The seven C’s

• Principles tells us how your message can

becomes effective for your target group.

• Principles also tell about style and importance

of the message.

• Principles commonly known as 7 C’s of

effective communication.
 Seven C’s of Effective
Communication
1. Completeness
2. Conciseness
3. Consideration
4. Concreteness
5. Clarity
6. Courtesy
7. Correctness
 The seven C’s

1) Completeness

Message Receiver- either listener

or reader, desires complete
information to their question
 Five W’s
One way to make your message complete is to answer
the five W’s.
• WHO?
• WHAT?
• WHEN?
• WHERE?
• WHY?
Useful for requests, announcements, or other informative
messages.

Eg: to order (request) merchandise, make clear WHAT

you want, WHEN u need it, WHERE it is to be sent.

Eg: “I will reach Delhi airport tomorrow”

– Complete communication develops and
enhances reputation of an organization.

– It leaves no questions in the mind of receiver

– better decision-making

– It persuades the audience

– Cost and time saving

At the end we can say that, you must provide:

1. All necessary information as requested

2. Answers to all the questions carefully.

3. Provide some more information, just to maintain good

relations but not out of context.

Eg- When factory supervisor instructs workers to

produce, he must specify the exact size, shape, quality
and cost of the product. Any assumption behind the
message should also be clarified.
Hi everyone
I just wanted to send you all a reminder
about the meeting we are having
tomorrow.

See you then

Chris
 2) Conciseness
• Conciseness means “convey the
message by using fewest words.”

• “Conciseness is the prerequisite to

effective business communication.”

• Hence a concise message saves

time and expenses for both the
parties.
 How To achieve the
conciseness ?
For achieving conciseness
consider the following.

[Link] wordy expression

[Link] only relevant material
[Link] unnecessary repetition.
 Avoid Wordy Expression
E.g.
Instead of “at this time” you can just use
only a concise word:- NOW
“ in the event” :- If

Always try to use “To the point

Approach” in business scenario
perspective.
 Include only relevant information
• Always try to provide only relevant information to the
receiver of the message.
Lets say one of your customer requested
 for clients of the company
 in reply you should provide simply list of clients at the panel of
your company.
 No need to provide detailed business information about client at all

• Observe the following suggestions to “Include only

relevant information.”
– Stick to the purpose of message
– Delete irrelevant words
– Avoid long introduction, unnecessary explanation etc.
– Get to the important point concisely.
 Avoid un-necessary Repetition
• Some times repetition is necessary for
focusing some special issue.

• But when the same thing is said without

two or three reasons, the message
become wordy and boring.

• That’s why try to avoid Un-necessary

repetition.
 Some ways to eliminate unnecessary
words
• Use shorter name after you have mentioned
the long once. e.g.
Spectrum communications Private limited use
spectrum.

• Use pronouns or initials E.g.

Instead of world trade organization use WTO
or You can use IT for Information Technology.
( keeping in views that receiver knows about
these terms)
 3) Consideration
• Consideration means – To consider the
receiver’s Interest/Intention.

• It is very important in effective

communication that you should always
keep in mind your target group.

• Consideration is very important “C”

among all the seven C’s.
 Three specific ways to indicate
consideration
i-Focus on “you” instead of “I” or “We”

ii-Show audience benefit or interest of the

receiver

iii-Emphasize positive, pleasant facts.

Using “you” help you, but over use lead a
negative reaction.
Always write a message in such a way
how audience should be benefited from
it. e.g.
We attitude
I am delighted to announce that we will
extend the shopping hours.
You attitude
“You will be able to shop in the evening
with the extended hours.”
Readers may react positively when
benefits are shown to them.
 Always try to address his/her needs
and wants.

 Always show/write to reader…………

what has been done so far as his/her
query is concerned.

 Emphasize on pleasant and positive

facts

 Emphasize on “what is possible” rather

than “what is impossible”.
• Negative – Unpleasant: “ It is impossible to
open an account for you today.”

• Positive – Pleasant: “As soon as your

signature card reaches us we will open an
account for you.”
 4) Concreteness

• It means that message should be specific

instead of general. Misunderstanding of
words creates problems for both parties
(sender and receiver).

• When you talk to your client always use

facts and figures instead of generic or
irrelevant information.
The following guidelines should help you
to achieve the Concreteness.

i- use specific facts and figures

ii-choose image building words

e.g
General
He is very intelligent student of class and
stood first in the class.
Concrete

“Ali’s GPA in [Link] Electrical Engineering 2013

session was 3.95/4.0, he stood first in his class.”

– Concrete messages are not

misinterpreted.

