Professional communications are essential to enable people in a company to communicate effectively with each other. The pace of work of the entire enterprise directly depends on how quickly and accessible the transfer of information will take place.
Professional communications play an important role in making the most effective decisions and communicating them to the team. If they are poorly established, then this threatens to cause negative consequences, which can be expressed in errors in the chosen decisions, in the occurrence of misunderstandings between employees and the manager, as well as in the deterioration of interpersonal relations.
Definition of concept
Professional communications are interactions carried out in the realm of official relations. Their main goal is to achieve the intended results, solve the set tasks, as well as optimize certain activities. At the same time, each of the participants in professional communicationshas its own status, being a boss, subordinate, colleague or partner.
In those cases when people at different levels of the career ladder (performer and manager) communicate with each other, we can talk about subordinate communications. After all, the vertical of relations is clearly visible here. When implementing interaction based on the principle of equal cooperation, we can talk about horizontal communications.
Relevance of the issue
Professional communication is a daily experience for people. It takes place at work and in schools, universities and official institutions. This is a communication between students and teachers, subordinates and bosses, competitors, partners and colleagues. In order to achieve the goal before him, each person must be familiar with the means and principles of such communications, because partners need to communicate in the same language (both literally and figuratively), have a common social experience and understand each other.
Compliance with the basic terms of business communication
How to make communication in professional activity as effective as possible? This will require the fulfillment of a number of conditions. First of all, communication should have a clear purpose. At the same time, the interest of all persons involved in this process is important in achieving it. An example is the conclusion of an agreement, establishing relationships, coordinating events, developing the most favorable conditions for cooperation, etc.
To everyoneparticipants in professional and business communication need to contact each other, and do this regardless of personal likes or dislikes. At the same time, it is obligatory to observe subordination, job roles, business etiquette and formal restrictions. The latter concept implies not only the implementation of various protocols, routines and regulations, but also the banal need to control the power of one's own emotions and respect the interlocutor.
In addition, one of the necessary conditions for the most effective implementation of business communication in professional activities is its manageability. The head of the company, as the person most interested in solving the tasks facing the team, should first take care of such a moment. It is important for him to motivate his employees to find the best solution, because otherwise they will remain passive observers, not offering any ideas.
Business communication tools
Professional communication is a meaningful desire of one person or a whole group of people to motivate one employee or the whole team to action that can somehow change the situation or turn the conversation in a different direction.
There are a number of tools available for the implementation of the plan. So, the means of professional communication include:
- Regular mail. Of all the means of business communication, it is the most ancient. And in this regard, traditional mail has a number ofshortcomings. They consist in a low speed of message transmission, a more complex design of letters (in comparison with other types of communications), etc. And this is not to mention the fact that this system does not always work at the proper level. But regular mail is still used today as a means of professional communications. Its main advantage is a very acceptable way to transfer important documents between partners. In business relations, such a method as the transmission of telegrams can also be used. This service is also provided by mail.
- Telephone connection. This is a very efficient means of business communication. However, telephone negotiations are not legally binding. This point should be taken into account when using professional communications, while using other means.
- Email. This relatively new means of business communication enjoys well-deserved popularity. One of its main advantages is the combination of the form of written communications (fixed text) with the qualities that oral communication has, in the form of the speed of information transfer and the possibility of obtaining an almost instantaneous response. Such qualities make e-mail one of the main means used for the transmission of messages of an informal nature.
- Fax. Using a special device, you can very quickly transfer a copy of any document to your partner. Speed is an undoubted advantage of facsimile communication. However, documents transmitted in this way do not have legal force, because they do not haveoriginal signatures and seals. That is why, in most cases, fax as a means of communication is used only for the prompt transmission of documents. They can be accepted for execution only if the originals are sent after them by regular mail. It should be borne in mind that it is forbidden to send documents marked “For Official Use” or “Confidential” by fax.
Business communication
Oral contact has always been at the heart of professional communication. It is carried out between people who are interconnected by the interests of the case, and also have the necessary powers to solve the problems that have arisen and establish partnerships.
Such conversations are a means of professional communication, embodying all the advantages that telephone communication and the exchange of written information lack. The fact is that business communication:
- carried out in conditions of close contact, when it is possible to focus on only one interlocutor or on a small group of people;
- creates the conditions under which personal relationships can be established;
- implies direct contact.
Business conversation primarily refers to oral speech. And it, in comparison with the written form, has a number of significant differences. During such a conversation, it becomes possible to directly influence the interlocutor or a group of people. In this case, gestures and facial expressions, intonation and so on are used. Besides,face-to-face communication leaves no time for pre-thinking. That is why casual forms of communication are often used in a business conversation, as well as some stylistic and grammatical features.
Used as the basis of professional communication, business conversation is distinguished primarily by the logical construction of thought. Based on existing practice, it can be argued that business people who are excellent at using judgments and concepts, who are able to convincingly prove and make correct conclusions, succeed much faster than those business people who do not possess these skills.
Professional conversation has its own psychological culture. It lies in the ability of interlocutors to make a good impression on others, create a friendly atmosphere of the meeting, apply special techniques that protect against incorrect questions, listen to their opponents to the end and, if necessary, refute their arguments, use a technique that allows for conflict-free communication.
Intercultural Relations
Today, the world is increasingly embraced by the process of globalization. That is why intercultural professional communication comes to the fore. For its implementation, specialists are needed who do not just know a foreign language. They need to master it in terms of business communication.
Most often such professional communications take place in English. It is the main means of communication ininterstate level.
English in the field of professional communication is a modernized and simplified version of the English language in general. It is characterized by the presence of standard cliché phrases, as well as all kinds of patterns. A specialist needs to know them and be able to use them in certain situations.
