Business communication is the exchange of information in the field of official relations in order to solve certain problems or achieve specific results.
Everyone encounters this type of communication every day: at work (communication within the work team), at school (communication with teachers and classmates), etc.
The main goal of business communication is to organize effective cooperation in any field of activity.
- 1 General information
- 2 Details 2.1 Emotions
- 2.2 Stages
- 2.3 Features
General information
Each participant in such communication has his own status - manager, subordinate, partners, colleagues, etc.
There are two types of business communication:
- - vertical (subordination) - occurs when people communicate at different levels of the hierarchical ladder (for example, between a manager and a performer),
- — horizontal (partnership) – relationships between people of the same level (for example, between business partners).
To achieve specific results from business communication, certain conditions must be met:
- Participants must clearly understand the purpose of the discussion and be interested in achieving it (for example, concluding an agreement between partners).
- Do not ignore the rules of business etiquette and chain of command. Business etiquette prescribes not only the rules of introduction and greeting, manners of behavior and conversation, but also how to receive and present gifts, conduct correspondence, etc.
- Communication should not be reflected in the personal attitude of its participants towards each other (liking or antipathy towards the personality of the interlocutor).
The role of communication in human life
- The role of communication in human life
1.1 Communication and Communication Communication
is a complex, multifaceted process of establishing and developing contacts between people, generated by the needs of joint activities and including the exchange of information, the development of a unified interaction strategy, perception and understanding of another person (Brief Psychological Dictionary. M., 1985). From the definition of communication it follows that this is a complex process that includes three components:
1) the communicative side of communication (exchange of information between people);
2) interactive side (organization of interaction between individuals);
3) the perceptual side (the process of communication partners perceiving each other and establishing mutual understanding).
Thus, we can talk about communication as the organization of joint activity and the relationship of the people involved in it.
The transmission of information is possible with the help of signs and sign systems. The communication process is usually divided into verbal and non-verbal communication.
Verbal communication is carried out through speech. Speech refers to natural sound language, i.e. a system of phonetic signs that includes two principles – lexical and syntactic. Speech is a universal means of communication, since when transmitting information, it conveys the meaning of the message. Thanks to speech, information is encoded and decoded.
Nonverbal communication. Visual types of communication are gestures (kinesics), facial expressions, postures (pantomimes), skin reactions (redness, paleness, sweating), spatio-temporal organization of communication (proxemics), eye contact. An acoustic system that includes the following aspects: a paralinguistic system (voice timbre, range, tonality) and an extralinguistic system (this is the inclusion of pauses and other means in speech, such as coughing, laughter, crying, etc.). Tactile system (takeshika) (touching, shaking hands, hugging, kissing). Olfactory system (pleasant and unpleasant environmental odors; artificial and natural human odors).
The goals of communication reflect the needs of joint activities of people. Business communication almost always involves some result - a change in the behavior and activities of other people.
Communication acts as interpersonal interaction, i.e. connections and influence that develop as a result of joint activities of people.
The following types of interaction are distinguished: group integration (joint work activity, cooperation), competition (rivalry), conflict.
In order for communication to be effective and dialogical, the following conditions must be met: equality of psychological positions of social subjects, regardless of their social status; equality in recognition of each other’s active communicative role; equality in psychological mutual support.
The specificity of interaction is that each participant retains his autonomy and can ensure self-regulation of his communicative actions.
R. Bales combined the observed patterns of interaction into four global categories that capture the form of interaction. They are presented in table - 1.
Table – 1 Categories of interaction
Areas of interaction | Main behavioral manifestations |
Positive emotions | Expression of solidarity Relieving tension Expression of consent |
Problem solving | Suggestions, instructions Expression of opinions Issuing orientations |
Statement of problems | Requests for information Requests for Opinion Requests for guidance |
Negative emotions | Expressing disagreement Creating tension Demonstration of antagonism |
There are several theories that explain interpersonal interaction. These include: exchange theory, symbolic interactionism, impression management theory, psychoanalytic theory. According to exchange theory (J. Homans), each of us strives to balance rewards and costs in order to make our interactions sustainable and enjoyable, while being based on our previous experience. The theory is based on four principles:
1) the more a certain type of behavior is rewarded, the more often it will be repeated;
2) if the reward for a certain type of behavior depends on the conditions, then the person will strive to recreate them;
3) if the reward is large, then the person is willing to expend more effort to obtain it;
4) when a person’s needs are close to saturation, he is less willing to make efforts to satisfy them.
