 7 C’s of COMMUNICATION

The 7 C’s of effective communication, also known as the seven principles

of communication are a useful way to ensure good and business
communication. The 7 C’s of Effective Communication provide a useful check list
as a result of which both written and verbal communication pass off in a clear,
plain, target group-oriented and well-structured manner.
1. Clear
When writing or speaking to someone, be clear about your goal or message. What is
your purpose in communicating with this person? If you’re not sure, then your audience
won’t be sure either.
To be clear, try to minimize the number of ideas in each sentence. Make sure that it’s
easy for your reader to understand your meaning. People shouldn’t have to “read
between the lines” and make assumptions on their own to understand what you’re
trying to say.
Information and actions required, must be clear so the reader has the information they
need to take action.
2. Concise
When you’re concise in your communication, you stick to the point and keep it brief.
Your audience doesn’t want to read six sentences when you could communicate your
message in three.
Are there any adjectives or “filler words” that you can delete? You can often eliminate
words like “for instance,” “you see,” “definitely,” “kind of,” “literally,” “basically,” or “I
mean.”
Are there any unnecessary sentences?
Have you repeated the point several times, in different ways?

3. Concrete
When your message is concrete, then your audience has a clear picture of what you’re
telling them. There are details (but not too many!) and vivid facts, and there’s laser-like
focus. Your message is solid.
4. Correct
When your communication is correct, it fits your audience. And correct communication
is also error-free communication.
Do the technical terms you use fit your audience’s level of education or knowledge?
Have you checked your writing for grammatical errors? Remember, spell checkers won’t
catch everything.
Are all names and titles spelled correctly?

5. Coherent
When your communication is coherent, it’s logical. All points are connected and relevant
to the main topic, and the tone and flow of the text is consistent.
6. Complete
In a complete message, the audience has everything they need to be informed and, if
applicable, take action.
Does your message include a “call to action,” so that your audience clearly knows what
you want them to do?
Have you included all relevant information – contact names, dates, times, locations, and
so on?
7. Courteous
Courteous communication is friendly, open, and honest. There are no hidden insults or
passive-aggressive tones. You keep your reader’s viewpoint in mind, and you’re
empathetic to their needs.
Note:
There are a few variations of the 7 Cs of Communication:
Credible – Does your message improve or highlight your credibility? This is especially
important when communicating with an audience that doesn’t know much about you.
Creative – Does your message communicate creatively? Creative communication helps
keep your audience engaged.
Key Points
All of us communicate every day. The better we communicate, the more credibility we’ll
have with our clients, our boss, and our colleagues.
Awareness of these 7 C’s of communication makes you an effective communicator.
Paraphrasing is when you put a passage from the original source material into your own
words. As with a quotation, you must do an in-text citation attributing the information
back to the original source at the end of the paraphrased section. Paraphrasing usually
means the section is shorter than the original passage because it is condensed.
Summarizing is when the main ideas are put into your own words. This means that the
main points of the information you are using are reworked into your own words, but the
rest of it is left out. As the other two, this information also needs to be cited at the end.
Misplaced Modifiers
A misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that is improperly separated from the
word it modifies / describes. 
Because of the separation, sentences with this error often sound awkward, ridiculous, or
confusing.  Furthermore, they can be downright illogical. 
   Example

         
The example above suggests that a gold man owns a watch.
Misplaced modifiers can usually be corrected by moving the modifier to a more sensible
place in the sentence, generally next to the word it modifies. 
   Example
        
Now it is the watch that is gold.
 
Dangling Modifiers and How To Correct Them
A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the
sentence. A modifier describes, clarifies, or gives more detail about a concept.

Having finished the assignment, Jill turned on the TV.

"Having finished" states an action but does not name the doer of that action. In English
sentences, the doer must be the subject of the main clause that follows. In this
sentence, it is Jill. She seems logically to be the one doing the action ("having
finished"), and this sentence therefore does not have a dangling modifier.

The following sentence has an incorrect usage:

Having finished the assignment, the TV was turned on.

"Having finished" is a participle expressing action, but the doer is not the TV set (the
subject of the main clause): TV sets don't finish assignments. Since the doer of the
action expressed in the participle has not been clearly stated, the participial phrase is
said to be a dangling modifier.

Strategies for revising dangling modifiers:

1. Name the appropriate or logical doer of the action as the subject of the main clause:

Having arrived late for practice, a written excuse was needed.

Who arrived late? This sentence says that the written excuse arrived late. To revise,
decide who actually arrived late. The possible revision might look like this:

Having arrived late for practice, the team captain needed a written excuse.
The main clause now names the person (the captain) who did the action in the
modifying phrase (arrived late).

2. Change the phrase that dangles into a complete introductory clause by naming the
doer of the action in that clause:

Without knowing his name, it was difficult to introduce him.

Who didn't know his name? This sentence says that "it" didn't know his name. To
revise, decide who was trying to introduce him. The revision might look something like
this:

Because Maria did not know his name, it was difficult to introduce him.
The phrase is now a complete introductory clause; it does not modify any other part of
the sentence, so is not considered "dangling."

3. Combine the phrase and main clause into one:

To improve his results, the experiment was done again.

Who wanted to improve results? This sentence says that the experiment was trying to
improve its own results. To revise, combine the phrase and the main clause into one
sentence. The revision might look something like this:

He improved his results by doing the experiment again.

