INTRODUCTION

 Words have no legs, yet they walk.

(MALI Proverb)

 Words that appear in print are doubly powerful because they can be read
by more than just one person, and sometimes, even by more than one
generation.

 Printed words, especially in business, are stored and filed, and are read
again and again, and again.

 They produce more words and make more people think, and the chain
goes and on.

 Effective communication is dependent on at least three factors:

(a) the sender of the message

(b) the receiver of the message

(c) the medium of communication

 People communicate all the time.

 With all the advancements in technology, communication has become

more far reaching.

 Question: Why are most people still apprehensive about communicating

in writing?

 Question: What is the business community looking for in graduates?

 Answer: communication skills both oral and written

 Communication skills have always been at the top of the list of the
prospective employers.
 QUALITIES OF EFFECTIVE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION

 A business letter is written for a number of different reasons-to give

instructions, to answer questions, to place orders, to request or grant
adjustments, to acknowledge courtesies, to collect money.

 The first step on the road leading to the writing of letters that get the
best results will be studying the ten Cs of business correspondence.

(1) Courtesy

(2) Consideration

(3) Clearness

(4) Conciseness

(5) Concreteness

(6) Correctness

(7) Completeness

(8) Cordiality

(9) Cheerfulness

(10) Character

(1) The Quality of Courtesy (Politeness)

- the language and tone in which you express yourself

 Be courteous at all times.

 For example, polite words like “Please” are required in all forms of
communication. It does not matter whether you are communicating with
your clients, suppliers, peers or subordinates - all deserve equal courtesy.

 The most basic way to make your messages more courteous is to be

sincerely tactful, thoughtful, and appreciative.

 Lastly, courtesy is also being positive rather than negative. Courtesy is

saying, “We will try to have your toaster repaired by September 15,”
rather than “We cannot have your toaster repaired until September 15.”
(2) The Quality of Consideration (The “You” Attitude)

- generate the you attitude

- emphasize their interest to get along with others

- cater to your reader’s comforts

 The “You” attitude is simply thoughtfulness.

(3) The Quality of Clearness (Clarity)

 It is said that every paragraph should be so clear and unambiguous that

the dullest fellow in the world will not be able to mistate it, nor be obliged
to read it twice in order to understand it.

- must use correct sentence structure, the right words and punctuation,
spelling

 Clarity is putting together a minimum of words to express a complete

concrete thought.

 The foundation of clearness is well-built plan. The clearer the plan, and
the simpler the language, the more quickly your message can be
understood.

 Reminders for Clearness:

(a) Avoid the use of and/or such as

Bill and/or Karl will record the results tomorrow.

(This leads to confusion and ambiguity.)

(b) The word “etcetera” is a misfit form of writing. This should not be
used to achieve clearness.

(4) The Quality of Conciseness (Compactness)

- the use of the fewest number of words possible

- Use short, simple sentences, and active verbs.

- Get to the point to communicate effectively. (include only what the

reader needs to know)

- Omit excessive adjectives and adverbs.

 Every good letter should be as short as completeness permits. Make every
word count. Write to the point without sacrificing clarity and
completeness.

No Yes

at all times always

at this point in time now

attached herewith attached

by means of by

due to the fact that since, because of

with regard to concerning, about

(5) The Quality of Concreteness

- Be specific rather than general.

- Choose the right words that most express your meaning.

 To be concrete is to be clear, firm, and unchanging.

General Concrete and Specific

Examples: Examples:

(a) It’s a wide cement road. (a) The new four-lane 100-foot
cement road stretches like a long,
wide ribbon.
(b) This aircraft is the fastest in the
(b) The skystreak Pal Jet holds the
world.
world’s speed record of 1,000 miles
per hour.

6. The Quality of Correctness

 You should remember that a busy businessman has a limited time to give
to each of the many letters he receives every day. If there are no errors in
the letter, he will get the message forcefully.
 - having all the details in the message correct (grammar, spelling,
punctuation, and layout)

 Wrong information can cause confusion or lead to bad decisions.

(7) The Quality of Completeness

- Messages whether written or spoken must be complete.

-They should leave no questions unanswered.

 Letter with incomplete details has a good a good chance of winding up in

the round file we commonly call the “trash can”.

(8) The Quality of Cordiality

- being friendly through your words, sentences, and punctuation

- putting your reader in a good frame of mind

 Just because you are communicating on paper does not mean that you
cannot be friendly. In fact, since you are not physically present, your
medium is very limited. Your reader cannot see your expression and
cannot hear the tone of your voice. Your only means of communication is
through the words you put on paper. It then becomes very important that
you are able to project cordiality through your words, your sentences and
your punctuation.

 Friendliness is always a plus factor in any communication situation.

(9) The Quality of Cheerfulness

- Make your letters conversational in style.

- Write like you talk.

- Inject joy and cheer into your letter.

 Cheerfulness is a must when you are writing a good newsletter. Often,

you can kill the value of the good news by the lack of cheerfulness. For
example, you are writing to congratulate the reader, then by all means,
inject joy and cheer into your letter. Don’t make it sound like you are not
too happy about giving the good news!

 A cheerful letter can produce a cheerful reader.

(10) The Character

- Every letter must be personally, individually written by the person

signing the letter.

- Your letter must reflect your own personal style.

 Copying and asking somebody else to write your letter breaks this
principle.

 Every person has his signature or style stamped on the letter - a way of
choosing words, a unique way of putting words together, certain
expressions that reflect the person’s style.