UHU003: Professional Communication

Strategies for Effective Communication:

The Seven Cs

Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology

Patiala
Effective Communication
Communication is successful and effective when the
meaning of the message shared does not change when
received and a positive feedback is given.
 Quicker problem solving
 Better decision making
 Steady work flow
 Strong business relations
 Better professional image
Strategies /7Cs
 “ Basic principles of “effective communication” .

 These principles clearly state how a message can become

effective for the target audience

 These principles also talk about style and importance of the

message.

 These principles commonly known as 7 C’s of effective

communication
 The 7Cs
 Clarity
 Completeness
 Conciseness
 Consideration
 Concreteness
 Courtesy
 Correctness
There are also a few more variants like
 Credibility
 Creativity
Clarity
The concept of clarity emphasizes the clarity of thoughts and ideas that
enhance the meaning of the message.

 Minimizing the number of ideas in each sentence

 Choose precise, concrete, simple and familiar words.
 Construct effective sentences and paragraphs.

 For example
‘subsequent’ -------‘later’:
‘Accede’ --------‘agree’
‘Endeavour’ --------- ‘try’
‘Supersede’ --------- ‘replace’ and
‘Disclose’ ---------- ‘show’
Contd.
 UNITY
‘Mr. James is in his late sixties. His hands tremble when he eats.’
( quite unclear)

 COHERENCE:
Example: Being an excellent lawyer, I am sure you can help us.
Coherent: As you are an excellent lawyer, I am sure you can help us.

 EMPHASIS:
UNCLEAR: The airplane finally approached the speed of sound, and it became
very difficult to control.’
CLEAR: ‘As it finally approached the speed of sound, the airplane became
very difficult to control
Contd.

Hi John,
I wanted to write you a quick note about Daniel, who's working in
your department. He's a great asset, and I'd like to talk to you more
about him when you have time.
Best,
Skip
Contd.
Hi John,
I wanted to write you a quick note about Daniel Kirk, who's working
in your department. In recent weeks, he's helped the IT department
through several pressing deadlines on his own time.
We've got a tough upgrade project due to run over the next three
months, and his knowledge and skills would prove invaluable.
Could we please have his help with this work?
I'd appreciate speaking with you about this. When is it best to call
you to discuss this further?
Best wishes,

Skip
COMPLETENESS
 A message is complete only when it bears all the necessary facts
the receiver needs for the desired reaction.

Answer the five W’s.

 WHO?
 WHAT?
 WHEN?
 WHERE?
 WHY?
Example
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to send you all a reminder about the meeting we're having tomorrow!
See you then,
Chris

 Leaves the receivers looking for information and needs to be reframed as

Hi everyone,
I just wanted to remind you about tomorrow's meeting on the new telecommuting
policies. The meeting will be at 10 a.m. in the second-level conference room.
Please let me know if you can't attend.
See you then
Chris
Example
Sir,
How come my request for an interview letter did not receive a
response?
(Incomplete)
 Specific subject of the letter?
 When was letter sent?
 Who sent it?
 To whom was it sent?
To reserve a hotel banquet room, specify the accommodation needed
(What), location (Where), Sponsoring organization (Who), date and
time (when), event (why).
“Omissions cast suspicions”
5Ws ARE THE CHECKLIST TO ENSURE COMPLETENESS
Conciseness

Conciseness is desired because

 It saves the time and expense for both sender and
receiver.
 It contributes to emphasis.
 It underlines the Main point.
 It provide short and essential message to the audience.
 It is more appealing to the audience.
 It is non repetitive in nature.
To be concise


