Stages of business communication

Communication skills are one of the most important conditions for successful communication between people, exchange of information and achievement of the desired result. Business etiquette has come into use since the advent of market relations. Many cultures give it a separate niche in relations between people, elevating them to the rank of ceremonies. And this bears fruit, because business etiquette helps to establish contact with a partner, and the success of an enterprise largely depends on the behavior of people during a business meeting.

Unlike ordinary everyday communication, business communication has its own clear principles and is aimed at achieving a specific goal through agreement and fulfillment of obligations. The business environment allows you to make new useful contacts, on which the success of the undertaken business depends. But not always future partners can sympathize with each other and find common ground.

Business contact is about getting profit. All other things being equal, the winner is the one who has the knowledge and rules of business etiquette. It is easy to follow the example of the interaction of two businessmen, one of whom easily and naturally leads the interlocutor to the conclusions he needs, and the second has neither business communication skills nor oratory and is forced to miss profitable business opportunities over and over again.

Thus, business communication is a system of skills that includes a whole range of communicative behavior:

• communication culture (adopted in a particular country);
• oratory;
• business ethics (rules and regulations);
• psychology of relationships;
• the logic of constructing speech (oral and written);
• image;
• timbre of voice and intonation.

In the modern world, business communication is presented in several of its forms at once:

• Business conversation Is an oral or virtual communication between colleagues or partners, aimed at discussing business problems. Most often, a conversation takes place between participants in the same business sphere, who understand the specifics of this dialogue, are able to maintain a conversation on a narrow professional topic.
• Business meeting - a clearly directed discussion, the tasks of which include solving current organizational problems, analyzing the information available to the participants, building a line of further behavior, making and sounding decisions.

• Business correspondence - this is official communication through a business letter, excluding any manifestation of familiarity or slang. A business letter is a document containing an official message and drawn up in accordance with all standards of business correspondence. As a rule, both in paper and electronic form, the business letter form is equipped with a logo, address data of the company or institution. Also, business letters follow a certain markup on the page.
• Public speaking - interaction between the speaker and the audience. This type of business communication is challenging and requires public speaking skills. The speaker should be as competent as possible in the question being voiced and have the skills of oratorical speech, to interest and convince the audience. By the type of presentation of the material, a public speech can be informational (report), encouraging (agitation), persuasive (solemn speech).

Understanding the specifics and importance of business communication leads to the conclusion that it can and should be learned.

Compliance with the rules of business etiquette is necessary for the successful building of business relationships between business partners, colleagues, diplomats from different countries. Business culture and behavior can be strikingly different from each other, but there are generally accepted norms of behavior that any self-respecting person must comply with, regardless of belonging to a particular society.

• Punctuality. In the business environment, the saying "Time is money" is relevant, therefore, being late for meetings and making the interlocutor wait is the height of unethicality.
• Obligation. Fulfillment of the assumed obligations is the basis of a good reputation, without which successful interaction in the business environment is impossible.
• Confidentiality. The ability to keep confidential data, to keep corporate secrets is one of the conditions for mutual trust and full cooperation.
• Respectful attitude... Respect for the interlocutor, the ability to listen, to be imbued with what was said disposes to oneself, opens up wide opportunities for establishing contact. This skill is also useful when interacting with employees and subordinates.

• Self-esteem. As far as the perception of oneself in the process of communication is concerned, one must be able to find a "golden mean". Calmly respond to criticism or advice, but also not to be manipulated, to be able to suppress pressure attempts with dignity, to return the conversation to the right track.
• Oratory. Ability to clearly state your thoughts, convey the meaning of speech to the interlocutor, without clogging phrases with inappropriate words and without taking the thought away from the topic of conversation. This ability is not given to everyone by nature, therefore, it is necessary to devote time to the art of public speaking in your training.
• Literacy. Speech clarity depends to a large extent on a person's literacy, and the ability to write without errors is a must in a business environment.
• Appearance. In the modern world, there is already an established dress code (clothing code), which assumes a certain form of clothing for visiting a workplace, events, organizations or institutions. Usually these are business suits for men and women, a standard set of jewelry and accessories. In the case of the first visit to an unknown organization or event, you should find out in advance about the accepted dress code.

In the structure of business communication, four stages can be distinguished, the sequence of which will allow you to achieve the maximum effect in negotiations.

Here the first impression is of primary importance. When preparing for a meeting with an interlocutor, it will be useful to work with information in advance: the circle of interests of the interlocutor, the environment and peculiarities of his culture, rules and traditions that are important for the interlocutor. This will make you feel more confident and respectful of your partner's personality traits.

Correctly constructed first phrases are the key to the success of further communication. You need to start by drawing the opponent's attention and disposition to yourself. This will help the usual human friendliness, courtesy, the manifestation of polite interest in the person of the interlocutor, the pronunciation of his name.

In the process of discussing tasks, it is necessary to tune in with the interlocutor on the same "wave". This result can be achieved by carefully observing the emotional state of the partner or the general emotional atmosphere within the group, when it comes to negotiations with the audience.

Knowing the three main channels of perception will help you to tune in with the interlocutor: sight, hearing and kinesthetics (this includes touch, smell, body position, gestures and facial expressions).

Direct concentration on the topic of the meeting, discussion of problems and tasks. The goal of this stage is to come to an agreement that is most satisfactory for both parties.

At the third stage, several phases are used, of which the essence of the contact consists:

• identifying the motives and goals of the interlocutor;
• maintaining attention: it is important to see the main thread of the conversation, without sidetracking or jumping from topic to topic;
• argumentation and persuasion: used in case of differences of opinion;
• fixing the result is a critical moment in a conversation when it is necessary to complete communication on a given topic, regardless of the results, this inner feeling comes with experience and depends on observation, the ability to clearly capture the slightest changes in the emotional background of the interlocutor.

The general impression of the meeting is formed at the last stage of business communication and is most vividly recorded in memory. Therefore, the ability to properly end a conversation can be a determining factor in further cooperation.

For how to communicate beautifully, see the next video.