Chapter 1: Business Communication Foundations

Key Terms:

Self-Concept – your sense of self and awareness of who you are.
Communication – defined as the process of understanding and sharing meaning.
Understanding – to understand is to perceive, to interpret, and to relate our perception and interpretation to what we already know.
Sharing – Sharing means doing something together with one or more people.
Meaning – what we share through communication.
Source – The source imagines, creates, and sends the message.
Message – the stimulus or meaning produced by the source for the receiver or audience.
Channel – the way in which a message or messages travel between source and receiver.
Receiver – The receiver receives the message from the source, analyzing and interpreting the message in ways both intended and unintended by the source.
Feedback – Feedback is composed of messages the receiver sends back to the source.
Environment – the atmosphere, physical and psychological, where you send and receive messages.
Context – The context of the communication interaction involves the setting, scene, and expectations of the individuals involved.
Interference – Interference is anything that blocks or changes the source’s intended meaning of the message.
Transactional Model – communication actions often happening at the same time.
Constructivist Model – focus on the negotiated meaning, or common ground, when trying to describe communication.

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Chapter 2: Team Building and Dynamics

Key Terms:

Intrapersonal communication – communication with one’s self, and that may include self-talk, acts of imagination and visualization, and even recall and memory
Self-concept – what we perceive ourselves to be
Social comparisons – evaluating ourselves in relation to our peers of similar status, similar characteristics, or similar qualities
Internal monologue – refers to the self-talk of intrapersonal communication
Leadership – complex of beliefs, communication patterns, and behaviors that influence the functioning of a group and move a group toward the completion of its task
Designated leaders – officially recognized in their leadership role and may be appointed or elected by people inside or outside the group
Emergent leaders – gain status and respect through engagement with the group and its task and are turned to by others as a resource when leadership is needed
Directive leaders – help provide psychological structure for their group members by clearly communicating expectations, keeping a schedule and agenda, providing specific guidance as group members work toward the completion of their tasks, and taking the lead on setting and communicating group rules and procedures
Participative leaders – work to include group members in the decision-making process by soliciting and considering their opinions and suggestions
Supportive leaders – show concern for their followers’ needs and emotions
Achievement-oriented leaders – strive for excellence and set challenging goals, constantly seeking improvement and exhibiting confidence that group members can meet their high expectations
Legitimate power – the power that flows from the officially recognized position, status, or title of a group member
Expert power – comes from knowledge, skill, or expertise that a group member possesses and other group members do not
Referent power – comes from the attractiveness, likeability, and charisma of the group member
Information power – comes from a person’s ability to access information that comes through informal channels and well-established social and professional networks
Reward power – comes from the ability of a group member to provide a positive incentive as a compliance-gaining strategy
Coercive power – comes from the ability of a group member to provide a negative incentive
Group socialization – involves how the group members interact with one another and form relationships
Uncertainty theory – states that we choose to know more about others with whom we have interactions in order to reduce or resolve the anxiety associated with the unknown
Forming stage – initiation of group formation
Storming stage – a time of struggles as the members themselves sort out their differences
Norming stage – where the group establishes norms, or informal rules, for behavior and interaction
Performing stage – the group accomplishes its mandate, fulfills its purpose, and reaches its goals
Adjourning stage – when members leave the group
New group member – your level of acceptance will increase as you begin learning the group’s rules, spoken and unspoken
Full members – enjoy knowing the rules and customs, and can even create new rules.
Divergent group members – pull back, contribute less, and start to see themselves as separate from the group
Marginal group members – start to look outside the group for their interpersonal needs
Ex-member – one who no longer belongs to the group
Conflict – the physical or psychological struggle associated with the perception of opposing or incompatible goals, desires, demands, wants, or needs
Defensive communication – characterized by control, evaluation, and judgments
Supportive communication – focuses on points and not personalities
Face-detracting strategies – involve messages or statements that take away from the respect, integrity, or credibility of a person
Face-saving strategies – protect credibility and separate the message from the messenger
Empathetic (Active) listening – involves listening to both the literal and implied meanings of a message which involves hearing accurately, comprehending and interpreting, evaluating, and responding.
Gunnysacking (or backpacking) – the imaginary bag we all carry into which we place unresolved conflicts or grievances over time
Problem statement – a single sentence that summarizes the problem
Problem question – a question posed from the issues the group has analyzed
Nominal group technique – guides decision-making through a four-step process that includes idea generation and evaluation and seeks to elicit equal contributions from all group members
Majority rule – a commonly used decision-making technique in which a majority (one-half plus one) must agree before a decision is made
Minority rule – a decision-making technique in which a designated authority or expert has the final say over a decision and may or may not consider the input of other group members
Consensus rule – a decision-making technique in which all members of the group must agree on the same decision

