7 Cs of Communication

Dr. Ashish Mohanty

STRATEGY FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

The SEVEN C’s of Communication

The powerful seven C’s of communication govern the

composition of all our messages whether we speak or
write.

Without them the messages may turn out to be either:

- harsh
- incomplete
- incorrect.
SEVEN C’s OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

 COURTESY
 CLARITY
 CONCISENESS
 CONCRETENESS
 CORRECTNESS
 CONSIDERATION
 COMPLETENESS
 COURTESY

A. Be sincere, tactful, thoughtful, and

appreciative

B. Use expressions that show respect

C. Choose nondiscriminatory expressions

 COURTESY

As the word suggests, it expects the

speaker/writer to be aware of the listener’s
feelings.

Courtesy is not merely expressing phrases ‘thank

you’ and ‘please’, but it is a sincere and genuine
expression that stems out of respect and care for
other.
 The following tips may be kept in mind if you wish to
achieve courtesy in communication:

o Be sincere
o Avoid anger
o Refrain from preaching
o Use positive words
o Avoid negative words
o Avoid all discriminating words

Examples of incorrect way of speaking, followed by the

corrective style:

1. “Please sign here”, said the counter-girl quite surly (impolite)

o “Sir/Madam, would you please sign here?”
2. Why do you ask me to ring you up when you are not
free to receive my calls! (anger/rudeness)
o “I don’t mind ringing you up. Will you tell me when I
can do so?”
3. You failed to confirm the appointment with us
(negative)
o If you had confirmed the appointment with us, we
certainly would have reserved the place for you.

4. You must take a note of the piece of advice being given

to you if you wish to be successful in your business. The
money you save now will help you to plan your future
business. (Do not preach! Refrain from preaching.)
o We are offering special schemes and if you invest
now, you will be able to plan your future.
5. When an unauthorized person enters the security zone,
he must be subjected to strict personal checking. (Why
only ‘he’? The person can be a ‘she’ also. Avoid being
sexist in your choice of words/pronouns)
o An unauthorized person who enters the security zone
must be subjected to strict checking.

7. Look at that Indian manager! Doesn’t even realize that

he is in a foreign country! Why does he speak so loudly?
(Why stereotype a person in a demeaning manner like
this? Avoid stereotyping by race, nationality, religion,
language, etc.)
o The manager at the counter seems angry. Is he
upset?
 Positive words go long way in building
relationships whether in business or
otherwise:

o I am pleased to meet you.

o I hope you will be able to meet the deadline.
o I will appreciate it if you all cooperate with the
new manager.
o May I help you?
o Could you please let me know when to expect
the delivery?
o We are sorry to learn that you were
inconvenienced.
 CLARITY

A. Choose precise and familiar words.

B. Construct effective sentences and

paragraphs
 CLARITY

When you choose simple, precise, familiar, right

words and short sentences to express your ideas, you
succeed in expressing your thoughts well.

For clarity, the writer or the speaker must know what

kind of words the receiver will accept. (not jargons)

For example:
o “I am sorry I cannot grant you the request unless
you submit the statement for payment”. (Which
payment? The final one or the temporary one?)
 Ans. “I am willing to consider your request
provided you submit the invoice first”.

The factors that reduce clarity in verbal

communication are:

o Use of passive voice

o Use of long, bureaucratic (routine) style of
writing.
o Use of clichés/rubber stamp words.
o Use of unfamiliar words.
 CONCISENESS

A. Eliminate wordy expressions

B. Include only relevant material

C. Avoid unnecessary repetition

 CONCISENESS

This is a prerequisite to effective business

communication. ‘Time is money in business’.
Conciseness is achieved by eliminating
redundant words.
For example:
o “I want to take this opportunity to tell you that we
are grateful to you for all the help you extended
when we were in Hong Kong.”
“Thank you for your hospitality in Hong
Kong/ for being so kind when we were in
Hong Kong.”
 CONCRETENESS

A. Use specific facts and figures

 CONCRETENESS

Use of figures, facts, names, examples, add

special touch to expressions. The message is
remembered easily. Concreteness means opposite
of being abstract or vague.

For example:
o “I will send the goods to the upper floor by noon”.
(But how?)
“The goods will be sent by the conveyor belt to
the upper floor”.
o “The new manager seems pretty good in his work. Has
an impressive track record.” (Exactly how impressive)
o “Mr.Raman, the new manager, has been associated
with the World Bank and Government of India for the
rehabilitation of the earthquake victims”.

CORRECTNESS
A. Use the right level of language
B. Check accuracy of figures, facts & words

At the core of correctness is proper grammar,

punctuation, and spelling.
 There are three levels of writing: formal,
informal & substandard.

