“Business” Communication

...lest we forget
“If you want to run the show someday and run it well,
you had better learn to think, write and speak, in the
that order – clearly, forcefully, concisely and to the
point…”
- Ed Artz, Former CEO P&G

“Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so

they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will
remember it, and above all, accurately, so they will be
guided by its light..”
- Joseph Pulitzer, Founder Pulitzer Prize

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 Creating the Communication
• Have the right mindset
– Understand the need of stakeholder
– Know the “Expected Outcome”
• Building Blocks
– Start with the Big Picture
• What is the big idea?
• Elevator Pitch (?)
– Make it Crisp
– Get the “Flow” (structure/order)
– Make it memorable
• Creative visualization
• Use of Quotes
• Powerful opening, middle and end
Facts Story 3
 Winning an Outsourcing Deal
Final bid/ Best and Final offer (BAFO) from an
Indian IT major for a Total IT Outsourcing Deal
Costs (USD Mn)
As Is Costs To Be Costs
Year 1 70 69
Year 2 70 55
Year 3 70 47
Year 4 70 42
Year 5 70 42
Year 6 70 42
Year 7 70 42
Year 8 70 42
Year 9 70 42
Year 10 70 42
4
 80
Savings of >30% 40%

70 35%

60 30%

50 25%
Costs (USD M)

40 20%

30 15%

20 10%

10 5%

0 0%
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10

As Is Costs To Be Costs Cum Savings 5

Conceptual Clarity

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 Issue tree - Logical Structuring
Legally
Receive a
windfall
Illegally
Increase
income Receive
more from MECE -
investments
How to have Work more Mutually
more money hours
at the end of
Receive
more from
Exclusive
the month work Make more
per hour
Collectively
without
incurring debt Exhaustive
Essentials
Buy less
Luxury
Reduce
expenses
Discount
shopping
Buy cheaper
Lower
quality
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 Case Study VI
1. Company C is a leading steel manufacturer of India
2. It has been making losses in an increasingly competitive market
3. The recent price war has led to a 20% reduction in prices and is likely
to become worse. However, it is only expected to last 6 months
4. To survive in the industry, Company C must actively participate in the
price war, else it will lose all its customers
5. It has three plants, located in Trivandrum, Ambala and Kota
6. It has no retail outlets of its own but manages its sales through a
network of distributors and resellers
7. Its head quarters, sales operations and warehouses are all run out of
New Delhi
8. Of the three plants, Trivandrum is the smallest and the most efficient
in terms of cost of production while the one in Ambala is the largest
and the least efficient
9. For any plant, the main cost is in terms of cost of goods and
production cost, while the salary of its workers forms only a small
component 8
 Key questions to be answered

Q1. What should be the real problem statement?

Q2. What will be your approach to analyzing and solving this

problem?

Q3. What would be your recommendation?

 The Problem Statement

“How could Company C get enough cash to

survive 6-months, while actively participating in
the ongoing price war ?”
 Case Study: Issue Tree Analysis
Improve
efficiency
Reduce plant
costs
Shut down a
plant
Reduce operating Reduce Sales &
costs Marketing costs
Reduce
expenditure
Reduce planned
Reduce HQ and
capital
other expenses
How to get expenditure
enough cash to
survive 6-
months? Raise prices

Sell more
Increase income
volumes

Raise funding

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 Pyramid structure

• Only one idea at the top

• Every idea supported by 2
or more ideas
• A very robust structure
that is tough to break-
down – can withstand
questions from tough
audiences

Source - Barbara Minto’ Pyramid Principle

 What does the Pyramid contain?
Governing
thought

What?
Why? Reason or Reason or Reason or
How? support support support

How do
you
Fact / Fact / Fact / Fact / Fact / Fact /
know analysis analysis analysis analysis analysis analysis
that?
 Attributes of a good Pyramid
Governing
1 Good thought One idea per box
synthesis (Apt descriptor)
2

Supporting Logic 1 Supporting Logic 2/ Supporting Logic 3 /

3
/Action or reason Action or reason Action or reason
Sufficient
support

Fact / Fact / Fact / Fact / Fact / Fact /

analysis analysis analysis analysis analysis analysis

4 No significant gap, no overlap

Mutually Exclusive Collectively Exhaustive (MECE)

Is “Pyramid” enough?

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 Argument structure

Situation State the conditions at the point of

problem

Complication Explain the challenges being faced

Resolution Propose a possible solution

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 Argument structure
Governing thought encompassing
all three legs of the argument

Situation Complication Resolution

What? Why? How?

Fact / Fact / Fact / Fact / Fact / Fact /

analysis analysis analysis analysis analysis analysis

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Characteristics of an argument structure
• Creates a more persuasive communication structure
• Good for giving tough messages
• Works well with skeptical audiences
• A good argument makes the proposed solution appear the only
way out of the complicated situation
• Should be used selectively as it requires more effort and
patience on the part of the audience

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 Pyramid v/s Argument structure

Pyramid structure Argument structure

Governing thought… Governing thought…

…supported by separate …supported by a

but coherent ideas progression of ideas that
make it look like a logical
conclusion
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 Pyramid vs. Argument structure

Pyramid structure Argument structure

First answer, then rationale First rationale, then answer

Actions Need for action

Receptive audience Resistant audience

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 Exercise IX (15 min)
After 3 months, the consultant has come up with the
recommendation of shutting down Trivandrum plant for 6
months
Group A and B
The consulting team leader to make a presentation to the
Board of Directors on what should Company X do
Group C and D
▫ The CEO of Company X to make a presentation to the
workers’ union of plant C to communicate their decision

