ESSENTIALS OF GOOD

COMMUNICATION /
PRINCIPLES OF
COMMUNICATION : 7 C’s
• Class work
• 1. A fellow student of your class is not good at
communications and is clear about its utility. He
usually says ‘ I am a management student I will
always have secretaries to handle my front office’
Give this student your best advise including
reasoning
 7C’s

1 Completeness
2 Conciseness
3 Consideration
4 Concreteness
5 Clarity
6 Courtesy
7 Correctness
 1 Completeness

a. Provide all necessary information: who, what

why, when, where
b. Answer all questions asked : stated & implied

c. Give something extra when desirable

Completeness :
Message receivers desire complete information to their question
message is complete when it contains all facts the reader/ listener

needs for the reaction you desire

a) Provide all necessary information :
Answering the 5 w’s helps make message clear : who
what, when, where, why Look for questions accurate information.
B) Answer all questions asked :
: some may even appear buried within a paragraph.
Locate them & then answer precisely.
Answer all questions –stated /implied
If you have no information on a particular question, say so clearly.
If you have unfavourable information in answer to certain questions,
handle your reply with tact.
C) Give something extra, when Desirable
Use your god judgment in offering additional material if
the sender’s message was incomplete.
 2 Conciseness

• Eliminate wordy expression

• Include only relevant material
• Avoid unnecessary repetition
Conciseness :
A message without being wordy
It means stating in the fewest possible words.
Eliminating unnecessary words without scarifying quality
a. Eliminate Wordy Expression.
Use single words in place of phrases. e.g. –wordy Due to the fact
that concise Because (Unnecessary expression)
Wordy: Pl. be advised that your admission statement was received
Concise: Your admission statement has been received Replace wordy

conventional statements with concise versions.

Wordy : Pl. find attached the list you requested
Concise : The list you requested is attached
Limit use of passive voice
Wordy : The total balance due will be found on page 2 of this report.
Concise : The balance due is on page 2.
Omit which & that clauses whenever possible
Eliminate wordy expression Include only relevant material
Avoid unnecessary repetition
b. Include only relevant material
Stick to the purpose of the message Delete irrelevant words
Omit information.
obvious to the receive do not repeat at length what that person
has already told you. Avoid long introductions, unnecessary
explanations, excessive adjectives. Get to the important point
tactfully & concisely
.
C. Avoid Unnecessary Repetition
Use shorter name after you have mentioned the long one once
(CBSC)
Use initials rather than repeat long names.
Some times it is possible to combine two or even more
sentences by using phrases / clauses.
 3 Consideration

A. Focus on ‘you’ instead of ‘I’ or ‘We’

B. Show audience benefit or interest in the

receiver
C. Emphasize positive, pleasant facts means
stressing what can be done instead of what
cannot be done
Consideration
-Means preparing every message with receiver in mind.
-Handle matter from their point of view
-Thoughtful consideration, human tough understanding human
nature.
-In true sense, consideration underlies the other 6 C’s of good

-Business communication one has to adapt the language

Message content to your receiver’s need when you make your
message complete.
A. Focus on ‘you’ instead of ‘I’ or ‘We’
-Using ‘your’ help project a you-attitude.
-Create considerate audience oriented message
-Use ‘you’ in negative situation would be insensitive, surely lacks
you attitude
B. Show audience benefit or interest in the receiver.
Explain how receiver will get benefit from the message.
Benefits must meet recipients needs
Most important, they must identify the benefits as great deal.

C. Emphasize positive, pleasant facts means stressing

what can be done instead of what cannot be done
Because of past connections with words readers will react
positively or negatively to certain words.
Benefit, cordial, happy, generous, loyal, pleasure, thankful,
thoughtful.
Consciously use positive words.
As a final note, true consideration is result of integrity & ethics
in communications.
 4 Concreteness

• Use specific facts & figures

• Put action in your verbs
• Choose vivid, image-building words
Concreteness
Means being specific, definite, & vivid rather than vague &
general
It means using direct, explicit words rather than suggestive,
associated words.
A. Use specific facts & figures
It is desirable to be precise & concrete in both written & oral
business communication.
Use an exact, precise statement or a figure in place of a general
word
Opinion words are vague in general e.g. Slightly, almost, very, a
few
 b. Put action in your verbs
Verbs can activate other words & help make your sentences alive,
more vigorous.
Use active voice
Be specific – ‘The Director Decided’
Be personal – ‘you will note’
Be concise – ‘ Figures show’
Be emphatic –‘ The students held a contest’
put action in verbs, not in nouns
The proposal has a requirement for
The proposal requires that

c. Choose vivid, Image building words

Business writing uses less figurative language than does the world of
fixation
Concrete language often evokes a sensory response in people.
Use figurative language with caution ‘She could be facing ‘ceiling’ in
her company.’
Make your idea more vivid e.g. this letter is three times longer than
 Class exercise

.“Is information exposure enhances

individual expertise / performance”
Explain. Assume that you are an editor
of the new paper TOI & writing editorial
on Rail accident. What basic principles
would you keep in mind while writing it
 5 Clarity

• Choose precise, concrete &familiar

words
• Construct effective sentences &
paragraphs
• Length, unity, coherence, emphasis
Clarity
Getting the meaning / understanding into the head of your
reader accurately. Clarity is achieved in part through a balance
between precise language & familiar language.

