The Seven Cs of Effective Communication

7 Cs of Effective communication Completeness Conciseness Consideration Concreteness Clarity Courtesy Correctness

7 Cs of Effective communication completeness

Completeness

A business message is complete when it contains all facts the reader or listener needs for the reaction the sender desires. Completeness offers 4 important benefits:
Brings the desired result. Builds goodwill. Avoids misunderstanding and hence averts costly lawsuits.

7 Cs of Effective communication completeness

In order to make the message complete, use following guidelines:

Provide All Necessary Information Answer All Questions Asked Give Something Extra, When Desirable

7 Cs of Effective communication completeness

Provide All Necessary Information

Provide all necessary information the receiver would need to act upon in a way desired by the sender. Usually a complete message should be capable of answering the five W and one H questions.

7 Cs of Effective communication completeness

Answer All Questions Asked

Your reply to an inquiry must answer all the questions asked. If some answers are unfavorable to you or reflect your weak points, handle them with tact and honesty. Remember that omissions cast suspicions.

7 Cs of Effective communication completeness

Give Something Extra, When Desirable

The words when desirable are important here. In reply to a query, if certain details are not asked, but if you feel they are desirable to make the message complete, give extra information.

7 Cs of Effective communication conciseness

Conciseness
Conciseness is saying what you want to in the fewest possible words without sacrificing the other Cs of effective communication. A concise message saves both time and expense for both the sender and the receiver.

7 Cs of Effective communication conciseness

Remember the following to make your Message Concise:

Eliminate Wordy Expressions Include Only Relevant Material Avoid Unnecessary Repetition

7 Cs of Effective communication conciseness

Eliminate Wordy Expressions:

Use single-word instead of phrase. Omit unnecessary expressions. Avoid overusing empty phrases. Omit which and that clauses whenever possible. Eliminate unnecessary propositional phrases. Limit use of passive voice.

7 Cs of Effective communication conciseness

Include Only Relevant Material

Stick to the purpose of the message. Delete irrelevant words and rambling sentences. Omit information obvious to the receiver. Avoid long introductions, unnecessary explanations, excessive adjectives. Get to the point tactfully.

7 Cs of Effective communication conciseness

Avoid Unnecessary Repetition

Use shorter names once they are mentioned. Use pronouns or initials rather than long names. Remove phrases and sentences that are needlessly getting repeated. E.g. We hereby wish to let you know that our company is pleased with the confidence you have reposed in us.

7 Cs of Effective communication consideration

Consideration
Consideration means preparing every message with the message receivers in mind. It is basically You-attitude, empathy, and understanding of human nature.

7 Cs of Effective communication consideration

Three way to indicate Consideration are:

Focus on You Instead of I or We Show Audience Benefit or Interest in Receiver Emphasize Positive, Pleasant Facts

7 Cs of Effective communication consideration

Focus on You Instead of I or We

Focus on audiences benefits. It does not mean using You in every sentences that are communicated. The use of you in negative situation can be avoided using the passive voice. E.g. I am delighted to announce that we will be extending our hours to make shopping more convenient.

7 Cs of Effective communication consideration

Show Audience Benefit or Interest in Receiver

Show how audience will benefit from the message. Merely inserting you does not ensure you-attitude.

7 Cs of Effective communication consideration

Emphasize Positive, Pleasant Facts

Stressing on what can be done instead of what cannot be done is third way to show consideration. Among positive words to which people react favorably are benefit, cordial, happy, help, generous, loyal, pleasure, thanks, thoughtful. Words with negative connotation are blame, complaint, failed, fault, negligence, regret, reject, trouble, unfair, and many others.

7 Cs of Effective communication concreteness

Concreteness
Communicating concretely means being specific, definite, and vivid rather than vague and general. It often means using denotative (direct, specific and dictionarybased) rather than connotative words (ideas or notions associated with a word or phrase).

