7cs of business communication
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7 Cs of Business Communication
Why do we write a business letter?
When we write a business letter, we are
trying to convince someone to act or react ina positive way.
Our reader will respond quickly only if ourmeaning is crystal clear.
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The 7 Cs of effective
communication
1. Completeness
2. Conciseness
3. Consideration4. Concreteness
5. Clarity
6. Courtesy7. Correctness
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Completeness
Your business message is complete when it contains allthe facts, the reader or listener needs for the reaction youdesire.
Communicators-Sender and receivers-differ in their mentalfilters; they are influenced by their backgrounds,viewpoints, needs, experiences, attitudes, status, andemotions.
Because of these differences, communication sendersneed to assess their messages through the eyes ofreceivers to be sure they have included all relevant
information.
Provide all necessary information
Who, what, where, when, why, how?
Answer all questions asked
Give something extra, when desirable
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Completeness - examples
Q: How come my request for an interview
did not receive a response?
A: When was the letter sent? To whom? Who
sent it?
Q: Im new to the city, and would like to
join your club. When is the next open
day? A: Where are we? How to get here?
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Conciseness
Conciseness is saying what you have to
say in the fewest possible words without
sacrificing the other C qualities.
Eliminate wordy expressions
Include only relevant material
Stick to the purpose of the message
Avoid unnecessary repetition
Leads to dullness
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Conciseness
Eliminate Wordy Expressions:
At this time
Now
Due to the fact that
Because
Have need for Need
In due course
Soon
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Conciseness
Omit unnecessary expressions
Allow me to say how helpful your last response was
Your last response was helpful
Replace wordy conventional statements
Please find attached the list you requested
The list you requested is attached
Avoid overusing empty phrases
There are four rules that should be observed
Four rules should be observed
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Conciseness
Omit which and that clause whenever possible.
She bought desks thatare of the executive type.
She bough executive-type desks
Eliminate unnecessary prepositional phrases.
The issue ofmost relevance is teamwork.
The most relevant issue is teamwork.
Limit use of passive voice
The reports are to be submitted by employee prior tp5:00 at which time they will be received by Mr. Jones
Please submit your reports to Mr. Jones by 5:00
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Consideration
Consideration means preparing every message with themessage receiver in your mind.
You are considerate when you do not lose your temper, you donot accuse, you do not charge them without facts.
Focus on you instead of I and we
You are foremost aware of their desires, problems, circumstances,emotions, and probable reactions to your request.
This thoughtful consideration is also called you attitude, empathy, thehuman touch, and understanding.
Show audience benefit or interest in the receiver Readers react positively when benefits are shown to them
Emphasise positive, pleasant facts
Readers will react positively or negatively to certain words
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Consideration
Examples:
I am delighted to announce that we will beextending our hours to make shopping more
convenient You will be able to shop evenings with the
extended hours(Focus on You Instead of I)
It is impossible to open an account for you today.(Negative, Unp leasant )
When we receive proof of ID we will gladly open anaccount for you (Emphasis on Posit ive, Pleasant Facts)
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Concreteness
Communicating concretely means being specific,definite, and vivid rather than vague and general.
Often it means using denotative (direct, explicit, often
dictionary based) rather than connotative words (ideas ornotions suggested by or associated with a word orphrase)
Thus, the term femalemay appear in a personal folderas a part of a job description, yet widely differentconnotations may occur when using terms as wife,mother, spinster, widow, maiden, matron, ordowager.
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Concreteness
Guide Lines for creating concrete messages:
Use specific facts and figures
It is desirable in both oral & written communication
Example:
Shes a brain(Vague, General, Ind efinit e)
Her grade-point average in 2006 was 3.9 on a
four-point scale.(Concrete, Precise)
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Concreteness
Guide Lines for creating concrete messages:
Put action in your verbs
Verbs propel thought:Verbs can activate other words and helpmake your sentences alive, more vigorous. That is to have dynamicsentences in your communication. Active verbs help your sentence more:
1. Specific:The dream decided is more explicit than A decision has beenmade
2. Personal:You will note is both personal and specific; It will be noted isimpersonal.
3. Concise: The passive requires more words and thus shows both writingand reading. Compare Figures show with It is shown in the figure.