Using this theory, complex types of interactions can be described: power relations, negotiation process. This theory views social interaction as a complex system of exchanges driven by ways of balancing rewards and costs. High rewards can lead to loss of activity.
Symbolic interactionism (J. Mead and G. Bloomer). According to this theory, people's behavior in relation to each other and to objects in the world around them is determined by the meanings that they attach to them. J. Mead identified two types of actions: an insignificant gesture (an automatic reflex such as blinking) and a significant gesture (associated with understanding the actions and intentions of another person).
When we assign meaning to something, it becomes a symbol, i.e. a concept, action or object that expresses the meaning of another concept, action or object. The interpretation of the symbol is the basis for the response. Through this, people learn to interpret the meaning of certain symbols in the same way.
The central idea of this concept is that personality is formed in interaction with other individuals. The disadvantages of this theory include attaching too much importance to the symbolic aspects of interactions.
Impression management (E. Hoffman). According to this theory, social interaction situations are similar to dramatic performances in which actors strive to create and maintain favorable impressions. People behave like actors on stage, using “sets” and “environments” to create a certain impression of themselves and others.
To take into account the meaningful moment of interaction, we consider it as an organization of joint activity. L.I. Umansky identified three possible forms of organizing joint activities: each participant does his part of the common work independently of the other; the common task is performed sequentially by each participant; simultaneous interaction of each participant with all others.
Here we can trace the relationship between the participants in the interaction. These are the type of interaction (cooperation or competition) and the degree of expression of the interaction (successful or less successful cooperation).
The interactive side of communication involves a psychological impact; a change in personality occurs under the influence of other people (changes in views, attitudes, motives, attitudes, states). Personality changes under the influence of other people can be temporary, transient, or permanent.
When interacting, physical contact, joint organization of the spatial environment and movement in it, joint group or mass action, verbal and non-verbal information contact are carried out. The interactive side (interaction) is characterized by: the appropriateness of management decisions made, a clear distribution of responsibilities among employees, and skillful conflict resolution.
The perceptual side of communication. Interaction is impossible without mutual understanding. Perception is a process of perception that promotes mutual understanding between participants in communication. A person becomes aware of himself through another person through certain mechanisms of interpersonal perception. These include: knowledge and understanding of each other by people (identification, empathy, attraction); self-knowledge in the process of communication (reflection); predicting the behavior of a communication partner (causal attribution).
Identification is a way of knowing another person, in which an assumption about his internal state is built on the basis of attempts to put oneself in the place of a communication partner. Empathy is emotional empathy for another. Attraction (attraction) is a form of knowing another person, based on the formation of a stable positive feeling towards him. Reflection is a mechanism of self-knowledge in the process of communication, which is based on a person’s ability to imagine how he is perceived by his communication partner. Causal attribution is a mechanism for interpreting the actions and feelings of another person (finding out the reasons for an object’s behavior). When studying the process of causal attribution, various patterns were identified. For example, people attribute the reason for success to themselves, and failure - to circumstances. The general pattern is that as significance increases, people tend to look for the cause of what happened in the conscious actions of the individual.
Successful communication involves feedback—the subject receiving information about the results of the interaction. The perceptual function of communication in joint activities is aimed at solving the following tasks:
forming the content of interpersonal perception, facilitating the establishment of mutual understanding, ensuring the influence of participants in joint activities on each other.
An important aspect of the perceptual function is to ensure that people influence each other, as a result of which behavior, attitudes, intentions and assessments change. Influence can be directed (using the mechanisms of suggestion and persuasion) and undirected (mechanisms of infection and imitation); there are also direct (demands are made openly) and indirect (directed at the environment, not at the object) influence. Based on the above, we can conclude that communication is represented by three parties. The perceptual side (perception, cognition and mutual understanding) includes: knowing oneself in the process of communication; knowledge and understanding of the interlocutor; predicting the behavior of a communication partner.
The communicative side (exchange of information) is characterized by: the ability to establish psychological contact; taking into account the characteristics of communicative impact; reasoning, logic and adequacy of the communication situation; the effectiveness of using verbal and non-verbal means of communication.
