Seven/7 C’s/Principles of Communication

We communicate all day long; at home, at work, with our next-door neighbour and
at the sports club. We communicate verbally, non-verbally and in writing.
Unfortunately, the message does not always come across as intended. NOISE! This
can lead to miscommunication and (small) misunderstanding or the wrong
impression.

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.

Completeness
The message should be complete, i.e. it must include all the relevant information as
required by the intended audience. The complete information gives answers to all
the questions of the receivers and helps in better decision-making by the recipient.

 If possible, provide him some extra information which he does not know.
 Have you included all relevant information – contact names, dates, times,
locations, and so on.
 One way to complete your message is to answer the five W’s questions.
 In this way you can maintain a good business relation with him, otherwise he
may switch to any other company/person etc.

Conciseness
Conciseness means “convey the message by using fewest words”. Communicating
what you want to convey in least possible words without forgoing the other C’s of
communication. Conciseness is a necessity for effective communication.

 Use short Sentence instead of Long sentences.

 Avoid repletion of ideas, concepts, words, phrases and sentences.
 Avoid Irrelevant Material.
 It help the communicator to save time and expense.
Consideration
The sender must take into consideration the receiver’s age range, interests,
opinions, knowledge, mindset, background, etc. in order to have an effective
communication. Consideration is very important “C” among all the seven C’s.
Features of considerate communication are as follows:

 Use “You” Instead of “I” and “We”.

 Use of Simple words and sentences.
 Show Audience interest/Benefit of the receiver.

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

Use denotative words (dictionary based, direct) rather than connotative words
(ideas, notions suggested by or associated with a word)”.

So that receivers know exactly what is required or desired. Increase the chances
that the message will be interpreted the way sender intended. More vivid means
more interesting.

 Choose vivid, image building words.

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

Clarity
The message should be clear and easily understandable to the recipient. The
purpose of the communication should be clear to sender then only the receiver will
be sure about it. The message should emphasize on a single goal at a time and
shall not cover several ideas in a single sentence.

 To be clear, try to minimize the number of ideas in each sentence.

 Choose precise, Concrete and familiar Words.
 Construct effective sentences and paragraphs.

Courtesy
Courtesy is showing good manner to your receiver. Your message should be polite,
friendly, professional, open and honest. You’re more likely to get what you want
from your communication. This will help you to deliver the message is a way that’s
easy to understand and respectful.
  Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative.
 Use expressions that show respect.
 Choose nondiscriminatory expressions.

Correctness
The message should be correct, i.e. a correct language should be used, and the
sender must ensure that there are no grammatical and spelling mistakes. Also, the
message should be exact and well-timed. The correct messages have a greater
impact on the receiver and at the same time, the morale of the sender increases
with the accurate message.

 Use the right level of language.

 Check accuracy of figures, facts and words.
 Maintain acceptable writing mechanics.

Variations throughout the years

The 7 C’s of Effective Communication have two more variations that are
often overlooked, namely Creativity and Credibility.

Creativity

A text will only be lively when the words and sentence structures are used
creatively and when short sentences are alternated with longer sentences.
Creativity is especially important in texts in which search words are used, it
is essential that the search words are constantly used in a different setting.

Credibility

By creating an atmosphere of trust in a conversation or text, you add

credibility to the message. This can be achieved by a clear and striking
‘tone’, which indicates that the information you are discussing contains the -
right information.