English

Oral comunication

Although a lot of business communication today is carried out digitally- via emails, texting

and social media- telephoning is still an important business component. A telephone call

connects the caller with a human voice, which can be very beneficial in an increasingly

impersonal environment. Some of benefits include:

● Effective communication: On the telephone, the tone of a person’s voice gives

dimension and emotion to the word spoken, increasing the effectiveness of

communication. Written communication, such as texting and email don’t have this

extra dimension and can be more easily misinterpreted.

● Confidentally: Telephone calls, are the best way to deal with sensitive or confidential

issues. Without the opportunity of two-way communication, sensitive issues may be

misinterpreted. In addition the fact that you take the time to make a call, can have

more of an effect than sending an impersonal email or text message.

● Speed of answer: If you need a quick answer a telephone call is often better than

an email as long as the person you called is available, can you take care of business

immediately.

● Interaction: Conference calls enable several people from different areas to take part

in a single phone conversation. They can be used in conjunction with video

conferencing to view business presentations and hold meetings.

presentarsi: hello, it’s/my name’s..

chiedere di parlare con qualcuno: can/ could i speak to…, please?

yes, speaking

i’m sorry he/ she isn’t in office at the moment

sure, I’ll put you through

chiedere se vuole lasciare un messaggio: would you like to leave a messages?

no grazie richiamo dopo: no thanks, i’ll call back later

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visual communication

Visual communication uses pictures and graphs to convey ideas and information in a simple

and immediate format. Visual aids (aiuti virtuali) are often used in business presentations to

help the audience understand the topic being presented. Statistical facts are usually

illustrated on tables and graphs. Here are some of the most common types:

bar chart, pie chart, pictogram, table, graph, flowchart.

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Written communication

In today’s global market (attualmente nel mercato globale) companies need to transfer

information quickly and accurately to all parts of the world and receive immediate feedback.

In the past they relied on the fax machine to do this, but new technologies and the internet

have revolutionised methods of business communication. Text messages and electronic

mail have almost substituted faxes and traditional business letters sent by post. A lot of

companies use social networks, such as facebook, twitter,linkedin, to carry out market

research, promote and sell their products, build up networks of contacts and recruit staff.

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text messages

Text messages are a quick way of informally transmitting a short and simple message.

The term “texting” is used in North America and the UK while most other countries prefer the

term SMS (short message service). Today most business texts are sent via a smartphone

app called WhatsApp. whatsApp is a mobile messaging app that allows you to exchange

messages without having to pay.The name comes from the English expression “what’s up?”.

In addition to text messaging, users can send pictures, video and audio messages. The

founder was Jan Kum. The company, WhatsApp Inc, is a fairly new startup company based

in Silicon Valley.It was founded in 2009 and it has grown phenomenally over the last few

years. In April 2019 WhatsApp had over 1 billion users, nowadays there are 2 billion active

users and handles over 100 billion messages every day.

People often abbreviate words when writing text messages, because messages in the past

was expensive. Email

E-mail (electronic mail) has become an almost (quasi ) indispensable tool for business. It is a

simple, fast and inexpensive way to communicate. It saves paper and also reduces

administrative tasks, such as filing (ordinare i documenti). Although emails can be printed,

they often stay as soft copies ( non stampare) because it is easy to store and retrieve

(recuperare) them on the computer.

Everyone who is connected to the Internet has an email address. This identifies where the

messages will be sent.

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Opening salutation: Here are some possible opening salutations

● Dear Mr/Ms Barker: Formal

● Dear Tom: Friendly: but businesslike

● Hello/Hi Tom: informal and friendly

closing salutation: Here are some common closing salutation

● Sincerely: formal

● Regards/ Best regards: friendly, but businesslike

● All the best: informal and friendly

● Talk to you later: informal and friendly

Here is an imaginary email address:

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Email:the pros and cons

Email has a lot of advantages compared to regular business letters. It also has a number of

disadvantages, however, which need to be carefully considered ( che bisogna attentamente

considerare) when choosing an appropriate method of communication.

