Business Communications Test 1,2,5

Culture

A shared set of beliefs, values, and behaviors passed through a community that shapes how people think, speak, and act.

Cultural Awareness

Understanding how culture influences communication, including awareness of one’s own culture.

Ethnocentrism

Assuming one’s own culture is the norm and judging others by it.

Intercultural Competence

The ability to communicate effectively across cultures through awareness, sensitivity, and adaptability.

Successful Intercultural Communication

Awareness of values and beliefs, sensitivity to differences, and flexibility in adapting behavior.

Global Agility

Learning one’s own cultural preferences and adapting to new cultures rather than memorizing rules.

Stereotypes

Oversimplified beliefs about a group that can be harmful.

Embracing Diversity

Acknowledging and valuing differences in experience rather than ignoring them.

High-Context Culture

Cultures where meaning is inferred from context, relationships, and nonverbal cues.

Low-Context Culture

Cultures where meaning is explicit and clearly stated in words.

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

Power distance, individualism vs. collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term vs. short-term orientation.

Intersection of Cultures

The combination of national, organizational, and personal culture that shapes behavior.

Values

Unconscious ideas of what is right or wrong.

Beliefs

Traditions that influence how people communicate.

Practices

Observable behaviors that differ across cultures.

Global English

Use of English internationally with a focus on clarity and simplicity.

Verbal Communication

Communication that conveys information through words.

Nonverbal Communication

Communication through body language that people often trust more than words.

Key Nonverbal Elements

Eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, personal space, touch, and time.

Time Orientation

The way cultures perceive and value time.

Writing to an International Audience

Using formal word choice, clear formatting, and avoiding slang or idioms.

Communication Cycle

Sender encodes a message, sends it through a channel, receiver decodes it, and provides feedback.

Noise

Anything that interferes with understanding a message.

Business Communication

The process of sharing information inside and outside an organization to achieve goals.

Informative Messages

Messages that provide facts, data, explanations, or updates.

Persuasive Messages

Messages intended to influence beliefs, attitudes, or actions.

Goodwill Messages

Messages designed to build positive relationships and trust.

Record Creation

Using written communication to document decisions or actions.

Costs of Poor Communication

Wasted time, lost goodwill, financial loss, and legal problems.

Document Cycling

Repeated revisions of documents that increase costs.

Internal Audience

People within an organization.

External Audience

People outside an organization.

Primary Audience

The audience with authority to approve or reject a message.

Secondary Audience

he audience that implements or comments after approval.

Auxiliary Audience

Gatekeepers who help transmit or shape a message.

Watchdog Audience

Groups that monitor an organization, such as media or regulators.

Tone

The implied attitude of the communicator toward the audience.

Professional Tone

Businesslike, friendly, confident, polite, and inclusive.

Inclusive Language

Language that respects all audience members and builds goodwill.

You-Attitude

Focusing on the audience’s needs rather than the communicator’s.

You-Attitude Rules

Talk about the audience, refer to their request, avoid discussing feelings, explain audience benefits.

Positive Messages

Use “you” and “we” when it includes the audience.

Negative Messages

Avoid “you,” protect the audience’s ego, and use impersonal wording when appropriate

Handling Negative Information

Focus on solutions, justify the negative, and state it only once.

Placement of Negative Information

Place negative information in the middle to de-emphasize it.

Large Language Models (LLMs)

AI systems trained on large text datasets to generate language.

Appropriate Use of LLMs

Best used for routine or boilerplate communication when reasoning is not required.