INSTRUCTOR'S MANUAL
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION: POLISHING YOUR PROFESSIONAL
PRESENCE
2ND CANADIAN EDITION
CHAPTER NO. 01: BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS COMMUNICATOR
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What communication skills do businesses value? Surveys indicate that businesses value many
communication-related skills, including the ability to work in a team structure, verbally communicate
with people inside and outside the organization, obtain and process information, create and edit
written reports, and be persuasive and influence others. In addition, many employers say they want to
hire people who can work in a diverse environment, solve problems, contribute to a team, and
negotiate boundaries.
2. In what ways can communication skills save money or make money for a business? Clear
communication can save money by streamlining operations and increasing efficiency. Clear
communication can also save money by preventing misunderstandings or reducing the need for
customer support. Clear communication can also make money by reaching more customers or
improving compliance.
3. What are the elements of the transactional model of communication? In the transactional model,
senders and receivers collaborate to produce shared meaning. They exchange messages and feedback
back and forth, each of which must be successfully encoded and decoded. Many barriers must be
overcome during the process, and the context in which the transactions take place affect many
decisions about the choice of medium or the interpretation of a particular message.
4. Name three types of feedback you might receive as part of the communication process. Possible
answers can include either verbal or nonverbal response s. For example: an answer in response to a
direct question, sent as a return email; a request for clarification on a report draft, delivered as a
voicemail message; a puzzled expression on the face of an audience member during a presentation in
a staff meeting.
5. Name three barriers to communication. Possible answers include: physiological barriers;
psychological barriers; language barriers; semantic barriers; and mixed messages.
6. Define active listening. How does it differ from passive listening? Active listening involves more
than just hearing what is said. Active listeners interpret what is being said, and check to make sure
that their interpretation is correct. Active listening also includes attention to body language and
emotional cues to pick up nuances in what is being said and not said.
7. When you proofread your business writing, what should you check to ensure that it looks and
sounds professional? Writers should ask whether the writing is appropriate to the situation, clear,
concise, and ethical.
8. How does business use of social media differ from personal use? Businesses use social media
strategically to accomplish different goals. Businesses focus on reaching, supporting, and educating
customers, recruiting employees, and strengthening employee satisfaction.
9. Why are collaborative skills necessary in the workplace? Most projects are too big to be
accomplished by people working alone, and require the coordinated effort of large teams.
10. Define digital literacy. Why is this skill valuable? Digital literacy is the ability to communicate
effectively via communication technology tools. With the increasing need to communicate over
distances and with the development of communication tools that facilitate communication over
, distances, in today’s business world many team collaborations and meetings happen online. The
COVID-19 pandemic also demonstrated the need for and the value of digital literacy.
CRITICAL THINKING
Critical thinking questions are designed to help students understand key concepts from the chapter by
applying them to open-ended questions that have no single “correct” answer. You can assign all critical
thinking questions as a homework exercise or an end-of-chapter quiz. You can also select specific
questions for class discussion. Although student answers will vary, all good answers will show an
understanding of the question’s main concept and will apply the concept in a supportable way.
1. The chapter recommends that communicators address potential audience objections. Describe a
situation—either from your personal experience or a theoretical business scenario—where it
would be wiser to ignore potential audience objections.
Possible answers: It is always a good idea to imagine potential objections. However, it may be wiser
not to address those objections directly in these situations: (1) You believe the audience will not think
of those objections on their own. (2) You are communicating orally, in conversation. In that instance,
you may want to wait for your audience to bring up objections, since you’ll have the opportunity to
address them immediately. (3) As part of a negotiation, you want to be able to give in to one of the
audience’s objections later in the negotiation process.
2. Imagine that you are trying to persuade a teammate to agree with an idea for a presentation
and the teammate accuses you of being manipulative—trying to influence someone for your
personal benefit. What is the difference between being persuasive and being manipulative?
Possible answer: Persuasion looks at something from your audience’s point of view and outlines the
benefits to the audience with clear supporting reasons and evidence, while manipulation serves only
one person—you. For example, manipulation includes making people do something that they don't
want to do, making people believe a lie so they will do things your way, and making people feel
inadequate unless they agree with you.
3. Assume that your supervisor asked you to lie to a customer in an email about why a shipment is
delayed. Would it be unethical for you to write the email if you believe it is wrong to lie?
Conversely, would it be unethical for you to refuse to write the email if you believe you have a
responsibility to your employer? How would you resolve this issue?
Possible answer: In general, it is unethical to lie. To resolve the situation, discuss your options with
your supervisor to find some mutually acceptable version of the truth. For example, you may choose
not to explain that the shipment is late because you forgot to submit the order. Instead you could
truthfully provide a revised delivery date and a sincere apology.
