The Seven C's of Effective Communication:: Provide All Necessary Information

The seven C’s of Effective Communication:
To compose effective written or oral messages, you must apply certain communication principles. These
principles provide guidelines for choice of content and style of presentation, adapted to the purpose and
receiver of your message, called 7 C’s, they are;
 Completeness
 Conciseness
 Consideration
 Concreteness
 Clarity
 Courtesy
 Correctness
1. Completeness:
Your business message is complete when it contains all facts the reader or listener needs for the
reaction you desire.
As you strive for completeness, keep the following guidelines in mind:
 Provide all necessary information

 Answer all questions asked
 Give something extra, when desirable
Provide all necessary information:

One way to help make your message complete is to answer the five W questions_ who, what, where,
why_ and any other essentials, such as how.
For instance, to order merchandise, make clear what you want, when you need it, to whom and where it
is to be sent, and how payment will be made. Similarly, to reserve a hotel banquet room, specify the
accommodations needed (what), location (where), sponsoring organization (who), date and time
(when), event (why), and other necessary details (how).
Answer all questions asked:

Whenever you reply an inquiry, try to answer all questions----stated and implied. A colleague or
prospective customer’s reaction to an incomplete reply is likely to be unfavorable. The customer may
think the respondent is careless or is purposely trying to conceal a weak spot. Sometimes before you can
answer an inquiry, you need certain specific information from the inquirer. If so it is a good idea to list
the needed details on a reply form that the inquirer can fill out and return to you. In this way both your
answer and that of your respondent will be complete.
Give something extra, when desirable:
The words ‘’when desirable’’ are essential here. Sometimes you must do more than answer the
customers’ specific questions. They may not know what they need, or their questions may be
inadequate.
Completeness offers numerous benefits.
Firstly, complete messages are more likely to bring the desired results without the expense of additional
messages.
Secondly, they can do a better job of building good will.
Thirdly, complete messages can help avert costly lawsuits that may result if important information is
missing.
Lastly, communications that seem inconsequential can be surprisingly important if the information they
contain is complete and effective.
2. Conciseness:
Conciseness is saying what you have to say in the fewest possible words without sacrificing the other C
qualities. A concise message is complete without being wordy.
To achieve conciseness, observe the following suggestions:
 Eliminate wordy expressions

 Include only relevant material
 Avoid unnecessary repetition
1. Eliminate wordy expressions:

The following are some concrete suggestions you can use to reduce wordiness in your communication.
1. Use single –word substitutes instead of phrases whenever possible without changing meanings.
Wordy: at this time
Concise: now
Wordy: due to the fact that
Concise: because
Wordy: have need for
Concise: need
Wordy: in due course
Concise: soon
2. Omit trite, unnecessary expressions.
Wordy: please be advised that your admission statement was received
Concise: your admission statement has been received
Wordy: Allow me to say how helpful your response was.
Concise: Your last response was helpful.
3. Replace wordy conventional statements with concise versions.
Wordy: Please find attached the list you requested.
Concise: The list you requested is attached.
Wordy: Such refreshing comments are few and far between.
Concise: Such refreshing comments are scarce.
4. Avoid overusing empty phrases.
Wordy: it was known by Mr. Smith that we must reduce inventory.
Concise: Mr. Smith knew we must reduce inventory.
Wordy: There are four rules that should be observed.
Concise: Four rules should be observed.
5. Omit ‘’ which’’ and ‘’ that’’ clauses whenever possible.
Wordy: she bought desk that are of the executive type.
Concise: she bought executive type desks.
Wordy: the receipt that is enclosed documents your purchase.
Concise: the enclosed receipt documents your purchase.
6. Eliminate unnecessary prepositional phrases.
Wordy: the issue of most relevance is teamwork.
Concise: the most relevant issue is teamwork.
Wordy: in most cases the date of the policy is indicated in the upper right corner.
Concise: the policy date is in the upper right corner.
7. Limit use of the passive voice.
Wordy: the total balance due will be found on page 2 of this report.
Concise: the balance due is on page 2 of this report.
Wordy: the reports are to be submitted by employees prior to 5:00 at which time they will be
received by Mr. Johns.
Concise: please submit your reports to Mr. Johns by 5:00.
Conciseness is a prerequisite to effective business communication. A concise message saves
time and expense for both sender and receiver.
2. Include only relevant material:

The effective, concise message should omit not only unnecessarily wordy expressions but also irrelevant
statements. To be sure you include only relevant facts observe the following suggestions.
1. Stick to the purpose of the message

2. Delete irrelevant words and rambling sentences.
3. Omit information obvious to the receiver; do not repeat at length what that person has already
told you. if you feel it is important to remind the audience of known information ,subordinate
the familiar information.
4. Avoid long introductions, unnecessary explanation, excessive adjectives and prepositions,
pompous words, gushy politeness.
5. Get to the important point tactfully and concisely:
Wordy: we hereby wish to let you know that our company is pleased with the confidence you
have reposed in us.
Concise; we appreciate your confidence.
Wordy: At this time I am writing to you an enclose an interview card, which has been post-paid,
for the purpose of arranging a convenient time when we might get together for a personal
interview.
Concise: Please return the enclosed interview card to set up a convenient time for an interview.
3. Avoid unnecessary repetition:

Sometimes repetition is necessary for emphasis. But when the same thing is said two or three times
without reason, the message becomes wordy and boring.
Here are three ways to eliminate repetition:
1. Use a shorter name after you have mentioned the long one once. Instead of the ‘’ North Central
Company’’ use ‘’ North Central’’.
2. Use pronouns or initials rather than repeat long names.
3. Cut out all needless repetition of phrases and sentences. Sometimes it is possible to combine
two or even more sentences by using subordinate clauses or phrases.

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The seven C’s of Effective Communication:

As you strive for completeness, keep the following guidelines in mind:

 Provide all necessary information

Provide all necessary information:

Answer all questions asked:

Completeness offers numerous benefits.

Secondly, they can do a better job of building good will.

To achieve conciseness, observe the following suggestions:

 Eliminate wordy expressions

1. Eliminate wordy expressions:

2. Include only relevant material:

1. Stick to the purpose of the message

3. Avoid unnecessary repetition:

Here are three ways to eliminate repetition:

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