Business communication styles

Business communication is a type of interaction between people about professional activities. Business communication always has a specific goal that the interlocutors are trying to achieve during the conversation. In addition, in the course of such communication there is an exchange of information, knowledge, experience.

Examples of business communication are relationships between colleagues, a manager and subordinates, business partners, competitors, the head of an organization and representatives of regulatory authorities, a manager and an owner of a company. Moreover, any business communication has a certain stylistic coloring, which determines the choice of ways and methods of communication to achieve the goal of the conversation.

Business communication styles are certain stable sets of communication methods or actions that are aimed at obtaining a result. The style of business communication is a kind of mask or a developed model of behavior, thanks to which the participant in communication not only tries to achieve the intended goals, but also reinforces the idea of ​​himself as a good leader or a highly qualified specialist.

Factors influencing the formation of style:

• personal characteristics;

• business communication skills;

• a specific situation of communication (communication with colleagues, manager, subordinate, partners).

Let us briefly consider the main typologies of business communication styles.

The typology was created on the basis of research and experiments conducted in the 30s of the twentieth century by the psychologist Kurt Lewin and his students, aimed at identifying management styles. According to this typology, there are three styles of business communications.

The main characteristic of this style is the sole decision-making by one participant in communications. At the same time, these decisions concern not only the issues of the activity of this subject, but also the activity common with other participants. With this type of communicative interaction, one participant acts as the subject of interaction (defines the goals of communication and independently predicts its results), and the other is the object (authoritarian influence is directed at him).

This style is distinguished by autocratic communication, when all actions are dictated by only one person, the other parties do not take part in the discussion even of issues related to themselves, the initiative is not encouraged. The authoritarian style is implemented through dictate and constant control. When objects of influence show disagreement, long-term conflicts arise.

This type of interpersonal business communication involves the orientation of the subject of communication to a communication partner.The characteristic features of the style are the desire for mutual understanding, acceptance of a partner, joint discussion of problems and finding ways to solve them, trust, stimulation of initiative and creativity, creation of conditions favorable for self-realization. The main methods of influencing a partner in such an interaction are a request, motivation to complete a task, a recommendation.

The liberal style of communication occupies an intermediate position between the two previous ones. The subject of communication in this case is minimally involved in dialogues and joint activities with other participants, but only in order to shift responsibility from himself to other people. He communicates rather formally, without trying to understand the essence of the issue. The basis of this style is non-intervention, due to the lack of interest in common problems.

People who implement this style of business communication constantly hesitate, show indecision, and try to shift the decision to others. The fuzziness of goals, lack of control, passivity and disinterest make business communication with this style unmanageable.

• Authoritarian - the subject of business communication strives for constant dominance, suppression of partners. This style is characterized by: lack of desire to understand partners, "communicative attack", lack of respect for other people's opinions, requirement of consent from other participants, stereotyping of communication.

• Dialogic style involves communication on an equal footing, which is based on trust, mutual understanding and mutual respect, openness and cooperation, emotional manifestation and self-expression of all participants in communication.

• alterocentric. It is focused on the systematic concentration of attention by the subject on other participants in business interaction, sacrificing his own interests in order to satisfy the aspirations of partners.

• Manipulative involves the use of communication partners for their own benefit, that is, other participants in communication act only as a means of achieving the goals of the subject of business relations. With this style of business communication, the desire to understand a partner may have a specific goal - to obtain information about his intentions and use it to his advantage.

• Conformal style implies the focus of the subject of communication on imitation, submission, adjustment to a partner, unwillingness to be understood.

• Indifferent style is a practical complete rejection of business productive and diverse communication and an attempt to replace it with a quick solution to only business problems.

If the two previous classifications used the individual psychological characteristics of the subject of communication as a guide, then for L. Petrovskaya the main factor determining the types of styles is the communication situation itself.According to this classification, there are the following styles of business communications.

• ritual stylewhich is based on general intergroup communication. The task of the partners of such communication is to satisfy the need for belonging to any group, sphere of relations, maintaining social ties. With this style of interaction, the partner acts as a necessary element for performing the ritual, and his problems, interests and personal characteristics are not taken into account. Ritual communication is most common in organizations with a stable team, whose members have known each other for a long time.

• Manipulative the genre of communication involves the use of each other by partners as a way to solve certain problems. At the same time, partners try to demonstrate to each other the advantages and attractiveness of their goals so that the partner helps him achieve them. The winner in such an interaction is the one who better masters the art of manipulation. Manipulative style is not always bad. This is the way many problems are solved.

• Humanistic communication style is based on the ability of partners to understand, sympathize, empathize and the ability to put yourself in the place of a partner. Such communication does not set itself business goals and follows from a specific situation.It is auxiliary in solving professional problems, helps to establish contacts and build relationships.

In addition to the considered classifications of styles of official business communication, there are other typologies: S. Sheina, V. Latinova, V. Kan-Kalik.

You will learn 5 important rules of business communication from the following video.