If an interpreter is invited to a business meeting by a businessman, in professional communication such a specialist will not proceed only from his life experience and the behavior that is accepted in his native cultural environment. Taking into account the peculiarities of the behavior of other peoples will help to avoid misunderstandings, mistakes and problems in the conversation.
In intercultural professional communication, it is necessary to know the interpersonal norms of relations that are accepted in a particular society. Namely - non-verbal and verbal languages of communication. The first of them include various wordless signals that communication participants send to each other. They often do this unconsciously. It should be borne in mind that knowledge of non-verbal and verbal languages in professional communication of an intercultural nature is the key to a successful meeting. A specialist should be aware of the timbre of speech adopted by a particular people, the volume of pronunciation, intonation, facial expressions, postures, etc. The norms for their use during a conversation may have some differences. A prime example is the traditional American smile. In Russia, it is considered insincere and artificial. Americanson the contrary, they believe that Russians are too gloomy, rude and serious.
Training of specialists
How are problems with interstate business communication solved? Successful negotiation requires the presence of a highly qualified translator in the field of professional communication, who has both specialized and general cultural knowledge. Russian universities are training such specialists.
At the same time, a program called "Translator in the field of professional communication" is actively used. It provides the skills to communicate effectively in today's business and cultural exchanges.
Main Functions
Among the features of professional communication is its rather complex system. It consists of many levels, covering not only a specific organization, but also the external environment. Consider the main functions of professional communication.
- Informational. Professional communications are designed to play the role of a certain intermediary. With its help, ideas, decisions and messages are exchanged between employees. The information function of business communication is necessary to achieve the goals of the organization, as well as to eliminate the problems that arise during this process.
- Motivational. Professional communications contribute to the desire of employees to perform their tasks better. This is the motivational function.professional communications. In this case, the leader uses such means as order, persuasion, suggestion and request.
- Control. Using hierarchical subordination, this function is designed to monitor the behavior of company employees.
- Expressive. With the help of this function, professional communications contribute to the satisfaction of social needs through the expression of experiences and feelings about what is happening.
- Communicative. This feature is very specific. With its help, typical mistakes and problems that have arisen in business communication are identified and resolved, and principles of optimal behavior are formulated.
The functions of professional communications can also be considered from the point of view of ensuring the life of the company as a whole. In this case, the following takes place:
- Regulatory function. When communicating, there is an indirect or direct impact on the employee, who is the object of management. Such a function contributes to the organization of joint actions in the team, coordination and optimization by the head of all the actions performed by the team.
- Social control function. Any of the methods of solving the problems of the organization, as well as its forms and principles of work, have a pronounced normative character. The regulation of all these provisions, which is in the instructions and orders of the head, helps to ensure the organization and integrity of the institution, as well as the consistency of the joint actions of each member of the team. To maintain this direction andexercise their social control professional communications.
- Socialization function. It is one of the main tasks of any leader. This function allows young employees to join in joint activities, who begin to master communication skills and abilities, learn to navigate in a communication situation, speak and listen. All this is very important not only for the purpose of interpersonal adaptation, but also for the implementation of professional activities. At the same time, young people acquire a tolerant, interested and benevolent attitude towards other employees and the ability to act in order to fulfill a collective task.
- Socio-pedagogical. In the process of professional communications, there is a process of training, education and development of the employee's personality while transferring practical experience to him. Thanks to systematic contacts that appear in the course of joint activities, all participants in communication gain knowledge both about themselves and about partners, as well as about the best options for solving the tasks facing the team. Mastering practical skills sometimes becomes for some employees a possible compensation for missing professional knowledge. And this is ensured by the socio-pedagogical function of communications.
Guidelines
Professional communications are based on:
- Interpersonality. Such communication is characterized by versatility, openness of interaction between people. This principle is based on personal interest in each other. And this despitethat communication is business oriented. Such communication inevitably bears the features of interpersonal contact.
- Purposefulness. This principle of professional communications is multi-purpose, because the process of business communication, along with the intended information load, also carries an underlying goal. For example, a leader, informing the team about the statistical data he has, wants to point out the problematic aspects of a particular area of activity. At the same time, most likely, on an unconscious level, he seeks to demonstrate to those present his eloquence, erudition and intelligence.
- Continuity. This is another of the principles of professional communications. It consists in the fact that, getting into the field of view of our business partner, we become the initiators of continuous contact with him. At the same time, communication takes place not only at the verbal level. The partner constantly receives behavioral messages from which he can draw appropriate conclusions.
- Multidimensionality. In the course of professional communications, at least two aspects of interpersonal relations are realized. The first of these is the transfer of business information and the maintenance of the created contact. The second is a broadcast of an emotional attitude towards a partner (it can be positive and negative).
Professional communications ethics
Each of the participants in business communication must have:
- Honesty. Having such a character trait, people refrain from deceitful deeds and deceit. However, eventhose who consider honesty to be an indispensable standard of business behavior, sometimes still have to lie. In this case, people have to make a choice between alternatives that do not satisfy them. However, the truth must always be told. Lying is justified only when choosing the lesser of two evils, when circumstances so require.
- Integrity. This characteristic inherent in a person finds its expression in the unity of his actions and beliefs. Decent behavior is the exact opposite of duplicity and hypocrisy. Such a person will always do what he promised. For example, an employee will definitely help his colleague in the performance of a job assignment. This will happen even when it is not so easy for him to do it, but he made a promise.
- Justice. This character trait implies the absence of bias and objectivity in assessing other people and their actions.
- Responsibility. This feature of a participant in business relations is manifested in the extent to which he is responsible for his words, observes moral standards and fulfills his obligations.