More Formal Less Formal

participate join
procure get
endeavour try
edifice building
interrogate question
Substandard Language: using incorrect
words, incorrect grammar, faulty
pronunciation of words, etc

Substandard More Acceptable

Can’t hardly can hardly
irregardless regardless
stoled stolen
brung brought
 CONSIDERATION

A. Focus on “YOU” instead of “I” or “WE”

B. Show audience benefit or interest in the

receiver
 CONSIDERATION
This implies that the sender of the message
gives due importance to the receiver and
composes the message.
The kind of this approach in communication is
also termed as ‘you-attitude’.
For example:
o “We will not deliver the goods until you have
submitted all the documents to us.” (How rude!)
o “As soon as you submit the required
documents to us, we will promptly deliver the
goods to you.”
 COMPLETENESS

A. Provide all necessary information

B. Answer all questions asked

C. Give something extra, when desirable

 COMPLETENESS

Completeness does not only mean providing all

necessary information, including something
extra but also how the matter has been put
across to the receiver of the message.

The substance and style of the message must

go hand in hand.
For example:

o “I sent you the letter hoping that I would receive a reply by

the end of this week. I still have not.” (Which letter?
What was it about? When was it dated?)

o “I sent you a letter dated 2 June, about additional

information of the shirt samples that you had
sent for approval. I have still not received any
reply from you.

We are finalizing our order plan. If you send us

the information we will be able to consider your
request for placing an order with you.”
 LIST OF PHRASE/EXPRESSIONS

o Please reply at the earliest (this sounds vague since the

writer’s and receiver’s sense of time may be different)
I will appreciate it if you reply by the end of this week.
o Thanking you and assuring you of our best attention (avoid
such a stereotyped expression which is commonly
used)
Thank you for the information. It will be our pleasure to
attend to any of your further requests.
o Enclosed herewith/Enclosed please find (omit herewith)
We have enclosed a cheque of Rs.5000/- for the
evaluation that you did for our MBA exam.
 LIST OF PHRASE/EXPRESSIONS

o Have noted the contents. (omit fragmented sentence)

We have received your letter and noted the details.
o Kindly favour us with a reply. (Why favour? Why this
flinching attitude?)
We shall look forward to your reply.
o We wish to acknowledge the receipt of your letter
(please thank straight away. You don’t have to
ornament your thought)
Thank you for your letter.
o We would deem it a favour if you inform us at the
earliest. (Why make it so complex or intricate?)
Please inform us by…………….
 BUSINESS WRITING
Some Don’ts

o Avoid using passive voice

o Avoid repetitions

o Avoid camouflaged verb

o Avoid using vague, abstract words – keep

words concrete
Avoid using passive voice

o Your letter of May 2, 2003 was received yesterday. (Why

write it in a roundabout way?)
We received your letter of May 2 yesterday.

o The policy was rejected by the committee.

The committee rejected the policy.

o A complete tour of the office building was taken by the

president. (Why be so stiff, cold, and awkward in putting
across your thought?)
The president took a complete tour of the building.
Avoid repetitions

o The responsibility of preparing a work

schedule for the entire month is a
responsibility that the HR managers
must carry out. (Why repeat?)

- Preparing a work schedule for the entire

month is a responsibility that HR
managers must carry out.
 Avoid camouflaged verbs

o Acquisition (N) of the property made him

very happy (Why use the noun form of the
verb acquire? Verbs are action-oriented
words and they lend power to language).

He was happy to acquire (V) the property.

 Avoid using vague, abstract words –
Keep words concrete
o “When will you be submitting your report?
I’m sorry Sir, I’m slightly behind schedule

I’m late by a day Sir (rephrased reply)

 Use Adverbs and Adjectives sparingly and
carefully in Business English: They are
misleading modifiers

o How did you find the lecture?

Oh! Very stimulating and highly informative!
It was very informative (Rephrased with
controlled tone)
Some of the modifiers to be avoided:
Incredibly, highly, perfectly clear, absolutely
essential, highly demanding, exceptionally
good, fantastic, etc.
 Follow the guidelines. These are very
common errors that are committed:
o The new office block furnished recently
impressed everybody (recently furnished or
recently impressed?)
The new office block recently furnished
impressed everybody. (Keep adverbs close to
the words they modify)
o The lady with the broken legs wanted to sell
away the piano. (Who had broken legs? The
lady or the piano?)
The lady wanted to sell away the piano with
broken legs.
 USE PARALLEL STRUCTURE
Parallel structure creates balance by
presenting related words in the same
grammatical form.

Incorrect: Bob’s duties are surveying the

employees, to prepare the agendas, and chair
the meetings.

Corrected: Bob’s duties are surveying the

employees, preparing the agendas, and
chairing the meetings.
Incorrect: The Baker project would have
gone smoothly if reports were prepared on
time, we returned their calls, and would
have included some sort of follow-up.

Corrected: The Baker project would have

gone smoothly if we had prepared reports
on time, returned their calls, and
included some follow-up.
THANK YOU