The Seven C’s of Effective

Communication

Presented by
Muhammad Umair Jafar,
Muhammad Tariq Ashraf,
Muhammad Ammar Yasir, Muhammad
Umair Malik
Communication

Q. What is communication?

Communication is a process of
transmitting and receiving verbal and
nonverbal messages.
Effective Communication

Q. What is effective communication?

An effective communication is one which

achieves the desired reaction or
response from the receiver.
The Seven C’s of Effective
Communication
To compose effective written or oral
messages there are certain guidelines
and principles that are to be followed.
These guidelines and principles are
called the seven C’s of effective
communication, which are as follow :
The Seven C’s of Effective
Communication
 Completeness
 Conciseness
 Consideration
 Concreteness
 Clarity
 Courtesy
 Correctness
Completeness

A message is complete when it contains

all facts that the reader or listener needs
for the reaction that you desire.

For completeness the following

guidelines are to be kept in mind:
Completeness
A. Provide all the necessary information

In a message we have to ensure that all the

necessary information is provided that the
Completeness
reader requires for thorough and accurate
understanding.
For this purpose it is helpful to remember the
five W questions – who, what, when, where,
why– and any other essential such as how.
Completeness

B. Answer all questions asked

whenever you reply to an inquiry, you

should answer all questions.
Completeness

C. Give something extra, when desirable

Sometimes answering the customers specific

questions is not sufficient and you might
have to add some additional information.
Conciseness

Conciseness is saying what you have

to say in the fewest possible words
without sacrificing the other C qualities.
Conciseness

A. Eliminate wordy expressions

1. Use single words instead of phrases.

2. Eliminate unnecessary prepositional
phrases.
3. Limit use of passive voice.
Conciseness

B. Include only relevant material

1. Stick to the purpose of message.

2. Delete irrelevant words.
3. Avoid long introductions.
Conciseness
C. Avoid unnecessary repetition

1. Use a shorter name after you have

mentioned the long one once.
2. Use pronouns and initials rather than repeat
long names.
3. Cut out all needless repetition of phrases.
Consideration

Consideration means thoughtful

attention to the wishes and feelings of
others.
It means to take interest in other people.
Consideration

A. Focus on “you” instead of “I” or

“We”

We attitude: I am delighted to
announce that we will be extending our
hours to make shopping more
convenient.
You attitude: You will be able to shop
evenings with the extended hours.
Consideration

B. Show audience benefit or interest in

the receiver

1. We should observe the demands and

the needs of the receiver.
2. The benefits offered must meet the
needs of the receiver.
Consideration

C. Emphasize positive, pleasant facts

It means focusing on words your recipient

can consider favorably.
Negative: it is impossible to open an account
for you.
Positive: as soon as your signature card will
reach us, we will gladly open your account.
Concreteness

Concreteness means using specific,

definite and vivid words in business
message, rather than vague and
general expressions.
Concreteness

Followings are the contents of

concreteness:

A. Use specific facts and figures

B. Put actions in your verbs
C. Choose vivid, image-building words
Concreteness

A. Use specific facts and figures:

Whenever possible, use an exact,
precise statement or a figure in place of
a general word to make your message
more concrete.
Concreteness

Exception to the ‘‘fact and figures’’ rule

1. When it is not possible to be specific.

2. When you wish to be diplomatic.
3. When exact figures are unimportant.
Concreteness

B. Put actions in your verbs:

Verbs can activate other words and

help to make your sentences more alive
and vigorous. To make a letter
concrete:
1. Use the active voice.
2. Put action in your verbs rather than in nouns.
Concreteness

Use the active voice:

To make your letter more concrete
use active voice rather than using the
passive voice. As the active voice puts
the verb up front.
Concreteness

Put action in your verbs rather than in

nouns:
The verbs [be, give, have, hold, make, put
and take] are known as deadly when the
action they introduce is hidden in the noun
followed by them .e.g.
Action in noun Action in verb
Students held the meeting in the office. Students met in the office.
Concreteness

C. Choose vivid, image-building words:

Some devices you use to make your
message more forceful, vivid and
specific are sensory appeals,
comparisons, figurative language.
Clarity

Clarity is an important element in

effective communication.
“Clarity means that the message should
be clear enough for the reader that he
may fully understand it without any
ambiguity.”
Clarity

Suggestions to make a letter

clear:

A. Choose precise, concrete, and familiar

words

B. Construct plain, simple and effective

sentences and paragraphs
Clarity

A. Choose precise, concrete, and

familiar words

Clarity is achieved in part through a

balance between precise language
and familiar language
B. Construct effective sentences and
paragraphs

The sentences and paragraphs used in

the message should be simple and
effective. Important characteristics are
length, unity, coherence and
emphasis.
Clarity

Length:
Generally short sentences are
preferred. The range should be from
17 to 30 or more words. But it must
not exceed 40 words.
Unity:
It means when you have a main idea,
and any other ideas in a sentence
must be closely related to it.
Clarity

Coherence:
In a coherent sentence the words are
correctly arranged so that the ideas
clearly express the meanings. Place
the modifier as close as possible to
the word it is supposed to modify.
Clarity

Emphasis:
The quality that gives the force to
important parts of sentences and
paragraphs is emphasis. Writer must
what needs emphasis, and then choose
correct sentence structure.
Courtesy

A. Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful, and

appreciate
B. Use expressions that show respect
C. Choose nondiscriminatory expressions
Correctness

A. Use the right level of language

B. Check accuracy of figures
C. Maintain acceptable writing
mechanisms
Courtesy
 True courtesy involves being aware not only the
perspective of others but also their feelings.
Tools of courteous tone:
1. Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative.
2. Use expressions that show respect.
3. Choose non-discriminatory expressions.
1- Tactful, Thoughtful and
Appreciative

:
Tactless blunt more tactful
Clearly, you did not read sometimes my
My latest fax. Wording is not precised,let
me try again.
.Expressions that show respect
2

 Examples:

….i don’t agree with you.

….you did not tell us.
….we don’t believe.
….You neglected it.
Use of non-discriminatory expressions

 Language that reflects equal treatment of

people regardless of gender, race, ethnic,
origin and physical features.
Questionable more desirable
Freshman entering students, new
students, first year.
Singular pronoun:
Questionable more desirable
Any one who comes to The students who come late to class
class late will get his will get their grade reduced
grade reduced
Correctness

Correctness includes proper grammar

and punctuation.
Characteristics of correctness:
 Use the right level of language.
 Check accuracy of figures, facts and
words.
 Maintain acceptable writing mechanics.
Use the right level of language

The language should be formal. It should

not be sub standard either.
More formal Less formal
participate join
utilize use
ascertain find out
Check accuracy of figures, facts and
words.
Checking of figures, facts and words include
 Verify your statistical data.
 Double check your totals.
 Avoid guessing at laws that have an impact on you.
 Have someone else read your message.
 If the topic involves data.
 Determine whether a fact has changed over time
accept, except
between, among
Main acceptable writing mechanics.

six common forms of visual support

- online charts
- tables
- bar graphs
- pie charts
- line graphs
- area graphs.