Business communication Oral or written communication? What forms of business communication do you know? When would you use them? Read the information below to check your ideas. 1 a b There are various ways of communicating in the workplace since different situations require different means: if you need some internal information quickly, you would not write a fully fledged (1) business letter or even a (2) memo but might just walk into your colleague’s office or pick up the phone. If you do telework, you quickly text a colleague or send a short (3) email. You can distinguish between formal and informal, internal and external, oral and written communication, depending on the situation, the people involved and the means used. Oral communication refers to business people talking to each other. In the workplace, there is face-to-face communication, either in meetings, at social functions or via (4) video conferences. If this communication is informal – around the water fountain or in the office canteen – it is sometimes referred to as ‘office gossip’. Michael Morris from the Columbia Business School claims that ‘office gossip’ can lead to important information sharing, counselling and mentoring at the same time. Even more important than face-to-face oral communication, both within the company and with external business partners, is (5) telephoning, which frequently involves calls via the internet. Such calls are low-cost and offer (6) video calls or group chats. These days (7) online collaboration has become widely spread and business people work with a range of web-based communication tools that allow screen sharing, file sharing and using online whiteboards. Team members are able to collaborate on one project while (8) working from home. This reduces commuter traffic, helps save time otherwise spent travelling to work and frees up office space. Time will tell how far real-life human contact can be replaced by online interaction. Written communication used to consist of business letters. Nowadays, they have been largely replaced by emails, which are quick, cheap, easy to write, provide a written record and – thanks to scanners – are a vehicle for communicating both texts and visuals. Depending on the recipient, they can be more or less formal and are used for internal or external communication. Important documents such as contracts or other legal papers that need to be signed are still printed and sent by post. Alternatively, they can be sent in PDF format including a digital signature. Match the pictures with the highlighted types of communication: 2 A B TO: Michael Collins FROM: Sally Baker DATE: 22 October 20__ SUBJECT: Meeting canceled C D E F G H Goals make and receive business calls write memos, emails and business letters make and reply to enquiries take notes during a telephone call Ó qi69ri write and confirm orders write complaints and adjustments write flyers, leaflets and brochures give presentations and write handouts get to know useful expressions for video conferences 142 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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