4. Emphatic:Passive verbs dull action. Compare The students held a
contest with A contest was held by the students.
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Clarity
Getting the meaning from your head into the head of yourreaderaccurately
Guideline No.1 for Communicating with Clarity Your audience will understand better if you Choose precise,
concrete and familiar words
Familiar Pretentious
About circa (L)
After subsequent
Home domicile
For example e.g. (L)
Pay remuneration
Invoice statement for payment
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Clarity
Example of Unfamiliar/Familiar sentences:
Unfamiliar:
After our perusal of pertinent data, the conclusion is that
lucrative market exists for the subject property.
Familiar
The date we studied show that your property is profitable
and in high demand.
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Clarity
Guideline No. 2 for Communicating with Clarity
Your audience will understand better if you constructeffective sentences and paragraphs. This includes:
Length of sentence: Try for 17-20 words per sentence Unity: In a sentence keep one idea at a time. If you want
to add another idea, it should be closely related to thefirst one.
Example: I like Jim, and Eiffel Tower is in Paris
Above sentence is obviously is not a unified sentence.
Coherence: In a coherent sentence the words arecorrectly arranged so that the ideas clearly express theintended meaning.
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Clarity
Example of Coherent and non-coherent sentences:
Unclear: Being an excellent lawyer, I am sure you can help us
Clear: Being an excellent lawyer, you can surely help us
Unclear: Our report is about testing, broken down in unit and
functional methods
Clear: Our report on testing focused on unit and functional methods
Unclear: After planting 10, 000 berry plants, the deer came into ourbotanists arm and crushed them.
Clear: After our botanist had planted 10,000 berry plants, the deer
came into his farm and crushed them
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Courtesy
The courtesy involves being aware not only of theperspective of others, but also their feelings.
Knowing your audience allows you to use statements ofcourtesy
Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative Use expressions that show respect
Choose non-discriminatory expressions, for example inorder to avoid gender discrimination you can use:
Entering student instead of freshman Workers, employees instead of manpower
The best candidate for the position instead of the best man forthe position.
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Courtesy
Clearly, you did not read my latest fax
Sometimes my wording is not precise; let me try again(Tactfulness)
Manpower vs. Employees(More Desirable as its non-sexist term) Man-made vs. manufactured
The best man for the job vs. The Best Candidate
Anyone who comes to the class late will get his gradereduced
Students who come late to class will have their gradesreduced (Avoid using he/him)
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Correctness
At the core of Correctness is proper grammar,punctuation, and spelling.
However, a message may be perfect grammatically andmechanically but still insult or lose a customer
The term Correctness, as applied to businessmessages, also means the following threecharacteristics:
Use the right level of language
Check accuracy of figures, facts, and words
Maintain acceptable witing mechanics.
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Correctness Use the right level of Language: There are three levels of language: formal,
informal, and substandard.
Formalwriting this often associated with scholarly writing: doctoral dissertations,scholarly articles, legal documents, top level government agreements, and othermaterial where formality is demanded.
Informalwriting is more characteristic of business writing. Here you use words that
are short, well known, and conversational as follows: Formal vs. informal
Participate/join
Procure/get
Endeavour/try
Ascertain/find out
Deem/think
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Correctness
Check accuracy of figures & facts
Verify your statistical data.
Double-check your totals
Avoid guessing at laws that have an impact on your, the
sender and your message receiver
Have someone else read your message if the topic involves
data
Determine whether a fact has changed overtime.
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Correctness
Avoid using substandard language:
Substandard vs. more appropriate
Aint vs. isnt Aim at proving vs. aim to prove
Irregardless vs. regardless
Should of vs. should have
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Correctness
Accept vs. except Accept is a verb and means to receive; Except is a verb or a
preposition and relates to omitting or leaving out.
Between vs. among
Between involves two people, among three or more Effect vs. affect
Effect is a noun, affect is a verb
Farther vs. further Farther used for distance in space, further for distance in time,
quality or degree
Imply, infer Imply means suggest; infer means to conclude