All the best presentations, writing, and the communicating you may be capable of are meaningless without use of the right medium of communication. The right medium is determined by the situational requirements in the organization, at the internal and external level in the first instance, and then at the personal level in both.
Employees will know things only through good communication with their supervisors and managers. Managers have the responsibility to communicate with their employees to achieve the best results for the business. Good internal communication can help employees perform better and become more committed towards the organizations overall success. Managers perform better and make better decisions helping to create greater trust between the management, trade union (if applicable) and employees. When an employee feels that he is part of the decision process and involved in the company it helps increase job satisfaction among the employees.
Employees need to be able to ask questions and receive answers to help them understand the information they are given. They need to be able to discuss such information, through the appropriate channels, to determine their own reactions and form their own ideas. In this way the employees understanding of the company goals will be enhanced and their knowledge of the opportunities or constraints faced by the company will improve.
Employees communication is a new priority for top management. In this respect research reports state that today’s employee prefers to get face-to-face information, either one-to-one or in a small group. Employees want to hear news from their supervisors or some other knowledgeable authoritative source. But the new emphasis on face-to-face communication does not mean that other relevant means of distributing information are obsolete. The only forms that are used less now are those that are not efficient, misdirected or prove to distribute meaningless data.
There are three general forms of media used in internal and external business communication, depending on the needs and objectives of the organization or the communication situation:
- Audio-visual presentations.
- Written communications.
- Human oral communication.
Each has its distinct advantages and uses in supplementing purposeful business and corporate communications.
Audio-visuals should be used when you need to supplement your oral and sometimes written communication. Used properly they can be extremely useful in illustrating specific points and ideas.
Written media forms of communication may be viewed as printed hardware or un-printed, such as emails. Writing plays an important role in many managerial and professional communications both internally and externally. The most common and important written media are letters and memoranda, reports, manuals, formal orders, brochures, professional papers, advertisements etc.
Oral human communications are obviously person to person meetings, but also encompass group presentations, conferences and group discussions.