Communication Skills: 7 C's of Communication
Communication Skills: 7 C's of Communication
7 C’s
7 C’s of Communication:
Definition:
The 7 C’s of Communication is a checklist that helps to improve the professional
communication skills and increases the chance that the message will be
understood in exactly the same way as it was intended.
1. Completeness
2. Conciseness
3. Concreteness
4. Clarity
5. Correctness
6. Coherent
7. Consideration
Completeness:
The message should be complete, i.e. it must include all the relevant information
as required by the intended audience. The complete information gives answers to
all the questions of the receivers and helps in better decision-making by the
recipient.
A complete communication has following features:
Complete communication develops and enhances reputation of an
organization.
Moreover, they are cost saving as no crucial information is missing and
no additional cost is incurred in conveying extra message if the
communication is complete.
A complete communication always gives additional information
wherever required. It leaves no questions in the mind of receiver.
Complete communication helps in better decision-making by the
audience/readers/receivers of message as they get all desired and crucial
information.
It persuades the audience.
Conciseness:
The message should be precise and to the point. The sender should avoid the
lengthy sentences and try to convey the subject matter in the least possible
words. The short and brief message is more comprehensive and helps in retaining
the receiver’s attention.
Concise communication has following features:
It is both time-saving as well as cost-saving.
It underlines and highlights the main message as it avoids using excessive
and needless words.
Concise communication provides short and essential message in limited
words to the audience.
Concise message is more appealing and comprehensible to the audience.
Concise message is non-repetitive in nature.
Clarity:
Clarity implies emphasizing on a specific message or goal at a time, rather than
trying to achieve too much at once.
Clarity communication has the following features:
When writing or speaking to someone, be clear about your goal and
message. What is your purpose with the person? If you are not sure, then
your audience wouldn’t be sure either.
To be clear, try to minimize the number of ideas in each sentence. Make
sure your communication is reader oriented. It means make your
communication is easier for your reader and audience.
On having misunderstandings created by unclarity, people will not make
assumptions on their own to understand what you are saying.
In order to bring clarity in your communication, try to use familiar words.
Correctness:
The message should be correct, i.e. a correct language should be used, and the
sender must ensure that there is no grammatical and spelling mistakes. Also, the
message should be exact and well-timed. The correct messages have a greater
impact on the receiver and at the same time, the morale of the sender increases
with the accurate message.
Correct communication has following features:
The message is exact, correct and well-timed.
If the communication is correct, it boosts up the confidence level.
Correct message has greater impact on the audience/readers.
It checks for the precision and accurateness of facts and figures used in
the message.
It makes use of appropriate and correct language in the message.
Coherent:
The messages that you send should be logical and that is why coherent
communication is important. The message involves certain ideas and thoughts
and thus when they are coherent than only they are able to convey the main idea
of the message.
Coherent communication has the following features:
When your communication is coherent, it’s in a logical order.
All the points that you have mentioned should be relevant to the topic and
connected.
The tall and flow of the text is consistent and well-constructed.
If our communication is lacking well-connecting thoughts and flow of the
text, there created big confusion among the audiences.
Consideration:
Consideration is used when you want to take the audience into consideration. It
means the audience’s viewpoints, background, mindset, educational level etc.
Make and attempt to understand your audience’s requirements, emotions as well
as problems.
Consideration communication has the following features:
Handle the matter from audience’s point of view, called as “You” attitude.
You are considerate, you do not lose your temper, you do not accuse and
you do not charge them without facts.
Consideration is very important among all the seven C’s.
Consideration implies “stepping into the shoes of others”
How it implies in Effective communication?
Emphasize on “You” approach.
Show interest in the audience which will stimulate a positive reaction from
the audience.
Show optimism towards your audience. Emphasize on “what is possible”
rather than “what is impossible”.
Considerate the receiver on tension.
Modify your words in message to suit the audience’s needs while making
your message complete.