4. Imagine you have been asked to collaborate on a project with a colleague whose work style is
very different from yours. For example, you like to plan carefully and follow a schedule, while
your colleague is spontaneous. You like to write thorough drafts that require only minimal
revision, while your colleague likes to write incomplete drafts and revise heavily later. Based on
these differences, you think it would be more efficient and cost effective for the company to
have you work on this project by yourself. Should you make that argument to your supervisor?
What might be the benefits of collaborating? What are the drawbacks?
, Possible answers: Benefits to collaboration include (1) multiple points of view and talents that may
lead to an improved final product and (2) division of labor that allows of sharper focus on specific
areas. Drawbacks include time-consuming conflict management and negotiation. Typically, the
benefits of collaboration outweigh the drawbacks.
5. Cross-cultural communication requires you to use clear language. What are some of the other
challenges of communicating across cultures?
Possible answers: (1) not understanding others’ language, (2) accidentally showing disrespect or
disregard, (3) addressing others with inappropriate levels of informality, (4) misinterpreting nonverbal
communication or inadvertently communicating something nonverbally.
6. Students who are not used to writing professional emails sometimes make the mistake of
composing them as if they were text messages. What are some key elements of text messages
that you should avoid in professional emails?
Possible answer: misspelling, incorrect punctuation, emoticons, unstructured sentences and ideas,
and improper greetings and closings.
7. Businesses use different social media tools for different purposes. Based on your knowledge of
Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube, how do you expect businesses would use each tool?
Possible answer: Businesses may use Facebook to engage customers, LinkedIn to recruit employees,
and YouTube to provide training and education.
8. Readers often judge a person’s professionalism based on whether a document is spell-checked
and free of grammatical errors. Do you believe this is a fair basis for making a judgment?
Possible answers: Minor errors may indicate a person is not careful, is not concerned the
professionalism of his or her work, and is not resourceful enough to find a way to get the errors
corrected.
DEVELOPING YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS
1.1 Why should you study business communication?
EXERCISE 1 Communication skills will contribute to your company’s and your own
success
NOTES: Answers will vary based on student experience.
1.2 Why is business communication challenging?
EXERCISE 2 Business communication is a complex process
NOTES: A good answer will explain what the original message was intended to mean, what the audience
misunderstood, and why the audience misunderstood it.
, EXERCISE 3 Digital communication expands opportunities and responsibilities
NOTES: Good answers may specifically apply the sample guidelines from Intel, or may spell out their
own criteria.
1.3 What characteristics do successful business communicators share?
EXERCISE 4 Effective communicators are strategic and persuasive
POSSIBLE ANSWERS: To show that you understand your audience’s concern, you can express
empathy with how challenging it is to share a narrow alley with truck drivers. To address objections, you
may need to concede that the trucks do make noise and occasionally block the alley. You can mention the
benefit of living so close to the grocery store and having fresh food always available. As a solution to the
problem, you can say that you will talk to truck drivers and ask them not to block the alley and to turn off
their engines at all times, since the refrigeration units can maintain their temperature for hours.
EXERCISE 5 Effective communicators are professional, clear, and concise
NOTES: Answers will vary based on students’ experience.
EXERCISE 6 Effective communicators are professional and ethical
NOTES: Possible pros of not telling your supervisor: (1) You reduce the risk of angering your
supervisor and (2) by saying nothing, you avoid responsibility. Possible cons of not telling your
supervisor: (1) your supervisor may be embarrassed later, by someone else who has seen the original
speech, (2) your supervisor may be sued by the person who made the original speech, (3) you lose the
opportunity to win your supervisor’s gratitude, if he copied inadvertently and was unaware of the
plagiarism. It is more ethical to tell your supervisor than to pretend you were unaware. Your supervisor
may be putting his own and the company’s reputation at risk, and it is your ethical responsibility to try to
prevent that from happening. However, it is not necessary to accuse your supervisor of plagiarism.
Instead, you can suggest that he may want to revise his speech because it is so similar to the one on CNN
that he may be accused of plagiarism.
EXERCISE 7 Effective communicators are adaptable and collaborative
POSSIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS: (1) writing early drafts and being an active part of the revision process
or (2) performing the statistical analysis and then drafting paragraphs that analyze the statistics, (3)
providing feedback about the clarity of the report.
EXERCISE 8 Effective Communicators Are Adaptable and able to work with other
cultures
POSSIBLE ANSWERS: (1) Acknowledge how much you admire Emma for learning a new language.
(2) Praise the strong elements of Emma’s work before editing it. (3) Instead of editing on your own and
then showing Emma the edits, work collaboratively with her to edit the writing, so that she makes some
of the edits herself. (4) Show Emma how heavily other people have edited your work.
