home » Calculation » Types of official communication. Office business communication Differences between business and office communication

Types of official communication. Office business communication Differences between business and office communication

In this paragraph, we will highlight some of the organizational and psychological features of business communication, which largely determine the speech behavior of business partners and distinguish it from communication outside the business environment.

Business conversation – this is such an interaction of people, which is subject to the solution of a specific problem (industrial, scientific, commercial, etc.), i.e. the purpose of business interaction lies outside the process of communication (in contrast to personality-oriented communication, the subject of which is precisely the nature of the relationship between its participants).

The principles of any social organization(firms, institutions) impose certain restrictions on people's behavior. We note the following among them:

1. Sufficiently strict regulation of the goals and motives of communication, ways of making contacts between employees, which is explained by the fact that each employee in the organization is normatively assigned a standard of behavior in the form of a stable structure of formal rights and obligations that he must follow. Therefore, psychologically business conversation turns out to be largely formalized, detached, "cold".

Accordingly, in relation to speech behavior, it is expected that the exchange of information between employees is subject primarily to the joint solution of a service task.

2. Hierarchy of building an organization: relations of subordination, dependence, and inequality are fixed between departments and employees. One of the consequences of this principle for speech communication is the problem of the conditions for the transmission of accurate and, if possible, complete information along the links of the hierarchical pyramid and, accordingly, efficiency. feedback.

Thus, the efficiency of spreading business information "horizontally" (ie between departments, divisions or employees of the same level) is usually very high. People working at the same level understand each other "perfectly", they do not need a detailed and detailed explanation of the essence of the task.

The effectiveness of vertical communication (i.e. up and down the hierarchical levels) is much lower. According to some reports, only 20–25% of the information coming from the top management reaches directly to specific performers and is correctly understood by them. This is partly due to the fact that in any hierarchically organized management there are intermediary links on the path of information from the source (speaker) to the addressee. Intermediaries can be line managers, secretaries, assistants, clerical workers, etc. Oral messages when transferred from one level to another (both down and up) can be shortened, edited, distorted before they reach the recipient (the effect of "spoiled phone").

Another reason for the low efficiency of vertical communication is related to the belief, common among some managers, that subordinates do not need to know about the state of affairs in the enterprise as a whole, they must perform the tasks assigned to them, perform decisions made and don't ask too many questions. However, as established by the psychology of perception, a person will act meaningfully if he knows not only the specific operation he is performing, but also sees the wider context in which it is inscribed.

The desire to take into account these features of service business communication manifests itself, on the one hand, in the requirement of written fixation of orders, decisions, orders, and on the other hand, in the recognition of business conversations as the most important means of increasing the effectiveness of feedback in the organization.

3. Labor motivation as a condition efficient operation organizations or businesses. The need for special efforts to stimulate labor can be partly explained by the objective inconsistency of the behavior and self-perception of a person in an organization: in business communication, he acts simultaneously as a specific integral person and as a representative of the organization, i.e. bearer of certain professional-role functions. In the event that his needs as a person are not satisfied in the course of his activities in the organization or his own ideas and style of behavior do not coincide with group norms, an intrapersonal conflict may arise, interest in the work performed may decrease. Conflicts of this kind often turn out to be a topic of discussion between employees, and sometimes the cause of problematic conversations between a manager and a subordinate.

Along with these methods of motivation personnel labor, How different kinds moral and material incentives, career advancement, advanced training at the expense of the organization, etc., conversations between the leader and subordinates can have a huge motivational effect: critical assessments, the form of setting tasks, the manager's answers to questions.

Requirements for speech communication in a business environment can be formulated as follows:

Be clear about the purpose of your message

Make the message understandable and accessible to different groups of employees: find specific illustrations general concepts, develop the general idea using vivid examples.

Keep messages as short and concise as possible, discard redundant information, draw the attention of employees only to those problems that concern them specifically.

When speaking with employees, follow the rules of active listening, show them signals of your understanding and readiness for joint action.

Thus, the above rules must be equally observed both in a conversation between two business interlocutors and in group communication. At the same time, their use and concrete manifestation in a business conversation and on business meeting has its own characteristics.

business conversation

business conversation - this is a conversation mainly between two interlocutors, respectively, its participants can and should take into account the specific features of the personality, motives, speech characteristics of each other, i.e. communication is largely interpersonal in nature and involves a variety of ways of verbal and non-verbal influence of partners on each other

In management theory, a conversation is considered as a type of business communication, a specially organized substantive conversation that serves to solve problems. managerial tasks. Unlike business negotiations, which are much more rigidly structured and, as a rule, are conducted between representatives different organizations(or departments of one organization), a business conversation, although it always has a specific subject, is more personally oriented and more often occurs between representatives of one organization.

To the number purposes requiring a business conversation, can be attributed, firstly, the desire of one interlocutor through the word to have a certain influence on another, to arouse the desire of another person or group to act in order to change the existing business situation or business relationship, in other words, to create a new business situation or a new business relationship between the participants in the conversation; secondly, the need for the manager to develop appropriate decisions based on an analysis of the opinions and statements of employees.

Compared to other types of speech communication business conversation has the following advantages:

Responsiveness to the statements of the interlocutors, contributing to the achievement of goals.

Increasing the competence of the manager by taking into account, critically checking and evaluating the opinions, suggestions, ideas, objections and criticisms expressed in the conversation.

The possibility of a more flexible, differentiated approach to the subject of discussion as a result of understanding the context of the conversation, as well as the goals of each of the parties.

When conducting business conversations, it is desirable to follow the rules of effective speech communication formulated earlier. At the same time, a business conversation as a direct interaction of its two participants must be built on the basis of the following important principles:

Conscious adjustment to the level of the interlocutor, taking into account the content of the tasks performed by him, his powers and responsibilities, life and work experience, interests, features of his thinking and speech.

The rational organization of the conversation process, first of all, means a brief presentation by the interlocutors of the content of information on the topic under discussion, because a lengthy presentation and redundant information complicate the assimilation of the most essential.

Simplicity, figurativeness, clarity of language as a condition for the intelligibility of information, therefore, orientation towards the interlocutor.

A conversation is a dialogue, i.e. two-way communication, the purpose of which is either the desire to better understand the nature of the problem that has arisen, or the impact on one of the interlocutors, taking into account his interests and opinions on the issue under discussion. The ability to ask questions is a key tool for quickly and accurately obtaining the necessary information:

Closed questions. These are questions with a rigid structure, they can be answered simply Yes or No or a few words. For example, “How old are you?”, “Where do you live?”, “What school did you finish”, “Do you like this job?” and so on. It should be noted that formulations using the particle whether(type "Do you like it?", "Would you like it?", "Do you agree?", "Do you like it?") are a variant of closed questions and can bias responses in the positive direction, as can questions like "Do not you want?" The construction of questions like "Do you don’t you think?”, “Don’t you?” inclines the respondent to a negative answer. If in a conversation it is desirable to avoid this kind of guidance on the answer, then it is better to use alternative questions as a variant of closed questions. For example, "Would you like to continue your education or not?"

Closed questions will allow you to get accurate information, but with their help it is difficult to evoke a deeper and more detailed message if the interlocutor does not wish to reveal himself.

Open questions- questions are less structured, they offer more freedom in choosing an answer and begin with words what, how, why, why and so on.: “Tell me about yourself”, “What do you think about this specialty?”, “What are your professional goals?”, “For what reasons do you want to leave our organization” and so on. The person answers these questions in accordance with how he sees and feels the problem. That is why open-ended questions are used to clarify a complex, confusing situation, or in order to more accurately understand a person’s attitude to the subject of the conversation.

According to the content contained in the questions they can be divided into two large groups: questions about facts (informational) and questions about opinions, desires, attitudes.

Fact Questions(informational) are connected with what actually happened in time and space: “You were at the meeting yesterday?”, “What year did you finish school?”, “Is this a picture of your son?” The answers to them are not difficult, so they often start a conversation, giving the person the opportunity to get involved in the conversation. Often these questions are closed, but they can also be open: “What is the subject of your research?”, “How did the idea of organizing this holiday come about?” and so on.

Questions about opinions, desires, attitudes. Getting answers to these questions is more difficult than questions about facts and knowledge. The attitude, assessments, desires of a person can be clear and well-formed, or they can be vague and vague, they may or may not be aware of it. A person's opinion on any issue can be ambiguous. Thus, a job may be pleasant in terms of prestige and not satisfying in terms of earnings. Therefore, when answering questions of this kind, people are more sensitive to the wording and sequence of questions than when answering questions about facts. It is important for the questioner to remain neutral in relation to the subject of the conversation, to try to avoid words (statements) that carry an explicit assessment. For example, phrases like "Do you like it?" or "At your age to think about it?" To give the interlocutor an opportunity to express his attitude, questions like "I'm interested to hear your opinion", "How would you like to this problem resolved?”, “What do you think about this?” and so on.

Finally, two large groups of questions can be distinguished according to the functions they perform during a conversation: questions aimed at verifying, clarifying, supplementing the information received, and the so-called functional-psychological questions used to relieve tension, to control the direction of the conversation, to moving from one topic to another.

Control questions serve to check the validity of the answers. If at first you ask how satisfied your interlocutor is with the work, then after a few questions the first one can be asked. Security Question: “Would you like to move to another job?”, then the second one: “Suppose that for some reason you are temporarily not working. Would you return to your previous job? Comparing the answers to three questions gives information about the sincerity of the interlocutor.

