Submitted by: Ammad Ahmed

Sap ID: 70078984

Section: S
ASSIGNMENT OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Topic: 7 C’s of Communication
SUBMITTED TO: FARHAN MASOOD ALI
 7 C’s of Communication
The ability to communicate effectively with others is considered a prized quality of
successful people. So in order to compose an effective oral or written message, you
must need to understand Business psychology, your clients, your staff, observe
market to take effective decisions & let your message reach accurately to audience.
The 7 C’s of effective communication would help you to attain your goal, follow
certain principles.

They are called 7 C’s because each of these principles begins with the alphabet “C”.

Clarity
Correctness
Conciseness
Courtesy
Concreteness
Consideration
Completeness

Clarity

Clarity is the soul of a business message. It means the accurate transfer of ideas
from the sender’s head to the receiver’s. Every message should be conveyed in a
clear manner. Clarity comes through clear thinking. A good message shows the idea
directly and clearly.

A writer should not start the message unless he knows how (use of language) and
what (central idea) he wants to say. A message written in the simple and ordinary
language is always natural and appreciable.

To achieve clarity, keep in mind the following points:

 Use common and simple language.

 Construct effective sentences and short paragraphs.
 Use concrete words instead of abstract words.
  Avoid unnecessary information.

Bad example:

Dear James,

I would like to talk to you about the new client’s project which the
engineering team had discussed yesterday. I might need the help of John
from your team.

Regards,
Kevin

Here’s how this email could be made clearer.

Good example:

Dear James,

As you may know we have signed up XYZ as our new client. I had a meeting
with the engineering team yesterday and had discussed the campaign
requirements for this project. John Redden from your team had done a
pretty good job last time doing the social media campaign for ABC and so I
would like him to work on the XYZ campaign too. Would you be available
sometime tomorrow to discuss this further?

Regards
Kevin

Correctness

Language experts say that writing is art but difficult. There is no shortcut to being
a good writer. It is learned through consistent practice and constant struggle. The
message being communicated must be correct. Correctness refers to correct
grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Though mistakes are never intentional yet
they spoil the image.

To achieve correctness, follow these guidelines:

 Check the accuracy of facts and figures.

 Check mistakes in punctuation, grammar, and capitalization.
 Check misspelled words.
 Use the right level of language.

Bad example

Dear David,

Further to our conservation today, I am attaching the plan for the first stage of
the project. Hope the one weak deadline is okay with you and your team.

Regards
Sally

There were two glaring spelling errors in this e-mail. ‘Conversation’ was spelt
‘conservation’ and ‘week’ was spelt ‘weak’. Though these are minor errors, they
could gravely impact the credibility of your professionalism and the brand image
of the organization you represent. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to check
all your spellings and prefixes before you send an email, especially if you are
sending it to a client or a vendor outside of your company.

Conciseness

The beauty of diction lies in its conciseness. Conciseness means brief and complete.
Be as brief as possible. But it must not be so brief as to be discourteous.

Conciseness is a pre-requisite to effective business messages. A concise message

saves time and expense for both sender and receiver.

To achieve conciseness, observe the following suggestions:

  Remove the wordy expressions.
 Include only relevant material.
 Avoid unnecessary repetition.

Bad example:

Hi Suzanne

I think we need to talk about the CSR campaign, I mean the one which we
need to do as a quarterly exercise. I think it is a great way of enhancing our
brand image. Basically, it would just be a visit to an orphanage but we can
sort of do other things too. For instance, we could take the kids out for a
short trip to a nearby park or zoo. Let us sit and talk tomorrow.

Regards
Jennifer

Good example:

Hi Suzanne

I need to discuss the quarterly CSR campaign with you. Let us take the kids
out this time to a nearby park or zoo instead of just visiting them. This will
help enhance our brand image. We’ll talk in detail tomorrow.

Regards
Jennifer

Courtesy

Courtesy is the most important quality of the business message. “Everyone gains
where courtesy reigns” is an old but wise saying. Courtesy means politeness. It is
an attitude that shows respect for others. It helps in building goodwill.
It is not enough to use polite expressions like” thank you”, ”kindly”, “we
appreciate”, “please” etc but the whole letter must have a courteous tone.

To achieve courtesy, keep in mind the following points:

 Be sincere.
 Use expressions that show respect.
 Be thoughtful and appreciative of the receiver’s point of view.
 Avoid humor.
 Avoid discriminatory language i.e., race, color, gender, creed etc.

Bad example:

Hi Drew,

I really do not appreciate how your IT team ignores the requests of my team
alone. My team is an important function in this organization too and we have
our own IT requirement. Can you ensure that your team responds promptly
to my team’s requests hereon?

Regards
Stanley

Good example:

Hi Drew,

I understand that the IT team is swamped with work and gets requests
from every department in the organization. My team however is working
on a high-priority project and I would greatly appreciate if you could ask
your team members to respond to my team’s queries promptly and help us
complete this project on time. Please do let me know if you need anything
from me.

Regards
Stanley
Concreteness

Communicating concretely means being specific, meaningful and clear. Vague and
general messages result in no response. It helps the receiver to understand the
exact idea. Concrete use of available facts and figures adds to the authenticity of
the message.

To achieve concreteness, consider the following ways:

 Use clear and image building words.

 Use specific facts and figures.
 Use active voice than passive voice.

Bad example:

“Hilltop Resort is the best resort. Do come to us on your next holiday”

This is a vague ad message. It is made to sound like just another resort

advertisement among a hundred others. The audience will never remember
this ad message. There are no concrete details to take away from this
message.

Good example:

“Hilltop Resort is the jewel of the western hills. Take a break from your work.
Escape from life’s chaos and stress. Relax and rejuvenate yourself at Hilltop.
Go back fresh and energized!”
Consideration

Consideration is to put you in the place of the receiver. It means preparing every
message with the message receiver in mind. This mode of consideration is called
“you attitude”.

When you are truly considerate, you try to show sincere regard for his interests and
benefits. To be considerate, the following points should be kept in mind:

See your material from your reader’s point of view.

 Focus on “you” instead of” we” e.g.,

 We are delighted to inform _ _ _ _
 You will be glad to know _ _ _ _
 Be sure about the benefits of the receiver.
 Consider the needs and problems of the receiver.

Use positive and optimistic

Bad example:

Dear Nam,

Thanks for submitting the industry report. Finn will give you some feedback
on it. Finn also wanted to find out if you will be available for the client
meeting tomorrow. We will be discussing the budget for the next phase of
the project.

Regards
Shirley

Good example:

Dear Nam,
 Thanks for submitting the industry report. Finn will give you some feedback
on it. You will be receiving an email from him with detailed comments.

Regards
Shirley

Completeness

A business message should be complete to bring the desired result. A complete

message contains all the facts required by the receiver. The receiver’s reaction to
an incomplete message is often unfavorable. An incomplete message shows
negligence and carelessness of the writer.

For completeness follow these guidelines:

 Remember the five W’s (what, when, where, why, who) and how.
 Provide all the necessary information.
 Answer all the questions asked.
 Include additional information, if desired.

Bad example:

Hi all,

Let us meet tomorrow to discuss the product launch event. Please be there
on time.

Thanks
Chris

Good example:

The best way to have written this email is:

 Hi all,

Let us meet tomorrow at 11am at Conference room 3 to discuss the product

launch event. We will have to decide the keynote speakers and complete the
event invite draft tomorrow. Please be there on time.

Thanks
Chris

It can be said that awareness of these 7 C’s of effective communication makes

you a good communicator.