Consider this Advertisement:

“The lunch box wizard will save you time everyday.”
• No passion
• No vivid detail
• Nothing that creates emotion

Hence a bad example

“ How much time do you spend everyday
packing your kids lunches?
No more! Just pick up a complete Lunch
Box Wizard from your refrigerator to give
your kids a healthy lunch and have time to
play or read with them.”

• Always write on a very solid ground. It

should definitely create good image as
well.
 5) Clarity
“I didn’t say that I said that I didn’t
say it.

I said that I said that I didn’t say that

I didn’t say it.”

Is that CLEAR???
 In effective business communication the
message should be very much clear. So
that reader can understand it easily.

 You should always Choose precise

words, rather longer statements.

 Always choose familiar and easy words.

 If you have a choice between long
words and shorter one, always use
shorter one.

 Construct effective sentences and

paragraphs
Familiar Next familiar words
1-after subsequent
2-home domicile
3-for example e.g.
4-pay remuneration
5-invoice statement for
payments
 6) Courtesy
• Knowing your audience allows you to use
statements of courtesy; be aware of your
message receiver.

• True courtesy involves being aware not only of

the perspective of others, but also their
feelings. courtesy stems from a sincere you-
attitude.
• Although appling socially accepted
manners is a form of courtesy .

• It is not merely politeness with mechanical

insertions of “please” and “Thank you” .

• Politeness grows out respect and

concern for others.

• Courteous communication generates a

special tone in their writing and speaking.
 How to generate a Courteous
Tone ?
The following are suggestions for generating a
courteous tone:

• Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and

appreciative.
• Use expressions that show respect for the
others
• Choose nondiscriminatory expressions

• Though few people are unintentionally abrupt or

blunt, these negative traits are common cause
of discourtesy.
Avoid expression like those in the left hand
column below; rephrase them as shown in the
right-hand column

Tactless, Blunt More Tactful

Stupid letter; I can’t I should understand it,

understand could you please explain it
once again ..?

Its your fault, you did not Sometimes my wording is

properly read my latest not precise; let me try
FAX again
 Thoughtfulness and
Appreciation

Writers who send cordial, courteous

messages of deserved congratulations
and appreciation (to a person inside &
outside) help to build goodwill. The
value of goodwill or public esteem for
the firm may be worth thousands of
dollars.
 7) Correctness
 At the core of correctness is proper grammar,
punctuation and spelling.

 A message must be perfect grammatically and

mechanically

 The term correctness, as applied to business

messages also mean three characteristics
o Use the right level of language
o Check the accuracy of figures, facts and words
o Maintain acceptable writing mechanics
 Use the right Level of
Language
We suggest that there are three level of
language
1. formal
2. informal
3. substandard.

Take a quick guess: what kind of writing is

associated with each level? What is the
style of each?
 Formal and Informal Words
Formal writing is often associated with scholarly writing:
doctoral dissertations, scholarly, legal documents,
top-level government agreements and other material
where formality is demanded.
Informal writing is more characteristic of business
writing. Here you use words that are short, well-
known and conversational as in this comparison list:
More Formal less formal
Participate Join
Endeavor try
Ascertain find out
Utilize use
Interrogate question
 Substandard Language
Avoid substandard language.
Using incorrect words, incorrect grammar,
faulty pronunciation all suggest inability to use
good English. Some examples follow:

Substandard More
Acceptable
Ain’t isn’t, aren’t
Can’t hardly can hardly
Aim to proving aim to
prove
Desirous to desirous of
Stoled stolen
 Facts and Figures Accuracy
Check Accuracy of Facts, Figures and words
It is impossible to convey meaning precisely, through words, from
the head of the sender to a receiver. Our goal is to be as precise
as possible, which means checking and double-checking to
ensure that the figures, facts and words you use are correct.

“A good check of your data is to have another person read and

comment on the validity of the material”

Figures and facts

 Verify your statistical data
 Double-check your totals
 Have someone else read your message if the topic involves data.
 Determine whether a “fact” has changed over time
 Seven C’s
• Completeness- Brings desired response (includes all five Ws: what,
when, who, where and why of any message.)
• Conciseness - Saves time (no repetition, only relevant information).
• Consideration–understanding of human nature (Focus on
positivity i.e. what can be done and on personal honor, truthfulness
and sincerity).
• Concreteness- reinforces confidence (use of specific facts and
figures and avoiding uncertainty)
• Clarity- makes comprehension easier (it requires short, familiar
conversational words, use of examples and illustrations).
• Courtesy- builds relations (thoughtfulness, immediate reply etc).
• Correctness- (avoid informal language, non discriminatory words
etc)