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Chapter 3: Message Prep and Delivery

Key Terms:

Language – a system of symbols, words, and/or gestures used to communicate meaning
Semantic triangle – This triangle illustrates how the word (which is really nothing more than a combination of four letters) refers to the thought, which then refers to the thing itself
Preunderstanding – a set of expectations and assumptions from previous experience that we apply to a new problem or situation
Conventions – The customary forms and configurations (of communication) that members expect
Selection – This action of sorting competing messages, or choosing stimuli
Stage – refers to the setting, scene, and context of the communication interaction, and can be equally applied to written or oral communication
Internal stimuli – those that arise from within one’s self, such as being hungry
External stimuli – involve stimulation from outside one’s self, such as the image of the attractive classmate or the sound of the instructor’s voice
Selective exposure – both information we choose to pay attention to and information that we choose to ignore, or that is unavailable to us
Selective attention – involves focusing on one stimulus, like the image of an attractive classmate, and tuning out a competing stimulus, like the instructor’s voice
Selective retention – involves choosing to remember one stimulus over another
Organization – the process of sorting information into logical categories or series
Proximity – Organization based on relationship of space to objects
Continuity – Drawing connections between things that occur in sequence
Similarity – Grouping things or concepts by properties they share
Closure – Tendency to use previous knowledge to fill in the gaps in an incomplete idea or picture
Critical thinking – can be defined as “self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective thinking”
Confirmation bias – when you only pay attention to information that reinforces your existing beliefs and ignore or discredit information that contradicts your beliefs
Egocentrism – defined as the use of self-centered standards to determine what to believe and what to reject
Sociocentrism – the use of society-centered standards
Primary messages – the intentional content of a message, both verbal and nonverbal
Secondary messages – the unintentional content of a message, both verbal and nonverbal
Auxiliary messages – the intentional and unintentional ways a primary message is communicated
Attention statement – used to capture the attention of your audience
Introduction – a clear statement your topic
Body – your message in detail, using any of a variety of organizational structures
Conclusion – summary of the main points and relating them to the overall topic
Residual message – a message or thought that stays with your audience well after the communication is finished, is an important part of your message
Syntactic rules – govern the order of words in a sentence. In some languages, such as German, syntax or word order is strictly prescribed
Semantic rules – govern the meaning of words and how to interpret them
Contextual rules – govern meaning and word choice according to context and social custom

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Chapter 4: Research

Key Terms:

Analysis – In analysis, gathered data is examined and organized so those who are less familiar with technical details can be guided through the data. Analysis can also help uncover patterns and trends in data.
Analytical Reports – Those used to help make a decision (e.g., whether to hire more people, expand a product line, etc.)
Interviews – conversations, typically in small groups, where one party asks questions of another. Interviews are usually conducted in person, between two people (the person asking questions and the person answering them); however, these can also take place over the phone and may involve multiple parties.
Informational Reports – Those used to inform people throughout the organization about something of importance.
Observations – the researcher watches something and records what they see. It is important to avoid influencing whatever you’re watching.
Primary Research – defined as research you collect yourself. This type of research is done to fill in gaps found during secondary research review.
Surveys – typically written documents that are sent out to individuals to fill out. Surveys are more rigid than interviews, as an interviewer can change their planned questions based on the subject’s responses. Surveys, however, are pre-written and can only respond in limited anticipated ways.
Research – the process of finding the information needed to answer your research question and then deriving or building the answer from the information you found.
Research Question – the statement of the thing you don’t know that motivates your research.
Research writing – the process of sharing the answer to your research question along with the evidence on which your answer is based, the sources you use, and your own reasoning and explanation.
Secondary research – is gathering information from other people’s primary research.
Primary research – is usually defined as research you collect yourself.
Qualitative data – data that are generally non-numeric and require context, time, or variance to have meaning or utility.
Quantitative data – data that are numeric and therefore largely easier to understand.

