Business communication requires a wide variety of language skills. Here are 5 tips you can follow to improve your professional communication:

1.     Consider audience, purpose, and method.

2.     Use polite language.

3.     Be clear and concise.

4.     Show appreciation.

5.     Be friendly not formal.

If you follow these five tips, you’ll be a better communicator in the workplace. Let’s start with tip 1.

Business Communication Tip 1: Consider audience, purpose, and method.

Before you communicate, consider your audience’s background and understanding of the topic. As an example, an accountant would use different language when speaking with another accountant compared to when speaking with the sales department.

Once you’ve reflected on the background knowledge of your audience, think about your purpose for communicating. What do you need the people to know or do? Keep the purpose in mind so you don’t lose track of your goal.

When you know the audience and purpose, you can choose the best method. Examples include email, phone, text messages, or face-to-face meetings. The method you choose depends on your audience and purpose, but here are a few general tips:

For sensitive, emotional, confidential, or negative topics, choose a conversation. Writing is not the best method for these items. Always handle sensitive conversations in person, even if you’re embarrassed or nervous. Never hide behind email!

·       Email is a good option when you want a written record of the conversation.

·       Instant messaging is for when you need something urgently. Most companies send emails when they need the information within a day and an instant message when they need the information in a few minutes or hours.

Business Communication Tip 2: Use polite language.

You should always try to use polite language in your communication.

First, always say “please” and “thank you”. Here are a few more language tips to communicate politely:

·       “Could” is more polite than “can”. Use “could” instead of “can” when making requests, like in these examples. “Could you please” is the best way to make a request at work.

·       “Would” is more polite than “want”. Instead of saying “do you want”, ask, “would you like”. You should also say “I would like” instead of “I want”.

·       “May” is a polite word to ask permission, like in these examples.

From these examples, you can see how to use “could”, “would” and “may” to communicate more politely.

Business Communication Tip 3: Be concise.

Being concise means to be direct, short, or to the point. When speaking or writing, you have a limited time to convey your message. Don’t fill the time with extra words or ideas. Here are a few tips for being concise in your business communication.

Start with the main idea. Skip the introduction, background information, or anything that isn’t the purpose of your communication. In email, this means the first line should be the purpose. In a training presentation, skip the 10-minute speech about why the training is important. Just get to step 1.

Clear, simple language is always better than complex business jargon. When in doubt, choose the simplest word. This means choosing “use” instead of “utilize” or “buy” instead of “procure”. It also means avoiding business jargon or clichés, phrases like “think outside the box” or “get on the same page”. 

When writing or speaking, it’s your responsibility to ensure your listeners or readers understand you. Your goal is clarity not complexity. To achieve this, choose simple language.

The fourth business communication tip is to show appreciation. One of the best ways you can build stronger relationships with coworkers is to show appreciation for their work. You can do this in a variety of ways.

First, say thanks! It’s crucial to thank people anytime they complete a task for you. It could be a small thanks in an email or a detailed thank you for a larger task. Whatever the situation, say thank you as much as possible.

It’s also beneficial to give people credit. When someone does a good job, make sure they know it! Think about how these examples would strengthen your relationships.

·       In a group meeting, you give credit to one of your coworkers for a good idea.

·       You email a coworker form a different department to say what a great job they did on a mutual project. You include their manager so that they know about the great work.

·       You send a random thank you email to one of your direct reports thanking them for the work they do and the ways they help you.

In all three examples, the other person feels proud you’ve highlighted their accomplishments, especially when you do it in front of their team or boss.

At work, try to give credit, say thanks, give kudos, or show appreciation. It will help you build the key relationships you need to succeed.  

Business Communication Tip 5: Be friendly not formal.

One of the most common mistakes English learners make is communicating too formally at work. This often happens from learning old-fashioned business communication language and using that in the modern workplace. Overly formal communication can show up everywhere.

One example is the email greeting, “Dear Sir/Madam”. It’s not a great first impression when the opening words of your email is a business greeting that hasn’t been used in 30 years.

Other examples include calling your boss by their last name, calling people sir or madam, or filling your emails with overused business jargon, like “to whom it may concern”, “as you may know”, or “as previously discussed”.

You’ll develop stronger working relationships if you focus on being polite, welcoming, inclusive, warm, and overall, nice.

Those are five tips you can follow to improve your business communication. If you review them and apply them at work, you’ll communicate more politely and build the relationships you need for professional success.