7Cs of Business Communication

7/30/2019 7Cs of Business Communication

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7 Cs of Business Communication

Why do we write a business letter?

When we write a business letter, we are

trying to convince someone to act or react ina positive way.

Our reader will respond quickly only if ourmeaning is crystal clear.


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The 7 Cs of effective

communication

1. Completeness

2. Conciseness

3. Consideration4. Concreteness

5. Clarity

6. Courtesy7. Correctness


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Completeness

Your business message is complete when it contains allthe facts, the reader or listener needs for the reaction youdesire.

Communicators-Sender and receivers-differ in their mentalfilters; they are influenced by their backgrounds,viewpoints, needs, experiences, attitudes, status, andemotions.

Because of these differences, communication sendersneed to assess their messages through the eyes ofreceivers to be sure they have included all relevant

information.

Provide all necessary information

Who, what, where, when, why, how?

Answer all questions asked

Give something extra, when desirable


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Completeness - examples

Q: How come my request for an interview

did not receive a response?

A: When was the letter sent? To whom? Who

sent it?

Q: Im new to the city, and would like to

join your club. When is the next open

day? A: Where are we? How to get here?


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Conciseness

Conciseness is saying what you have to

say in the fewest possible words without

sacrificing the other C qualities.

Eliminate wordy expressions

Include only relevant material

Stick to the purpose of the message

Avoid unnecessary repetition

Leads to dullness


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Conciseness

Eliminate Wordy Expressions:

At this time

Now

Due to the fact that

Because

Have need for Need

In due course

Soon


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Conciseness

Omit unnecessary expressions

Allow me to say how helpful your last response was

Your last response was helpful

Replace wordy conventional statements

Please find attached the list you requested

The list you requested is attached

Avoid overusing empty phrases

There are four rules that should be observed

Four rules should be observed


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Conciseness

Omit which and that clause whenever possible.

She bought desks thatare of the executive type.

She bough executive-type desks

Eliminate unnecessary prepositional phrases.

The issue ofmost relevance is teamwork.

The most relevant issue is teamwork.

Limit use of passive voice

The reports are to be submitted by employee prior tp5:00 at which time they will be received by Mr. Jones

Please submit your reports to Mr. Jones by 5:00


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Consideration

Consideration means preparing every message with themessage receiver in your mind.

You are considerate when you do not lose your temper, you donot accuse, you do not charge them without facts.

Focus on you instead of I and we

You are foremost aware of their desires, problems, circumstances,emotions, and probable reactions to your request.

This thoughtful consideration is also called you attitude, empathy, thehuman touch, and understanding.

Show audience benefit or interest in the receiver Readers react positively when benefits are shown to them

Emphasise positive, pleasant facts

Readers will react positively or negatively to certain words


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Consideration

Examples:

I am delighted to announce that we will beextending our hours to make shopping more

convenient You will be able to shop evenings with the

extended hours(Focus on You Instead of I)

It is impossible to open an account for you today.(Negative, Unp leasant )

When we receive proof of ID we will gladly open anaccount for you (Emphasis on Posit ive, Pleasant Facts)


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Concreteness

Communicating concretely means being specific,definite, and vivid rather than vague and general.

Often it means using denotative (direct, explicit, often

dictionary based) rather than connotative words (ideas ornotions suggested by or associated with a word orphrase)

Thus, the term femalemay appear in a personal folderas a part of a job description, yet widely differentconnotations may occur when using terms as wife,mother, spinster, widow, maiden, matron, ordowager.


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Concreteness

Guide Lines for creating concrete messages:

Use specific facts and figures

It is desirable in both oral & written communication

Example:

Shes a brain(Vague, General, Ind efinit e)

Her grade-point average in 2006 was 3.9 on a

four-point scale.(Concrete, Precise)


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Concreteness

Guide Lines for creating concrete messages:

Put action in your verbs

Verbs propel thought:Verbs can activate other words and helpmake your sentences alive, more vigorous. That is to have dynamicsentences in your communication. Active verbs help your sentence more:

1. Specific:The dream decided is more explicit than A decision has beenmade

2. Personal:You will note is both personal and specific; It will be noted isimpersonal.

3. Concise: The passive requires more words and thus shows both writingand reading. Compare Figures show with It is shown in the figure.