Clarifying questions follow the question posed, clarifying or rechecking what was said. The interlocutor is asked to explain the expressed thoughts or feelings. These questions are often used when answers are unclear or incomplete. For example, “Continue, what did you want to say?”, “Explain what it means?”, “Please give an example. What did you mean when you said that?" Clarifying questions are an effective way to get complete answers and control the direction of the conversation.

probing questions have the goal of obtaining as much necessary information about the interlocutor as possible in order to decide in which direction to proceed. The difference between probing questions and clarifying ones is that they resort to probing questions in situations where the reasons for his own behavior or emotional state are either not clear to the interlocutor, or he would not like to talk about them; in such cases it is impossible to obtain information by resorting to direct clarifications. The art of conversation in such situations involves delicacy, the manifestation of emotional empathy. At the same time, the technique of conducting a conversation is aimed at getting closer to the essence of the matter, finding out from different angles what the problem is. Any questions aimed at clarifying the experiences of the interlocutor can serve as examples: “And how often does this happen?”, “What does this have to do with you?”, “Who was there?”, “What happened?” and so on.

Wanting to clarify the possible behavior of the interlocutor in a particular situation, the questioner can also turn to probing questions. In this case, instead of a direct question, such as "What would you do if..?", psychologically more subtle are the questions formulated as follows: “Have you ever had to deal with aggressive behavior of an employee at your previous job? What did you do? Why did you do it this way? What would happen if you had acted differently?

In the group of functional-psychological questions, one can single out mirror, indirect (projective), relay-race, questions-bridges, concluding.

Mirror questions built on a complete repetition of the interlocutor's answer or on repetition keywords in his answer, are aimed at achieving a real understanding of his feelings, experiences, state. Examples of mirror questions are: "I understand correctly what you mean...(follows a repetition of what the interlocutor said) "or "You said, that...(repeat what was said by the interlocutor) Why did you decide so?" Statements constructed in this way perform several functions in a conversation: the repetition by the listener of the words of the interlocutor causes the latter to feel that he is heard, and therefore understood; in addition, hearing his statement from the outside, a person can take it critically, clarify his thoughts and feelings.

indirect questions are used in cases where there is a fear that a person will not answer sincerely to a direct question. Then the question can be asked not about the opinion of the interlocutor, but, say, about the opinion of his colleagues at work or about public opinion. For example: "How do you think public opinion will appreciate the transition to paid higher education?» or How do your peers rate labor discipline In the organisation?" The design of questions of this type contains elements of a projective methodology, according to which a person, formulating the opinion of his colleagues or fellow citizens, actually expresses his attitude to the problem. Indirect questions are also used when the questioner wants to hide his interest in something or does not want to clearly demonstrate his attitude to something, for example: “Did you go to such and such a department today?”, “I wonder if such and such was there?”, “He turned to me with a request, but he didn’t ask you for anything?”

relay question is designed to maintain and continue the dialogue, so that the transition from one topic to another during the conversation looks logical and psychologically appropriate. In its structure, it picks up the last words of the speaker in order to develop the theme.

Here is a fragment of an interview with the artist M. Shemyakin (Domovoy magazine. 1995. No. I):

- You, they say, have an estate in America. Is that a playful name for your house with a yard?

- No, what a joke. This is a former conservatory with buildings that had several concert halls, now my workshops are there. The land is six hectares. It's all north of New York, two hours away, in the mountains... There, on the estate, I live and work.

“You have an estate, and this is a great opportunity to live in an ivory tower and work. But you are not at home. Don't you want it? You need shake-ups, external activity.”

Bridge Questions also used to move on to another topic in a conversation: “A now some questions about..." or "A Now let's talk about something else"

Concluding questions used at the end of the conversation, if it is important to emphasize the equality of the interlocutors, respectful attitude between them, or once again clarify the content of the agreements reached: Have I been able to convince you that…”, “So, you will be able to submit this report on Wednesday?»

Thus, each question should contribute to the discussion of the topic and contribute to the solution of the task set in the business conversation.

On this basis, as the goals and methods of conducting a conversation, It is customary to single out as independent types: an interview when applying for a job, an interview when leaving a job, problematic and disciplinary conversations.

A job interview is in the nature of an "admission" interview, the main purpose of which is to assess the business qualities of the applicant for work. Basically, it boils down to a few basic questions and their respective responses. The form of questions may vary, but their content is aimed at obtaining information that can be grouped into the following blocks:

- what is a person who applied for a job;

Why is he looking for a job?

- what are its strengths and weaknesses;

- what are his views on effective leadership (in other words, his idea of good boss);

- what he considers his most significant achievements;

What salary does he expect?

The conversation upon dismissal from work has two varieties: a situation of unplanned, voluntary departure of an employee and a situation when an employee has to be fired or reduced.

1. During the conversation, it is necessary to identify the true reason for dismissal, his motives are caused by dissatisfaction production process, inattention or resentment, for any other reasons. The need for an interview in this case is due to the manager's concern for improving management activities at various levels of production.

2. Otherwise, conversations proceed with the employee who has to be fired. The procedure for dismissal by decision of the management is extremely difficult for everyone who takes part in it. This procedure is based on knowledge of the specifics of such a conversation and on the possession of the technique of conducting it. So, a farewell conversation is never scheduled before weekends or holidays: it should not be held directly at the workplace of the dismissed person or in a room where a large number of people work; it should not last more than 20 minutes, since the employee, experiencing unpleasant news, is not able to listen carefully and think about the various details that the manager sets out to him. If the manager has to reproach the employee for violating discipline or talking about other violations, then he must be accurate and correct in presenting the facts and not give the dismissed person any reason to doubt the validity of the reproaches made. In foreign practice, it is recommended to prepare a humane move for the dismissed person; for example, offer him a list of vacant jobs at another enterprise or offer something like a “rehabilitation program” for the dismissed person, which provides for maintaining his self-confidence, maintaining his authority in the eyes of others and at home.

Problematic and disciplinary conversations brought to life either by the occurrence of failures in the activities of the employee and the need for a critical assessment of his work, or by the facts of violation of discipline.

At the same time, there are some rules that allow you to avoid a conversation in the form of a "breakdown" and conduct it with constructive results. For this you should:

1) obtain the necessary information about the employee and his work,

2) build a conversation, observing the following order in the communication of information; a message containing positive information about the employee's activities; a message of a critical nature, a message of a commendable and instructive nature;

3) be specific and avoid ambiguity

4) criticize the performance of the task, not the person.

Compliance with these rules helps to create a positive emotional background that will allow you to conduct the unpleasant part of the conversation constructively, without causing unnecessary hostility from the employee, without forcing him to take a defensive position.

Before moving on to a more detailed description of business conversations and meetings, we highlight some organizational and psychological features of business communication that largely determine the speech behavior of business partners and distinguish it from communication outside the business environment.

Communication in organizations

It is obvious to each of us that a conversation between employees of the same organization discussing a business issue, or a conversation between a leader and a subordinate, is fundamentally different from conversations between the same people outside the official framework. .

Business conversation- this is such an interaction of people, which is subject to the solution of a specific problem (industrial, scientific, commercial, etc.), i.e. the purpose of business interaction lies outside the process of communication (in contrast to personality-oriented communication, the subject of which is precisely the nature of the relationship between its participants).

The principles of activity of any social organization (firms, institutions) impose certain restrictions on people's behavior. We note the following among them:

1. Sufficiently strict regulation of the goals and motives of communication, methods of making contacts between employees, which is explained by the fact that each employee in the organization is normatively assigned a standard of behavior in the form of a stable structure of formal rights and obligations that he must follow. Therefore, psychologically, business communication turns out to be largely formalized, detached, "cold".

Accordingly, with regard to speech behavior, it is expected that the exchange of information between employees is not of a personal nature, but is primarily subordinated to the joint solution of an official task.

2. Hierarchy of building an organization: relations of subordination, dependence, and inequality are fixed between departments and employees. One of the consequences of this principle for speech communication is the problem of the conditions for transmitting accurate and, if possible, complete information along the links of the hierarchical pyramid and, accordingly, the effectiveness of feedback.

Another reason for the low efficiency of vertical communication is related to the belief, common among some managers, that subordinates do not need to know about the state of affairs in the enterprise as a whole, they must carry out the tasks assigned to them, implement the decisions made and not ask unnecessary questions. However, as established by the psychology of perception, a person will act meaningfully if he knows not only the specific operation he is performing, but also sees the wider context in which it is inscribed. If specific performers are deprived of information of this kind, they begin to look for answers on their own, while distorting and conjecturing the available information.

The desire to take into account these features of service and business communication is manifested, on the one hand, in the requirement for written fixation of orders, decisions, orders, and on the other hand, in the recognition of business conversations as the most important means of increasing the effectiveness of feedback in the organization.

3. Labor motivation as a condition for the effective operation of an organization or enterprise. The need for special efforts to stimulate labor can be partly explained by the objective inconsistency of the behavior and self-perception of a person in an organization: in business communication, he acts simultaneously as a specific integral person and as a representative of the organization, i.e. bearer of certain professional-role functions. If his needs as a person are not satisfied in the process of his activities in the organization or his own ideas and style of behavior do not coincide with group norms, an intrapersonal conflict may arise, interest in the work performed may decrease. Conflicts of this kind often turn out to be a topic of discussion between employees, and sometimes the cause of problematic conversations between a manager and a subordinate.

Along with such methods of motivating the work of personnel as various types of moral and material incentives, promotion, advanced training at the expense of the organization, etc., conversations between the manager and subordinates can have a huge motivational effect: critical assessments, the form of setting tasks, the manager’s answers to questions ; they can either help employees navigate their activities, encourage them to work more successfully and more profitably, or hinder this.