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Chapter 5: Fundamentals of Persuasion

Key Terms:

Persuasion – an act or process of presenting arguments to move, motivate, or change your audience.
Motivation – distinct from persuasion in that it involves the force, stimulus, or influence to bring about change.
MASLOW’s hierarchy of needs – a six level diagram of needs that include physiological, safety, love/belonging, esteem, and self-actualization
CIALDINI’s six principles of persuasion – Reciprocity, Scarcity, Authority, Commitment and consistency, Consensus, Liking
AIDA – a typical four part pattern for persuasive messages that include an attention-getting opening, interest building body, desire-building details, and action motivated closing
Measurable Gain – a system of assessing the extent to which audience members respond to a persuasive message
Reciprocity – the mutual expectation for exchange of value or service
Scarcity – the perception of inadequate supply or a limited resource
Toulmin’s Three-Part Rhetorical Strategy – a focus on three elements in persuasive writing: Claim, data, and warrant
GASCAP/T – Argument strategies for generalization, analogy, sign, consequence, authority, principle, and testimony.
Emotions – a psychological and physical reaction, such as fear or anger, to stimuli that we experience as a feeling.
Emotional Resistance – involves getting tired, often to the point of rejection, of hearing messages that attempt to elicit an emotional response.
Fallacies – another way of saying false logic
Logical Argument – An argument with a claim that contains premises which support a conclusion.
Premise – a claim, or piece of evidence, that supports the conclusion, and a conclusion is the main idea of the argument
Claim – or a statement or opinion on a topic
Business Proposal – documents designed to make a persuasive appeal to the audience to achieve a defined outcome, often proposing a solution to a problem.
Ethos – refers to credibility
Logos – logic or reason.
Pathos – passion and enthusiasm

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Chapter 6: Types of Business Reports

Key Terms:

Informal reports – short reports, under 10 pages, that have specific topics with simple headings
Formal reports – longer, 10+ page documents that address complex topics that require substantial description of background, research on topic, end evidence to support solutions.
Informational reports – summarizes information and data found on a particular topic
Analytical reports – collected information and research to provide analysis for one or more recommendations.
Stakeholder – anyone who will be affected by the contents of what you write
Direct Stakeholders – those initially impacted by what you write
Indirect Stakeholders – those that are not impacted until a later time.
Remote Stakeholders – not affected until far into the future
Reports – documents designed to record and convey information to the reader.
Meeting Minutes – type of informal report that summarizes the discussion and results from a meeting.
Expense Reports – informal reports that nearly always have a prescribed format. These reports consist primarily of amount of expenditures by type of expense
Status Updates – internal to a company in addressing a business situation, or they may be external in providing the status of a project to another organization. These reports are short and tightly focused to the purpose. They are informational reports.
Trip or Conference Reports – used to summarize and transmit learning from a trip or conference. They are informational, and they increase the value of the trip or conference as they share what was learned with others.
Web posting – typically used for external communication, but institutions that have private networks may use these postings for internal communication.
Email – may be used for internal or external reports depending upon company policy.
Research reports – gather and explain data; these reports are informational.
Feasibility reports – for smaller or simpler projects can also be considered informal reports. These are analytical, as they provide analysis and propose a direction to take.
Business Plans – typically informational reports about what a new or existing company plans to do over the next period of time
Business Proposal – a written offer for sale. It is used for complex sales processes.
Other complex recommendations – come in the form of a formal report. These recommendations result from a business problem that an individual or team has been asked to solve.