1.2 The idea of communication as a process, types
communications
The communication process and its components: information production, its distribution, reception and use. Standard model of the communication process: communicator – message – transmission channel – communicator.
For successful communication, it is necessary to correctly encode and decode the message. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the personal background against which the message is conveyed. A model that takes into account both the content of the message and its personal background was proposed by Sch. von Thun. Communication will be effective when the recipient correctly deciphers all components of the message. If the communicator is not able to correctly decode the message, then misunderstanding occurs.
Source of the message. Communicator – message creator; person generating an idea. The source may be a person, organization, group of persons or individual. The source of the message and the communicator are not always the same person.
Codes are symbols or signs that translate a message into a language understandable to the recipient. Verbal and non-verbal means of communication are used as codes.
Message is information or a coded idea, i.e. what the source conveys to the recipient.
A channel is a means by which a message is transmitted from communicator to communicator. Typically, channels are divided into technical (media: press, television, radio, electronic media) and interpersonal (direct exchange of information between source and recipient). Interpersonal means of communication can be divided into verbal and non-verbal. Verbal means of communication include: speaking (written and oral), listening, reading. Non-verbal: looks, postures, intonation, image, facial expressions, gestures, gait, spatial organization of the environment. Communication channels are located in the following hierarchy: face-to-face conversation, discussion within a small group of people, speaking to a large audience, telephone conversation, letter, personal written message, text typed on a typewriter (computer), message to a large audience, material (article) sent by direct mail, article in the form of a company newsletter, news in print media, media advertising, outdoor advertising.
As you can see, the most effective communication channel is “one-on-one communication,” i.e., “face to face.” Communicator (recipient) – a person, or a group of people, a mass audience to whom the message is sent.
Feedback (communication effect) is changes in the behavior of the communicator that occur as a result of receiving the message.
Types of communication. Features of personal, interpersonal, mass, specialized communications.
Interpersonal communication is carried out in those types of communication that involve pragmatic goals and constructiveness of decisions, and the readiness of each partner for adequate behavior. Panfilova A.P. distinguishes five types of communication: cognitive, persuasive, expressive, suggestive, ritual. Each of them has its own goals and expected results, organizational conditions, as well as communicative forms and means.
Cognitive communication
Goal: to expand the partner’s information fund, convey the necessary information, comment on innovative information.
Conditions for organizing communication: taking into account the cognitive capabilities of specific business partners, their individual attitudes towards obtaining new information and intellectual capabilities for its processing, understanding and perception.
Details
Emotions
Speaking about business communication, it is necessary to control your emotions, show respect for your interlocutor, and also comply with formal restrictions (protocols, regulations, etc.). This is especially important in international communication, because each nation has its own nuances in business communication. For example, Americans are very punctual, they value their time, so they immediately move on to the purpose of the meeting, but for Italians being late is quite acceptable, but they do not immediately get to the point.
Business communication can be contact and indirect. Contact communication is more effective, since in this case, the interlocutors communicate directly face to face. Indirect communication involves communication through additional communication devices: telephone, Internet, etc.
The most common forms of business communication are:
- meetings,
- negotiation,
— consultations,
- interview,
- presentations,
- conferences.
Stages
Business communication is characterized by several stages:
- Preparation. It is necessary to clearly define in advance the goals and objectives of the upcoming communication and develop a behavior strategy. It is very important to make the right first impression - the effectiveness of all communication will depend on it. You need to immediately win over your interlocutor, interest him - in other words, establish contact.
- Planning. It is better to develop a plan for the meeting (or negotiations): the procedure for providing certain information, its argumentation. Do not forget that business communication has time limits, since serious people value their time and use it rationally, scheduling their days hourly.
- Discussion is direct communication in which previously identified ideas and proposals for making specific decisions are discussed.
It is worth noting that not all forms of business communication are characterized by all of the above stages. For example, cold calling clients does not involve discussion, and in a spontaneous meeting there will be no planning stage.
Peculiarities
Features of business communication include:
- regulation - compliance with established restrictions and rules determined by job characteristics, type of communication, purpose of the meeting and degree of formality;
- compliance with role roles - each participant in the discussion plays his own role, which must be fulfilled regardless of who the person is in another situation. For example, at a meeting of branch directors, each representative is an executive in relation to the head of the parent company, but in their organizations they are bosses;
— high responsibility for performance – each participant is interested in achieving results on the most favorable terms.