More examples of dangling modifiers and their revisions:
INCORRECT: After reading the original study, the article remains unconvincing.

REVISED: After reading the original study, I find the article unconvincing.

INCORRECT: Relieved of your responsibilities at your job, your home should be a place
to relax.

REVISED: Relieved of your responsibilities at your job, you should be able to relax at
home.

INCORRECT: The experiment was a failure, not having studied the lab manual carefully.

REVISED: They failed the experiment, not having studied the lab manual carefully.

Thesis statement is one sentence that expresses the main idea of a research paper or
essay, such as an expository essay or argumentative essay. It makes a claim, directly
answering a question.
Thesis Statement: Bad vs. Good
It's worth reiterating that a strong thesis statement is specific. If you find yourself using
general words like "good," then you're not digging deep enough.
For example, saying "European travel is a good way to spend your summer," is not
specific enough. Why is European travel good? Further examine the heart of
your topic and focus on very specific areas of European travel that you can realistically
cover and support with solid evidence.
"Solo European travel requires independence which, in the end, bolsters personal
confidence." This is much more specific and targeted. Now, you can hone in your
research on solo travel through Europe, the need for independence, and its positive
effect on personal confidence.
Here are six more thesis statement examples for you to consider:
Bad: Everyone should exercise.
- Why should I? What's in it for me?
Good: Americans should add exercise to their daily morning routine because it not only
keeps their bodies at a healthy weight but also reduces the risk of high blood pressure.
- Here, we've made several specifications i.e. Americans (not everyone), the morning
routine (not the evening), weight maintenance, and high blood pressure prevention.
Your research actually becomes easier when you have very specific objectives.
Bad: High levels of alcohol consumption are bad for you.
- This is too broad. What are the specific detriments of alcohol consumption that you
would like to discuss?
Good: High levels of alcohol consumption have detrimental effects on your personal
health, such as weight gain, heart disease, and liver complications.
- Notice we got very specific in our reasons why. In your thesis statement, you don't
need to state every single detriment you're going to lay out (in fact, you shouldn't as it
will risk becoming a run-on sentence) but you can point to the main areas you will
explore.
Bad: Reading can develop a child's analytical mind.
- Words like "can," aren't strong enough. This thesis statement begs the question of
how? If you're about to write several paragraphs (or pages) about a topic make sure
you can confidently defend every point you make.
Good: Reading develops a child's mind by fostering comprehension skills, increasing
vocabulary, and exposing them to new worlds they might not otherwise encounter.
- Now, we've not just stated that reading is good, we've provided a sampling of all the
benefits we're about to bring to light in our paper.
Bad: All retirees should relocate to Florida.
- Your research paper or essay will need to delve into numerous supporting claims. This
broad thesis statement runs the risk of allowing you to go off on several tangents.
Good: Retirees should relocate to Florida, where 75% of Americans choose to settle,
because you will afford yourself the opportunity to develop a wide array of friendships.
- From here, you can introduce a paragraph on the importance of friendship and then
cite studies or testimonials describing how people can discover these important new
relationships.
Bad: The internet has improved the lives of many.
- Again, while readers may agree with this and your statement may be true, how has
the internet improved people's lives? Also, you should run your thesis statement past
the "What's in it for me?" test. Why should readers care?
Good: The internet serves as a means of expediently connecting people across the
globe, fostering new friendships and an exchange of ideas that wouldn't have occurred
prior to its inception.
- While the internet offers a host of benefits, we're choosing to hone in on its ability to
foster new friendships and exchange ideas. We'd also have to prove how this couldn't
have happened prior to the internet's inception - and that is good. The tighter your
focus, the better your paper.
Bad: Organ donors should be financially compensated.
- Why? What happens to them that causes you to take this stance?
Good: Given the grueling surgery and lifelong changes they endure, kidney donors
should be financially compensated for their act of self-sacrifice.
- There are many forms of living organ donation. As with any good thesis, you want to
get as specific as possible. Now, our stance is clear and the reader will understand that
we're about to describe the grueling process of kidney donation as well as any
forthcoming lifestyle changes.
Finding Your Point of View
A good thesis statement is developed from the point of view of the reader. Be very
careful you're not developing a topic that is of interest to you alone. This is a harsh yet
necessary question to ask yourself: will my readers have any reason to care about what
I'm writing?
In the example about European travel above, readers might be interested in travel
around Europe but will they be interested in solo travel, and greater independence and
confidence? Hopefully, the answer is yes. Just make sure you examine all viewpoints
before investing your valuable time in a well-written piece.
A thesis statement is powerful on two fronts. First, it allows the reader to get excited
about what, specifically, is coming their way. Second, it stands as the point of reference
for your entire paper.
Think of it as a loving mother steering her children away from danger. Essay writers run
the risk of getting off track and wandering into thickly wooded forests of needless
tangents. (This is also why a well-planned outline is essential.) However, a solid thesis
statement will help keep you in check. Refer back to it and ask have you wandered off
topic?

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Always Be Specific
When searching for a new home, realtors will tell you there are three important factors:
location, location, and location. When developing your one-sentence thesis statement, it
is important for you to be: specific, specific, specific. Write your thesis statement once
and then rewrite it again with greater specificity.
Also, make sure your audience will want to learn these new facts and possibly embrace
these new opinions. Now, you have a compass for your entire paper, keeping you safely
on course.