7c’s of communication

The 7 Cs of Communication
• you write emails, facilitate meetings, participate in conference calls, create
reports, devise presentations, debate with your colleagues… the list goes
on.
• We can spend almost our entire day communicating. So, it stands to
reason that communicating clearly and effectively can boost productivity.
• This is why the 7 Cs of Communication are helpful. The 7 Cs provide a
checklist for making sure that your meetings , emails , conference
calls , reports , and presentations are well constructed and clear – so your
audience gets your message.
• According to the 7 Cs, communication needs to be:
• Clear.
• Concise.
• Concrete.
• Correct.
• Coherent.
• Complete.
• Courteous.
• Clear
• When writing or speaking to someone, be clear about your goal or
message. What is your purpose in communicating with this person? If
you're not sure, then your audience won't be either.
• To be clear, try to minimize the number of ideas in each sentence. Make
sure that it's easy for your reader to understand your meaning. People
shouldn't have to "read between the lines" and make assumptions on
their own to understand what you're trying to say.
• Bad Example
• Hi John,
• I wanted to write you a quick note about Daniel, who's working in your
department. He's a great asset, and I'd like to talk to you more about him
when you have time.
• Best,
• Skip
• What is this email about? Well, we're not sure. First, if there are multiple
Daniels in John's department, John won't know who Skip is talking about.
• Next, what is Daniel doing, specifically, that's so great? We don't know
that either. It's so vague, that John will definitely have to write back for
more information.
• Last, what is the purpose of this email? Does Skip simply want to have an
idle chat about Daniel or is there some more specific goal here? There's no
sense of purpose to this message, so it's a bit confusing.
• Good Example
• Hi John,
• I wanted to write you a quick note about Daniel Kedar, who's working in
your department. In recent weeks, he's helped the IT department through
several pressing deadlines on his own time.
• We've got a tough upgrade project due to run over the next three months,
and his knowledge and skills would prove invaluable. Could we please
have his help with this work?
• I'd appreciate speaking with you about this. When is it best to call you to
discuss this further?
• Best wishes,
• Skip
• This second message is much clearer because the reader has the
information he needs to take action.
• Concise
• When you're concise in your communication, you stick to the point and
keep it brief. Your audience doesn't want to read six sentences when you
could communicate your message in three. Ask yourself:
• Are there any adjectives or "filler words" that you can delete? You can
often eliminate words like "for instance," "you see," "definitely," "kind of,"
"literally," "basically," or "I mean."
• Are there any unnecessary sentences?
• Have you repeated the point several times, in different ways?
• Bad Example
• Hi Matt,
• I wanted to touch base with you about the email marketing campaign we kind
of sketched out last Thursday. I really think that our target market is definitely
going to want to see the company's philanthropic efforts. I think that could
make a big impact, and it would stay in their minds longer than a sales pitch.
• For instance, if we talk about the company's efforts to become sustainable, as
well as the charity work we're doing in local schools, then the people that we
want to attract are going to remember our message longer. The impact will
just be greater.
• What do you think?
• Jessica
• This email is too long! There's repetition, and there's plenty of "filler" taking
up space.
• Good Example
• Watch what happens when we're concise and take out the filler words:
• Hi Matt,
• I wanted to quickly discuss the email marketing campaign that we
analyzed last Thursday. Our target market will want to know about the
company's philanthropic efforts, especially our goals to become
sustainable and help local schools.
• This would make a far greater impact, and it would stay in their minds
longer than a traditional sales pitch.
• What do you think?
• Jessica
• Concrete
• When your message is concrete, your audience has a clear picture of what
you're telling them. There are details (but not too many!) and vivid facts,
and there's laser-like focus. Your message is solid.
• Bad Example
• Consider this advertising copy:
• The Lunchbox Wizard will save you time every day.
• A statement like this probably won't sell many of these products. There's
no passion, no vivid detail, nothing that creates emotion, and nothing that
tells people in the audience why they should care. This message isn't
concrete enough to make a difference.
