The Seven C's of Effective Communication
The Seven C's of Effective Communication
The Seven C's of Effective Communication
Communication
Effective Business Communication
by
Herta A Murphy
Herbert W Hildebrandt
Jane P. Thomas
All seven C’s can apply to both oral and
written communication.
To compose effective written or oral
messages, we must apply certain
communication principles. These principles
provide guidelines for choice of content and
style of presentations, adapted to the purpose
and receiver of your message. Called the
“seven C’s” they are:
The Seven C’s of Communication
1. Completeness
2. Conciseness
3. Consideration
4. Concreteness
5. Clarity
6. Courtesy
7. Correctness
Although we deal here with these principles on
the sentence level, they are applicable to all
forms of communication, from mere utterances
and sentences to complete documents or
presentations. To some extent the principles
overlap because they are based on a common
concern for the audience, whether that audience
consists of listeners or readers.
1. Completeness
Message receivers – either listeners or readers
desire complete information to their questions.
Completeness offers numerous benefits.
First, complete messages are more likely to bring
the desired results without the expense of
additional messages.
Second, they can do a better job of building
goodwill.
Third, complete messages can help avert costly
lawsuits that may result if important
information is missing.
Last, communications that seem
inconsequential can be surprisingly important
if the information they contain is complete
and effective.
As you strive for completeness, keep the
following guidelines in mind:
a.Provide all necessary information.
b.Answer all questions asked.
c. Give something extra, when desirable.
a) Provide All Necessary Information.
Answering the five W’s helps make messages
clear: Who, What, When, Where, and Why.
The five-question method is especially useful
when we write requests, announcements, or
other informative messages. For instance, to
order (request) 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. To reserve a hotel banquet room, specify
the accommodations needed (what), location
(where), sponsoring organization (who), date &
time (when), event (why), and other necessary
details (how).
b.Answer All Questions Asked
Whenever we reply to an inquiry, we should try
to answer all questions – stated and implied.
Look for questions: some may even appear
buried within a paragraph. Locate them and
then answer precisely.
In one example, a software distributor, when
replying to a dealers letter, answered only four
of seven questions. Because the original
questions were unnumbered and somewhat
buried in five long paragraphs, The reply,
incomplete and unfriendly, caused the
distributor to lose the business and goodwill of
a potential customer.
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.
c.Give Something Extra, When Desirable
The words “when desirable” in the above
heading, are essential. Sometimes you must do
more than answer the customers’ specific
questions. They may not know what they need ,
or their questions may be inadequate. So use
your good judgment in offering additional
material if the sender’s message was incomplete.
Here are some examples of incomplete
questions in the following faxes and one letter.
Fax 1 Incomplete Question: Please fax me in
return the departures from Singapore to Hong
Kong on the 8th.
In responding to the above you would have to
“give some thing extra” as to times of day,
airlines flying that rout, costs, and departure
and arrival times etc.
Fax 2 Incomplete Question: How come my
request for an interview letter did not receive a
response?
When was letter sent? Who sent it? To whom it
was sent? In other words to answer fax 2 would
require a return letter or fax seeking answers to
the above questions.
Letter 1 Incomplete Letter to a new savings
depositor: Thank you for the confidence you
have shown us by the account you recently
opened.
All our facilities are at your disposal and
anytime we can be of service, please call on us.
Our appreciation is best expressed by our being
of service to you.
This letter is not reflecting the goal of the bank.
Further the details of facilities like Mortgage
Loans, etc and interest rate and some other
details (like free car parking available at the
location etc) useful for the account holder and
are available in the bank have not been
mentioned in the letter.
2. Conciseness
Conciseness is saying what you have to say in
the fewest possible words without sacrificing
the other communication qualities. A concise
message is complete without being wordy.
Conciseness is a prerequisite to effective
communication. A concise message saves
time and expense for both sender and
receiver. Conciseness contributes to
emphasis; by eliminating unnecessary words,
you let important ideas stand out. To achieve
conciseness, observe the following
suggestions:
a)Eliminate wordy expressions.
b)Include only relevant material.
c)Avoid unnecessary repetition.
a.Eliminate Wordy Expressions.
1.Use single worded substitutes instead of
phrases whenever possible without changing
meanings.
Wordy: At this time;
Concise: Now;
Wordy: Due to the fact that ;
Concise: Because;
Wordy: In due course;
Concise: Soon
Wordy: Have need for;
Concise: Need