A. Choose precise & familiar words use more familiar

words for better understanding with lay man.

B. Construct effective sentences & paragraphs

-Try for an average sentence length of 17 & 20 words
-Variety in sentence length adds interest to writing, adopt a
range of 3-30 words.
-If all sentences are short, it passes the image of being over
simple –choppy
-Unity in sentences should be maintained means that you
have one main idea & any other ideas in the sentences must
be closely related to it.
Coherence in the sentence has to be taken care –
means the words are correctly arranged so that the
ideas clearly express the intended meaning e.g. his
report was about managers, broken down by age &
gender.
Clear : His report focused on age & gender of
managers.
Writer must decide what needs emphasis.
In complex sentence the main idea should be placed
in the main clause, the less important points in
subordinate clauses.
 6 Courtesy

• Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful &

appreciative
• Use expressions that shows
respect
• Choose nondiscriminatory
expressions
Courtesy

Courtesy stems from a sincerely you –attitude.

It is not merely politeness. True courtesy involves being
aware not only of the perspective of others, but also their
feelings
A. Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful & appreciation
Negative / intentionally abrupt or blunt are common cause
of discourtesy courteous messages of deserved
congratulations & appreciation help build goodwill .
e.g. tactless
Clearly, you did not read my latest fax
Writers who send cordial, courteous messages of
deserved congratulations & appreciation help build
goodwill.
B. Use expressions that shows respect
no reader wants to receive message that offend
omit irritating expressions e.g. ‘I do not agree with
you ‘‘We find
it difficult to believe’ ‘Your stubborn silence’ ‘Your
failure to understand’
C. Choose Nondiscriminatory Expression
Give equal treatment of people regardless of
gender, race, ethnic origin & physical features
E.g.Freshman - First year student
The best man for the Position -the best
candidate for the position.
 7 Correctness

• Use the right level of language

• Check accuracy of figures, facts &
words
• Maintain acceptable writing
mechanics
Correctness :
Proper grammar, punctuation & spelling.
A. Use the right level of language
There are three levels of language : Formal, informal, substandard
Formal writing is often associated with scholarly writing. Usually
impersonal often contains long & involved sentenced
Informal writing means using short well known words & conversational
e.g. Formal substandard
Participate join
Procure get
Ascertain find out
Utilize use
B. Cheek accuracy of figures, facts & words.
Verify your statistical data, Double-check your totals
Avoid guessing at laws that have an impact on you & your receiver
Have some one else read your message
Determine whether the fact has changed over time

Maintain Acceptable writing mechanics

 Class exercise
You are a mgmt student appearing in
final exams, what are the basic skills
you generally use while writing your
paper.
You are a reporter of business
magazine collecting material on
‘Business scenario of IT’. What are
the elements which you have to keep
in mind while writing such reports.
Spoken English
 Features of the spoken language

1. Prosodic features
2. Shortened forms
3. Features resulting from limited
processing time
4. Organizational features
5. Accent and dialect
6. Functions of the spoken language
 Features of the spoken language (1)

1 Prosodic features:
stress rhythm
pitch tempo
intonation

e.g. She sells seashells on the seashore, the

shells she sells are seashells I’m sure.
 Features of the spoken language (2)

2 Shortened forms
Contraction reducing/ narrowing /a reduced form often
marked by an apostrophe in writing e.g. can’t = cannot, I’ll = I will

Elision the omission of an unstressed vowel or syllable in a

verse to achieve a uniform metrical pattern the omission or slurring
(eliding) of one or more sounds or syllables e.g. gonna = going to,
wanna be = want to be, wassup = what’s up
Ellipsis abbreviation / short form/ the omission of part of a
grammatical structure e.g. “You bored?” “A bit”,
 Features of the spoken language (3)

3 Features that result from the limited

processing time
False start when a speaker stops after beginning an utterance
and then either repeats or reformulates it. e.g. right well let's er --=
let's look at the applications -- erm - let me just ask initially this

Repairs an alteration suggested or made by the speaker, the

addressee or the audience to correct or clarify a previous
conversational contribution