Features of office and business communication.

In the life of any organization or enterprise, types of business communication occupy an important place. The exchange of information, the promotion and development of working ideas, the control and coordination of the activities of employees, the summing up and evaluation of what has been achieved are just some of the aspects of the organization's activities that are associated with holding meetings and business conversations of various kinds. Business talks, business meetings and telephone conversations can be considered as independent types of business communication. They differ from each other in the goals for which they are held, the form of contact and the number of participants, which predetermines the socio-psychological characteristics of their organization and conduct.
Business communication is such an interaction of people that is subject to the solution of a specific problem (industrial, scientific-commercial, etc.), i.e. the purpose of business interaction lies outside the process of communication. Mutual understanding, coordination of actions and clarity of priorities that arise among subjects engaged in a common cause depend on the quality of business communication.
The principles of activity of any social organization (firm, institution) have a significant impact on the behavior of its members. We note the following features of organizational behavior:
1. Sufficiently strict regulation of the goals and motives of communication, ways of making contacts between employees: each employee in the organization is normatively assigned a standard of behavior in the form of a stable structure of formal rights and obligations, which he must follow. Therefore, psychologically, business communication turns out to be largely formalized, detached, "cold".
Accordingly, in relation to speech behavior, it is expected that the exchange of information between employees is not personal in nature and is subject to the joint solution of an official task.
2. Hierarchy of building an organization: relations of subordination, dependence, and inequality are fixed between departments and employees. The consequence of this principle for speech communication is: firstly, the active use of verbal means of demonstration social status participants in business communication, and secondly, the problem of information transfer along the links of the hierarchical pyramid and, accordingly, the effectiveness of feedback.
It is recognized that the efficiency of disseminating business information "horizontally" (ie between departments, divisions or employees of the same level) is usually very high. People working at the same level understand each other "at a glance", they do not need a detailed and detailed explanation of the essence of the task,
The effectiveness of vertical communication (i.e. up and down the hierarchical levels) is much lower. This is explained by the fact that on the path of information passing from the source (speaker) to the addressee in any hierarchically organized management there are intermediary links. Intermediaries can be line managers, secretaries, assistants, clerical workers, etc. Oral messages when transferred from one level to another (both down and up) can be shortened, edited, distorted before they reach the recipient (the effect of "spoiled phone").
Another reason for the low efficiency of vertical communication is related to the belief that subordinates do not need to know about the state of affairs in the enterprise as a whole, they must fulfill the tasks assigned to them, fulfill the decisions made and not ask unnecessary questions. However, as established by the psychology of perception, a person will act meaningfully if he knows not only the specific operation he is performing, but also sees the wider context in which it is inscribed.
The desire to take into account these features of service and business communication is manifested, on the one hand, in the requirement for a written fixation of orders, decisions, orders, and on the other hand, in the recognition of business conversations as the most important means of increasing the effectiveness of feedback in the organization.
3. The need for special efforts to stimulate labor, which is explained by the objective inconsistency of the behavior and self-awareness of a person in an organization.
Human nature is incompatible with a rigid hierarchical structure and formalization organizational processes Therefore, managerial actions are needed to satisfy the psychological and emotional needs of employees, maintain their interest in the work performed, and create the effect of involvement in the decisions made.
Along with such methods of motivating the work of personnel as various types of moral and material incentives, promotion, advanced training at the expense of the organization, etc., conversations between the leader and subordinates can have a huge motivational effect if he manages to connect his message with their needs. The form of setting tasks, the manager's answers to questions, critical assessments can either help employees navigate their activities, encourage them to work more successfully and more profitably, or hinder this.
"In the process of business communication, its participants exchange information that is transmitted in the form management decisions, plans, ideas, reports, reports, messages, etc. Equally important is the exchange of interests, moods, feelings. In this case, business communication appears as a communicative process, i.e. as an exchange of information that is meaningful to the participants in the communication.
The above features of service and business communication largely explain the nature of the requirements for verbal communication in a business environment. These requirements can be formulated as follows:
- Be clear about the purpose of your message.
- Make the message understandable and accessible to different groups of employees: find specific illustrations of common concepts, develop the general idea using vivid examples.
- Keep messages as short and concise as possible, discard unnecessary information, draw the attention of employees only to those problems that concern them specifically.
- When talking with employees, follow the rules of active listening, show them signals of your understanding and readiness for joint action.
Thus, the above rules must be equally observed both in a conversation between two business interlocutors and in group communication. At the same time, their use and concrete manifestation in a business conversation and at a business meeting has its own characteristics.
Business conversation. A business conversation is a conversation between two interlocutors, respectively, its participants can and should take into account the specific features of each other's personality, motives, speech characteristics, i.e. communication is interpersonal in nature and involves a variety of ways of verbal and non-verbal influence of partners on each other.
In management theory, a conversation is considered as a type of business communication, a specially organized substantive conversation that serves to solve managerial problems. Unlike business negotiations, which are much more rigidly structured and are usually conducted between representatives of different organizations (or divisions of the same organization), a business conversation, although always has a specific subject, does not involve the conclusion of a contract or the development of binding decisions, it is more personal. oriented and occurs between representatives of the same organization. It may precede negotiations or be integral part.
Goals and objectives of business conversation. The goals that require a business conversation include, firstly, the desire of one interlocutor to exert a certain influence on another through a word, to arouse the desire of another person or group to actively act in order to change the existing business situation or business relations, in other words , to create a new business situation or a new business relationship between the participants in the conversation; secondly, the need for the manager to develop appropriate decisions based on an analysis of the opinions and statements of employees,
Compared to other types of verbal communication, a business conversation has the following advantages:
- speed of response to the statements of the interlocutors, contributing to the achievement of goals;
- increasing the competence of the leader due to the consideration, critical examination and evaluation of opinions, suggestions, ideas, objections and criticisms expressed in the conversation;
- the possibility of a more flexible, differentiated approach to the subject of discussion and understanding of the context of the conversation, as well as the goals of each of the parties. The conversation is not a monologue, but a dialogue, therefore it is necessary to formulate questions, definitions, assessments so that they directly or indirectly invite the interlocutor to express their attitude to the stated opinion. Thanks to the feedback effect, the conversation allows the leader to respond to the partner's statements in accordance with a specific situation, i.e. taking into account the purpose, subject and interests of partners,
When conducting business conversations, it is desirable to follow the rules of effective verbal communication. At the same time, a business conversation, as a direct interaction of its two participants, must be built on the basis of the following important principles:
- conscious adjustment to the level of the interlocutor, taking into account the content of the tasks performed by him, his powers and responsibilities, life and work experience, interests, features of his thinking and speech;
- rational organization of the conversation process, which primarily means a brief presentation by the interlocutors of the content of information on the topic under discussion, because a lengthy presentation and redundant information complicate the assimilation of the most essential;
- simplicity, figurativeness, clarity of language as a condition for the intelligibility of information, therefore, orientation to the interlocutor;
- tact, a real desire to understand the point of view of the interlocutor, interest in the prospects of your relationship.
Types of business conversations.

Features of office and business communication.
In the life of any organization or enterprise, types of business communication occupy an important place. The exchange of information, the promotion and development of working ideas, the control and coordination of the activities of employees, the summing up and evaluation of what has been achieved are just some of the aspects of the organization's activities that are associated with holding meetings and business conversations of various kinds. Business conversations, business meetings and telephone conversations can be considered as independent types of business communication. They differ from each other in the goals for which they are held, the form of contact and the number of participants, which predetermines the socio-psychological characteristics of their organization and conduct.
Business communication is such an interaction of people that is subject to the solution of a specific problem (industrial, scientific-commercial, etc.), i.e. the purpose of business interaction lies outside the process of communication. Mutual understanding, coordination of actions and clarity of priorities that arise among subjects engaged in a common cause depend on the quality of business communication.
The principles of activity of any social organization (firm, institution) have a significant impact on the behavior of its members. We note the following features of organizational behavior:
1. Sufficiently strict regulation of the goals and motives of communication, ways of making contacts between employees: each employee in the organization is normatively assigned a standard of behavior in the form of a stable structure of formal rights and obligations, which he must follow. Therefore, psychologically, business communication turns out to be largely formalized, detached, "cold".
Accordingly, in relation to speech behavior, it is expected that the exchange of information between employees is not personal in nature and is subject to the joint solution of an official task.
2. Hierarchy of building an organization: relations of subordination, dependence, and inequality are fixed between departments and employees. The consequence of this principle for verbal communication is: firstly, the active use of verbal means of demonstrating social status by participants in business communication, and secondly, the problem of transmitting information along the links of the hierarchical pyramid and, accordingly, the effectiveness of feedback.
It is recognized that the efficiency of disseminating business information "horizontally" (ie between departments, divisions or employees of the same level) is usually very high. People working at the same level understand each other "at a glance", they do not need a detailed and detailed explanation of the essence of the task,
The effectiveness of vertical communication (i.e. up and down the hierarchical levels) is much lower. This is explained by the fact that on the path of information passing from the source (speaker) to the addressee in any hierarchically organized management there are intermediary links. Intermediaries can be line managers, secretaries, assistants, clerical workers, etc. Oral messages when transferred from one level to another (both down and up) can be shortened, edited, distorted before they reach the recipient (the effect of "spoiled phone").
Another reason for the low efficiency of vertical communication is related to the belief that subordinates do not need to know about the state of affairs in the enterprise as a whole, they must fulfill the tasks assigned to them, fulfill the decisions made and not ask unnecessary questions. However, as established by the psychology of perception, a person will act meaningfully if he knows not only the specific operation he is performing, but also sees the wider context in which it is inscribed.
The desire to take into account these features of service and business communication is manifested, on the one hand, in the requirement for a written fixation of orders, decisions, orders, and on the other hand, in the recognition of business conversations as the most important means of increasing the effectiveness of feedback in the organization.
3. The need for special efforts to stimulate labor, which is explained by the objective inconsistency of the behavior and self-awareness of a person in an organization.
Human nature is incompatible with a rigid hierarchical structure and formalization of organizational processes, therefore, managerial actions are necessary to meet the psychological and emotional needs of employees, maintain their interest in the work performed, and create the effect of involvement in decisions.
Along with such methods of motivating the work of personnel as various types of moral and material incentives, promotion, advanced training at the expense of the organization, etc., conversations between the leader and subordinates can have a huge motivational effect if he manages to connect his message with their needs. The form of setting tasks, the manager's answers to questions, critical assessments can either help employees navigate their activities, encourage them to work more successfully and more profitably, or hinder this.
"In the process of business communication, its participants exchange information that is transmitted in the form of management decisions, ideas, ideas, reports, reports, messages, etc. The exchange of interests, moods, feelings is no less important. In this case, business communication appears as a communicative process , i.e. as an exchange of information that is significant for the participants in communication.
The above features of service and business communication largely explain the nature of the requirements for verbal communication in a business environment. These requirements can be formulated as follows:
- Be clear about the purpose of your message.
- Make the message understandable and accessible to different groups of employees: find specific illustrations of common concepts, develop the general idea using vivid examples.
- Keep messages as short and concise as possible, discard unnecessary information, draw the attention of employees only to those problems that concern them specifically.
- When talking with employees, follow the rules of active listening, show them signals of your understanding and readiness for joint action.
Thus, the above rules must be equally observed both in a conversation between two business interlocutors and in group communication. At the same time, their use and concrete manifestation in a business conversation and at a business meeting has its own characteristics.
Business conversation.

