Good day to all! The ability to competently and easily express one’s thoughts, understand the interlocutor and negotiate, understanding the tasks and goals of the partner is the key to successful activity. A lot in our daily life depends on communication skills in general, and if you want to move up the career ladder or start an entrepreneurial activity, you simply must know what business communication is and its features.
Features of etiquette
Each team and company has its own rules, such “unwritten” norms of behavior. They are officially accepted, universal and are guided by them during negotiations, conclusion of contracts and interviews. These rules are called business etiquette. It helps to simplify understanding and bring convenience to contact. After all, you must admit that when you know how to behave, there is much less anxiety before the meeting, so there is a template that must be followed.
Have you noticed the awkwardness of people who went on a date for the first time, and do not really understand what you can afford in contact, and what will be perceived as arrogance or tactlessness, bad manners?
So, as, in principle, and in any interpersonal relationship, the general requirement is friendliness, regardless of whether you like the interlocutor or cause irritation, you must behave correctly towards him. But the etiquette of the business world includes rules that differ in the type of communication:
- Horizontal — that is, directly between equal in status, when employees with the same level of responsibility.
- Vertical — usually these are instructions from the leader to his subordinates.
I already talked about the importance of clarity, so:
The negotiation process must necessarily consist of the following stages
- Establishing contact. It can be both an acquaintance and a meeting of people who have already had a conversation.
- Understanding the purpose of the contact. That is, an attempt to understand what is happening and navigate the situation.
- Search for possible ways to solve the problem and the current situation.
- Action itself is the decision itself.
- End contact.
Communication in the business world is both verbal and written. You can read about how to conduct official correspondence in this article, today we will study verbal features. So, oral communication is in the form of a monologue, for example, a report, presentation, welcome speech. As well as a dialogue that looks like this:
- Conversation is a long exchange of information, during which the interlocutors share their point of view and try to find ways to solve problems.
- Negotiations are held in order to find a compromise and conclude a mutually beneficial agreement.
- Discussion — when different views on one situation are revealed and all participants in the discussion exchange their point of view.
- Meeting — when general and urgent issues that require attention and solutions are considered.
- A press conference is an event for the media to comment on a significant issue.
Basic principles
Although there are national differences in ethics, these principles are universal, which are followed in different countries of the world:
1. Punctuality
It doesn’t matter what position you hold and what type of communication you have, horizontal or vertical, you simply have to show up for the meeting at the specified time and fulfill your obligations on time. Otherwise, trust will not be formed in you, which will significantly interfere with achieving success, since in the business world you will be known as an irresponsible leader or employee.
2.Privacy
It indicates your reliability and desire to continue the relationship. And it does not matter whether you keep silent about the secrets of the company or directly store the personal information of some employee or boss — you will be worthy of trust and respect.
3.Friendliness
It does not oblige you to be friends and force yourself to “love” someone, but you simply have to be friendly, smile and tactfully treat both an annoying client and an employee, manager or subordinate. Remember, we studied non-verbal types of emotional manifestations with which it is possible to influence another person in this article? So, a smile attracts the interlocutor, sometimes disarming, if it was originally set up for conflict.
4. Attention to others
It also includes the ability to hear, respect the opinions of others, notice the emotional state of the interlocutor, the desire to understand his point of view and the willingness to find something in common in the dispute. If you feel that you are not always successful in this, then try to learn the technique of active listening, this will significantly increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the dialogue. To learn how to do this, see the article on active listening techniques.
5.Appearance
He simply must comply with the regulations of the company in which you are located. No matter how educated and sociable you may be, if at a meeting your appearance is repulsive and does not fit into the situation at all, this will greatly affect the outcome of the conversation and, in general, the desire to continue cooperation with you. You should not only have a neat appearance, but also a style, because, as you remember: “They meet by clothes, but see off by mind.”
6.Literacy
It consists not only in the ability to write a letter without grammatical and spelling errors, but also in expressing one’s opinion without using parasitic words and obscene language. It is considered an advantage if you are able to operate in terms that do not violate the availability of understanding of others. Language difficulties in general cause a lot of problems on the way of mutual understanding, therefore literacy and correctness are important in any interpersonal relationships.
7. Specificity
If the leader cannot set goals or be understandable to employees, the company will not go far. Similarly, with subordinates, they will not be responsible for some “piece” of the company, and accordingly, they will not be promoted until they learn to plan and make constructive decisions. Read How to Set Goals the Right Way to Succeed in Any Activity.
8. Tolerance towards others
In business, you can’t be driven by emotions. Your actions must be calculated, and the situation under control, this is the specificity of the business world. Therefore, although it is not good for the body to restrain emotions, the ability to clench one’s teeth at a tense moment is very valuable. The main thing is then to allow yourself to let off steam and relax, otherwise there is a possibility of acquiring a psychosomatic illness.
9.Honesty
So that you are trusted and your partnership, cooperation continues — you can’t cheat on deals and try to get one-sided benefits. In the world of business, reputation plays a very important role, which is easy to destroy, like a house of cards, with just one ugly act.
10. Distinguish
Some people are able to mix personal with work, and this is not right, because if, for example, someone causes dislike, this does not mean that he cannot be of benefit to the company. Therefore, it is not particularly worth getting involved, each of us has some psychological nuances that can cause irritation and unwillingness to contact. It is necessary to notice resources and opportunities, to calculate the benefits of a directly professional nature.
11. Admit your mistakes
There are no perfect people, the human factor always has a place to be, and in order to maintain your authority, and sometimes even increase it, you should always apologize for the inconvenience caused and correct the situation. Such an act is worthy of respect and is highly appreciated in the business world.
12. The ability to adequately get out of conflict situations
In order not to ruin the existing relationship, but to try and move forward in them. Not everyone is able to find resources in a dispute, but you can easily learn this by reading the article Types of Conflicts and the Best Ways to Resolve Them.
Conclusion
Modern society simply obliges everyone to know and follow the rules of business etiquette, at least those who strive for success. And no matter what profession and type of activity — it is pleasant to deal with a well-mannered and tactful person in any relationship.