Create a communication structure

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 Case Study : Pyramid
To ensure our survival, we need to shut down
Trivandrum plant for 6 months

Shutting down a plant Trivandrum plant is

Important to participate Need to conserve cash
for 6 months can save the best plant to
in the ongoing price war to last the price war
cash shut down

Price war
Has the
to get over Is the
highest
Will lose in 6 smallest so
Our cost Not Will Lower supply logistics
customers if months, will lead to
structure enough reduce will help cost of all
we don’t after which least
higher than reserve cash increase plants,
reduce can get reduction
competitors cash outflow prices a bit key
prices back to in sales
reason of
good volume
losses
margins

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 Case Study Argument
To ensure our survival, we need to shut down
Trivandrum plant for 6 months

Unless we shut down a plant, We will shut down

We are facing a huge
we will not be able to conserve Trivandrum plant for 6
price war that we must
enough cash to survive the months only with no job
participate in
price war losses

Plant C has the

Prices Our cost
highest total The price war
have structure Not enough
Will lose cost of all the All of you is expected to
come higher than reserve cash Some people
customers if plants even will be over in 6
down by competitors on books – will be
we don’t though it has continue month, after
20% and by 30% - they need to save transferred to
reduce the lowest to get which the
likely to will outlast us cash from Ambala plant
prices volumes, salaries plant will be
become in this price operations
because of re-opened
worse war
logistics cost

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Ex - a formal note (through email) on a
situation
• You are the chief organizer of Inter-University
Debating Competition scheduled to be held at
your institute. You need to seek permission of
the Director of your institute to allocate
certain resources to let you hold this event.

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Nov 07, 2017
Suggested answer
The Director
IIML , Noida

Sub: Organizing and hosting Inter University Debating competition (Jan 12-Jan 15, 2018)

Dear Sir/Ma’am

We are delighted to intimate you that our Institute has been chosen/selected as the venue to host “Gyan Ganga”, the National Inter University
English Debating competition in mid Jan 2018 . That it would be the 25th anniversary of Gyan Ganga gives us an additional sense of
accomplishment to host this event.

May we present for your kind consideration, the support needed from our Institute to make this event a great success:
• Our Auditorium (Jan 12- Jan 15)
• Three Meeting Rooms Arya Bhatt, Panini and Bhaskaracharya (Jan 12-Jan 15)
• Catering facilities at Annapurna (twice a day, every day during Jan 12 - Jan 15)
• Audio visual equipment installed at Auditorium, Meeting Rooms.

We would also like to seek your time (an hour on morning of Jan 12, and about 2 hours on Jan 15 afternoon) to grace the occasion. We shall
be coordinating with your office to accordingly set up your diary/block your calendar. Kindly let us know if you would like to us present our
plan in person.

Our team is committed to deliver its best and make IIML proud, and we will.
Looking forward to your formal approval on accessing abovementioned resources.

Sincerely yours,
XYZ
PGPSM 2019, Head- Students Event Management Team
+91-9999 9999 xyz@iiml.ac.in (223 words) 25
 Ex - a cover note for your resume
based on a situation
You are an Electronics Engineer with PGDM (Marketing), had worked for 3 years in
Samsung as Management Trainee and later as Team Leader – New Product Design.

You are now applying to Lowe Lintas (Advertising Agency) as Creative Executive to
make a career switch from hardware designing to advertising. You realize that starting
as an Executive in an Advertising Agency would mean taking a salary cut of over 70%,
but you have a very strong liking for advertising.

Your primary interests are graphic designing, gaming, reading comics and listening to
Beatles music, you are also a gadget geek (mainly around music, gaming devices).
While you have had an above average academic career, you recall lyrics of most of the
Beatles songs, most of the comic books in great detail. You were good at landscape
photography while at school. At PGDM, you studied ad campaigns of various
consumer electronics companies, automotive companies, food and beverage
companies, and presented your insights through few well-regarded articles in leading
business magazines.
(Note: Write only the cover letter. Suggested word limit: 250)
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 Suggested answer
DD-MM-YY
Director Recruitment,
Lowe Lintas

Dear XYZ,
Becoming a creative person has always been a yearning, and I have strived to achieve excellence in these pursuits
throughout my career.

Developed original insights into advertising campaigns of consumer electronics (Apple, Sony, Samsung), automotive
(Porsche, Mercedes Benz, Audi), food and beverage (Starbucks, Tropicana, Tetley) and got these published these in three of
the country’s leading business magazines. These articles also drew encomiums/positive feedback from various Ad Gurus
from the leading Ad Agencies (M from BBDO, N from Ogilvy and O from Lowe Lintas).

I do have a strong sense of visual aesthetics and tag lines, drawn from my abiding love for Beatles, passionate readings of
comics (Flash Gordon is my favorite character), and landscape photography.
That I understand technology and appreciate design considerations make me a tinkerer, an experimenter, who revels in
creating new ‘things’.

I believe I have the right amount of zest, creativity, and team playing ability to succeed at Lowe Lintas.

I am quite willing to start as a fresher at Lowe Lintas (and will disregard my three year of work experience at Samsung in
‘new product design team’) for I believe “follow your passions, overachieve, monetary rewards will come later”.

My resume along with published articles are attached for your kind consideration.
Looking forward,

Sincerely yours,
ABC
ABC@abcmail.com
99999 99999 (218 words) 27
 Finally …
“Reading maketh a full man;
conference a ready man;
and writing an exact man.”
- Francis Bacon

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avneeshmakkar@gmail.com
+91-95608 77878

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