Seven c's(Imran Ahmed Khan)

8/3/2019 Seven c's(Imran Ahmed Khan)

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7 Principles of CommunicationsEngage your audiences


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Business Communications is to deliver your ideas to your audiences and

achieve the outcome you want. It requires concentration and energy to digestyour message, so make your reader read with ease, instead of creating a

resistance in your reader.

Before you begin writing or communicating, remind yourself:

I will

keep my sentence short. use simple words.

use direct and active sentence.

Keep reader focus to my message - Important message should occupy 90% of fullcontents.

Focus on key points and good flow.

Not repeat my intention in different paragraphs.


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Communications Goals


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Seven Communication Principles

To compose effective message you need to apply certain specificcommunication principles.

They tie closely with the basic concepts of the communication process andare important for both written and oral communications called theSeven C.

Conciseness

Consideration

Courtesy

Completeness

Clarity

Concreteness

Correctness


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Correctness

The correctness principle comprises more than proper

grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

A message may be perfect grammatically and mechanically

but still insult or lose a customer (internal & external) and fail

to achieve its purpose.

The term correctness, as applied to a business message,means the writer should:

Use the right level of language (When to be formal, tone, etc.)

Include only accurate facts, words, and figures

Maintain acceptable writing mechanics

Choose nondiscriminatory expressions

Apply all other pertinent C qualities


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Use the Right Level of Language

Three levels of language: Formal, Informal and Sub-standardFormalWriting is often associated with scholarly writing

Example: Doctoral dissertations, scholarly articles, legal documents, top-level

government agreements and other material where formality in style is

demanded. The style is not conversational, usually impersonal, andoften contains long and involved sentences.

Formal "Please inform me of the manner in which you intend to liquidate this

balance.

Informal Pl. let me know when you plan to pay the outstanding balance of your

account.


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Check accuracy of figures, facts and words

It is impossible to convey the meaning precisely through words,from the head of the sender to a receiver. Our goal is to be as preciseas possible which means checking and double checking to ensurethat the figures. Facts and words you use are correct.

Verify your statistical data.

Double check your totals.

Have someone else read your message if the topic involves data.


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Maintain Acceptable Writing Mechanics

We are living in information age where computer and relatingelectronic gadgets are used to collect, store and edit information.Various software packages are available to make our editing tasks(grammar-check, spell-check and thesaurus) very easy, yet carefulattention must be given to the mechanical part (Punctuation,Abbreviation, Numbering and Word Division) of every well-writtendocument.


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Choose nondiscriminatory expressions.

English language is constantly changing. In fact, even dictionariescan not keep up with the rapid change in English language but at thesame time dictionary is still a major source for locating correct wordsand their intended meanings.


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Completeness

Your business message is "complete" when it contains allfacts the reader orlistener needs to react to your desire outcome.

Remember that communicators differ in their mental filters;they are influenced by their backgrounds, viewpoints, needs, attitudes, status,and emotions.

Completeness is necessary for several reasons:

Complete messages are more likely to bring the desired results withouttheexpense of additional messages.

Second, they can do a better job of building goodwill. Third, they can help avert costly lawsuits that may result if important

information is missing.

As you strive for completeness, keep the following guidelines

in mind:

Answer all questions asked.

Give something extra, when desirable. Check for the five W's and any other essentials.


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Answer all the questions asked.

Make sure you provide all the information the reader needs for thorough

accurate understanding. One way to help make your message completeis to answer the five W questionswhat, when, where, who, whyand anyother essentials, such as how.

The five question method is especially useful when you write requests,

proclamation, or other informative message

Example1

To order (request) merchandise make clear what u want, when u need it, t

o whom and where it is to be sent and how payment will be made.

Example 2

To reserve a hotel room, specify the accommodation needed (what), location (where), sponsoring organization (who), date and time (when), event (

why) and other necessary details (how)


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Give some extra, when desirable

Sometimes you must do more than answer the customers specific questions.

Sometimes customers may not know what they need, or their questions may beinadequate.

SOMETHING EXTRA is always appreciated and always explain why you are

Including the additional information

Example

Imagine you are CEO of a Sports Club and receive the following inquiry

from an out-of-town member:

Im 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.

What will be your response?