A business conversation is a conversation between two interlocutors, respectively, its participants can and should take into account the specific features of each other's personality, motives, speech characteristics, i.e. communication is interpersonal in nature and involves a variety of ways of verbal and non-verbal influence of partners on each other.
In management theory, a conversation is considered as a type of business communication, a specially organized substantive conversation that serves to solve managerial problems. Unlike business negotiations, which are much more rigidly structured and are usually conducted between representatives of different organizations (or divisions of the same organization), a business conversation, although always has a specific subject, does not involve the conclusion of a contract or the development of binding decisions, it is more personal. oriented and occurs between representatives of the same organization. It may precede negotiations or be part of them.
Goals and objectives of business conversation. The goals that require a business conversation include, firstly, the desire of one interlocutor to exert a certain influence on another through a word, to arouse the desire of another person or group to actively act in order to change the existing business situation or business relations, in other words , to create a new business situation or a new business relationship between the participants in the conversation; secondly, the need for the manager to develop appropriate decisions based on an analysis of the opinions and statements of employees,
Compared to other types of verbal communication, a business conversation has the following advantages:
- speed of response to the statements of the interlocutors, contributing to the achievement of goals;
- increasing the competence of the leader due to the consideration, critical examination and evaluation of opinions, suggestions, ideas, objections and criticisms expressed in the conversation;
- the possibility of a more flexible, differentiated approach to the subject of discussion and understanding of the context of the conversation, as well as the goals of each of the parties. The conversation is not a monologue, but a dialogue, therefore it is necessary to formulate questions, definitions, assessments so that they directly or indirectly invite the interlocutor to express their attitude to the stated opinion. Thanks to the feedback effect, the conversation allows the leader to respond to the partner's statements in accordance with a specific situation, i.e. taking into account the purpose, subject and interests of partners,
When conducting business conversations, it is desirable to follow the rules of effective verbal communication. At the same time, a business conversation, as a direct interaction of its two participants, must be built on the basis of the following important principles:
- conscious adjustment to the level of the interlocutor, taking into account the content of the tasks performed by him, his powers and responsibilities, life and work experience, interests, features of his thinking and speech;
- rational organization of the conversation process, which primarily means a brief presentation by the interlocutors of the content of information on the topic under discussion, because a lengthy presentation and redundant information complicate the assimilation of the most essential;
- simplicity, figurativeness, clarity of language as a condition for the intelligibility of information, therefore, orientation to the interlocutor;
- tact, a real desire to understand the point of view of the interlocutor, interest in the prospects of your relationship.
Types of business conversations.

Types of conversations. On such a basis as the types and goals of the conversation, it is customary to single out as independent types: an interview when applying for a job, an interview when leaving a job, problematic and disciplinary conversations.
The interview for employment is in the nature of an "admission" interview "- the main purpose of which is to assess the business qualities of the applicant for work. In essence, it comes down to a few basic questions and the corresponding answers to them. The form of the questions may vary, but their content is aimed at obtaining information that can be grouped into the following blocks:
- what is a person who applied for a job;
Why is he looking for a job?
- what are its strengths and weaknesses;
- what are his views on affective leadership (in other words, his idea of a good boss);
- what he considers his most significant achievements;
What salary does he expect?
In turn, questions are also expected from the applicant. Moreover, they judge such personal qualities, as self-control, purposefulness, communication style, etc. Applicants are advised to find out the following:
- Does it workplace new or vacant?
Why is there a need for staffing?
- Reasons for dismissal or transition to another job of the predecessor?
- Who decides on the appointment to the position?
- what will the working day look like?
- What exactly are the responsibilities?
- How and by whom will the work be evaluated?
- Opportunities for learning, growth, advancement?
- Additional compensations (lunches, transport, paid days)?
The conversation upon dismissal from work has two varieties: a situation of unplanned, voluntary departure of an employee and a situation when an employee has to be fired or reduced,
In the first case, it is necessary to identify the true reason for the dismissal, its motives: it was caused by dissatisfaction with the production process, inattention, resentment, or any other reasons. To do this, it is useful to ask questions related to the content, volume, conditions for the employee to perform production tasks, clarifying his assessment of such tasks and the conditions for their implementation.
Conversations with an employee who has to be fired are different. The procedure for dismissal by decision of the management is extremely difficult for everyone who takes part in it. This procedure is based on knowledge of the specifics of such a conversation and on the possession of the technique of its conduct: a farewell conversation is not scheduled before weekends or holidays; not carried out at the workplace of the dismissed person or in a room where a large number of people work; it should not last more than 20 minutes, since the employee, experiencing unpleasant news, is not able to listen carefully and think about the various details that the manager sets out to him.
Problematic and disciplinary conversations are brought to life by the occurrence of failures in the activities of the employee, the need for a critical assessment of his work and the facts of violation of discipline.
In the process of preparing a problematic conversation, the leader must answer questions in advance about the meaning, purpose, results, means and methods of solving the problem, striving to ensure that during the conversation the subordinate takes the position of leadership. For this you should:
1) obtain the necessary information about the employee and his work;
2) build a conversation, observing the following order in the communication of information: a message containing positive information about the employee's activities; message of a critical nature; a message of a commendable and instructive nature;
be specific and avoid ambiguities (turns like "You did not do what you needed", "You did not complete the tasks", etc.); Criticize the performance of the task, not the person.
Compliance with these rules helps to create a positive emotional background that will allow you to conduct the unpleasant part of the conversation constructively, without causing unnecessary hostility from the employee, without forcing him to take a defensive position.
When conducting a problematic conversation, it is important to find out: is the problem that has arisen a means of attracting attention? (For example, a delinquent employee hides his dissatisfaction for some reason and does not want or cannot openly speak about it.) Are the violations caused by personal difficulties (family conflict, illness of loved ones, etc.)? Is the problem related to a lack of qualifications, assistance, training? Maybe the worker needs more independence? Or is it because he does not accept the leadership style? The answers to these questions will allow you to decide on possible organizational arrangements that need to be implemented within a specific timeframe and which can become a program to overcome the situation that has arisen.
If during a problematic conversation it is supposed to inform the employee about disciplinary measures, the decision on punishment should be expressed simply, clearly, with an emphasis on understanding and correct assessment of what happened.
For example: "You cannot avoid a reprimand. I understand that this punishment will not add joy to you, but I cannot do otherwise."
The ability to make comments showing what and how should be changed in the work, while noting what is already being done well by this employee, is an indicator of the high communicative competence of the manager.
Structural organization conversations. Conducting a conversation involves a number of mandatory stages: preparatory stage; the beginning of the conversation; discussion of the problem; decision-making; end of conversation.
Preparatory stage. During the period of preparation for the upcoming conversation, it is necessary to think over the issues of its expediency, the conditions and time for its conduction, prepare necessary materials and documents.
When choosing a venue for a conversation, it is useful to consider the following recommendations of experts. In your office, you will feel more confident if the initiative of the conversation comes from you. In the office of your interlocutor, it will be easier for you to resolve issues on which you take an objectively more advantageous position. If it is necessary to work out a joint decision, a program of joint actions, it makes sense to arrange a meeting "in neutral territory", where neither side will have advantages.
When preparing for an upcoming conversation, it is necessary to avoid two extremes: excessive confidence in your ability to conduct an effective conversation without preparation and the desire to think through all the stages of a future meeting, up to the use of pauses and gestures. In the first case, the initiative can pass to the partner, in the second, deviation from the plan can lead to confusion and uncertainty. It is more useful to think over and predict the main lines of behavior.
Start of a conversation. The tasks that are solved at the beginning of the conversation are primarily related to establishing contact with the interlocutor, creating an atmosphere of mutual understanding, awakening interest in the conversation. Their further attitude to the subject of conversation and their interlocutor as a person depends on the first phrases of each participant in the meeting.
We list a number of methods, the use of which is effective at the beginning of a conversation:
- a method of relieving tension: the use of warm words, personal appeal, compliments, jokes to establish closer contact with the interlocutor;
- the "hook" method: the use of any event, comparison, personal impression, anecdote or an unusual question that allows you to figuratively represent the essence of the problem, the discussion of which should be devoted to the conversation;
- a method of stimulating the game of the imagination: posing at the beginning of the conversation a lot of questions on a number of problems that should be considered during the conversation:
- method of "direct approach": direct transition to the case without any discussion - a brief statement of the reasons for which the interview is scheduled, and a quick transition to a specific issue.
The main part of the conversation is aimed at collecting and evaluating information on the problem under discussion; identifying the motives and goals of the interlocutor; transmission of scheduled information. The successful implementation of this phase is facilitated by the possession of the technique of posing questions, methods of active listening and perception of information and facts.
The frank, constructive-critical atmosphere of a business conversation is contradicted by:
- tactless interruption in mid-sentence;
- unjustified deprivation of the interlocutor of the opportunity to express his opinion;
- imposing the opinion of the speaker;
- ignoring: or ridiculing the arguments of the interlocutor;
- rude reaction to the statement; partners of opposing points of view;
- juggling of facts;
- unfounded suspicions, allegations, shouting for criticism;
- pressure on the interlocutor by voice, manners.
In business Russian, a number of stable speech turns can be distinguished, which allow interlocutors to control the course of the conversation at the stage of discussing the problem and making a decision. Here are some examples:
The main task of the statement
Clarification of the topic, purpose, Let's clarify the details ...
subject of conversation If I understand you correctly ...
Get me up to speed...
Can we expect...
Do you have a specific suggestion...
Persuasion partner I am quite sure of this ...
No reason to be afraid...
I think we all win...
Of course you will agree that...
Without any doubt…
Incomplete agreement This requires further discussion…
We will try as much as possible...
Maybe consider other terms...
Disagreement It is hardly possible ...
Unfortunately…
It would be undesirable...
Not your fault...
Evaluation of the situation I share your point of view ...
In fact…
Raises some doubts...
Conclusion The conclusion is that…
From this it follows that…
As has been proven...