Eliminate wordy expressions
 Include only relevant material
 Avoid unnecessary repetition.
Eliminate wordy expressions and use
fewest possible words
 ‘At this time’ by ‘Now’
‘Due to the fact’ by ‘Because’
‘In due course’ with ’Soon’
 Wordy: ‘Please find attached the list you requested.’
Concise: ‘The list you requested is attached.’
 Wordy: ‘She bought desks that are of the executive type.’
Concise: ‘She bought executive- type desks.’
Include only relevant material
 EXAMPLE 1:
Not Concise: ‘We hereby wish to let you know that our
company is pleased with the confidence you have reposed
in us’
Concise : ‘We appreciate your confidence.’
 EXAMPLE 2:
Not Concise and Wordy: ‘At this time I am writing to you to
enclose an interview card, which has been post-paid, for
the purpose of arranging a convenient time when we might get
together for a personal interview’.
Concise: ‘Please return the enclosed interview card to setup a
convenient time for an interview’.
Avoid unnecessary repetition.
 “North Central Company” --- “North Central”
 Pronouns and Acronyms - American Association of Technical
Analysts (AATA)
 EXAMPLE:‘Will you ship up this time, anytime during the month of
October would be fine, or even November if you are rushed
(November would suit us just as well, in fact a little bit better) 300 of
the regular 3 by 15 inches blue armbands with white sewn letters in
the center. Thank you in advance by sending this along to us by parcel
post and not express, as express is too expensive’ .
( Repetition)
‘Please ship parcel post, before the end of November, 300 regular
3 by 15 inch blue felt armbands with white sewn letters in the
centers.’( C0ncise and complete)
Bad Example
Hi Matt,
I wanted to touch base with you about the email marketing
campaign we kind of sketched out last Thursday. I really think that
our target market is definitely going to want to see the company's
philanthropic efforts. I think that could make a big impact, and it
would stay in their minds longer than a sales pitch.
For instance, if we talk about the company's efforts to become
sustainable, as well as the charity work we're doing in local schools,
then the people that we want to attract are going to remember our
message longer. The impact will just be greater.
What do you think?
Jessica
 Reframed and Concise
Hi Matt,
I wanted to quickly discuss the email marketing campaign that we
analyzed last Thursday. Our target market will want to know about
the company's philanthropic efforts, especially our goals to become
sustainable and help local schools.
This would leave a far greater impact, and it would stay in their
minds longer than a traditional sales pitch.
What do you think?
Jessica
UHU003: Professional Communication

Strategies for Effective Communication:

The Seven Cs
(Session 2)

Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology

Patiala
 Consideration
 Consideration Implies “stepping into the shoes of others”, to put oneself in the
place of receiver while composing a message.
 ‘you” attitude instead of “I” or ‘We ‘attitude
 Example:(We attitude)
I am delighted to announce that we will extend shopping hours to make
shopping more enjoyable and longer...
(You attitude)
“You will be able to shop in the evening with the extended hours.”
 Example: You attitude but not very effective
“You will be glad to know that we now have a walkup window open 7- 9am
and 3-8pm every weekday”.
“You can now take care of your banking needs at our new Walk-up Window. It
is open with a capable teller to serve you 7-9am and 3-8pm, Monday through
Friday”
Contd.
 Emphasizes the positive pleasant facts and visualizes the
receiver’s requirements, problems, viewpoints
 Benefits and interests of the receiver.
 Example:
Unpleasant: ‘It is impossible to open an account for you
today.’
Pleasant: ‘As soon as your signature card reaches us, we will
gladly open an account for you
 Concrete
Concreteness implies messages that are particular, clear, specific,
definite and vivid ,supported with facts and figures and rejects vagueness,
obscurity and generalization.
 denotative words (dictionary based, direct) is preferred to connotative
words (ideas, notions suggested by or associated with a word).
 Avoid indefinite perception or vagueness
 Specific facts and figures

Receivers know exactly what is required or desired. The chances that the
message will be interpreted the way sender intended are also higher and
the message becomes more vivid.
 To Achieve Concreteness
 USE SPECIFIC FACTS AND FIGURES
 Example: ‘Student GMAT scores are higher,’
‘In 1996, the GMAT scores averaged 600; by 1997 they had
risen to 610.’
 PUT ACTION IN YOUR VERBS (Active to Passive voice)
“ A dean decided” ------- “ a decision has been made by” ( Active verb)
“You will note” --------“it will be noted” (Personal)
“Figures show” ---------“it is shown by figures” ( Concise)
“Students held a contest” --------“ A contest was held by the students”. ( Emphatic)
 Passive voice is admissible:
“ The October cheque was not included” /“ you failed to include the October
cheque”
“Attendence at the meeting is required” /“you must attend the meeting”.
 Example
 Not Concrete
The Lunchbox Wizard will save you time every day.
 Good Example
How much time do you spend every day packing your kids'
lunches? No more! Just take a complete Lunchbox Wizard
from your refrigerator each day to give your kids a healthy
lunch and have more time to play or read with them!
Courtesy

