Tips for Writing a Communication Style Guide for Your Small Business

A communication style guide is a document that outlines how communication is to be delivered and utilized in a small business. It outlines communication hierarchy systems, communication rules and communication examples. Small business really need to develop an effective communication style guide for their employees to ensure that proper and effective communication is used during all business activities. Without a communication style guide your employees may be transmitting offensive messages or muddled messages to your clients and to each other, which can impact your company productivity and profitability.

Tip #1 - Develop a Communication Hierarchy Structure

One of the first things that you will want to address in your small business's communication style guide is the communication hierarchy structure for your company. This hierarchy will explain which employees handle what type of communication situations, and where each department needs to report to when there is a problem.

Tip #2 - Create a Tone for Your Company's Communications

Tone is the style in which communications are delivered. When outlining the tone for your company's communication style you most likely will need to set tones for specific communication settings. For example, you may require a friendly and informal tone when communicating with customers, but then require a formal tone when communicating with other employees. Tone instructions will include how to address someone, for example, if your company has a formal tone then it may require that employees address others by their surname, such as Mr. Carson or Mrs. Appleton.

Tip #3 - Rules for Communication

Throughout your communication style guide you need to include rules for communication. These rules will outline how communication is to be initiated and transmitted, as well as how to respond appropriately to various types of communications. For example, you will want to explain how to transmit communications regarding orders, complaints and requests to the appropriate people in the company, as well as rules for how to respond to complaints, requests and orders. You can also include rules for using various types of communications like emails, memos and verbal messages.

Tip #4 - Provide Examples

Throughout your communication style guide you will need to provide examples. These examples will follow rules and provide an illustration of how to deal with a communication situation. Some people find it beneficial to include a "what to do" example and a "what not to do" example. You can also include sample communication mediums such as memos, emails and invoices to demonstrate how to properly format and fill out these common business communication tools.