Written by James ORourke
Senior Art Editor Gillian Andrews
Project Editor Hugo Wilkinson
US Editors Margaret Parrish, Jill Hamilton
Managing Editor Gareth Jones
Senior Managing Art Editor Lee Grifths
Production Editor Nikoleta Parasaki
Production Controller Mandy Inness
Jacket Designer Mark Cavanagh
Design Development Manager Sophia M.T.T.
Delhi Team:
Senior Editorial Manager Rohan Sinha
Deputy Managing Art Editor Sudakshina Basu
Produced for Dorling Kindersley Limited
by Cobalt id www.cobaltid.co.uk
Editor Marek Walisiewicz
Designers Paul Reid, Rebecca Johns
First American Edition, 2009
Published in the United States by DK Publishing
345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014
A Penguin Random House Company
15 16 17 18 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
001-ND136-May/2015
Copyright 2009, 2015 Dorling Kindersley Limited
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Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited.
A catalog record for this book is available from the
Library of Congress.
ISBN 978-1-4654-3541-5
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Contents
Introduction 6
Chapter 1
Understanding
communication skills 8
Dening communication 10
Overcoming barriers 12
Communicating at work 14
Planning your approach 16
Matching the message 22
Choosing your medium 24
Chapter 2
Speaking and writing 26
Planning your speech 28
Developing visual support 32
Improving your condence 36
Delivering your speech 38
Becoming a better writer 40
Writing a business letter 46
Using email and texts effectively 48
Writing reports 52
Chapter 3
Communicating with your team 54
Listening effectively 56
Giving feedback 58
Understanding nonverbal
communication 60
Running briengs and meetings 62
Communicating to persuade 64
Managing conict 66
Chapter 4
Communicating externally 70
Negotiating successfully 72
Selling 74
Communicating across countries
and cultures 76
Writing for the web 80
Communicating through
social media 82
Running a teleconference 84
Communicating in a crisis 88
Dealing with the media 90
Building brands 92
Index 94
Acknowledgments 96
6 / INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION / 7
Introduction
Communication is, without question, the most
valuable skill any manager can possess. It is the
link between ideas and action, the process that
generates prot. Communication is the emotional
glue that binds humans together in relationships,
both personal and professional. The ability to
communicate is what connects people to others
in an organization, an industry, and a society. To
be skilled at it is to be at the heart of what makes
enterprise, private or public, function successfully.
Effective Communication focuses on the
processes involved in business communication
and concentrates, in particular, on ways in which
you can become more effective by becoming more
knowledgeable and skilled as a communicator. All
forms of communication, whether writing, listening,
or speaking, are the end products of a process that
begins with critical thinking.
This book covers a wide range of topics designed
to help you understand the communication process
better, from planning a strategy to analyzing
your audience. It provides you with guidelines for
preparing and delivering an effective speech, as well
as ideas for expressing yourself on paper. There are
tips for dealing with the specic challenges of team
communication, including how to run a meeting, give
feedback, and resolve conict. Finally, it gives you
ideas for communicating with clients and customers
and thinking about your brand and identity. Its all
here. The next step is up to you.