Communication is the key to success no matter where in the world you work. Imagine an office filled with salesman, bosses, factory workers, receptionists, and so many others. What is one thing that can’t be taken away without causing a complete failure of the office? That one thing is communication. Physical in person communication is so common in our world today, that it is overlooked as being something important. Communication is just like walking in a way because walking isn’t something that us as humans think about while doing. Communication comes to us as we develop and grow older. Speaking comes easy, yet there are so many factors to it that make proper communication in the workplace so difficult and complex. Whether it is nervousness, lack of confidence, language barriers, gender issues, teamwork, or even level of intelligence, there are so many aspects that may sway how your skills in communication. Communication is a top priority in the workplace as it takes on roles in sales, international business, corporate reputation, technology, and so much more. As it takes on these various roles, we realize that communication is directly correlated with success. As the amount of proper communication is conducted, the more amount of success will be present with a corporation or even an individual. As communication skills are learned and practiced, it allows for a window of opportunity to open. The first step to finding a way to open that window is by learning the skills and background of it all.

Communication is used in numerous ways when it comes to business practices. Proper skills of speaking are evaluated as soon as that business calls you in for an interview. Why would an interview be held one on one with an employer if physical communication wasn’t superior to texting or emails? Because speaking to another individual is so much more meaningful than a boring email. Alison Stein Wellner explains in her article titled Lost in Translation that she deals with a company is San Francisco that takes each Friday off from email and texting to reach clients, colleagues or suppliers. Sara Roberts, the company president, explains, “‘People hide behind e-mail. For just one day a week, I want us to pick up the phone or talk to someone face-to-face.’” As she explains her reasoning she clarifies that email, texting and other forms of technology used today such as social media aren’t bad, just not always ideal for what a client may want. Alison explains as nonverbal communication is used that the richness you get from verbal communication is lacking. Some of these technicalities include tone of voice, facial expressions, and eye contact. Without these, the audience can’t tell what the speaker truly means. Wellner goes on to mention a study performed by professor Albert Mehrabian of UCLA found that 55 percent of meaning in interaction comes from facial expression and body language and 38 percent of meaning comes from one’s vocal inflections. Leaving only 7 percent of meaning to come from the words themselves. What does that tell you about how well an individual interprets an email they receive. Especially since many of the topics are so important and detailed.

An immense amount of companies are known to or attempt to set goals in becoming friends and to form relationships with their clients and verbal communication is so important in reaching this goal. Corporate Reputation is a base of success for companies. When trying to reach potential clients, the clients look for a qualified salesman that is confident, aware, respected, trusted and for someone who has a good reputation. As I read an e-book titled Handbooks in Communication and Media: Handbook of Communication and Corporate Reputation written by Craig Carroll he goes on to say, “What is clear is that for the public relations/corporate communication function, the ‘soft’ or social reputational variables (credibility, relationship, trust, and confidence) in whatever definitional format employed are important drivers of corporate reputation.” Proving exactly what was said about those aspects of verbal communication. I had the opportunity to go on a sales trip with my dad’s coworker this past summer for an internship and I got to listen in on his sales pitch and all the details of their plan. And as I watched my dad’s friend, I know realize that he held all those things necessary. As I stated earlier, a majority of meaning in a conversation comes from the facial expressions and there is nothing like a killer smile and a sincere handshake to close a deal. If the sale was held through email, a simple rejection of the sale may be an option and the salesman wouldn’t be able to do anything to help his/her cause.

As companies in today’s society attempt to expand they face many difficulties and cross roads that may hold them back. A way in which a company may expand is in the international business direction. Foreign countries may be a doubtful place for some business owners and sales people but it isn’t as scary as you may assume. They are places of very high intelligence that are just as superior as our country. However, cultural barriers are going to be present and skills must be cultivated to get past them. Some of these barriers include differences in formality, hierarchy, timing, and proactivity. More differences that we need to comprehend are language, religion, and dynamics. While learning, new language isn’t always ideal, most of these things can be learned and will further open that window of opportunity. Various programs and schools are available for those interested in the topic. John Sinden of ATD (Association for Talent Development) writes in his article The Importance of Intercultural Communication Training to the Global Workforce, “International affairs graduate programs work to remove cultural barriers by teaching analysis and interpretation for cross-cultural interactions, including the impact of culture on conflict and communication at various levels. Basic matters, such as what’s considered appropriate personal space and meeting etiquette, can have a major impact on the outcomes of business interactions.” Sinden goes on to say that it isn’t easy, but it can be done. A mindset of somebody who knows the culture must be taken on. Gayle Cotton is a certified expert on with the Executive Foundation for International Communication and she adds some more detail on intercultural communication in her own article titled The Importance of Cross-Cultural Business Communications. She starts of her argument by stating some things an individual may do to prevent us from having proper verbal communication with other cultures. They were very similar to John Sinden’s points. She adds to his points by informing that being too aggressive or impatient can cause bad outcomes in business. She also stated that being more “we” oriented is a lot more effective than focusing on an individual. She claims that outside of our country, many business want the satisfaction of working together as a team instead of knowing how they as an individual will grow. She then closes her argument by stating specific things we may do to prepare and how to be successful. Preparation on top of those courses or programs may include doing research on the country, knowing your facts, staying aware of change, and sharpening your rapport.