The final part of the conversation serves as its assessment. Successfully completing a conversation means achieving predetermined goals. The tasks of this stage are: achievement of the main or reserve goal; providing a favorable atmosphere at the end of the conversation; stimulating the interlocutor to perform the intended activity; maintaining, if necessary, further contact with the interlocutor.
It is important to separate the end of the conversation from its other phases; for this, expressions like "Let's summarize" or "We have come to the end of our conversation" are used.
Thus, a business conversation can be considered as a special kind of interpersonal interaction in an organizational environment. A clear understanding by the participants of the conversation of the goals they pursue, an understanding of the functional features of each of its stages, the possession of psychological and speech methods of conducting a business conversation are necessary components of effective business communication,
Business meeting.

A business meeting is one of the most important activities of a leader.
Meetings are necessary to speed up decision-making and increase their validity, for effective exchange of opinions and experience, more rapid delivery of specific tasks to the performer and emotional impact on the organization's personnel.
In management theory, a business meeting is defined as a form of organized, purposeful interaction between a manager and a team through an exchange of opinions. Since a business meeting is an activity related to decision-making by a group of people, the nature of the speeches of its participants and its results are seriously influenced by such features of group behavior as the distribution of roles in a group, relations between group members, group pressure
Unproductive meetings can cause material losses as a result of bad decisions made. Meetings are a management tool and must be used for the right purposes and in the right way to achieve the desired result.
The success of the meeting depends on how its participants come to understand the problem. Careful planning of elements such as goals, participants, agenda, and venue is the key to a productive meeting.
At the stage of setting the goal, it is important to consider whether a group decision is really required. Experience shows that problem solving in a group is appropriate when:
- the problem is complex, and the likelihood that one person has all the information needed to solve it is small;
- reasonable division of responsibility for solving this problem;
- potential solutions are also desirable, and not just one;
- it is useful to check different views;
- the leader wants subordinates to feel part of the democratic process, or wants to gain their trust;
The members of the group need to get to know each other better.
The effectiveness of meetings depends on how they are led. At all stages of the meeting, it is necessary to influence the participants so that they identify themselves with the problem under discussion and strive to solve it. This creates a frank and benevolent, constructive-critical atmosphere that builds trust.
In practice, the effectiveness of the meeting is reduced due to the unclear purpose of the meeting; insufficiently responsible attitude of the meeting participants to their duties; categorical presentation by the head of his position, leaving no room for the deployment of a creative discussion.
To avoid these errors, consider the following recommendations:
- Ensuring that the meeting starts on time, introduces the participants, announces the agenda and sets out the subject and purpose of the meeting;
- a clear and understandable presentation of the problem put forward for discussion, posing questions, highlighting the main points, which contributes to the emergence of a creative discussion at the meeting;
- careful recording of the speeches of the meeting participants, revealing difficulties and obstacles and showing ways to overcome them. Related definitions, questions, requirements, arguments, alternative solutions should be formulated in such a way as to encourage participants to analyze this problem and search for ways to solve it; striving to achieve the goal of the meeting from the standpoint of saving time;
- the correct interruption of those speeches that repeat in general terms the facts already stated, are irrational, lengthy, contradictory and superficial or lack specificity;
- Periodic generalizations of what has already been achieved, a clear formulation of tasks that have yet to be solved, the immediate clarification of all misunderstandings that arise between the participants of the meeting;
- summarizing the results in the conclusion of the meeting, determining the tasks arising from it, indicating the persons responsible for their implementation, gratitude to the employees for participating in the meeting.
Types of business meetings.

Business meetings are classified according to the following criteria:
- belonging to the sphere public life: business administrative, scientific or scientific and technical (seminars, symposia, conferences, congresses), meetings and meetings of political, trade union and other public organizations, joint meetings;
- the scale of involvement of participants - international, republican, sectoral, regional, regional, city, district, internal (on the scale of one organization or its divisions);
- venue - local, traveling;
- frequency of holding - regular, permanent (collected periodically, but without stable regularity);
- the number of participants - in a narrow composition - up to 5 people, in an expanded composition - up to 20 people, representative - more than 20 people.
Business meetings can be classified according to the topics of the issues under consideration, according to the form of holding, according to the main task.
Meetings are divided into instructive, operational (dispatching), problematic.
The purpose of briefing meetings is to transfer the necessary information and orders from top to bottom in the management scheme for their speedy implementation. The decisions taken by the head of the enterprise or organization are brought to the attention of the meeting participants, tasks are distributed with appropriate briefing, unclear issues are clarified, the timing and methods of fulfilling orders are determined.
It is advisable to use briefing meetings if there is no time for written instructions or if the manager wants to emotionally influence his subordinates.
The goals of operational (dispatch) meetings are to obtain information about current state affairs. Unlike briefing meetings, information flows from the bottom up through the control scheme. Participants of such a meeting report on the progress of work in the field. Operational meetings are held regularly, always at the same time, the list of participants is permanent, there is no special agenda, they are devoted to urgent tasks of the current and next 2-3 days.
Goals of problem meetings - search best solutions problems in the shortest possible time, bringing up economic problems for discussion, consideration of organizational prospects, discussion innovative projects.
The optimal solution can be obtained using the following methods:
- finding a solution without its preliminary preparation on the basis of a discussion of all the proposals made by the participants during the meeting;
- choose the optimal solution from two or several options prepared in advance for discussion;
- to accept the decision found by the leader before the meeting, by convincing those who doubt its correctness.
A problem meeting may include a form of group decision-making such as a discussion, which involves communication based on arguments and arguments in order to find the truth by comparing different opinions. The essence of the action in the discussion is to defend or refute the thesis.
The use of discussion in a problem meeting sets three groups of interrelated tasks for the leader: tasks in relation to the problem, tasks in relation to a group of participants in the discussion, tasks in relation to each individual participant. In accordance with this, the functions of the discussion leader are determined by the type of tasks being solved.
Tasks in relation to the problem: to formulate the purpose and topic of the discussion; follow the rules, direct the discussion in the mainstream; collect as many proposals as possible on the problem under discussion, trying to cover all its aspects; analyze incoming proposals and opinions; summarize the discussion by comparing its objectives with the results obtained.
The quality of the decision made by the group is significantly influenced by the sequence of steps in considering the question posed. In management theory, the "reflexive frame" model is used, which is a group decision-making scheme consisting of several interrelated blocks of questions. The answers to these questions allow the group to increase the effectiveness of the decision being made. The basic categories of questions are:
- What is the essence of the problem? Is it clearly defined and clearly articulated? Is there an understanding of the general situation in which this problem occurs?
- What is the factual side of the case? What is the history of the problem? What are its reasons? Why is it important? Whom does it affect and how?
- What criteria should be met by the decision? By what or whose standards should the decision be judged? What are the fundamental requirements for the decision: how much should it fit, whose interests should not be affected?
- What are possible solutions Problems?
- What is the best solution?
- How can the decision be implemented? What steps are needed to implement the solution? What is their sequence? Who is responsible?
Tasks in relation to the participants of the meeting as a whole:
- maintain a high level of activity of the whole group, comparing different opinions, isolating contradictions, controversial issues, formulating a contradiction as a problem;
- maintain a business atmosphere, avoiding personal confrontation of the participants, preventing incorrect actions;
- help the group reach a consensus.
Tasks for each participant:
- pay attention to each participant;
- activate passive;
- emphasize the contribution of each to the overall result, thank all members of the group for participating in the discussion.
Brainstorm. A problematic meeting may include brainstorming - a group work method in which the primary goal is to find new options for solving a problem. The starting point for brainstorming is a problem that has not found an acceptable solution. For successful brainstorming, group members must adhere to the following rules:
- temporarily refuse to evaluate and criticize ideas and accept all views;
- encourage the free flow of ideas - the wider the range of ideas proposed, the better. At this stage practical ideas are not a value;
- to complete, improve, modify the ideas of others. Work by mixing ideas until an interesting combination arises;
- write down all ideas.
Although brainstorming is the creative group's way of working, it has formulaic forms: first presenting a problem to consider; then come up with ideas to solve or mitigate the problem; the person presenting the problem (client) selects several ideas for further development; Based on the selected ideas, they develop alternative solutions that are effective in practice.
A group in which there are specialists and "profanes" works more effectively. It is much easier for laymen who do not know the problem in detail to express ideas precisely for the reason that they think outside the box and their ideas serve as a kind of catalyst for ideas for specialists.
The factor that most strongly impedes brainstorming is criticism. On the one hand, the person expressing criticism thinks habitually; on the other hand, it prevents others from looking for solutions that differ from the standard ones.
The appearance of new ideas is hindered by officiality and formality; finding the right solutions; clarification and justification; client passivity.
In a critical atmosphere, it is almost impossible to get people to open up their ideas. Success in generating ideas is facilitated by a safe and open atmosphere, active imagination and desire; development, processing and connection of the expressed ideas; processing, surprise and doubt in the existing solution; search for analogues of relevant problems and actions and their application to existing ones; client activity.
Thus, a business meeting is a form group activity; accordingly, the factors that determine its effectiveness are primarily related to the ability to organize the work of the troupe and manage group behavior. Unlike a business conversation, when the interlocutors cannot but take into account the personality traits, motives, and speech characteristics of each other, the speech behavior of the participants in a business meeting is largely impersonal, subject to the interests and expectations of the group they consider themselves to be representatives of.
Phone conversation.