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION: POLISHING YOUR PROFESSIONAL
PRESENCE
2ND CANADIAN EDITION
CHAPTER NO. 01: BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS COMMUNICATOR
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1. What communication skills do businesses value? Surveys indicate that businesses value many
communication-related skills, including the ability to work in a team structure, verbally communicate
with people inside and outside the organization, obtain and process information, create and edit
written reports, and be persuasive and influence others. In addition, many employers say they want to
hire people who can work in a diverse environment, solve problems, contribute to a team, and
negotiate boundaries.
2. In what ways can communication skills save money or make money for a business? Clear
communication can save money by streamlining operations and increasing efficiency. Clear
communication can also save money by preventing misunderstandings or reducing the need for
customer support. Clear communication can also make money by reaching more customers or
improving compliance.
3. What are the elements of the transactional model of communication? In the transactional model,
senders and receivers collaborate to produce shared meaning. They exchange messages and feedback
back and forth, each of which must be successfully encoded and decoded. Many barriers must be
overcome during the process, and the context in which the transactions take place affect many
decisions about the choice of medium or the interpretation of a particular message.
4. Name three types of feedback you might receive as part of the communication process. Possible
answers can include either verbal or nonverbal response s. For example: an answer in response to a
direct question, sent as a return email; a request for clarification on a report draft, delivered as a
voicemail message; a puzzled expression on the face of an audience member during a presentation in
a staff meeting.
5. Name three barriers to communication. Possible answers include: physiological barriers;
psychological barriers; language barriers; semantic barriers; and mixed messages.
6. Define active listening. How does it differ from passive listening? Active listening involves more
than just hearing what is said. Active listeners interpret what is being said, and check to make sure
that their interpretation is correct. Active listening also includes attention to body language and
emotional cues to pick up nuances in what is being said and not said.
7. When you proofread your business writing, what should you check to ensure that it looks and
sounds professional? Writers should ask whether the writing is appropriate to the situation, clear,
concise, and ethical.
8. How does business use of social media differ from personal use? Businesses use social media
strategically to accomplish different goals. Businesses focus on reaching, supporting, and educating
customers, recruiting employees, and strengthening employee satisfaction.
9. Why are collaborative skills necessary in the workplace? Most projects are too big to be
accomplished by people working alone, and require the coordinated effort of large teams.
10. Define digital literacy. Why is this skill valuable? Digital literacy is the ability to communicate
effectively via communication technology tools. With the increasing need to communicate over
distances and with the development of communication tools that facilitate communication over
, distances, in today’s business world many team collaborations and meetings happen online. The
COVID-19 pandemic also demonstrated the need for and the value of digital literacy.
CRITICAL THINKING
Critical thinking questions are designed to help students understand key concepts from the chapter by
applying them to open-ended questions that have no single “correct” answer. You can assign all critical
thinking questions as a homework exercise or an end-of-chapter quiz. You can also select specific
questions for class discussion. Although student answers will vary, all good answers will show an
understanding of the question’s main concept and will apply the concept in a supportable way.
1. The chapter recommends that communicators address potential audience objections. Describe a
situation—either from your personal experience or a theoretical business scenario—where it
would be wiser to ignore potential audience objections.
Possible answers: It is always a good idea to imagine potential objections. However, it may be wiser
not to address those objections directly in these situations: (1) You believe the audience will not think
of those objections on their own. (2) You are communicating orally, in conversation. In that instance,
you may want to wait for your audience to bring up objections, since you’ll have the opportunity to
address them immediately. (3) As part of a negotiation, you want to be able to give in to one of the
audience’s objections later in the negotiation process.
2. Imagine that you are trying to persuade a teammate to agree with an idea for a presentation
and the teammate accuses you of being manipulative—trying to influence someone for your
personal benefit. What is the difference between being persuasive and being manipulative?
Possible answer: Persuasion looks at something from your audience’s point of view and outlines the
benefits to the audience with clear supporting reasons and evidence, while manipulation serves only
one person—you. For example, manipulation includes making people do something that they don't
want to do, making people believe a lie so they will do things your way, and making people feel
inadequate unless they agree with you.
3. Assume that your supervisor asked you to lie to a customer in an email about why a shipment is
delayed. Would it be unethical for you to write the email if you believe it is wrong to lie?
Conversely, would it be unethical for you to refuse to write the email if you believe you have a
responsibility to your employer? How would you resolve this issue?
Possible answer: In general, it is unethical to lie. To resolve the situation, discuss your options with
your supervisor to find some mutually acceptable version of the truth. For example, you may choose
not to explain that the shipment is late because you forgot to submit the order. Instead you could
truthfully provide a revised delivery date and a sincere apology.
