. That you are engaging in a way that has a limited quantity of time to it, so that you’re able to keep your interactions brief, and more enjoyable.

2. Watch For Cues

And finally, that you’re working with somebody to take their cues to figure out when the conversation needs to end. Interpersonal communication is a huge topic of study, and it’s something that’s really essential that folks need to know.

Wrap Up

But ultimately, there are great benefits to getting these three types of communication right. You get clear, direct emails with specific singular action. Teams benefit from great meeting agendas to drive shorter, more focused, more action oriented meetings. And effective business communication, establishing give and take in interactions, where you’re able to get exactly what you want and need. Whether that be information or relationship out of it, you’re going to find that type business communication will be more effective for you.

If you’re interested in corporate training on business communication or any of the types of communication, we’d love to come in and speak with your organization. If you have specific issues or insights that you’d like to hear more about, please make sure that you write us. Subscribe to our channel, or get on our mailing list. We’d love to share a lot of the insights and topics that we’ve got with you there. Thanks for watching.

Additional Reading:

• Promote Job Openings to MC’s >1M-strong community
• Business Communication
• Communication Skills
• The 3 Levels of Effective Communication Skills Training
• The Pyramid Principle