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Completeness: Think Who, What, Where, When, Why

Who you want to communicate with (Superior, Subordinates, Customers ,etc)? Know your target audiences and set your tone right and say the right

things (Dont say the unnecessary things).

What you want him/her to do and what you want to achieve? Focus on theobjective and key points and make sure what you want to achieve is clearwithout guessing.

Where to put your ideas and instructions (The Flow)?

Good flow allows reader to progressively understand your ideas at easeand will act upon your message quickly.

When should you deliver the information? Deliver at the right time, not atthe wrong time, will have better results.

How to achieve your objective? If you have to ask your reader to performcertain tasks, then state clearly the steps to achieve that. If your instructions,is not clear, you will not get your things done or the way you want in theshortest time.

Communications is key to productivity. Are you productive? Are you able toget things done quickly without to and fro


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Courtesy

Courteous messages help to strengthen present businessfriendships, as well as make new friends.

Courtesy stems from sincere you-attitude. It is not merelypoliteness with mechanical insertions of please' and thank-you.

To be courteous, considerate communicators should followthese suggestions regarding tone of the communications.

Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful, and appreciative. Omit expressions that irritate, hurt, or belittle. Choose Bias-free language/expression


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Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful, and appreciative.

Be sincerely tactful and dont be abrupt or blunt as these

negative traits are a common cause of discourtesy.Sometimes they stem from a mistaken idea of conciseness,sometimes from negative personal attitudes, sometimes fromnot knowing the culture of a country or even group of people

ExamplesTactless vs. Tactful.Stupid letters; I did not understand any of it

Its my understanding . . .

Clearly, you did not read my latest fax

Sometimes my wording is not precise; let me try again.

I rewrote that letter three times; the point was clear

Im sorry the point was not clear; here is another version.


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OMIT EXPRESSIONS THAT IRRITATE, HURT, OR BELITTLE

The thoughtful business communicator should avoid expressionsthat might offend the reader. Such expressions are discussed here

in three groups: irritating, questionably humorous, and belittlingstatements.

IRRITATING EXPRESSIONS

I do not agree with you

Inexcusable

Irresponsible

Why have you ignored

The fact that

You claim that

You did not tell us

You failed to

You forgot to

Your stubborn silence


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Bias-free language/expression

Aint isnt; arentAim at proving aim to provePossessed with ability Possessed of abilityComply to Comply withIn accordance to In accordance withShould of should haveIrregardless regardlessCant hardly can hardlyIn search for In search ofListen at Listen to

Superior than Superior toEqually as bad Equally bad


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Consideration

Consideration means that you prepare every message with the recipient inmind and try to put yourself in his or her place.

Try to visualize your readers (or listeners)with their desires, problems,circumstances, emotions, and probable reactions to your request.

Then handle the matter from their point of view.

This thoughtful consideration is also called you-attitude -

empathy, the human touch, and understanding of human nature.

(It does not mean, however, that you should overlook the needs of your

organization)

In a broad but true sense, consideration underlies the other six C's of goodbusiness communication. You adapt your language and message content toyour receiver's needs when you make your message complete, concise,concrete, clear, courteous, and correct.

However, in three specific ways you can indicate you are considerate: Use the you-attitude. Emphasize positive, pleasant facts. Avoid words with negative connotations.


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Use the You-Attitude:

The you-attitude is a sincere concern for the reader or listener. It is the positive rather than negative approach. It promotes understanding, avoids antagonism

and increases message effectiveness. It includes the desire to serve and toUnderstand the readers or listener's point of view. The opposite concept is the

I-attitude ( or I-approach).

We-Attitude You-Attitude

We are shipping your goods Your goods will be shipped today.

today.

I am really excited about your Congratulations on being promoted

promotion.


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Emphasize Positive Pleasant Facts

Positive and pleasant words are more effective than unpleasant ones.

Therefore avoid extremely negative words such as failed, fault, regret,

sorry, blame and similar words.

Negative-Unpleasant Positive-Pleasant

I cannot attend the meeting I will be available to meet tomorrow.

today.

The item you ordered is not in We will fill your order on march 10.

stock.

You will never regret using our You will benefit from our many banking

bank services.


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Avoid words with negative connotations

Possible offensive Inoffensive

Died Passed away

Bawled out Reprimanded

Used cars Resale cars

Toilet paper Bathroom tissue

Peon Attendant


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Clarity

Clarity means getting your message across so the receiver will understand whatyou are trying to convey.