A telephone conversation is contact in time, but distant in space and mediated by special technical means interlocutor communication. Accordingly, the lack of visual contact increases the load on the oral-speech means of interaction of communication partners.
Features of telephone communication. The telephone has a number of advantages that other means of communication lack. The main ones are: the speed of information transfer (gain in time); immediate establishment of communication with a subscriber located at any distance; direct exchange of information in the form of a dialogue and the ability to reach an agreement without waiting for a meeting; contact confidentiality; paperwork reduction; savings on organizing contacts of other types.
To master the rules of effective telephone conversations, you must first understand and take into account all the significant components of this typical communicative situation.
Communicative setting - arrange the interlocutor for further business contacts; receive or transmit reliable information without wasting time and money on business trips or correspondence.
Role settings. In a business conversation on the phone, the roles of the interlocutors are no different from those in direct contacts, however, the initiator of the conversation gets an additional advantage, as he thinks through his behavior in advance, choosing the moment convenient for him and the manner of conducting the conversation.
By non-verbal means telephone communication can be pauses (their duration), intonation (expressing enthusiasm, consent, alertness, etc.), background noise and the speed of picking up the handset (after a beep), parallel appeal to another interlocutor, etc.
True, all of the points listed may not be consistent with your motives if the initiator of the conversation is someone else. Therefore, you need to be prepared for the fact that, for objective or subjective reasons, the conversation may break down, that the interlocutor may simply not want to talk to you.
Telephone etiquette. As accepted in the business world" telephone etiquette"Each of the speakers must adhere to a certain set of etiquette and speech formulas for communicating on the phone.
If you call.

Check if you got where you wanted to go. Introduce yourself and briefly state the reason for the call. For the secretary, try to choose the most general, but necessary words to present the essence of the matter. If you call the person who asked you to call, but he was not there or he cannot come to the device, ask him to convey that you called; tell me when and where you can be easily found. If you think the conversation might drag on, ask, "Do you have time to talk right now?"
Remember that a business dialogue on the phone is an exchange of information of operational significance with a specific purpose. Be brief but informative.
At the end of the conversation, try to leave a good impression of yourself anyway. To say goodbye, add a phrase like: "I hope that our contacts will be useful!
If they call you.

Name your organization; if the phone is in your personal account name your position. If you did not introduce yourself and did not give the reason for the call, try to clarify these details before starting the conversation; otherwise, continuation of contact is inappropriate ... If you leave unexpectedly, tell the secretary to whom and what information he can transfer on your behalf; do not ask the caller: "Who am I talking to?" or "What do you need?"; find a friendly formula (company standard) to start a conversation, for example, "Good morning! The office manager is on the phone. I'm listening to you."
Answer all calls equally calmly, no matter how tiring it may be; the caller should not pay for the fact that they just upset you; it is impossible to predict which call will be more useful. Demonstrate attention to the words of the interlocutor with remarks: "Yes", "I understand ...", "Absolutely ...", etc. According to etiquette, the conversation ends with its initiator, but if you feel that the conversation is wasted, try to make it clear to the interlocutor, for example, with the phrase "I think we have found out the main details ..."
The ability to speak on the phone, without wasting time and at the same time solving all questions, requires the possession of a certain set of speech formulas.
Starting a conversation:

Information reason:
You have a call from the firm... My name is... I would like to...
Sales manager talking to you...
Request, request for information, desire for advice or support:
Are you worried... Can I speak to...
I would like to know... Could you give some information...
Researchers say that a person makes a decision to continue the conversation in the first four seconds. The opening phrase is neutral to the main subject of the conversation. The timbre of the voice, the intonation of confidence and friendliness, the measured rhythm of speech will help you make a good impression right away. Next, you need to think about the main phrase, decisive question about continuing the conversation; it should contain promise, intrigue, novelty of approach to the problem, etc.
Highlight of the conversation
Intriguing promise: benefit, profit, effect, free services, speed of execution:
We have an interesting offer for you...
We want to make you a mutually beneficial offer....
We would like to introduce you to our discount system...
We recently changed the delivery system of goods, so...
You cannot be sure that every telephone conversation will end with an immediate agreement. But if you are a polite person, do not cut off the conversation, do not grumble, do not brush off this interlocutor forever; who knows, maybe later you will refer to him yourself.
Ending a conversation:

Neutral:
Goodbye. All the best. Thanks for the info. Be healthy, all the best.
Looking forward to future contacts:
I am sure that our contacts will be productive. I think we found mutual language.
I was glad to hear. I hope we will continue the conversation when we meet.
Among people who often conduct telephone conversations, there are too verbose. Pointing them out directly to the need to cut the flow of speech can be awkward; you don't want to offend the dispersed "orator" even when he speaks not on the merits. Use the fact that you are being heard but not seen. In this case, the following phrases are quite appropriate (especially if they are true):
Excuse me, please, they call me on the second phone ...
I would like to continue our conversation, but in five minutes I have a meeting ...
Sorry, we may be interrupted by an international phone call….
We'd better talk another time...
Unfortunately, I have an important business meeting right now….
In order to finally convince the interlocutor of your disposition towards him, add:
I will call you on Monday….
Call if the situation changes....
Let's not postpone the meeting for a long time ....
If you do not want to continue contacts, or do not hope for their continuation, say:
I'm sorry I couldn't convince you...
I regret that you will not become our client….
In any case, I wish you success.
I would be happy to change the situation.

At staff training in large organizations employees usually ask the same questions. Here are these questions and the answers to them.
1. Should you answer the phone if you have a visitor?
Yes, but apologize into the phone and to the visitor, asking him to wait a bit for someone who seems more important to you in this situation. If the phone conversation can be resumed later, agree on this, if not, ask the visitor, "without losing your mind", to give you the opportunity to end the conversation.
2. If you have a lunch break, but you are in the office, how to respond to the call?
Pick up the phone, find out who is calling and, if possible, reschedule the call. At the same time, try not to lose a potential client, because a productive business conversation will improve your well-being sooner than any lunch.
3. If the caller claims to be a friend of your boss, do you need to connect them right away?
First make sure the boss wants it.
4. If the person who was called is not at the place, is it necessary to give his name?
Needed if you want to call back or ask him to call you. Not necessary unless you are interested in further contact personally with him. But in any case, you must say who called and from where, otherwise you may be suspected of wanting to receive "secret" information. Also, don't forget that many offices have caller ID phones installed.
The most flagrant violation business etiquette- do not call back when your call (or arrival) is expected. This must be done during the working day, even in the evening, not put off for a long time.
It is a serious violation of etiquette to make the person talking to you wait by the phone, while solving your problems "on the spot". In this case, even: an apology is not always enough. It is better to agree on a second call to the interlocutor after a while.
Now there is a lot of talk about the need to create so-called corporate standards of employee behavior. First of all, they decide what words spoken by an employee of the company on the phone after picking up the receiver can put the caller to the firn, will be remembered by him as a corporate identity. It is more pleasant for any of us to hear "Good afternoon. Sirius Publishing House. I'm listening to you" instead of the faceless "Hello! Who's talking?". Another "standard" is phrases that help to avoid undermining the credibility of your company during a conversation:

Now we are engaged in activities of a different profile.
You can often hear that a telephone conversation did not bring any benefit, because the initiator did not have time to "collect his thoughts", and the interlocutor "pelled him with questions." Of course, this also happens, but try to think through the scheme and content of your conversation before you pick up the phone (if you are calling).
- Think about why you are calling? How can you interest the interlocutor? What do you expect from him?
- Make a list of reasons why it would be useful for him to meet with you, your contacts are beneficial.
- Think over the conversation in detail. To avoid wasting time.
- To prepare the ground for a conversation, leave with the secretary of the organization you need a booklet of your company or flyer.
- Start the conversation by asking how you feel about your matcha rials and therefore your offer,
- If the situation of the conversation is lost, be sure to try to find out what was the reason, what was your mistake, what to do so that IT does not happen again.
- Do not go into details, especially in the first conversation, leave it for conversation.
- If someone calls you, write down the name of the caller right away so that you can refer to him during the conversation and, in addition, remember for the future.
Thus, a telephone conversation as a type of business interaction, due to the lack of visual contact between the interlocutors, enhances the importance of oral-speech means. There are increasing requirements for preliminary thinking over the scheme and content of the conversation, possession of a certain set of speech formulas that allow you to win over the interlocutor, inspire confidence in your organization, and also tactfully regulate the duration of the conversation.
Speech communications in business negotiations.