The art of business communication in modern society
Rudneva E.Yu., Bibik A.A. Matkovskaya A.P.
Automobile and Highway Institute State Higher Educational Institution "DonNTU", Ukraine
Business communication is a necessary part of human life, the most important type of relationship with other people. Eternal and one of the main regulators of these relations are ethical norms, which express our ideas about good and evil, justice and injustice, the correctness or incorrectness of people’s actions. And when communicating in business cooperation with his subordinates, boss or colleagues, everyone, one way or another, consciously or spontaneously relies on these ideas. The specificity of business communication is due to the fact that it arises on the basis of and regarding a certain type of activity associated with the production of a product or business effect. At the same time, the parties to business communication act in formal (official) statuses, which determine the necessary norms and standards (including ethical) of people’s behavior. Like any type of communication, business communication is historical in nature; it manifests itself at different levels of the social system and in various forms. Its distinctive feature is that it does not have a self-sufficient meaning, is not an end in itself, but serves as a means to achieve some other goals. In market conditions, this is, first of all, obtaining maximum profit
Business communication is a complex, multifaceted process of developing contacts between people in the professional sphere. Its participants act in official capacities and are focused on achieving goals and specific tasks. A specific feature of this process is regulation, i.e. subordination to established restrictions that are determined by national and cultural traditions and professional ethical principles.
The accepted procedure and form of behavior in the service is called business etiquette. Its main function is the formation of rules that promote mutual understanding between people. Business etiquette includes two groups of rules:
1) norms in force in the sphere of communication between members of the same team of equal status (horizontal);
2) instructions that determine the nature of the contact between the manager and the subordinate (vertical).
A general requirement is a friendly and helpful attitude towards all work colleagues and partners, regardless of personal likes and dislikes.
The regulation of business interaction is also expressed in attention to speech. It is mandatory to comply with speech etiquette, norms of linguistic behavior developed by society, standard ready-made “formulas” that allow you to organize etiquette situations of greeting, request, gratitude, etc. (for example, “hello”, “be kind”, “permit me to apologize”, “happy get to know you"). These sustainable designs are selected taking into account social, age, and psychological characteristics.
The ability to behave appropriately with people is one of the most important, if not the most important, factor determining the chances of achieving success in business, employment or entrepreneurial activity. Dale Carnegie noted back in the 30s that the success of a person in his financial affairs, even in the technical field or engineering, depends by fifteen percent on his professional knowledge and eighty-five percent on his ability to communicate with people.
In this context, the attempts of many researchers to formulate and substantiate the basic principles of ethics of business communication or, as they are more often called in the West, the commandments of personal public relation (can be very roughly translated as “business etiquette”) are easily understandable. There are six basic principles:
1. Punctuality (do everything on time). Only the behavior of a person who does everything on time is normative. Being late interferes with work and is a sign that the person cannot be relied upon. The principle of doing everything on time applies to all work assignments. Experts who study the organization and distribution of working time recommend adding an extra 25 percent to the time that, in your opinion, is required to complete the assigned work. 2. Confidentiality (don't talk too much). Secrets of an institution, corporation, or specific transaction must be kept as carefully as secrets of a personal nature. There is also no need to retell to anyone what you heard from a colleague, manager or subordinate about their work activities or personal life.
3. Courtesy, goodwill and friendliness. In any situation, it is necessary to behave with clients, clients, customers and co-workers politely, affably and kindly. This, however, does not mean the need to be friends with everyone with whom you have to communicate on duty.
4. Consideration for others (think about others, not just yourself). Attention to others should extend to colleagues, superiors and subordinates. Respect the opinions of others, try to understand why they have a particular point of view. Always listen to criticism and advice from colleagues, superiors and subordinates. When someone questions the quality of your work, show that you value other people's thoughts and experiences. Self-confidence should not interfere with being modest.
5. Appearance (dress appropriately). The main approach is to fit into your work environment, and within this environment - into the contingent of workers at your level. You need to look your best, that is, dress with taste, choosing colors that suit your face. Carefully selected accessories are of great importance. 6. Literacy (speak and write in good language). Internal documents or letters sent outside the institution must be written in good language, and all proper names must be conveyed without errors. You cannot use swear words. Even if you just quote another person’s words, others will perceive them as part of your own vocabulary. Business (official, official) communication, depending on the circumstances, can be direct or indirect. In the first case, it takes place through direct contact between the subjects of communication, and in the second, through correspondence or technical means.
