Business_Communication_Trends

Business Communication Trends Any working adult can tell you how important business communication is. However, few working adults can tell you why business communication is important. What makes business communication good is how it is done. There are two forms of communication, verbal and non-verbal. Verbal communication uses words to deliver information, and non-verbal uses everything but words (Locker and Kienzler, 2008). I am going to discuss what the role of business communication plays in day-to-day activities, how communication helps with work activities, and what communication trends I have noticed. The role of business communication in the financial industry is one of high importance. I communicate with several groups of individuals daily. With the aid of communication tools such as e-mail, memos, training, and plain verbal communication, I am able to advise customers about their accounts; share and discuss ideas with my managers, and delegate tasks to my peers. I primarily use non-verbal communication internally, and verbal communication to my clients. My preferred method of nonverbal communication is e-mail. I use this form of nonverbal communication primarily with my peers and management. It allows me to have quick, effective ways to share ideas, receive and delegate tasks, and is easier to save information for future review for training and operational updates. Another preferred method of nonverbal communication is using faxed information. Utilizing this tool allows me to quickly address customer requested maintenance and fraud alerts. Verbal communication is what I prefer to use when I am handling client transactions. I am able to show empathy for their situation, professionalism for their peace of mind, and am able to quickly assess and answer their questions about their accounts. Each tool I use helps manage my daily activities in an efficient and effective manner. It is important in my field to have the use of these tools because they provide a quick and easy method of communication. If one works in any industry long enough one can find trends that help manage and improve daily activities or, in some cases, can hinder daily activities from being accomplished. In my field, one trend I am noticing are bulk e-mails, nonverbal communication, that contain operational updates. Recently, my financial institution was merged with another. Due to this merger procedural changes occur almost on a daily basis. Personally, I understand the need for this chosen method of communication regarding this particular situation. However, I do not agree with its usage. Operational updates are important for client services and procedural guidelines. However the e-mails that we received can be vague, large in content, and can come so frequently that much of the information is not properly absorbed. When this kind of important information is not properly absorbed, or implemented, federal guidelines can be inadvertently ignored. This nonverbal trend has the potential to be problematic in the near future. Another trend I am becoming aware of is communication between management and employee relying heavily on nonverbal communication. The nonverbal communication tool in this situation is also e-mail. This trend can create several issues. Employees are being bombarded with so many e-mails from operations, that when a manager sends out an e-mail, often times the message gets lost in the shuffle. When managers move away from verbal communication, employees can develop low morale from a lack of one-on-one interactions. Employees have begun to group together and distance themselves from management because of the nonverbal communication method that sends out negativity. When these types of nonverbal communication are received daily, it is difficult to stay positive and energetic about what you do. The message these trends sent to employees leave them feeling like one in a large group of people, instead of one as an individual. When there are no training classes to work out the details of the operational updates, an employee is left feeling not as confident when they are processing client transactions. Again, this can lead to low morale and ultimately to poor customer service. That verbal communication is what some employees depend on to feel appreciated and confident. Of course these trends affect different people different ways; some prefer nonverbal communication because it allows them more “face time” with their clients. Much of business communication depends on personal preference over professional requirement. There are always going to be two sides to every form of communication, as there are two sides to every story. The best thing a person can do is analyze their audience, determine which form of communication will be the most effective and efficient, and use the appropriate tools for that form of communication to follow through with their tasks. Whether I choose verbal communication, or nonverbal communication, I understand what has been taught; “good business communication is about sharing information in ways that are useful to your coworkers, business partners, and clients…[and] good business communication is about building relationships and goodwill to create successful ventures (Locker and Kienzler, 2008)”. Knowing this lesson, and understanding this lesson is what allows me to learn to become a great communicator.