You want that person to interpret your words with the same meaning you havein mind.

Accomplishing that goal is difficult because, as you know, individualexperiences are never identical, and words have different meanings todifferent persons.

Here are some specific ways to help make your messages clear:

1. Choose precise, concrete, familiar words.

2. Construct effective sentences and paragraphs.


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Choose Precise, Concrete and Familiar words

Make your message clear by using familiar, concrete, simple, easy

and conversational words. When you have choice between a longword and a short one, use the short, familiar word that your reader orlistener will quickly understand.

Familiar Pretentious

resign abdicate

arrest apprehend

hope expectancy

start initiate


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Construct Effective Sentence and Paragraphs

At the core of clarity is the sentence. This is grammatical statement, when

clearly expressed, moves thoughts within paragraph. Important is to consider

length, unity , emphasis and paragraph.

Complete sentence will have at least 2 words ( a subject and a verb).

Short sentences will average 15 to 20 words.

Long sentences are 30 words or longer.


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Unity

Sentence unity means that communicates main idea-one thought.

At times you may also want to include ideas that support the main idea.

The general rule, however, is one thought , one sentence.

Lacks unity Has unity

It is easy for you to do your Eid Because we offer three unique

shopping, and we offer three catalogs, it is easy for you to do

unique catalogs. .your Eid shopping


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Concreteness

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

The following guidelines should help you compose concrete, convincingmessages:

Use specific facts and figures. Put action in your verbs.

Choose vivid, image-building words

If you want to be put in vague and general messages, its

better to omit it altogether! Wasting your readers time is the

Last thing you want in communications.

Use specific facts and figures


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Use specific facts and figures

Whenever you can, use specific statement or a figure for a generalword to make your message more concrete and convincing.

Vague/Unclear Messages

This computer reproducescampaign letters fast.

Our product has earn several

prizes.

These brakes stop a car within

a short distance.

Clear/Specific Messages

This computer types 400 wordcampaign letters in one hour.

Our product has won first prize infour national contests within thepast three years.

These Goodson power brakesstop a 2-ton car traveling 60 milesan hour, within 240 feet.


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Put action in your verbs.

Strong verbs can activate other words and help make your sentences

definite. To compose strong sentences, you should:

Use active rather than passive verbs, and

Put action in your verbs instead of nouns.

Choose vivid image-building words


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Choose vivid, image-building words

Vague (unclear)

There are a great many

solder joints in the space-craf

t, and each must have just th

e right amount of solder.

This is pure clover honey, m

ade by honeybees.

Vivid (bright/clear)

The spacecraft has 2 million solder join

ts. If an extra drop of solder had been

left on these joints, the excess weight

would have been equivalent to the

payload of the vehicle.

Honeybees have gathered nectar

from about 4 million clusters of clover

and traveled about 150,000 miles---or

equal to six times around the world---

to deliver this package of Bradshaw

honey to you.


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Conciseness

A concise message saves time and expense for both sender and receiver.

Conciseness is saying what you have to say in the fewest possible words withoutsacrificing the other C qualities.

Conciseness contributes to emphasis. By eliminating unnecessary words, youhelp make important ideas stand out.

To achieve conciseness, try to observe the following suggestions:

Eliminate wordy expressions. Omit unnecessary explanations. Avoid unnecessary repetition.


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Eliminate wordy expressions.

WORDY CONCISE

During the time that While

In accordance with As you

In view of the fact that because

Please dont hesitate to write please write

Under the circumstances because

In due course soon

In most cases usually


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Avoid unnecessary repetition.

Sometimes repetition is necessary for emphasis. But when the same

thing is said two or three times without reason, the message

becomes wordy and boring. Here are three ways to eliminate

unnecessary repetition.

Use a shorter name, after you have mentioned the long

one/complete name. Instead of Electronics Product

Manufacturing Company, just use Electronics Company.


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Omit Unnecessary Explanations

Wordy Concise

I met the accountant on only I met the accountant once

Occasion.

The speaker who is giving the keynote The keynote speaker belongs to

address belongs to Multan. Multan.

He went to the market for the purpose He went to market to buy goods.

of buying goods.

There is something I have to tell you. I need to tell you something.

Seven c's(Imran Ahmed Khan)

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