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Chapter 7: Business Writing Media

Key Terms:

Netiquette – refers to etiquette, or protocols and norms for communication, on the Internet.
Texting – written communication in the form of brief messages on a digital device
E-mail – electronic mail
Memo – used for communicating policies, procedures, or related official business within an organization. It is often written from a one-to-all perspective (like mass communication), broadcasting a message to an audience, rather than one-on-one, interpersonal communication. It may also be used to update a team on activities for a given project, or to inform a specific group within a company of an event, action, or observance.
Grapevine – the unofficial, informal communication network within an organization
Letters – brief messages sent to recipients that are often outside the organization

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Chapter 8: Routine Messages

Key Terms:

Thank-you message – Replies to information shares that require a quick and concise response.
Claim –  explains what went wrong and demands compensation from the offending party.
Complaint – explains what went wrong and merely demands correction or apology.
Adjustment – communication that a company grants what the complainant or claimant has asked for.
Buffer – A formal or business form of writing in letters to soften negative news with more positive comments.
Justification –  explains the background or context for the bad news before delivering the bad news itself.
Sales message – the central persuasive message that intrigues, informs, persuades, calls to action, and closes the sale.

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Chapter 9: Nonverbal Delivery

Key Terms:

Nonverbal communication –  the process of conveying a message without the use of words
Illustrator –  nonverbal messages which control, maintain or discourage interaction
Affect Displays – nonverbal communication that express emotions or feelings
Adaptor –  displays of nonverbal communication that help you adapt to your environment and each context, helping you feel comfortable and secure.

Proxemics –  the study of the human use of space and distance in communication
Territory –  the space you claim as your own, are responsible for, or are willing to defend.
Personal space – the “bubble” of space surrounding each individual
Chronemics –  the study of how we refer to and perceive time
Kinesics –  study of body movements
Haptics – Touch in communication interaction
Paralanguage –  verbal and nonverbal aspects of speech that influence meaning, including tone, intensity, pausing, and even silence.
Pregnant pause – a silence between verbal messages that is full of meaning
Artifacts –  forms of decorative ornamentation that are chosen to represent self-concept
Environment –  involves the physical and psychological aspects of the communication context.

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Chapter 10: Negative News and Crisis Communication

Key Terms:

Negative news message – a message that delivers news that the audience does not want to hear, read, or receive
Internal communication – the sharing and understanding of meaning between individuals, departments, or representatives of the same business
External communication – the sharing and understanding of meaning between individuals, departments, or representatives of the business and parties outside the organization
Assurance – a statement that the contributing factors that gave rise to the situation has been corrected or were beyond the control of the company and its representatives.
Feedback – the verbal and/or nonverbal response to a message, and that message may involve a company product or service.
Customer relationship management – the relationship between the organization (sometimes represented by the product or service itself) and the customer.
Confounding factors – or factors that can alter the results, must be anticipated and controlled. All of this involves a cost, and not every product, service, or study needs this type of investigation.
Closed-ended questions – questions that allow for interpretation and a range of responses in the respondent’s own words
Open-ended questions – questions that limit the responses to a preselected range of options or choices.
Crisis communication plan – the prepared scenario document that organizes information into responsibilities and lines of communication prior to an event.

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Chapter 11: Public Speaking

Key Terms:

Upward communication – includes speeches, proposals, or briefings that are directed at audience members who hold higher positions in the organizational hierarchy than the sender.
Horizontal communication – This communication may occur between colleagues working in the same area or between colleagues with different areas of expertise.
Downward communication – includes messages directed at audience members who hold a lower place on the organizational hierarchy than the sender.
Communication to outside stakeholders – includes messages sent from service providers to people who are not employed by the organization but conduct business with or support it.
Briefings – short presentations that either update listeners about recent events or provide instructions for how to do something job related
Technical briefings – Briefings that provide instructions like how to use a new identification badge
Debrief – People in supervisory or leadership positions often provide training, which includes presentations that prepare new employees for their jobs or provide instruction or development opportunities for existing employees.
Elevator Speech – a presentation that persuades the listener in less than thirty seconds, or around a hundred words.
Impromptu Speech – a speech given with little to no preparation about a topic
Reciprocity – a relationship of mutual exchange and interdependence, is an important characteristic of a relationship, particularly between a speaker and the audience.
Mutuality – when you search for common ground and understanding with the audience, establishing this space and building on it throughout the speech.
Non Judgmentalism – underlines the need to be open-minded, an expression of one’s willingness to examine diverse perspectives.
Honesty – directly relates to trust, a cornerstone in the foundation of a relationship with your audience.
Respect – can be defined as an act of giving and displaying particular attention to the value you associate with someone or a group.
Trust – the ability to rely on the character or truth of someone, that what you say you mean and your audience knows it.
Exploitation – this means taking advantage, using someone else for one’s own purposes.
Claim – the statement that will be supported by evidence.
Evidence – also called grounds, supports the claim.
Warrant – the underlying justification that connects the claim and the evidence.
Propositions of face – focus on beliefs and try to establish that something “is or isn’t.”
Propositions of value – focus on persuading audience members that something is “good or bad,” “right or wrong,” or “desirable or undesirable.”
Propositions of policy – advocates that something “should or shouldn’t” be done.
Adoption – the speaker wants to persuade the audience to take on a new way of thinking, or adopt a new idea.
Discontinuance – the speaker persuading the audience to stop doing something they have been doing, such as smoking.
Deterrence – a call action that focuses on persuading audience not to start something if they haven’t already started.
Anticipation step – As professional speakers lead up to a main point, they raise their hand slightly, perhaps waist high to engage the audience.
Implementation step – involves using your arms and hands above your waist.
Relaxation step – where the letting go motion complements your residual message, concludes the motion.
Facial gestures – involve using your face to display feelings and attitudes nonverbally.
Eye contact – refers to the speaker’s gaze that engages the audience members.

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Chapter 12: Career Development – Finding a Job

Key Terms:

Hard skills – concrete or objective abilities that you learn and perhaps have mastered.
Soft skills – subjective skills that have changed very little over time.
Career Development – a lifelong process in which we become aware of, interested in, knowledgeable about, and skilled in a career.
Networking – the process by which people build relationships with one another for the purpose of helping each other achieve professional goals.
STAR – one such technique that quickly helps you present the stories of your career in a way to demonstrate skills to the interviewer. STAR stands for Situation, Task, Activity, and Result.
Résumé – a document that summarizes your education, skills, talents, employment history, and experiences in a clear and concise format for potential employers.

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Chapter 13: Ethics

Utilitarianism – utilitarianism suggests that an ethical action is one whose consequence achieves the greatest good for the greatest number of people.
Deontology – contends that each of us owes certain duties to others (deon is a Greek word for duty or obligation) and that certain universal rules apply to every situation and bind us to these duties.
Virtue Theory (Kantianism) – focuses on the character of the decision-maker—a character that reflects the training we receive growing up. In this view, our ethical analysis of a decision is intimately connected with the person we choose to be.
Phrónēsis – a type of practical wisdom that enables us to act virtuously.
Stockholders – those who own shares of the company’s stock.
Shareholders – individuals and institutions that own stock (or shares) in a corporation.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) – the practice by which a business views itself within a broader context, as a member of society with certain implicit social obligations and environmental responsibilities.
Ethical relativism – a philosophy according to which there is no right or wrong and what is ethical depends solely on the context.
Descriptive approach – sees the company as composed of various stakeholder groups, each with its own interests.
Instrumental approach – connects stakeholder management and financial outcomes, proposing that appropriate management of stakeholder interests is important and useful because it contributes to a positive bottom line.
Normative approach – considers stakeholders as ends in themselves rather than simply as means to achieve better financial results.
Enabling stakeholders – these are regulatory stakeholders including stockholders, legislatures, government regulators, and boards of directors.
Functional stakeholders – those who influence inputs, such as suppliers, employees, and unions, and those influencing outputs such as customers, distributors, and retailers.
Diffused stakeholders – include other organizations such as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), voters, and mass media organizations with less direct relationships but potential for meaningful impacts on firms.
Normative stakeholders – these include competitors and peers influence the norms or informal rules of the industry
Key suppliers – these are lucrative or steady customers.
Triple Bottom Line (TBL) – this is a measure described in 1994 by John Elkington, a British business consultant, and it forces us to reconsider the very concept of the “bottom line”, which includes social (people), environmental (planet), and economic factors (profit).