Negotiations make up a significant part of the professional activities of business people, entrepreneurs, managers, specialists different levels, social workers, political leaders, etc. In the "Dictionary of the Russian language" S.I. Ozhegov, the most popular at present, negotiations are defined as an exchange of views with business purpose". However, in order to distinguish them from the previously considered business conversations and meetings, one important clarification needs to be made. Yayergoyiramu refers to verbal communication between interlocutors who have the necessary authority from their organizations (institutions, firms, etc.) to establish business relations , resolving controversial issues or developing a constructive approach to their solution.This means that, unlike business conversations and meetings held within an organization (institutions, firms, etc.) between its employees, negotiations are a process, participants which are representatives of at least two parties (institutions, firms, etc.), authorized to carry out relevant business contacts and conclude contracts. The purpose of the negotiations is always associated with the development of a joint program of action in any area of activity.
And much * w from the negotiation process today singled out the axis as an independent area of work for many educational centers. There are scientific programs, original methods of teaching businessmen, lawyers, sociologists, and public figures the art of negotiation.
typical communication situations.

The subjects of business negotiations (what they agree on) are, as a rule, elements of a professional
Activities, issues of mutual interest, relationships with partners, etc. In the negotiation process, speech actions are implemented, which can be reinforced or accompanied by non-verbal ones (gestures, facial expressions, glances, movements, etc.).
Any business contacts are related to the achievement of goals, the solution of specific tasks, i.e. with the implementation of a communicative installation
Participants in business communication, having a real status (professional, social, cultural), in the negotiation process play roles determined by the nature of the communicative situation. As a rule, the negotiation process involves relations in the subject-subject system. Each of the participants in the negotiations is guided by their intentions, motives, goals. The successful completion of negotiations is, first of all, the development of a joint decision, joint plans for further actions, since the most common goal of partners in the negotiation process is to get wet with opinions and information, followed by the establishment of new sayings and relationships or confirmation of old ones. In special cases, the goal of negotiations is to resolve the conflict.
Motives, goals, role settings, negotiation conditions dictate a set of etiquette and speech formulas, specific speech and language means of formalizing the subject content of the conversation.
It must also be remembered that all people are different, therefore, not only in everyday situations, but also in the most difficult business contacts, they behave differently and pursue different goals: some need justice, others need victory, others need money and power. Therefore, starting negotiations, you need to take into account the personal qualities and life values of each of the participants, be able to look at the problem through the eyes of the interlocutor, opponent, competitor, build speech should be based on accessibility, ease of understanding by any of the partners but communication.
Without special communication skills and abilities, i.e. communication skills, even an excellent specialist in his field will not be able to support a business conversation, carry a business meeting); take part in the discussion, defend their point of view. It means that business man in addition to professional competence (knowledge and skills in setting tasks and performing technological actions in a certain area), he must master communicative competence, i.e. knowledge of the psychological, subject (content) and language components necessary for understanding a negotiating partner and (or) generating one's own program of behavior, including independent speech works.
The implementation of communicative competence is associated with the parameters of typical communicative situations that structure any sphere of communication: domestic, educational, industrial, etc. Situations related to the commercial negotiation process will be discussed below.
We will agree to consider a typical communicative situation (TCS) a certain model of a business contact, due to its features (content, environment), in which the partners' speech actions aimed at reaching an agreement are implemented. In other words, the TCS reflects the motives of interaction, the goals of qeBbix actions, the conditions for the flow of communication, social roles interlocutors, as well as those speech actions, with the help of which it is false to most fully express the attitude of the parties to the subject of negotiations.
If we assume that the verbal and non-verbal (verbal and non-verbal) behavior of partners when communicating in any TCS in general terms can be modeled in advance, there is reason to conclude that it is possible to form and develop communicative competence, taking into account the specific (individual) needs of each participant in business negotiations. Further, the TCS that arise in the course of preparing business negotiations, their conduct and control over the execution of their decisions are analyzed in detail. These include: "the establishment (maintenance) of business contacts; their updating and implementation, as well as their control and evaluation.
All TCS groups are considered or implemented according to the following parameters: communicative attitudes, i.e. goals and objectives of communication: role-playing attitudes, i.e. reflection in the behavior of communicants of their social and business characteristics; ethics ethno-speech formulas of communication.
Negotiating partners, solving their own problems, will be able to come to an agreement if they strive to establish a favorable psychological and communicative microclimate of the conversation, to maintain a friendly tone of conversation. In any version of the negotiation process, the "golden" rule should be implemented: "Treat others the way you would like them to treat you." Establishing and maintaining business contacts high level Cultures, compliance with the rules of business etiquette make it possible to increase the efficiency of solving any substantive tasks. If the necessary contact is not established with: the interlocutor, a "common language" is not found, it is useless to give reasonable, objective arguments.
Establishment, maintenance of business contacts includes an appeal, greeting, acquaintance, order, offer, request, gratitude, praise, compliment, apology, farewell, etc.
Appeal. Communicative setting - determination of the social and role status of the participants in communication, the establishment of social and speech contact.

PHONE CONVERSATION

Almost all things are started, carried out and completed with the help of speech interactions between people. In this chapter, we will consider business conversations and meetings, as well as telephone communication as a special type of verbal communication.

In the life of any organization or enterprise, these types of business communication occupy an important place. The exchange of information, the promotion and development of working ideas, the control and coordination of the activities of employees, the summing up and evaluation of what has been achieved are just some of the aspects of the organization's activities that are associated with holding meetings and business conversations of various kinds. They are brought together by such moments as orientation to the interests of the work, planning, some formalism of the language, i.e. everything that gives a business character to these speech interactions. At the same time, business conversations, business meetings and telephone conversations can be considered as independent types of business communication. They differ from each other not only by the goals for which they are held, the form of contact, but also by the number of participants, which predetermines the socio-psychological characteristics of their organization and conduct.

§ 1. Features of office and business communication

Communication in organizations

The principles of activity of any social organization (firms, institutions) impose certain restrictions on people's behavior. We note the following among them:

2. Hierarchy of building an organization: relations of subordination, dependence, and inequality are fixed between departments and employees. One of the consequences of this principle for speech communication is the problem of the conditions for transmitting accurate and, if possible, complete information along the links of the hierarchical pyramid and, accordingly, the effectiveness of feedback.

Another reason for the low efficiency of vertical communication is related to the belief, common among some managers, that subordinates do not need to know about the state of affairs in the enterprise as a whole, they must carry out the tasks assigned to them, implement the decisions made and not ask unnecessary questions. However, as established by the psychology of perception, a person will act meaningfully if he knows not only the specific operation he is performing, but also sees the wider context in which it is inscribed. If specific performers are deprived of information of this kind, they begin to look for answers on their own, while distorting and conjecturing the available information.

Requirements for speech communication in a business environment

The principles of life of any organization predetermine the features of office and business communication and largely explain the nature of the requirements for speech communication in a business environment. These requirements can be formulated as follows:

Be clear about the purpose of your message

Make the message understandable and accessible to different groups of employees: find specific illustrations of common concepts, develop the general idea using vivid examples.

Keep messages as short and concise as possible, discard redundant information, draw the attention of employees only to those problems that concern them specifically.

When speaking with employees, follow the rules of active listening, show them signals of your understanding and readiness for joint action.

§ 2. Business conversation

In Management Theory, a conversation is considered as a type of business communication, a specially organized substantive conversation that serves to solve managerial problems. Unlike business negotiations, which are much more rigidly structured and, as a rule, are conducted between representatives of different organizations (or divisions of the same organization), a business conversation, although it always has a specific subject, is more personally oriented and more often takes place between representatives of the same organization.

Goals and objectives of a business conversation

To the number purposes requiring businessconversations, can be attributed, firstly, the desire of one interlocutor through the word to have a certain influence on another, to cause a desire in another person or group to act in order to change the existing business situation or business relations, in other words, to create a new business situation or new business relations between the participants of the conversation; secondly, the need for the manager to develop appropriate decisions based on an analysis of the opinions and statements of employees.

Compared to other types of speech communication business conversation has the following advantages:

Responsiveness to the statements of the interlocutors, contributing to the achievement of goals.

