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Business and Professional Communication, 3rd edition
Kelly M. Quintanilla, Shawn T. Wahl
Chapter 1: Business and Professional Excellence in the Workplace
Lecture Notes
Learning objective:
1.1 Define professional excellence and communication
1.2 Identify business and professional communication contexts
1.3 Discuss the importance of human communication in business and professional contexts
1.4 Identify the four KEYS to communication in the workplace
1.5 Explain the components of the communication model
1.6 Describe the communication challenges posed by social media and technology
1.7 Identify the types and causes of communication apprehension
1.8 Discuss communication and professional excellence from an ethical perspective
Outline:
I. Introduction
A. Twi+er is a popular social networking website that embodies both communication and
professional excellence.
i. Twi+er allows users to share content and conversations in real time.
ii. Twi+er employees feel that the company o,ers the opportunity to develop a
worldwide forum of communication that creates special meaning.
iii. Twi+er reports enjoying their colleagues and finds the workplace cooperative
and fun.
iv. Twi+er supports employees’ work-life balance and compensates them fairly.
II. What is business and professional communication?
A. Business and professional communication involves interviewing.
B. Business and professional communication involves relational communication.
III. Business and professional excellence will be studied in di,erent contexts.
A. We need to understand the importance of human communication.
i. Role-taking and feedback are critical in business and professional
communication.
ii. Communicators are impacted by their previous communication experiences.
iii. Physical surroundings and communication channels in6uence communicators.
iv. Communication is altered by cultural influence.
v. Communicators are in6uenced by the perceived relationship between them.
B. We need to understand the importance of verbal and nonverbal communication.
C. We need to understand the importance of résumé, interviews, and negotiations.
D. We need to understand the importance of ge9ng to know the diverse workplace.
E. We need to understand the importance of interpersonal communication at work.
F. We need to understand the importance of strengthening teams and conducting
meetings.
G. We need to understand the importance of technology in the workplace.
H. We need to understand the importance of business and professional writing.
IV. You will learn to demonstrate professional excellence by using the KEYS communication
process.
1. The KEY communication process consists of Knowing yourself.
2. The KEY communication process consists of Evaluating the professional context.
3. The KEY communication process consists of Your communication interactions.
4. The KEY communication process consists of Stepping back and re6ecting.
V. It is important to define what communication means.
A. Human communication is the process of understanding others’ and our experiences
through messages.
B. Communication bravado is a term used to describe ine,ective communicators.
VI. It is essential to understand the importance of communication.
A. The vast majority of those surveyed view communication skills as valuable and useful in
future careers.
B. Interviewing, teamwork, and presentation skills are among many competencies listed by
the U.S. Department of Labor as necessary in the workplace.
VII. Social media and technology create new challenges in the communication age.
A. We must decide when to use computer-mediated communication or face-to-face
communication.
B. Practicing intercultural sensitivity can be difficult.
i. Intercultural communica)on involves the communication between and among
C. Information overload can negatively a,ect your work and health.
VIII. Communication is a complex process.
A. There is a sender and a receiver.
i. Senders encode messages for receivers to decode, thereby co-creating a
meaningful message.
ii. Sometimes communication does not occur in the sender and receiver format,
but rather in a more holistic manner.
B. There is a message and feedback.
i. Since messages have verbal and nonverbal components, some argue that you
cannot not communicate.
ii. Feedback from a receiver of a message lets the sender know if the message was
communicated properly.
C. There is a channel of communication.
i. The channel is the method by which you send your message.
ii. Many di,erent channels to send messages are available.
iii. Each channel has strengths and weaknesses.
D. There is a communication context.
i. Context refers to the environment in which the communication occurs.
ii. It is helpful to consider the context in which your communication occurs.
E. Noise impacts the communication process.
IX. Communication apprehension is a problem that stops individuals from achieving
professional excellence.
A. There are multiple types of communication apprehension.
i. Trait apprehension refers to the tendency for shy people to feel anxious when in
communicative contexts.
ii. Context-based apprehension describes fear of communication in certain
contexts, such as public speaking.
iii. Audience-based apprehension describes fear of communication with certain
people or groups of people.
iv. Situa)onal apprehension refers to the fear of communication in specific
circumstances, such as job interviewing.
B. There are di,erent causes for communication apprehension.
i. Communication scholar Michael Bea+y lists eight causes for communication
apprehension: novelty, formality, subordinate status, peer evaluation,
dissimilarity, conspicuousness, lack of a+ention, and prior history.
ii. Identifying causes of apprehension is important in order to help learn skills that
will reduce those fears.
X. Ethical communication behavior must serve as our foundation if our goal is professional
excellence.
A. Ethics is the general term for the discussion, determination, and deliberation processes
that a+empt to decide right or wrong, what you should or should not do, and what is
considered appropriate.
XI. KEYS to Excellence in the Workplace
A. Know yourself—actively assess your skills as a communicator and then develop
strategies to utilize your strengths and weaknesses.
B. Evaluate the professional context—proactively address the needs of your audience and
understand the constraints of the communication situation.
C. Your communicaon interacon occurs as you monitor your own verbal and nonverbal
