Communication in the Office
Communication in the Office tests the communication process, formal and informal channels, internal and external communication, barriers, and the etiquette of telephone, email and written messages. Scenario questions ask you to choose a channel and justify it.
Core rules
- The process is sender, encoding, medium or channel, decoding, receiver and feedback. Barriers can disturb any stage.
- Formal channels follow the organisation structure: downward for instructions, upward for reports and grievances, lateral for coordination, and external for clients and suppliers. Informal channels such as the grapevine are fast but unreliable.
- Choose a medium by urgency, need for a written record, confidentiality, distance, cost, complexity and the receiver’s needs.
- The 7 Cs of effective messages are clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete and courteous.
- Barriers include physical noise and distance, semantic jargon and ambiguity, psychological fear and prejudice, and organisational delays or missing feedback.
- Listening is active: attend, do not interrupt, paraphrase and confirm. Feedback is not optional; it shows understanding.
Worked example
A manager must tell one employee that a disciplinary hearing is scheduled. Reasoned choice: a private face-to-face meeting with a follow-up letter, not a staff notice board or group email. The matter is confidential, sensitive and needs immediate feedback; the letter provides a record of the date and time. A group email would breach confidentiality and embarrass the employee.
Traps that cost marks
Saying email is always best because it is written; omitting feedback from the communication process; confusing hearing with listening; recommending a notice board for confidential or individual matters; ignoring cost and urgency when comparing channels.