Being a Leader is a quality that one should make sure they hold. Being a leader is portrayed as being a very difficult thing to classify yourself as, but Drew Dudley will tell you otherwise.  Drew Dudley is a well-known speaker. I know him as the guy who gave the TED talk titled Everyday Leadership. I first watched this awhile back and I thought of it when I began this project. He goes on to tell a story about when he was in college working as a member of a club that did various charity events. He explains how he was handing out lollipops and he noticed this one girl wanting to leave orientation with her parents. He eventually got to her and handed a random boy a lollipop and told him to hand this other new student a lollipop. The boy obviously got nervous and red in the face, but he did it and then Drew tuned it into a joke saying that on this shy girl first day she already took candy from a stranger and the whole orientation group broke into laughter. Four years later the girl who decided to stay instead of leaving the school found Drew and thanked him and let him know all he did for her from that small act. She ended up marrying that random guy that he made give her the lollipop. Drew didn’t even remember doing it four years later and that’s when he recognized that being a leader is done more often than thought. This relates to verbal communication for so many reasons. Without physical contact and communication, that couple would most likely have never met. As I have said before, communication seems so small sometimes and goes unnoticed and this is a perfect example. It may not always seem important but it can lead to such great things. Whether you are in the workplace trying to make someone’s day better or trying to sell your product, this proves that emails and texts don’t allow for this large amount of opportunity. 

Natalie Burg is a believer that technology in the workplace is a necessity. I agree with her in a sense that technology is definitely needed, but we both believe that without use of face-to-face communication businesses aren’t able to succeed. She claims that almost all business in today’s society consists of email chains and conference calls. She explicitly states that evolution of the workplace is in need of making technology more useful in a way that is more human like. As the world is changing, communication type is changing as well. Using email and phone calls may work but aren’t ideal for getting to know the individual. Burg mentions a woman apart of her team named Ferazzi and Ferazzi explains the new ways to reach her client when she says “‘She found that the ability to converse on a corporate social network with [her team] and to be able to text with them during conference calls and see them on video has enabled her to feel like people she's never met are some of her best friends.’” This shows that with new advancements in technology, come benefits from being able to physically see and hear the clients over FaceTime or video calls. Erik Kostelnik writes an eye-opening article on 5 facts that we must know about communication in the workplace. A few of these facts stood out to me. As email is becoming less and less useful, he states that, “Twenty-six percent of employees think email is a major productivity killer.” He claims that email is difficult to use and that it gets unorganized and is sometimes hard to follow especially on chain emails. If these conversations were to happen in person, I guarantee that the confusion would be erased from the equation. Another stat that blew my mind was when he stated that approximately 45 percent of job seekers feel that texting is a good way to reach out to employers and vice versa. Throughout my years of being a teenager, I have had multiple jobs and all of them required an in-person interview so you could meet the manager and get interviewed in person not over text or email. These are very small low paid positions so just imagine how much more important it is to have proper communication skills with a huge corporation.

As all this information is laid on you, remember that learning the proper skills and methods of communication takes time. Experience is a key that one must hold to be an exceptional communicator. Learning from mistakes is the best method to eventually be superb. Without face-to-face communication, the business world would be corrupt. Communication with another individual is all around in the workplace. Whether it is with a potential client, a boss, or even fellow employers, it is all so important. A message is relayed to the other during communication and if that message gets misunderstood or frayed, then you might as well not even try. Technology such as email and text are huge factors that cause misunderstanding. Through simply words on a screen, it is impossible to thoroughly get the message of the other. Without facial expressions, change in tone, and body language and many others, the message is frayed. As a sales person conducts a sales pitch, their confidence, awareness, trust, respect, and friendliness are all factors that a client looks for. Without those, you are just a person behind a screen hoping for the best. Communication is not only important for business in the United States but all over the world. Verbal communication may not be as easy for someone speaking to another individual from a different culture, but there are measures that one may take to better themselves. Such as programs, classes, and learning the culture, religion, timing, formality and general way of business of an international business partner. While technology may not be the absolute best way to communicate, there are many ways to integrate them into business practices. Social media, video chats, and so much more can all benefit an individual. No matter how big or small it may seem, there is always room to be a leader and make interactions more beneficial for yourself, others around you and your business too. How can you become a better communicator? The best advice I can give you is to try your best. Whether it is in a communications course, an internship, a high-level job or even a family dinner, just try to make the way you say and do things the best they can. There is no definition to perfect communication, but you can head in the right direction by not being afraid to talk. As experience is built, the confidence and all the aspects are developed. Some things that can be done are making sure you know your stuff, do research and know what you’re talking about and realize to whom you are talking as well. The formality and timing all depend on who the audience is. With developed communication skills comes more success in sales, international business, corporate reputation, technology and everyday relationships. As you now understand how big of a role communication plays in jobs around the world, let that be the wakeup call for you to get a jump start now on bettering yourself now instead of waiting until you have to interview for that enormous job you have always dreamed about. Allow that window of opportunity to open and embrace the necessary steps that will later allow for success in your life and job opportunity. 