Increasing the competence of the manager by taking into account, critically checking and evaluating opinions, suggestions, ideas, objections and criticisms made in the conversation.

The possibility of a more flexible, differentiated approach to the subject of discussion as a result of understanding the context of the conversation, as well as the goals of each of the parties.

A business conversation, thanks to the feedback effect, which is most clearly manifested precisely in direct interpersonal interaction, allows the leader to respond to the partner's statements in accordance with a specific situation, i.e. taking into account the purpose, subject and interests of partners.

When conducting business conversations, it is advisable to follow the rules of effective verbal communication formulated in the first chapter. At the same time, a business conversation as a direct interaction of its two participants must be built on the basis of the following important principles:

Conscious adjustment to the level of the interlocutor, taking into account the content of the tasks performed by him, his powers and areas of responsibility, life and work experience, interests, features of his thinking and speech.

Rational organization of the conversation process, which primarily means a brief presentation by the interlocutors of the content of information on the topic under discussion, because a lengthy presentation and redundant information complicate the assimilation of the most essential.

Simplicity, figurativeness, clarity of language as a condition for the intelligibility of information, therefore, orientation towards the interlocutor.

The role of questions in a business conversation

The conversation is not a monologue, but a dialogue, i.e. two-way communication, the purpose of which is either the desire to better understand the nature of the problem that has arisen, or the impact on one of the interlocutors, taking into account his interests and opinions on the issue under discussion. Therefore, it is necessary to formulate questions, definitions, assessments in such a way that they directly or indirectly invite the interlocutor to express their attitude to the stated opinion.

Since the dialogue is controlled by the questioner, with the help of questions, he can direct the process of transmitting information in a direction that corresponds to his plans and wishes; seize and hold the initiative in a conversation; activate the interlocutor, thereby moving from a monologue to a dialogue; give the interlocutor an opportunity to express themselves. Therefore, the ability to ask questions becomes key instrument to quickly and accurately obtain the necessary information. With this in mind, let us dwell in more detail on the types and functions of questions.

Questions can be classified in various ways. In management activities, it is useful to distinguish between the following categories of questions: by the nature of the expected answers; according to the content contained in them; according to the functions they perform.

Closed and open questions already known to us from Chapter IV are separated by the nature of the expected responses,

Closed questions. These are questions with a rigid structure, they can be answered simply Yes or No or a few words. For example, “How old are you?”, “Where do you live?”, “What school did you finish”, “Do you like this job?” and so on. It should be noted that formulations using the particle whether(type "Do you like it?", "Would you like it?", "Do you agree?", "Do you like it?") are a variant of closed questions and can bias responses in the positive direction, as can questions like "Do not you want?" The construction of questions like "Do you don’t you think?”, “Don’t you?” inclines the respondent to a negative answer. If in a conversation it is desirable to avoid this kind of guidance on the answer, then it is better to use alternative questions as a variant of closed questions. For example, “In your opinion, does the training of graduates of the scales meet the requirements of universities?” or “Would you like to continue your education or not?”.

Closed questions will allow you to get accurate information, but with their help it is difficult to evoke a deeper and more detailed message if the interlocutor does not wish to reveal himself.

Open-ended questions are less structured questions, they offer more freedom in choosing an answer and begin with words. what, how, why, why and so on.: " What do you feel when you see this person?”, “Tell us about yourself”, “What do you think about this specialty?”, “What are your professional goals?”, “For what reasons do you want to leave our organization” and so on. The person answers these questions in accordance with how he sees and feels the problem. That is why open-ended questions are used to clarify a complex, confusing situation, or in order to more accurately understand a person’s attitude to the subject of the conversation.

According to the content contained in the questions they can be divided into two large groups: questions about facts (informational) and questions about opinions, desires, attitudes.

Questions about facts (informational) are related to what actually happened in time and space: “You were at the meeting yesterday?”, “What year did you finish school?”, “Is this a picture of your son?” The answers to them are not difficult, so they often start a conversation, giving the person the opportunity to get involved in the conversation. Often these questions are closed, but they can also be open: “What is the subject of your research?”, “How did the idea of organizing this holiday come about?” and so on.

Questions about opinions, desires, attitudes. Getting answers to these questions is more difficult than questions about facts and knowledge. The attitude, assessments, desires of a person can be clear and well-formed, or they can be vague and vague, they may or may not be aware of it. A person's opinion on any issue can be ambiguous. Thus, a job may be pleasant in terms of prestige and not satisfying in terms of earnings. Therefore, when answering questions of this kind, people are more sensitive to the wording and sequence of questions than when answering questions about facts. It is important for the questioner to maintain neutrality regarding the subject of the conversation, to try to avoid words (statements) that carry an explicit assessment. For example, phrases like "Do you like it?" or "At your age to think about it?" To give the interlocutor an opportunity to express his attitude, questions like “I’m interested to hear your opinion”, “How would you like this problem to be resolved?”, “What do you think about this?” and so on.

TO function question group include the so-called control, clarifying and probing questions.

Control questions serve to check the reliability of answers. If at first you ask how satisfied your interlocutor is with the work, then after a few questions the first control question can be asked: “Would you like to move to another job?”, then the second one: “Suppose that for some reason you are temporarily not working. Would you return to your previous job? Comparing the answers to three questions gives information about the sincerity of the interlocutor.

Clarifying questions follow the question posed, clarifying or rechecking what has been said. The interlocutor is asked to explain the expressed thoughts or feelings. These questions are often used when answers are unclear or incomplete. For example, “Continue, what did you want to say?”, “Explain what it means?”, “Please give an example. What did you mean when you said that?" Clarifying questions are an effective way to get complete answers and control the direction of the conversation.

Probing questions are aimed at obtaining as much necessary information about the interlocutor as possible in order to decide in which direction to proceed. The difference between probing questions and clarifying ones is that they resort to probing questions in situations where the reasons for his own behavior or emotional state are either not clear to the interlocutor, or he would not like to talk about them; in such cases it is impossible to obtain information by resorting to direct clarifications. The art of conversation in such situations involves delicacy, the manifestation of emotional empathy. At the same time, the technique of conducting a conversation is aimed at getting closer to the essence of the matter, finding out from different angles what the problem is. Any questions aimed at clarifying the experiences of the interlocutor can serve as examples: “And how often does this happen?”, “What does this have to do with you?”, “Who was there?”, “What happened?” and so on.

Wanting to clarify the possible behavior of the interlocutor in a particular situation, the questioner can also turn to probing questions. In this case, instead of a direct question, such as "What would you do if,.,?", psychologically more subtle are the questions formulated as follows: “Have you ever had to deal with aggressive behavior of an employee at your previous job? What did you do? Why did you do it this way? What would happen if you had acted differently?

In the group of functional-psychological questions, one can single out mirror, indirect (projective), relay-race, questions-bridges, concluding.

Mirror questions, built on a complete repetition of the interlocutor's answer or on the repetition of key words in his answer, are aimed at achieving a real understanding of his feelings, experiences, state. Examples of mirror questions are: "I understand correctly what you mean...(follows a repetition of what the interlocutor said) "or "You said, that...(repeat what was said by the interlocutor) Why did you decide so?" Statements constructed in this way perform several functions in a conversation: the repetition by the listener of the words of the interlocutor causes the latter to feel that he is heard, and therefore understood; in addition, hearing his statement from the outside, a person can take it critically, clarify his thoughts and feelings.

Indirect questions are used when there is a fear that a person will not answer a direct question sincerely. Then the question can be asked not about the opinion of the interlocutor, but, say, about the opinion of his colleagues at work or about public opinion. For example: “How do you think public opinion will assess the transition to paid higher education?” or “How do your colleagues assess labor discipline in the organization?” The design of questions of this type contains elements of a projective methodology, according to which a person, formulating the opinion of his colleagues or fellow citizens, actually expresses his attitude to the problem. Indirect questions are also used when the questioner wants to hide his interest in something or does not want to clearly demonstrate his attitude to something. For example, wanting to know whether a conversation took place between his interlocutor and a third person, and at the same time not wanting to disclose his interest, he can indirectly obtain important information for him. To do this, you can ask a series of questions, as if by chance leading to the desired answer, for example: “Did you go to such and such a department today?”, “I wonder if such and such was there?”, “He turned to me with a request, but he didn’t ask you for anything?”

The relay question is designed to maintain and continue the dialogue, so that the transition from one topic to another during the conversation looks logical and psychologically appropriate. In its structure, it picks up the last words of the speaker in order to develop the theme.

Here is a fragment of an interview with the artist M. Shemyakin (Domovoy magazine. 1995. No. I):

- You, they say, have an estate in America. Is that a playful name for your house with a yard?

“You have an estate, and this is a great opportunity to live in an ivory tower and work. But you are not at home. Don't you want it? You need shake-ups, external activity.”

Bridge questions are also used to move on to another topic in a conversation: “A now a few questions about, . - M., 1982. Kozhina M.N. Stylistics

Russianlanguage And culturespeeches Bukanova Tamara Ivanovna Conventions:  ..., sorrel  Vvedenskaya, Kashaeva “Preparing for the exam”, “ Russianlanguage And culturespeeches" Credit: Know about styles: Main function...

Types of official communication. Office business communication Differences between business and office communication

Communication in organizations

PHONE CONVERSATION

§ 1. Features of office and business communication

Communication in organizations

Requirements for speech communication in a business environment

§ 2. Business conversation

Goals and objectives of a business conversation

The role of questions in a business conversation

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