Fillers no particular meanings / provides time to think e.g. “er”,

“uhm”, “ah”, “well”.
Features of the spoken language (4)

4 Organizational features
Back-channeling Feedback for a speaker,
meaning “I understand you” or “I’m listening”. e.g. “I see”,
“really”, “uh huh” or “oh

Turn-taking a typical, orderly arrangement in which

participants speak with minimal overlap and gap between
them.
Short-turns: one or two sentences; long turns: can be an
hour’s lecture.
 Features of the spoken language (5)

5 Accent and dialect

Accent: the ways in which words are pronounced. Factors:

age, region or social class, e.g. RP

Dialect: The distinctive grammar and vocabulary associated

with the regional or social use of a language, e.g. Bernard
Shaw’s Pygmalion.
 Features of the spoken language
(6)
6 Different functions
Interactional talk: Conversational language for
interpersonal reasons and/or socializing. E.g. chitchat. Primarily
listener-oriented.

Transactional talk: Language to get things done or to

transmit content or information. Primarily speaker-oriented.
 Golden Tips To Improve Your
Spoken English

• Watch English news, movies

• Practice reading loudly, Improve Reading
Comprehension
• Speak in front of mirror
• Always use a dictionary:
• Learn a new word every day
• Speak English with your friends, siblings,
• Start writing a diary
• Forget the fear
• Think in English,
 Basic principles in teaching
spoken English
Improve Vocabulary
Importance of stress and rhythm
Focus on both fluency and accuracy, depending on
your objective
Provide intrinsically motivating techniques
Encourage the use of authentic language in
meaningful contexts.
Provide appropriate feedback and correction
Capitalize on the natural link between speaking and
listening.
Encourage the development of speaking strategies.
Written English
 Improving Written English

• Good writers may rehearse or discuss what

they want to write before they actually do it
• Good writers read their writing carefully,
trying to imagine how clear their ideas are to
a reader. If something isn’t clear, they change
it
• The motto of the process approach is:
Writing is rewriting.
 Four kinds of knowledge that we need
in order to write
• Knowledge of language:
– Spelling, Punctuation. Grammatical
structures, Lexis, Cohesion and
coherence (how to connect clauses within
and between sentences and how to order
information in our sentences and texts),
Discourse types (each discourse type e.g.
narrative, argument etc. has its own
special features)
• Knowledge of topic, i.e. knowing what we
are writing about.
 Four kinds of knowledge that we
need in order to write
• Knowledge of audience i.e. knowledge of
who we are writing to. The more one knows
about one’s audience the easier the writing is;
both the topic and the intended readers will
influence the kind of writing we do.
• Stored writing plans: Background knowledge,
formal, organisational structures of different
types of text and background knowledge of the
content being written about.
Flowchart of the Writing Process
 Stages in the process of writing

• Gathering information.
• Generating ideas (making notes of the ideas you
feel are relevant to the topic; the ideas you
generate will be limited by the audience you
have in mind).
• Goal setting (deciding what you want to do with
all the material you have generated, deciding on
the main messages you want to send).
• Organising (grouping the ideas you have
generated and deciding on the order you want to
present them, it will also involve thinking about
the links between different sets of ideas).
 Stages in the process of writing
• Making a first draft.
• Reading you work and redrafting.
• Editing (this may occur in brief episodes
interrupting other parts of the process; there
are four kinds of editing we do: editing for
standard language conventions, editing for
accuracy of meaning, editing for reader
understanding, editing for reader
acceptance).
• Final version.
Get rid of words in the following
phrases
➢ Throughout the entire article
➢ A conservative type suit
➢ His own personal opinion
➢ Elements common to both of them
➢ Emotions and feelings
➢ Shared together
➢ Falsely padded expense accounts
 General Rules

❖Use the simplest, most exact, most

specific language your subject
allows.
❖Put together what belongs together,
in the essay, in the paragraph, and in
the sentence.
❖Keep your reader in mind,
particularly when you revise.
 Practice each mini-skill one by one:
• Learn how to write good sentences— a sparkling
sentence is the basic ingredient of good writing.
• Become more conversational by including questions in
your writing.
• Study how to choose flavored words; and learn how to
avoid blunt phrases that make your writing tasteless
and yuck.
• Compose smooth transitions so readers glide from
sentence to sentence, and from paragraph to
paragraph.
• Experiment with your voice by
changing punctuation and adding a dynamic rhythm.
• Create a mesmerizing flow by outlining or reverse-
outlining your content.
• Practice writing soundbites that linger in your reader’s
minds.
• Cook up fresh metaphors to make abstract concepts
concrete and entertaining.
• Play with mini-stories to engage your readers.
• Put on your chef’s hat, switch off your phone, set a
timer for 25 minutes, and do the work.
• Book time in your calendar for writing; and try writing
at the same time each day.
 Develop sticky writing habits