The pros:

● Email is fast and easy. The message can reach any part of the world quickly.

● Documents, photographs and data files can be attached/ inclose

● The message can be sent at any time of the day and from any place using different

technological devices

● Email is cheap and the same message can be sent to a lot of people all over the

world

● The message can be dealt with when it is convenient for the receiver

● Email messages are easily stored

T2he cons

● Messages cannot reach people who do not have an email address

● Some people change their email address often and you may not have an up to date

(aggiornato) address

● You can get a lot of junk mail/spam that you haven’t asked to receive

● You never know who may read the message. Your emails may be intercepted without

you knowing

● Unless you specifically ask for confirmation (presa visione)of receipt, you don’t know

if the receiver gets the message until he or she writes back

● Emails can be infected by viruses

Business email-netiquette

Netiquette is the network etiquette which keeps email communication both effective and

efficient. Here are some helpful tips and practices.

Dos

● Be aware (si consapevole) of what you write and how you write it. Make sure that

sentences are complete and include proper grammar and include proper grammar

and punctuation. This goes for Twitter and Facebook too

● Include a proper greeting and a closing which includes your name

● send messages which are precise and to the point

● Include a subject heading that reflects the content of the message

● Include your email address within any file you send. It’s a courtesy and serves the

same function as the return address at the top of a business letter

● Check and read your work mail at least twice a day, in the morning and in the

evening

● Respond to your business communications promptly, as quickly as possible

Dont’s

● Type your note entirely in capital letters. It is considered to be rude. Capitals may be

used in moderation to emphasize a point

● Send useless email messages. In other words, don’t waste other people’s time

● Attach a file when a simple note would do. Saving and opening files takes time

● Just assume that your correspondent is being lazy if he or she doesn’t reply to your

email. Check whether your message arrived

● Be too informal in your business email. If your are very informal when you email a

new customer, your inquiry may not be taken as seriously

Shouldn't send many mails, they could be considered spam

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business letters

Traditional formal letters are still used sometimes in business, particularly when the message

is personal and private; companies wish to establish a first contact with prospective

customers or when original documents, not copies must be sent.

The body of a business letter is similar to the body of an email or fax, but the layout is

different.

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Faxes

A fax is a telecommunication technology used to transfer copies of documents over the

telephone network using a fax machine. The fax technology has faced increasing

competition from the internet over recent years, however faxing has not disappeared

completely. One of the reasons for this is because electronic signatures on contacts are not

always recognised by law while faxed contracts with copies of signatures are.

E-commerce

A brief history

Electronic commerce or e-commerce refers to the buying and selling of products and

services via the Internet. The first e-commerce applications started in the early 1970s and

were used only by large corporations, financial institutions and a few businesses. Later they

expanded so that manufacturers, retailers and service providers could also use them. These

applications increased further with the commercialisation of the internet in the early 1990s

and its rapid growth among millions of potential customers.

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E-commerce is divided into four main areas:

● Direct sales: from the producer to the final consumer, called ‘business to consumer’,

or B2C in Net language. Examples include the sale of clothes and book.

● Sales between companies, called, ‘business to business’ or B2B. Fer example the

sales of raw materials and equipment

● Sales between customers, usually through virtual auction sales like EBay. This is

called ‘consumer to consumer oC2C, in net language

● Sales of Goods and services from individuals to companies. An example is the sale

of royalty-free photographs, illustrations and videos. This is called ‘consumer to

business’ or C2B

● Today the sales of goods and services can take place throughout different mobile

device such as mobile and tablet it is called ‘mobile commerce’ or m-commerce in

net languages The internet revolution

How did it all begin?

The Internet started as a small government project in the USA in the 1970s. The American

defense department wanted an extremely safe way of sending messages in case of nuclear

attack. The Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) linked their computers to facilitate

the transfer of data. In time, more and more computers were connected to this system: this

was the beginning of the internet. At first the internet was used primarily by the Defence

Department and by researchers in industry and universities to connect separate comp