An important element of both business and small talk is the ability to listen to your interlocutor. “Communication is a two-way street. To communicate, we must express our ideas, our thoughts and our feelings to those with whom we communicate, but we must allow our interlocutors to also express their ideas, thoughts and feelings. In political, entrepreneurial, commercial and other areas of activity, business conversations and negotiations play an important role. The ethics and psychology of negotiation processes are studied not only by individual researchers, but also by special centers, and negotiation techniques are included in training programs for specialists in various fields
Conclusion
Based on the foregoing, we can conclude that mastering business communication skills is necessary for managers, economists and others. It's not as simple as it seems, but it's not difficult either. These skills can play an important role in the future when concluding a deal or signing a contract.
Literature:
1. Borozdina G.V. Psychology of business communication: 2nd edition 2003.
2. Lvova S.I. Language in verbal communication: Book. for students. – M.: Education, 1992.
3. Sukharev V.A. To be a business person. – M.: Education 1996.
The concept of “business communications”.
The concept of “business communications”.
Business communications is a process of interaction between business partners, aimed at organizing and optimizing one or another type of subject activity: production, scientific, pedagogical, etc. In business communication, the subject of communication is activity (business), and the communication partner always acts as a person, significant for another
Means and models of communication.
The main means of communication is language. “Language is a system of signs that serves as a means of human communication.” A sign is any material object (object, phenomenon, event). The general content that is embedded in a sign is called its meaning. By learning the meanings of signs and ways of organizing them to convey a message, people learn to speak a particular language.
The following types of communication are distinguished in the scientific literature:
“Contact of masks” is formal communication, when there is no desire to understand the interlocutor, familiar masks are used (politeness, modesty, indifference, etc., a set of facial expressions, gestures that allow one to hide true emotions, attitude towards the interlocutor).
Primitive communication is when another person is assessed as a necessary or interfering object. If a person is needed, they actively come into contact with him; if he interferes, they push him away. When they get what they want, they lose further interest in the interlocutor and do not hide it.
Formally, role-based communication is such communication when both the content and means of communication are regulated. Instead of knowing the partner's personality, they make do with knowledge of his social role.
Business communication takes into account the personality characteristics of the partner, his character, age, but the interests of the business are more significant.
Spiritual, interpersonal communication is possible when each participant has an image of the interlocutor, knows his personal characteristics, can anticipate his reactions, and takes into account the interests and beliefs of the partner.
Manipulative communication is aimed at extracting benefits from the interlocutor, using various techniques (flattery, deception, demonstration of kindness, etc.) depending on the personality characteristics of the interlocutor.
Secular communication is characterized by pointlessness (people say not what they think, but what is supposed to be said in such cases). This communication is closed, since people’s point of view on a particular issue does not matter and does not determine the nature of communications.
Verbal and non-verbal means of communication.
Communications –
it is a way of communication and transfer of information from person to
person in the form of oral and written messages, body language and
speech parameters.
Types of communications.
Communication between people is carried out using
verbal and non-verbal communications. Verbal communications
implemented through oral and written communications. Oral transmission
information is carried out in the process of verbal dialogue, meeting,
negotiations, presentations, telephone conversations, when the greatest volume
information is transmitted via voice communication. Written
communications are realized through documents in the form of letters, orders,
orders, instructions, provisions, when the manager transmits
written instructions to the subordinate. In the process of reading literature we study
history, economics, politics, culture and thereby draw knowledge from
book depositories of world culture. Despite the development of verbal communication
communications, their share in the process of human communication, according to
scientists, does not exceed 10%.
Nonverbal Communication
carried out through language
body movements and speech parameters. Body language is the main component
nonverbal communications that influence another person
(up to 55% of all communications). This includes clothing, posture, gestures,
actual body movements, human figure, posture, facial expression, contact
eyes, pupil size, distance between speakers. Speech parameters - second
the most important component of nonverbal communications, which
accounts for up to 35% of all communications. We refer to speech parameters as
intonation, voice timbre, speech rate, breathing rate, choice of words,
use of jargon, voice volume, pronunciation of words, etc.
