Communication is simply bestbusinesscommunity as the process by which information is shared between two people or organisations, or among individuals, etc. Communication may be human and non-human in nature. Non-human form of communication may be onomatopoeic manifestations such as the mew of the cat, coo of the dove, the squeak of the rat, the cuckoo of the cuckoo, the baa of the sheep, etc. Because human form of communication refers to the exchange of ideas or feelings among human beings, one thing that is especially central to it is language.
We need to be very careful about the way we use language in communication, and this takes us to the issue of the grammatical voice. Effective deployment of grammatical voice is critical to our day-to-day communication and business success. But before we examine voice, it is necessary to look at the necessary qualities of good and effective business communication, especially business letters, as a background to our subsequent discussion.
Qualities of effective business communication
Good and effective business communication must have the following qualities: conciseness, completeness, correctness, clarity, consideration, courtesy and concreteness.
Conciseness: This refers to the idea of being brief and direct to the point. However, being brief does not mean that completeness must be compromised.
Completeness: This involves giving the recipient all the information needed. For example, if a customer has written to you to know some things about your product(s) or organisation, you have to include the answers to all his or her inquiry in your reply.
Correctness: A business letter, for instance, must be correct in information, style and structure. That is, you use the right language, format and factual information.
Remaining qualities
Clarity: Here you avoid ambiguous statements such as, “Give me more quality products”, which can be interpreted as either “Give me more of these quality products” or “I need better products not these substandard ones”. Avoid the use of complex choice of words and lengthy sentences.
Consideration: Here you put the recipient in mind. That is, you consider his or her level of understanding, interest, emotion, needs, problems, personality, likely response, etc.
Courtesy: To create or sustain goodwill, good business communication must show respect. Even in the face of provocation from a customer or seller, politeness must not be sacrificed.
Concreteness: Here, one needs to use image-building words instead of obscure ones. The tone of a business letter for instance, must be specific and active. It must sound personal and effective. It must be definite and positive.