• Hold yourself accountable—publish at least one

piece of content every week.
• Apply a structured process to your writing—plan,
draft, edit, and format.
• Edit your content in several rounds because
scintillating content requires careful adjustment of
each ingredient.
• Nurture a sense of play and experiment with different
techniques—start with these creative writing
exercises for business content.
 Make your content more nourishing

• Practice empathy—understanding how you can help

your reader is the basic ingredient of nourishing
content.
• Apply the principles of persuasion, so you can inspire
your reader to implement your tips and nudge him to
buy from you.
• Make your advice more practical by demonstrating
your tips with lively examples.
• Make your content memorable by including rich
details that breathe life into your arguments.
• Borrow authority by including expert quotes and stats.
• Share tasty nuggets of information by digging deeper
into your topic to reveal more specific tips.
Effective Listening
 INTRODUCTION
• Listening is a vital component of entire
process of communication.
• The effectiveness of communication is
determined by the extent to which
listening & comprehension take place in
the course of an interaction.
• It is an art, a very difficult activity in reality.
• It is estimated that most of us spend
nearly 60% of our day in listening.
• Effective listening requires patience,
presence of mind, interest & attitude.
 INTRODUCTION cont…
• Listening is a vital component of entire
process of communication.
• The effectiveness of communication is
determined by the extent to which
listening & comprehension take place in
the course of an interaction.
• It is an art, a very difficult activity in reality.
• It is estimated that most of us spend
nearly 60% of our day in listening.
• Effective listening requires patience,
presence of mind, interest & attitude.
 INTRODUCTION cont…
• Listening is a vital component of entire
process of communication.
• The effectiveness of communication is
determined by the extent to which
listening & comprehension take place in
the course of an interaction.
• It is an art, a very difficult activity in reality.
• It is estimated that most of us spend
nearly 60% of our day in listening.
• Effective listening requires patience,
presence of mind, interest & attitude.
 Importance

• Promotes awareness about the

organisation.
• Helps make better polices.
• Pacifies the complaining employees.
• Important for open door policy.
• Help to spot sensitive areas.
• Listening is the experience of being
totally understood by another person.
Listening is a profound understanding of
the words being said & the meaning
 Importance cont…
• Good listening is essential for Communication.
• The best way to make a man feel important is to
listen.
• A poor listener can destroy the speakers desire to
talk.
• An interesting listener can away the direction of
his talk.
• Response / reactions of listener are indication of
understanding.
• Participation enhances zeal of speaker putting
questions, seeking clarifications clearing doubts
& other responses would encourage the speaker
effectively & express ideas fully.
• Being prejudice you react abnormal, which in turn
creates problem in communication.
• Good listening generates motivation & maintains
flow of communication.
 Art of Listening
• Listening is an art in itself.
• All of us vary in our capacity of listening.
• Being from different back ground,
education experience, behaviour each
individual has different outlook for
listening.
• Too much of information overload result,
superficial listening / small chunks are
listened in bits & pieces.
• At times listener understands the
receivers viewpoint of the speaker in
exactly similar terms as intended by him.
 Art of Listening cont..
• Responses shown by the listener enhances
the capability of sender to communicate more
effectively.
• The listener has to learn, keep it in mind make
efforts for listening.
• Listening requires avoid pre judgment.
• Be open minded.
• Establish eye contact.
• Extract main points.
• Give feed back
• Make notes.
• Watch for signals
 The Listening Process
Message

Receiving Interpreting Remembering

Feedback Message

Responding Evaluating

Message
Principles for Good listening
• Listening patiently
• Understanding speaker’s feeling
• Positive attitude
• Concentration
• Interaction
Principles for Good listening
cont..
• Question answer sequences
• Time for discussion
• Rapport
• Avoid pre – judgment
• Establish eye contact
• Extract main point
 Effective Listening
• Find areas of interest
• Focus on content
• Hold your fire
• Listen for ideas
• Take selective notes
 Effective Listening
• Work at listening
• Block competing thoughts
• Paraphrase the speaker
• Stay open-minded
• Stay ahead of the speaker
 Barriers in Listening
• Lack of interest
• The ego –basic communication
block
• Involved with the self (distraction)
• Pre conceived ideas & notions
• Lack of motivation
 Barriers in Listening cont..
• Stress –negative impact
• The familiarity trap
• Defensive listening
• Noise
• Lack of interest
• Entering into argument
Barriers to Listening

Prejudgment

Self-
Centeredness

Selective
Listening