Barriers to business communication.
The main barriers to business communication are:
poor memory;
lack of understanding of the importance of communication;
incorrect psychological attitude, such as indifference;
poorly formed feedback tools and the like.
The interlocutor may misunderstand the words due to the fact that at the beginning of communication an incorrect assessment of his abilities was made. Feedback helps you know whether your message is complex or simple.
You should always strive for maximum ease of communication. Even if you are going to talk to the most insightful, highly educated person, it is best to use everyday words and expressions.
Also, you need to avoid the mistake of being unconvincing. If you are not completely sure of what you are talking about, your interlocutor will never believe you! And the purpose of your message will not be achieved. Also, the trust of your interlocutor depends on the truthfulness of your words spoken before. Therefore, trust should always be put to the test.
You should never interrupt your interlocutor. It happens that we do this completely unconsciously. Managers are more likely to interrupt subordinates. Men interrupt more often than women. If it so happens that you interrupted someone, help him restore the train of thought that you interrupted.
Communication process.
The communication process is the process of interaction between various subjects of communication, during which information is exchanged. The communication process includes a dynamic change in the stages of formation, transmission, reception, decoding and use of information in both directions during the interaction of communicants. The process of information exchange begins with its formation. For example, in order to prepare an advertising message about a product addressed to a specific audience, it is necessary to construct an image of it that compares favorably with analogues. Next, the advertising concept must be implemented before the owner is included in the consumption process. Based on this, information intended for use in the communication process between the seller and the buyer should include both obvious (real) information and symbolic (figurative) information that helps give things social value.
The method of transmitting information is determined by the purpose of communication, the formation of communication channels, the presence of common aspects of communication of the sign system (language of communication, symbolic system). The language of communication is characterized by genres of oral and written forms of speech, which must be formed for each communication channel. Standardization of communication is carried out based on style standards and the mechanism for transmitting information. To convey semantic and evaluative information, appropriate verbal and nonverbal means are selected.
Presentation.
A presentation is usually understood as the first official presentation to an interested audience of some still unknown or little-known product and its creators.
Presentation is an indispensable attribute of the formation of a company, its establishment in the domestic and international markets. The impact of the presentation is very profound: business contacts in the world of business and entrepreneurship depend on its success.
With the help of a presentation, they inform and convince potential clients and partners of the need to purchase a specific product or service. An important task of the presentation is the need to demonstrate the product and its capabilities in such a way as to arouse interest and draw attention to your company, and ultimately, as an expected result, to conclude contracts and transactions.
The point of the presentation is to ensure a favorable reception of the presented innovation from the public. As a rule, the public at the presentation is represented by the press and representatives of groups and organizations interested in the subject of the presentation. It is they who should first of all be convinced of the merits of the subject of the presentation.
The subject of the presentation can be a product or service, as well as a book, magazine, television program, car, rock band, idea, innovative structure, effective technology, etc.
Self-presentation.
According to experts, at present the struggle in the market is mainly waged not between one or another product (firm), but between their images. When communicating with representatives of a company, getting acquainted with its products and services, in the perception of partners, whether we want it or not, a certain image develops.
If a participant in business communication fails to present himself in such a way as to create a positive and prestigious image for his partner, he cannot count on success. Our image is our portrait that we show to others. It should work for us, not against us, it should truthfully reflect the best qualities and at the same time be simple and sincere.
For the most part, we cannot evaluate ourselves objectively. In addition, what we consider important in our appearance sometimes goes unnoticed by other people, while details we rarely see, such as facial expressions and body language, become sources of unique signals that are received and evaluated by our business partners. It only takes 4 seconds to make a first impression on a partner, and if it suddenly turns out to be negative, then it will take four years to change the situation, demonstrate yourself in the best light, and arouse sympathy.
That is why every business person needs to master self-marketing, the art of creating a positive image.
The formation of an image is influenced by the whole range of factors that manifest themselves in such aspects of business interaction as the ability to introduce oneself, arouse sympathy (form attraction), and attract attention.
A business person (lawyer, manager, distributor, etc.), in order to make a “good first impression” in the communication process, must consciously use: his appearance, his voice and speech, his eyes and eye contact.
Marketing communications.
