商务沟通(BC)的定义
商务沟通方面有很多的著述，但人们却很难从中找到有关商务沟通的定义。然而，由于商务沟通有其特定的应用范围，而该范围与其他的沟通确实有着某种程度的不同(尽管它们的确有相同之处)，因此，我们把它定义为：
商务沟通是一种动态的、多渠道过程，它包括特定组织内部和外部的沟通。
该定义仅供参考。尽管如此，该定义包含了商务沟通中的一些基本要素，譬如动态性和多渠道过程、内部和外部的沟通以及组织等。为能更好地理解商务沟通，本章将对商务沟通所涉及的一些基本但却重要的概念作简短的介绍。
许多公司谈得最多的话题之一是“顾客忠诚”，但员工的忠诚问题则很少被人提及。事实上，忽略“员工忠诚”问题对一个组织的士气有着强烈的负面效应，这一影响有着日渐扩展的趋势。为避免这一问题的产生，向员工讲明他们所感兴趣或关心的事实，将是一种行之有效的做法。
2.1.1 EXPRESSING ALL KINDS OF IDEAS
The uniqueness of verbal communication is in that it can best express all
ideas we want to express. For example, as a manager market department, if you have an idea about the market development, you can talk it over with your assistant(s) to see how he/they feel(s) about it. Besides, you can also hold a meeting to discuss it；or you can send a questionnaire to those people con-cemed to get a feedback.
Sometimes the idea we have is too technical to be stated, so then we should try to make it simpler so as to make it easier for our audience to com-prehend. Sometimes the idea we have may be too challenging, then we should do our best to make it acceptable to our doubting colleagues or subordinates (or maybe to our bosses as well--who knows! ). No matter how hard the ex- planation is or how tough the situation may be, we can find one way or another to reach the goal through verbal communication. Only then shall we feel grateful to the power of verbal communication, and only then shall we truly recognize the importance of having verbal communication in an effective way.
2.1.2 KEEPING & DISSEMINATING INFORMATION
Suppose you want to do a better job for the idea you have in mind. Before you go to anyone to share your idea with, you had better store your idea into the computer. With the help of the computer, you can modify and develop the immature idea into a mature one. In this way, you will feel more confident when talking with other people about the idea.
If the person you want to contact is not in the office, you can try to reach
him through the telephone or fax (if he has a facsimile at home), or leave a message if he has a voice mail. If you have a document or something you want
someone to read, you can send him an e-mail with the file attached to it (if its
a printed one, you can scan it on to a file document then make it a file). In-
vestigations have shown that e-mailing is one of the most effective and eco-nomic ways for business communication, which may account for the scene that many business persons bring along lap-top computers wherever they go. One of the magic powers of using a computer is that it makes us feel as if there were no such things as geographical barriers--we are always in connection,especially now with the help of Internet.
Sometimes, we want to keep something on file. The traditional way is to copy it down or type it out. But now NO. With the help of computers, we can store whatever we like in the computer. We can retrieve the stored file when we need it. If we are to participate in a seminar or to make a presentation, what we should do is to copy the file on a floppy disk as many seminars and conferences are computer-equipped.
2.1.3 MORE CLARIFIED & EFFICIENT THAN OTHER WAYS
Some people may argue that besides verbal communication, human beings may have other ways for communication. For example, they can use gestures or some established ways like beating drums (as in Africa) or blowing horus (as in Asia) to send messages. It is true that such ways do work in a given area or given time, but none of them can be compared to the verbal way which is used the world over.
Suppose you read from the newspaper that the bank merging proposal between the Bank of Montreal and the Royal Bank was vetoed by Mr. Martin, the financial minister of Canada. If you want to share the news with your friends outside Canada, the best way out is to let them know it through verbal communication. Only by the use of words will it be possible for you to explain what is what in a clear way. That is the reason why people depend so much on verbal communication, especially when there are some potential misunder-standing or conflicts.
MINICASE
Some Chinese students studying at a business school in Canada were once asked by their professor to study a case written by an American and then make a presentation.
