7 Cs of Business Communication

Lecture # 3

Introduction

• For effective written and oral messages, you must apply certain communication principles.

• These principles provide guidelines for choice of content and style of presentation, adopted to the purpose and receiver of your message.

• They are called “the 7 Cs.”

• It’s applicable to all forms of communication: spoken, written and presentation.

What are the 7 Cs?

1. Completeness

2. Conciseness

3. Consideration

4. Concreteness

5. Clarity

6. Courtesy

7. Correctness

COMPLETENESS

- A business message is complete when it contains all facts the reader or listener needs for the reaction you desire.

- More likely to bring the desired results without the expense of additional messages.

- They do a better job for building goodwill.

- Messages with complete information show concern for others.

COMPLETENESS

Guidelines:

• Provide all necessary information.

• Answer all questions asked.

• Give something extra, when desirable.

• Ask Five W questions: Who, what, when, where and why.

COMPLETENESSRequest

• “I am new to the city and would like to consider joining your club. As I will be visiting your club within the month, will you please tell me where the next meeting will be held?”

• Response should have:

• -Welcome message plus directions to the club building. -Information on parking facility.-Day, date and time of meeting.

• -Something extra-especially if it helps the receiver.

COMPLETENESS• Incomplete Messages

Hello Jane,

Can you please send me the directions to your office for my interview?

Thanks,

J. J.

COMPLETENESS• Incomplete Messages

Hello,

How come my request for an interview letter did not receive a response?

Annoyed!

CONCISENESS- is saying what you have to say in the fewest possible words without sacrificing other C qualities.

- prerequisite to effective business communication.

- saves time and expense for both sender and receiver.

- important ideas stand out-when avoided unnecessary words.

- shows respect for time and busy life of the professional receiving your message.

CONCISENESSGuidelines:

• Eliminate wordy expressions.

• Include only relevant material.

• Avoid unnecessary repetition.

CONCISENESSExamples:

WORDY CONCISE

At this time Now

Due to the fact that Because

Have need for Need

In due course Soon

In an event of If

By the stroke of luck Luckily

CONCISENESSExamples: Omit trite, unnecessary information

Wordy: Please be advised that your admission statement was received.

Concise: Your admission statement has been received.

Wordy: Allow me to say how helpful your response was.Concise: Your last response was helpful.

CONCISENESSExamples: Avoid using empty phrases

Wordy: It was known by Mr. James that we must reduce inventory.

Concise: Mr. James knew we must reduce inventory.

Wordy: Allow me to say how helpful your response was.Concise: Your last response was helpful.

CONCISENESSExamples: Eliminate unnecessary prepositional phrases.

Wordy: The issue of most relevance is teamwork.

Concise: The most relevant issue is teamwork.

Wordy: In most cases the date of the policy is indicated in the upper right corner.Concise: The policy date is in the upper right corner.

CONCISENESSTry to avoid:

- long introductions, unnecessary explanations, excessive adjectives and prepositions, pompous words, gushy politeness.

- information obvious to the receiver.

You must:

- get to the important point tactfully and concisely.

CONSIDERATION- means preparing every message with the message recievers in mind, try to put yourself in their mind, place.

- do not lose your temper, do not accuse

- do not charge without facts

- handle the matter from their point of view

- this thoughtful consideration is also called “you-attitude.”

- use empathy and understanding of human nature.

CONSIDERATIONGuidelines:

• Focus on “you” instead of “I” and “we”.

• Show audience benefit or interest in the receiver.

• Emphasize positive, pleasant facts.

CONSIDERATION- focus on how message receiver will benefit.

- what they will receive

- what they want or need to know

- you may downplay your own feelings and emphasize a point.

- avoid telling others how they feel, assuming you know their needs.

CONSIDERATION

We-Attitude: I am delighted to announce that we will be extending our hours to make shopping more convenient.

You-Attitude: You will be able to shop in evenings with the extended hours.

We-Attitude: We are sure you must be frustrated by the length of time it has taken to ship your order for clothes.

You-Attitude: The clothes you ordered will reach you within a week.

CONSIDERATION

-Messages can be insensitive with “you” approach.

-The use of “you” in negative situations can be avoided by employing passive voice, making receiver part of a group, or depersonalizing the situation.

Insensitive: You failed to enclose your check in the envelop.

Considerate: The check was not enclosed (passive voice)

CONSIDERATION

Emphasize Positive, Pleasant Facts

- Stress what can be done, not what cannot be done.

Negative-Unpleasant: It is impossible to open an account for you today.

Positive-Pleasant: As soon as your signature card reaches us, we will gladly open an account for you.

CONSIDERATION

Positive words to which people react favorably

Benefit, cordial, happy, help, generous, loyal, pleasure, thanks, thoughtful.

Words with negative Connotations

Blame, complaint, failed, fault, negligence, regret, reject, trouble, unfair.

CONCRETENESS

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

- Compare “female” with “wife, daughter, mother, spinster, widow, maiden, matron or dowager”.

- Each of these latter term refers to female but with wide-ranging associations.

- Informs receiver exactly what is required or desired.

- Concrete messages tend to be more vivid, interesting and dynamic.

CONCRETENESS

Guidelines:

• Use specific facts and figures

• Put action in your verbs.

• Choose vivid, image-building words.

CONCRETENESS

Use exact, precise statement or a figure instead of general word, whenever possible.

Vague, General, Indefinite: Students GMAT scores are higher.Concrete, Precise: In 1996, the GMAT score s averaged 600; by 1997 they had risen to 610.

CONCRETENESS

Vague, General, Indefinite: Eastern Europe is making progress in obtaining investments.