4. Imagine you have been asked to collaborate on a project with a colleague whose work style is
very different from yours. For example, you like to plan carefully and follow a schedule, while
your colleague is spontaneous. You like to write thorough drafts that require only minimal
revision, while your colleague likes to write incomplete drafts and revise heavily later. Based on
these differences, you think it would be more efficient and cost effective for the company to
have you work on this project by yourself. Should you make that argument to your supervisor?
What might be the benefits of collaborating? What are the drawbacks?
, Possible answers: Benefits to collaboration include (1) multiple points of view and talents that may
lead to an improved final product and (2) division of labor that allows of sharper focus on specific
areas. Drawbacks include time-consuming conflict management and negotiation. Typically, the
benefits of collaboration outweigh the drawbacks.
5. Cross-cultural communication requires you to use clear language. What are some of the other
challenges of communicating across cultures?
Possible answers: (1) not understanding others’ language, (2) accidentally showing disrespect or
disregard, (3) addressing others with inappropriate levels of informality, (4) misinterpreting nonverbal
communication or inadvertently communicating something nonverbally.
6. Students who are not used to writing professional emails sometimes make the mistake of
composing them as if they were text messages. What are some key elements of text messages
that you should avoid in professional emails?
Possible answer: misspelling, incorrect punctuation, emoticons, unstructured sentences and ideas,
and improper greetings and closings.
7. Businesses use different social media tools for different purposes. Based on your knowledge of
Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube, how do you expect businesses would use each tool?
Possible answer: Businesses may use Facebook to engage customers, LinkedIn to recruit employees,
and YouTube to provide training and education.
8. Readers often judge a person’s professionalism based on whether a document is spell-checked
and free of grammatical errors. Do you believe this is a fair basis for making a judgment?
Possible answers: Minor errors may indicate a person is not careful, is not concerned the
professionalism of his or her work, and is not resourceful enough to find a way to get the errors
corrected.
DEVELOPING YOUR COMMUNICATION SKILLS
1.1 Why should you study business communication?
EXERCISE 1 Communication skills will contribute to your company’s and your own
success
NOTES: Answers will vary based on student experience.
1.2 Why is business communication challenging?
EXERCISE 2 Business communication is a complex process
NOTES: A good answer will explain what the original message was intended to mean, what the audience
misunderstood, and why the audience misunderstood it.
, EXERCISE 3 Digital communication expands opportunities and responsibilities
NOTES: Good answers may specifically apply the sample guidelines from Intel, or may spell out their
own criteria.
1.3 What characteristics do successful business communicators share?
EXERCISE 4 Effective communicators are strategic and persuasive
POSSIBLE ANSWERS: To show that you understand your audience’s concern, you can express
empathy with how challenging it is to share a narrow alley with truck drivers. To address objections, you
may need to concede that the trucks do make noise and occasionally block the alley. You can mention the
benefit of living so close to the grocery store and having fresh food always available. As a solution to the
problem, you can say that you will talk to truck drivers and ask them not to block the alley and to turn off
their engines at all times, since the refrigeration units can maintain their temperature for hours.
EXERCISE 5 Effective communicators are professional, clear, and concise
NOTES: Answers will vary based on students’ experience.
EXERCISE 6 Effective communicators are professional and ethical
NOTES: Possible pros of not telling your supervisor: (1) You reduce the risk of angering your
supervisor and (2) by saying nothing, you avoid responsibility. Possible cons of not telling your
supervisor: (1) your supervisor may be embarrassed later, by someone else who has seen the original
speech, (2) your supervisor may be sued by the person who made the original speech, (3) you lose the
opportunity to win your supervisor’s gratitude, if he copied inadvertently and was unaware of the
plagiarism. It is more ethical to tell your supervisor than to pretend you were unaware. Your supervisor
may be putting his own and the company’s reputation at risk, and it is your ethical responsibility to try to
prevent that from happening. However, it is not necessary to accuse your supervisor of plagiarism.
Instead, you can suggest that he may want to revise his speech because it is so similar to the one on CNN
that he may be accused of plagiarism.
EXERCISE 7 Effective communicators are adaptable and collaborative
POSSIBLE CONTRIBUTIONS: (1) writing early drafts and being an active part of the revision process
or (2) performing the statistical analysis and then drafting paragraphs that analyze the statistics, (3)
providing feedback about the clarity of the report.
EXERCISE 8 Effective Communicators Are Adaptable and able to work with other
cultures
POSSIBLE ANSWERS: (1) Acknowledge how much you admire Emma for learning a new language.
(2) Praise the strong elements of Emma’s work before editing it. (3) Instead of editing on your own and
then showing Emma the edits, work collaboratively with her to edit the writing, so that she makes some
of the edits herself. (4) Show Emma how heavily other people have edited your work.