• Good Example
• How much time do you spend every day packing your kids' lunches? No
more! Just take a complete Lunchbox Wizard from your refrigerator each
day to give your kids a healthy lunch and have more time to play or read
with them!
• This copy is better because there are vivid images. The audience can
picture spending quality time with their kids – and what parent could
argue with that? And mentioning that the product is stored in the
refrigerator explains how the product is also practical. The message has
come alive through these details.
• Correct
• When your communication is correct, your audience will be able to
understand it. And correct communication is also error-free
communication. Make sure your message is correct by asking yourself the
following questions:
• Do the technical terms you use fit your audience's level of education or
knowledge?
• Have you checked your writing for grammatical errors? (Remember, spell
checkers won't catch everything).
• Are all names and titles spelled correctly?
• Bad Example
• Hi Daniel,
• Thanks so much for meeting me at lunch today! I enjoyed our conservation,
and I'm looking forward to moving ahead on our project. I'm sure that the
two-weak deadline won't be an issue.
• Thanks again, and I'll speak to you soon!
• Best,
• Jack Miller
• If you read that example fast, then you might not have caught any errors. But
on closer inspection, you'll find two. Can you see them?
• The first error is that the writer accidentally typed conservation instead of
conversation. This common error can happen when you're typing too fast. The
other error is using weak instead of week.
• Again, spell checkers won't catch word errors like this, which is why it's so
important to proofread everything!
• Coherent
• When your communication is coherent, it's logical. All points are connected
and relevant to the main topic, and the tone and flow of the text is consistent.
• Bad Example
• Traci,
• I wanted to write you a quick note about the report you finished last week. I
gave it to Michelle to proof, and she wanted to make sure you knew about the
department meeting we're having this Friday. We'll be creating an outline for
the new employee handbook.
• Thanks,
• Michelle
• As you can see, this email doesn't communicate its point very well. Where is
Michelle's feedback on Traci's report? She started to mention it, but then she
changed the topic to Friday's meeting.
• Good Example
• Hi Traci,
• I wanted to write you a quick note about the report you finished
last week. I gave it to Michelle to proof, and she let me know that
there are a few changes that you'll need to make. She'll email you
her detailed comments later this afternoon.
• Thanks,
• Michelle
• Notice that in the good example, Michelle does not mention
Friday's meeting. This is because the meeting reminder should be
an entirely separate email. This way, Traci can delete the report
feedback email after she makes her changes, but save the email
about the meeting as her reminder to attend. Each email has only
one main topic.
• Complete
• In a complete message, the audience has everything they need to be
informed and, if applicable, take action.
• Does your message include a "call to action," so that your audience clearly
knows what you want them to do?
• Have you included all relevant information – contact names, dates, times,
locations, and so on?
• Bad Example
• Hi everyone,
• I just wanted to send you all a reminder about the meeting we're having
tomorrow!
• See you then,
• Chris
• This message is not complete, for obvious reasons. What meeting? When
is it? Where? Chris has left his team without the necessary information.
• Good Example
• Hi everyone,
• I just wanted to remind you about tomorrow's meeting on the new
telecommuting policies. The meeting will be at 10:00 a.m. in the second-
level conference room. Please let me know if you can't attend.
• See you then,
• Chris
• Courteous
• Courteous communication is friendly, open and honest. There are no
hidden insults or passive-aggressive tones. You keep your reader's
viewpoint in mind, and you're empathetic to their needs.
• Bad Example
• Jeff,
• I wanted to let you know that I don't appreciate how your team always
monopolizes the discussion at our weekly meetings. I have a lot of
projects, and I really need time to get my team's progress discussed as
well. So far, thanks to your department, I haven't been able to do that. Can
you make sure they make time for me and my team next week?
• Thanks,
• Phil
• Well, that's hardly courteous! Messages like this can potentially start
office-wide fights. And this email does nothing but create bad feelings,
which can lower productivity and morale. A little bit of courtesy, even in
difficult situations, can go a long way.
• What a difference! This email is courteous and friendly, and it has little
chance of spreading bad feelings around the office.