Business Communication

BCB358D
Module 2
• Understanding Corporate Communication
• Employee communication
• Managing Government Relations
• Writing for Media and Media Relations
Corporate Communication
• Corporate communications is the way a business or organization interacts
with its audiences, both internally and externally.
• These audiences commonly include : Customers and potential customers,
Employees and Key stakeholders
Corporate communications can include:
• Employee relations: Strategizing and executing strategies to maintain
employee relations and streamline work
• Public relations: Communicating with the media and general public to create
a consistent narrative and reach the right audiences
• Management communication: Planning, delegating, goal-setting, and
commanding work to be done
Importance
• Maintaining a positive image: Corporate communications helps maintain a positive
corporate image
• Engaging stakeholders: Corporate communications helps engage stakeholders, such as
customers, potential customers, employees, key stakeholders, the media, and regulators
• Managing information flow: Corporate communications helps manage the flow of
information
• Boosting internal productivity: Corporate communications can help boost internal
productivity
• Meeting challenges: Corporate communications can help companies meet current
challenges and position themselves for future success
• Corporate communications can take many forms, including written, verbal, and visual.
Corporate communication can be broken down even further into four
distinct types:
• Internal formal communication.
• Internal informal communication.
• External formal communication.
• External informal communication.
Internal Formal Communication

• Controlled flow of information between employees within an organization

that follows a chain of command and predefined channels.
Example:
• Company emails
• Staff meetings
• Employee reviews
• Memos
• Official announcements
• Town hall meetings
• Presentations
• Phone calls
• Video conferences
Internal Informal Communication

• Casual exchange of information, ideas, and emotions between employees outside

of formal channels. Eg. casual conversations, watercooler discussions, social
media interactions, office gossip, and discussing work in a more relaxed context.

Informal communication is important in the workplace because it can:

• Help with employee morale
• Encourage a sense of belonging
• Create a positive work culture
• Share creative ideas
• Help employees bond regardless of their hierarchical level
• Provide a way for employees to be themselves
• Be a quick and easy way to share practical knowledge, tips, and best practices
External formal communication

• Exchange of information between a business and an external entity

using pre-defined channels and routes.
Examples of external formal communication include:
• Press releases: A business can announce a new acquisition to the
media via a press release on their website
• Whitepapers, case studies, brochures, and flyers: These are other
examples of external formal communication
• Corporate videos: A manager can share a corporate video on their
social media account to communicate an important company
announcement to stakeholders, customers, and the media
External Informal communication

• Casual way for employees to talk about their company to people outside the
organization. It's not directly regulated by the organization.
Here are some examples of external informal communication:
• Employees discussing their company's quality with others outside the
company
• Social media posts from a brand to share news, updates, and announcements
with followers
• Blog posts from a brand to connect with their audience and improve SEO
• Internal communication: Communication between employees of the same
business
• Some channels used for external communication include:
• Email, Social media, Press releases, Blog posts, Marketing collateral, and
Live chat.
7 C’s of Corporate Communication
• Clear
• Concise
• Concrete
• Correct
• Coherent
• Complete
• Courteous
Clear
• Clear communication ensures that messages are understood without any confusion or
misinterpretation.
• E.g.
Hi John,
I wanted to write you a quick note about Daniel, who's working in your department. He's a great
asset, and I'd like to talk to you more about him when you have time.
Best Wishes,
• Hi John,
I wanted to write you a quick note about Daniel Kedar, who's working in your department. In
recent weeks, he's helped the IT department through several pressing deadlines on his own time.
We've got a tough upgrade project due to run over the next three months, and his knowledge
and skills would prove invaluable. Could we please have his help with this work?
I'd appreciate speaking with you about this. When is it best to call you to discuss this further?
Best wishes,
Concise
• Stick to the point and keep it brief. Your audience doesn't want to read six sentences when you could
communicate your message in three.
• Example
Hi Matt,
I wanted to touch base with you about the email marketing campaign we kind of sketched out last Thursday. I
really think that our target market is definitely going to want to see the company's philanthropic efforts. I think
that could make a big impact, and it would stay in their minds longer than a sales pitch.
For instance, if we talk about the company's efforts to become sustainable, as well as the charity work we're doing
in local schools, then the people that we want to attract are going to remember our message longer. The impact
will just be greater.
What do you think?
• Good Example
Hi Matt,
I wanted to quickly discuss the email marketing campaign that we analyzed last Thursday. Our target market will
want to know about the company's philanthropic efforts, especially our goals to become sustainable and help local
schools.
This would make a far greater impact, and it would stay in their minds longer than a traditional sales pitch.
What do you think?
Concrete
• Message contains details (but not too many), vivid facts and is laser
like focus.
• Bad Example
Consider this advertising copy:
“The Lunchbox Wizard will save you time every day.”

• Good Example
“How much time do you spend every day packing your kids' lunches?
No more! Just take a complete Lunchbox Wizard from your refrigerator
each day to give your kids a healthy lunch and have more time to play
or read with them!”
Correct
• Do the technical terms you use fit your audience's level of education or
knowledge?
• Have you checked your writing for grammatical errors? (Remember,
spell checkers won't catch everything).
• Are all names and titles spelled correctly?
• Example
Hi Daniel,
Thanks so much for meeting me at lunch today! I enjoyed our
conservation, and I'm looking forward to moving ahead on our project. I'm
sure that the two-weak deadline won't be an issue.
Thanks again, and I'll speak to you soon!
Best,
Coherent
• When your communication is coherent, it's logical. All points are connected and relevant
to the main topic, and the tone and flow of the text is consistent.
Bad Example
Traci,
I wanted to write you a quick note about the report you finished last week. I gave it to
Michelle to proof, and she wanted to make sure you knew about the department meeting
we're having this Friday. We'll be creating an outline for the new employee handbook.
Thanks,
• Good Example
Hi Traci,
I wanted to write you a quick note about the report you finished last week. I gave it to
Michelle to proof, and she let me know that there are a few changes that you'll need to
make. She'll email you her detailed comments later this afternoon.
Thanks,
Complete
• In a complete message, the audience has everything they need to be informed and, if applicable, take
action.
• Does your message include a "call to action," so that your audience clearly knows what you want them
to do?
• Have you included all relevant information – contact names, dates, times, locations, and so on?
• Bad Example
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to send you all a reminder about the meeting we're having tomorrow!
See you then,

• Good Example

Hi everyone,
I just wanted to remind you about tomorrow's meeting on the new telecommuting policies. The meeting
will be at 10 a.m. in the second-level conference room. Please let me know if you can't attend.
See you then,
Courteous
• Courteous communication is friendly, open and honest. There are no hidden insults or passive-
aggressive tones. You keep your reader's viewpoint in mind, and you're empathetic to their needs.
• Bad Example
Jeff,
I wanted to let you know that I don't appreciate how your team always monopolizes the discussion at our
weekly meetings. I have a lot of projects, and I really need time to get my team's progress discussed as
well. So far, thanks to your department, I haven't been able to do that. Can you make sure they make time
for me and my team next week?
Thanks,
• Good Example
Hi Jeff,
I wanted to write you a quick note to ask a favor. During our weekly meetings, your team does an
excellent job of highlighting their progress. But this uses some of the time available for my team to
highlight theirs. I'd really appreciate it if you could give my team a little extra time each week to fully
cover their progress reports.
Thanks so much, and please let me know if there's anything I can do for you!
Best,