Marketing communications is the process of transmitting an appeal from the manufacturer to the consumer in order to provide him with the organization’s goods and services in a light attractive to the target audience.
Based on the ideas put forward by the school of social systems, marketing communications can be considered as a necessary tool that ensures the organization’s interaction with the external environment of direct influence.
The main goal of marketing communications is to influence consumer behavior. Accordingly, the following tasks of marketing communications can be distinguished:
informing the audience about the existence of certain goods and services, explaining their purpose;
persuasion - the formation of a favorable consumer attitude towards the organization and its brands;
image creation - the formation of an organization’s image associated with consumer differentiation of product brands;
reinforcement - retention of regular consumers.
Marketing communications include: personal selling, advertising in
media, direct marketing, promotional activities and public relations. The most modern forms of marketing communications are considered to be various forms of direct response to consumers, promotion through electronic networks and the Internet.
The main object of communicative influence is not always the individual consumer. Often the object is a “purchase decision-making unit” consisting of several individuals. Experts characterize five main buyer roles:
purchase initiator - the first to offer to buy a product or service; influencing - gives advice;
decision maker - makes a choice on one of the components of the decision: what to buy, where and whether to buy at all;
buyer - makes a purchase;
user - uses the product.
The idea of a “decision-making unit” becomes the basis for building a marketing communications plan. For example, when choosing a tourist package, the special importance of persons “influencing” (friends, relatives, colleagues, etc.) who offer their own solutions to the problem is noted. The communication strategy of a travel company must take this circumstance into account.
Effectiveness of communication.
When we enter into communication, we have a certain intention (communicative intention) - to ask (receive information), tell (transmit information), call for action, influence the mood of the interlocutor, establish contact in order to build relationships, etc. If as a result of communication we got what we wanted, that is, we achieved the realization of our own communicative intention (we received exactly the information we needed; we were told and were correctly understood, etc.), then the communication was successful. Such communication is called effective.
With effective communication, the speaker's goal is fully achieved. But let’s imagine a situation: the manager intends to encourage team members to participate in the project, but uses tactics of pressure and threats (“If you don’t take part, then...”, and then a list of sanctions). It is likely that the project will be launched and people will take part, but the quality of work of people who do not share the values of the team and do not have a strong motivation to participate in the project is unlikely to be high. This means that communication can be called effective when goals of not only a practical, but also a spiritual nature are realized.
If the speaker’s intention is partially realized (for example, the addressee received information, but not complete), we can speak of a communicative failure; if the communicative intention is not realized at all, we can speak of a communicative failure.
Communication with the media.
The main result that representatives of public and any other organizations expect from interaction with the media is the development of social capital as a separate, exchangeable and alienable resource of trust and power. Characteristics of social capital are recognition and recognition. Such capital is easily converted into other types of capital, including money.
To achieve the desired result when working with the media, in addition to the need to maintain a news background, you should adhere to some rules:
· Provide journalists with as much information as possible (so that they are not tempted to look elsewhere for information about the organization).
· Form your own journalistic pool, which can be given exclusive materials (“just for you!”) in exchange for further cooperation.
· Artificially add a certain amount of negativity to the distributed materials (this looks more natural in the eyes of a journalist).
· Take advantage of the media environment. There is always a more or less promoted topic in the media, youth policy is one of them.
· Your messages must have a Hero - not necessarily the leader or leader of your organization. Depersonalized notes do not attract readers' attention.
· Do not write the text for the journalist - this is his job. You know less about the specifics of the editorial office and its audience, so your work will almost certainly not be published at all. You are looking at the problem “from the inside,” omitting points that are important to the journalist and the reader: cause-and-effect relationships (everything has been clear to you for a long time), the history of the problem, the context.
· Avoid templates when working with the media. Various types of events, press tours, and competitions for journalists will help maintain and even increase their attention to the activities of your organization.
If you base your relationship with a publication on money, then no additional value arises other than expenses for you and income for them. Such relationships will exist as long as a third party is involved in them - money. No money - no cooperation. Therefore, relationships with journalists should be based on content. This can be not only news, but also comments, an unconventional look at known facts, and an extraordinary interpretation of well-known events, an expert assessment.
Debates with opponents.
Both in the interpersonal sphere and in business communication, disputes often arise.