4. Emphatic:Passive verbs dull action. Compare The students held a

contest with A contest was held by the students.


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Clarity

Getting the meaning from your head into the head of yourreaderaccurately

Guideline No.1 for Communicating with Clarity Your audience will understand better if you Choose precise,

concrete and familiar words

Familiar Pretentious

About circa (L)

After subsequent

Home domicile

For example e.g. (L)

Pay remuneration

Invoice statement for payment


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Clarity

Example of Unfamiliar/Familiar sentences:

Unfamiliar:

After our perusal of pertinent data, the conclusion is that

lucrative market exists for the subject property.

Familiar

The date we studied show that your property is profitable

and in high demand.


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Clarity

Guideline No. 2 for Communicating with Clarity

Your audience will understand better if you constructeffective sentences and paragraphs. This includes:

Length of sentence: Try for 17-20 words per sentence Unity: In a sentence keep one idea at a time. If you want

to add another idea, it should be closely related to thefirst one.

Example: I like Jim, and Eiffel Tower is in Paris

Above sentence is obviously is not a unified sentence.

Coherence: In a coherent sentence the words arecorrectly arranged so that the ideas clearly express theintended meaning.


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Clarity

Example of Coherent and non-coherent sentences:

Unclear: Being an excellent lawyer, I am sure you can help us

Clear: Being an excellent lawyer, you can surely help us

Unclear: Our report is about testing, broken down in unit and

functional methods

Clear: Our report on testing focused on unit and functional methods

Unclear: After planting 10, 000 berry plants, the deer came into ourbotanists arm and crushed them.

Clear: After our botanist had planted 10,000 berry plants, the deer

came into his farm and crushed them


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Courtesy

The courtesy involves being aware not only of theperspective of others, but also their feelings.

Knowing your audience allows you to use statements ofcourtesy

Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative Use expressions that show respect

Choose non-discriminatory expressions, for example inorder to avoid gender discrimination you can use:

Entering student instead of freshman Workers, employees instead of manpower

The best candidate for the position instead of the best man forthe position.


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Courtesy

Clearly, you did not read my latest fax

Sometimes my wording is not precise; let me try again(Tactfulness)

Manpower vs. Employees(More Desirable as its non-sexist term) Man-made vs. manufactured

The best man for the job vs. The Best Candidate

Anyone who comes to the class late will get his gradereduced

Students who come late to class will have their gradesreduced (Avoid using he/him)


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Correctness

At the core of Correctness is proper grammar,punctuation, and spelling.

However, a message may be perfect grammatically andmechanically but still insult or lose a customer

The term Correctness, as applied to businessmessages, also means the following threecharacteristics:

Use the right level of language

Check accuracy of figures, facts, and words

Maintain acceptable witing mechanics.


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Correctness Use the right level of Language: There are three levels of language: formal,

informal, and substandard.

Formalwriting this often associated with scholarly writing: doctoral dissertations,scholarly articles, legal documents, top level government agreements, and othermaterial where formality is demanded.

Informalwriting is more characteristic of business writing. Here you use words that

are short, well known, and conversational as follows: Formal vs. informal

Participate/join

Procure/get

Endeavour/try

Ascertain/find out

Deem/think


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Correctness

Check accuracy of figures & facts

Verify your statistical data.

Double-check your totals

Avoid guessing at laws that have an impact on your, the

sender and your message receiver

Have someone else read your message if the topic involves

data

Determine whether a fact has changed overtime.


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Correctness

Avoid using substandard language:

Substandard vs. more appropriate

Aint vs. isnt Aim at proving vs. aim to prove

Irregardless vs. regardless

Should of vs. should have


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Correctness

Accept vs. except Accept is a verb and means to receive; Except is a verb or a

preposition and relates to omitting or leaving out.

Between vs. among

Between involves two people, among three or more Effect vs. affect

Effect is a noun, affect is a verb

Farther vs. further Farther used for distance in space, further for distance in time,

quality or degree

Imply, infer Imply means suggest; infer means to conclude

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7Cs of Business Communication