7 Cs of Effective communication concreteness

The following guidelines help compose Concrete Message:

Use Specific Facts and Figures Put Action in your Verbs Choose Vivid, Image-Building Words

7 Cs of Effective communication concreteness

Use Specific Facts and Figures

Whenever possible, use an exact, precise statement or a figure in place of a general word to make your message more concrete. Avoid being specific if it sounds too harsh, especially while communicating negative message. e.g. Student scores are higher

7 Cs of Effective communication concreteness

Put Action in your Verbs

Use active voice as far as possible. E.g. The test was administered by professors. Put action in verbs, not in nouns and infinitives. E.g. Students held the meeting in the office Choose vivid, image-building words E.g. Some women were stopped in their promotions

7 Cs of Effective communication clarity

Clarity

Clarity of communication means transferring the meaning from the mind of communicator to the mind (s) of receiver (s) accurately.

7 Cs of Effective communication clarity

In order to be Clear in communication,

Choose Precise, Concrete, and Familiar Words Construct Effective Sentences and Paragraphs

7 Cs of Effective communication clarity

Choose Precise, Concrete, and Familiar Words

Clarity is achieved by balancing between precise language and familiar language. Use familiar words instead of pretentious words. The efficacy of hydrochloric acid is indisputable, but he corrosive residue is incompatible with metallic permanence.

7 Cs of Effective communication clarity

Construct Effective Sentences and Paragraphs

Sentence formation is the core of clarity. Ensure appropriateness of length, unity, coherence, and emphasis while forming a sentence and a paragraph. E.g After planting 10,000 berry plants, the deer came into our botanists farm and crushed them.

7 Cs of Effective communication courtesy

Courtesy
Being aware of the perspective of others and their feeling is true courtesy in communication. Mere mechanical insertions of polite words such as please or thank you doesnt help much. It is politeness that grow out of respect and concern for others.

7 Cs of Effective communication courtesy

One can show Courtesy by using the following:

Be Sincerely Tactful, Thoughtful, and Appreciative Use Expressions That Show Respect Choose Nondiscriminatory Expressions

7 Cs of Effective communication courtesy

Be Sincerely Tactful, Thoughtful, and Appreciative

Being blunt or abrupt are common cause of discourtesy. Be thoughtful and courteous when communicating with other culture especially Asian cultures.

7 Cs of Effective communication courtesy

Use Expressions That Show Respect

Omit irritating expressions. [Use the fact

that instead of I do not agree with you.]

Laughter to one person may be disgust to another. Use humor with caution. E.g Hey, dude, whats this I hear about the good news? You sure pulled a fast one this past weekendand then didnt tell any of us about it. Give my regards to the little lady-and wish her the best : shell need it.

7 Cs of Effective communication courtesy

Choose Nondiscriminatory Expressions

Avoid using sexist terms such as chairman, he, his, etc.) When using the names, treat each gender with respect.

7 Cs of Effective communication correctness

Correctness
At the core of correctness is proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Incorrect message may cause loss of a customer or end of a business relation.

7 Cs of Effective communication correctness

In the context of business communication, Correctness also means:

Use the Right Level of Language Check Accuracy of Figures, Facts, and Words Maintain Acceptable Writing Mechanics

7 Cs of Effective communication correctness

Use the Right Level of Language

Choose the right level of language: formal, informal and substandard. Formal writing is often associated with scholarly writing such as doctoral theses, legal documents, agreements, articles, etc. Informal writing is more characteristic of business writing. Avoid substandard language.

7 Cs of Effective communication correctness

Check Accuracy of Figures, Facts, and Words

Message must be communicated as precisely as possible. Hence a communicator must check and ensure the accuracy of figures, facts, and words. A good check of the message is have another person read and comment on the validity of the material.

7 Cs of Effective communication correctness

Maintain Acceptable Writing Mechanics

use acceptable writing mechanics, word processing and appearance of business messages.