Concrete, Precise: In 1990 investments in Eastern Europe were about US $30 million; today that figure has increased by 12%.

- Notice “higher” and “progress” are vague/opinion words.- Situations are possible when being general is the only option.

CONCRETENESS

Sometimes, it may not be applicable

- You may not have the precise facts and figures

- When you wish to be diplomatic (considerate)

- When facts and figures are unimportant: Most of the committee members were present in the meeting.

CONCRETENESS

Use Active Voice: active puts the verb up front.“The financial officer reported to the board.”

Not passive voice: “The report by the financial officer was heard by the Board.”

Active Voice: Professors administered the tests.

Passive voice: The tests were administered by the school.

Active Voice: The school will students their grades.Passive Voice: Grades of students will be sent to you by the school.

CONCRETENESS

Use Vivid, Image - Building Words

• Sensory Appeal (Comparison)

- Bland image: Proposals submitted this quarter were uninteresting.

- Vivid image: Too many simple sentences, too many simplistic ideas gave the impression of the writing of a first-year student.

CONCRETENESS

Use Vivid, Image - Building Words

• Sensory Appeal (Comparison)

- Dull: Her work in groups was exemplary.

- Vivid image: She could be called “the spark plug of the group.”

- Dull: Some women were stopped in their promotions.

- Vivid image: Many women faced the “glass ceiling” in their company.

CLARITY

- Getting the meaning from your head into the head of your reader-accurately-is the purpose of clarity.

- Choose precise, concrete and familiar words.

- Construct effective, sentences and paragraphs.

- It is achieved through a balance between precise and familiar language.

- Use familiar words instead of pretentious words.

CLARITY

Unfamiliar: After our perusal of pertinent data, the conclusion is that a lucrative market exists for the subject property.

Familiar: The data we studied show that your property is profitable and in high demand.

CLARITY

- It’s appropriate to to use technical terms and business jargon in some professional situations.

- Avoid it when communicate with a person who is not familiar with the terminology. A message to a plumber:

Not Clear: The efficiency of hydrochloric acid is indisputable, but the corrosive residue is incompatible with metallic permanence.

CLARITY

Clearer to understand: We cannot assume responsibility of the production of toxic and noxious residue with hydrochloric acid, and suggest you use and alternative procedure.

Clearest to understand: Don’t use hydrochloric acid. It eats up a lot of the pipes.

CLARITY

Guidelines:Length: Generally short sentences are preferred. On average, 70-20 words are good. If exceeds 40 words, try to rewrite it into more than one sentence.

Unity: Have one main idea in a sentence. Example: I like Jim, and the Eiffel Tower is in Paris.

Coherence: In a coherent sentence the words are correctively arranged to ensure ideas clearly express the intended meaning.

CLARITY

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

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

Unclear: His report was about managers, broken down by age and gender.

Clear: His report focused on age and gender of managers.

COURTESY

- It involves being aware not only for the perspective of others, but also their feelings.

- It is politeness that grows out of respect and concern for others.

- It’s also about a courteous tone which comes from a sincere you-attitude.

COURTESY

Guidelines:

• Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful, and appreciative.

• Use expressions that show respect.

• Choose nondiscriminatory expressions.

COURTESYTact

Tactless: Stupid letter; I can’t understand any of it.

Tactful: It is my understanding that…….

Tactless: You did not read my latest fax.

Tactful: Sometimes my wording is not precise let me try again.

Tactless: I rewrote the letter three times;the point was clear.

Tactful: I ‘m sorry the point was not clear; here is another version.

COURTESYEmail messages are short and often informal:

“Hi Jane,

Phil give me a call at #456-8977 and give me the number of report you’re sending along to the VP.”

A fax or letter to a foreign company would not be as short, or blunt; instead add a few more tactful words.

“It was kind of you to write and extended holiday greetings. Here in the States the Christmas season is a high point of the year. Thank you for your regards.

COURTESYBecause our company receives many reports from China and your company, we need the number of the report you sent us in October. We need this in order that our electronic files can easily find it in the system. We then wish to send the report along to our Vice President of Marketing.”

COURTESYUse Expressions that Show Respect

Not courteous: You are delinquent.

Courteous: I think you did it by mistake….

Not courteous: You leave us no choice.

Courteous: It’s hard to find any other way to get the payment…

Not courteous: Your stubborn silence caused this problem.

Courteous: We did not hear from you quite long so it happened.

COURTESYUse Nondiscriminatory Expressions

Questionable More Desirable

Freshman Entering Students or first-year students

Manpower Workers, employees, workforce, personnel

man-made manufactured, constructed, built

The best man for this position The best person for this position

Foreman suggest ?

Chairman Suggest?

COURTESYAvoid Masculine Pronouns

- today’s trend is to avoid he, him and his for a hypothetical person or humanity in general.

Questionable: Anyone who comes to class late will get his grade reduced.

More Desirable: Students who come late to class will have their grade reduced.

CORRECTNESS - Proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Guidelines:

• Use the right level of language.

• Check accuracy of figures, facts, and words.

• Maintain acceptable writing mechanics.

CORRECTNESSUse the right level of language

- Formal, informal and substandard are three levels of language.

- Formal writing often for scholarly writing: doctoral dissertations, legal documents, top level management agreements.

- Informal writing is more like business writing.

- Use words that well known, short and conversational.

CORRECTNESSUse the right level of language

More Formal Less Formal

Participate Join

Procure Get

Endeavor Try

Deem Think

Edifice Building

Interrogate Question

CORRECTNESSAvoid Substandard language

Substandard More Acceptable

Ain’t Isn’t, aren’t

Irregardless Regardless

Stoled Stolen

Brung Brought

Stuff Things, (or specific name)

In the High School In the high school