The case was about a JV project in a coastal city in China.As the writer described the dinners entertained by the Chinese and the indirect ways of the Chinese at the negotiation table,some western students in the class got the feeling that the Chinese only liked rich food and were not sincere.for doing business. The Chinese students got the feedback from the casual talks with their Western classmates. They knew clearly that there were some prejudicial perception in that American businessmans report, as he did not understand the Chinese way of treating friends, not to mention his lack of understanding the Chinese culture. Therefore, the Chinese students decided that they should talk a little bit about the Chinese culture in their case analysis, and they did a very good preparation.
In their presentation the following week,those Chinese students explained the Chinese guest-treating culture to the class with a quotation from Confucius—the ancient Chinese educator:" What a pleasant thing it is to have friends coming from afar." They went on explaining that the Chinese cared more about hospitality than about money spent on guests. While they were talking, they noticed that some Western students nodded their heads and they even heard some "wows" from among them in low voice. After the brief introduction on the Chinese hospitality, they shifted onto another topic—the Chinese way of negotiating with Westerners. Their presentation turned out to be a great success:not only did they win a big applause and excitement from the whole class, but more importantly, it cleared the misperception against the Chinese from the Western students perspective.
In the case above, the misunderstanding about the Chinese way of entertaining guests and for negotiations is very typical in cross-cultural ontacts. However, misunderstandings or misperceptions cannot be corrected unless the people concerned talk them over in a verbal way. Of course, a real understanding of a nations culture involves other factors.But verbal communication certainly functions as the prerequisite for a real understanding between each other, especially for those people with different cultural backgrounds.
In most cases, verbal communication works faster and more efficiently than other ways, and this is especially true when people are far away from each other. For example, an international telephone call takes a few seconds to get connected (one could hardly feel the lag in time), people at both ends would feel that they were making a local call, not an international call. Moreover, when you want to send a message to dozens of even hundreds of people, the most efficient way is to send it by e-mail (as we mentioned ear-lier) by selecting the item group list. E-mailing will take a couple of seconds(or a little longer)to reach the targeted receivers. Believe it or not, commu-nicating in a verbal way has made our communication easier, more conve-nient, and more effective.
4. 4. 1 TOPIC SELECTION
A topic acts as the theme of a speech. Therefore, it should be dealt with in a serious way. There are a number of ways for choosing a right topic: we may choose one according to our personal interest--we choose it because we like it; it may come out of a ready subject or public concern; it may come out of something else.
However, it would be more preferable if we could give two or three topic, for comparison.For example, if we want to talk about the significance of professional training for business people today, we may think of topics like " The Modern Businessperson & Professional Training", "The Importance of Professional raining for Modem Business people", and "How to Become a Qualified Modem Businessperson". In this way, it would leave more room for us to choose the appropriate topic for the speech. As to which topic to be se-lected, it depends on the material paration and the composition of the audience.
Nevertheless, whatever topic(s) we may choose, we should take twopoints into consideration, i.e. delimitation and justification about the topic:
·Delimitation
Delimitation refers to "the setting of boundaries" for the coming speech.
For example, a topic like "Marketing in China" may refer to a general ntro-duction of marketing as a whole in China, or it may refer to a regional mar-keting practice in China, or it may just refer to some marketing activities carried out in China. The speaker should tell his listeners what is included and what is excluded when he actually makes the speech, which will be helpful for the listeners to focus their attention on the speech and have a better listening afterwards.
· Justification
Justification means you should be ready to answer questions from your audience on the topic. Suppose the topic you have chosen is "Watch Out for Y2K Bug". You should be prepared to answer questions like "Y2K Bug is something related to computer technology. What has that to do with my company?" or "Why should I be concerned about the millennium problem?" Of course, questions like these may not actually occur. However, a little ef-fort is better than none. This is especially tree when you are speaking to a group of people about whom you have little knowledge, or when the audience is composed of professionals. Therefore, unless you are willing to take a chance for your speech, it would be better for you to prepare some backup information on the guesstimates of your own.
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