A dispute is a verbal competition, a discussion of something by two or more persons, in which each party defends its position. This is a struggle of opinions on issues of science, literature, and politics. Disputes arise where there is no consensus and there are disagreements. When entering into a dispute, everyone pursues their own goal.
Debate is a type of dispute that is based on a discussion of topical issues of a socio-social nature that have important social, political, and philosophical significance. During the debate, various, primarily opposing, points of view are compared, making it possible to reveal the identified problem from different positions. Unlike discussion, the goal of debate is victory, assertion of one’s own position. Closer than others to the debate genre are the program “Times” with host V. Pozner, “To the Barrier” with V. Solovyov. In debates, positions collide, which is why political opponents most often participate in them, for example during election campaigns. The genre of television debates is popular both abroad and in our country, and it is worth noting that the opinion of the electorate is largely influenced by the behavior of the debate participants. Political debates examine the practical application of a particular position. (“The government should ban all tobacco advertising”, “Immigration should be drastically reduced”).
Business correspondence.
Written business communication is a special type of human interaction. People communicate for socially significant purposes. Therefore, communication is formed not on the basis of personal preferences and preferences, but on the basis of social interests. This explains the distinctive feature of written business communication – its formalized nature. Form, along with content, plays an active and no less significant role. Official correspondence of various types, which is sent on behalf of one organization, institution of another organization, institution, although it may be addressed to one official and signed by one official, constitutes business correspondence. The basis of written relations between individuals and legal entities is the exchange of information presented in documented form. A document is information recorded on a tangible medium, and the information in the document is carried not only by text fragments, but also by all elements of text design, which are called details. A detail is a mandatory information element of a document that must be located on a specific place on the form or sheet of the document. Details are necessary to give the document legal force. The number of details for different types of documents is different, but it is clearly defined by the rules for drawing up the document, the state standard - GOST. The reader provides the necessary information about GOST, approved in 2003, and also presents a list of details used in the documents. The rules for their registration are described in detail in the paperwork manuals. Business correspondence can be divided into official and personal, as well as external and internal. In a generalized form, business correspondence can be presented in the form of the following table. External Internal Official Addressee: external. Examples: letter of guarantee, information letter, commercial request, press release. Addressee: employee of your organization. Examples: order, instruction, memo, explanatory note. Personal Addressee: external. Examples: invitation, congratulations, condolences, letter of recommendation, gratitude. Addressee: employee of your organization. Examples: letter of response, information letter, invitation, congratulations, condolences, letter of recommendation, gratitude. All types of business correspondence can be conducted in two ways: • on paper; • by email.
The concept of “business communications”.
Business communications is a process of interaction between business partners, aimed at organizing and optimizing one or another type of subject activity: production, scientific, pedagogical, etc. In business communication, the subject of communication is activity (business), and the communication partner always acts as a person, significant for another
Means and models of communication.
The main means of communication is language. “Language is a system of signs that serves as a means of human communication.” A sign is any material object (object, phenomenon, event). The general content that is embedded in a sign is called its meaning. By learning the meanings of signs and ways of organizing them to convey a message, people learn to speak a particular language.
The following types of communication are distinguished in the scientific literature:
“Contact of masks” is formal communication, when there is no desire to understand the interlocutor, familiar masks are used (politeness, modesty, indifference, etc., a set of facial expressions, gestures that allow one to hide true emotions, attitude towards the interlocutor).
Primitive communication is when another person is assessed as a necessary or interfering object. If a person is needed, they actively come into contact with him; if he interferes, they push him away. When they get what they want, they lose further interest in the interlocutor and do not hide it.
Formally, role-based communication is such communication when both the content and means of communication are regulated. Instead of knowing the partner's personality, they make do with knowledge of his social role.
Business communication takes into account the personality characteristics of the partner, his character, age, but the interests of the business are more significant.
Spiritual, interpersonal communication is possible when each participant has an image of the interlocutor, knows his personal characteristics, can anticipate his reactions, and takes into account the interests and beliefs of the partner.
Manipulative communication is aimed at extracting benefits from the interlocutor, using various techniques (flattery, deception, demonstration of kindness, etc.) depending on the personality characteristics of the interlocutor.
Secular communication is characterized by pointlessness (people say not what they think, but what is supposed to be said in such cases). This communication is closed, since people’s point of view on a particular issue does not matter and does not determine the nature of communications.