 Courtesy in message implies that the message should show the

sender’s respect for the receiver. It strengthens relations.
FEATURES
 Stems from a sincere ‘you’ attitude
 Viewpoints of the receiver
 message is positive
 terms showing respect
 Compare:

I rewrote that letter three times; the point was not clear. OR: I
am sorry the point was not clear;
GUIDELINES FOR GENERATING COURTESY
 Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative
EXAMPLE:I rewrote that letter three times; the point was clear. Did
you not get what I mean ?
COURTEOUS: Sometimes my wording is not precise; let me try again.
 Use expressions that show respect.
OFFENSIVE: Hey man, what’s this I hear about your wedding? You
didn’t tell any of us about it. Give my regards to the lady and
wish her the best.
COURTEOUS: Warm congratulations on your wedding! Well, you
certainly took us by surprise. In fact, just a few of us
suspected you were taking off to get married. But even though
we didn’t hear about it until later. We wish you the best.
 Contd.
 Choose nondiscriminatory expressions.
Equal treatment of people regardless of gender, race, ethnic origin
and physical features.
EXAMPLE1
In the past, ‘man’ was used to denote not only male persons but
also humanity at large. Today, many people connect ‘man’ with
a ‘male human being’.
( Use alternative expressions for ‘man’ that are neuter in form.)
EXAMPLE2
Questionable More Desirable
Manpower Work force
Entering students first year
Workers employees
 Example
Jeff,
I wanted to let you know that I don't appreciate how your
team always monopolizes the discussion at our weekly
meetings. I have a lot of projects, and I really need time to
get my team's progress discussed as well. So far, thanks to
your department, I haven't been able to do that. Can you
make sure they make time for me and my team next week?
Thanks,
Phil
 Reframed

Hi Jeff,
I wanted to write you a quick note to ask a favor. During our
weekly meetings, your team does an excellent job of highlighting
their progress. But this uses some of the time available for my team
to highlight theirs. I'd really appreciate it if you could give my team
a little extra time each week to fully cover their progress reports.
Thanks so much, and please let me know if there's anything I can
do for you!
Best,
Phil
Checklist for courtesy
 Communication should have ‘ You’ attitude.
 Review statement
 Use language carefully
 Be aware of gender, race, color, creed etc.
 Correctness
Correctness Implies there are no grammatical errors in
communication.
FEATURES:
 The message should be exact, correct and well-timed.
 Boosts the confidence level of the sender
 Has a positive impact on the audience/readers.
 Precision and accurateness of facts and figures .
 Appropriate and right level of language
Language can be
 Formal - Scholarly , example Government agreements
 Non Conversational
 Informal - Words are short, well known and conversational
More Formal Less Formal
Participate Join
Procure Get
Endeavor Try
Edifice Building
Deem Think
 Contd.
 SUBSTANDARD LANGUAGE
SUBSTANDARD MORE ACCEPTABLE
Ain’t isn’t, aren’t
Can’t hardly can hardly
Aim at proving aim to prove
Irregardless regardless
Brung brought
Should of should have
Accuracy of facts, figures,grammar and
words
 Verify statistical data.
 Double check your totals.
 Avoid guessing
 Confusing words ---Accept and except
Between and Among
 Maintain acceptable writing mechanics
Grammar
Punctuation
 Example
Hi Daniel,
Thanks so much for meeting me at lunch today! I enjoyed our
conservation, and I'm looking forward to moving ahead on our
project. I'm sure that the two-weak deadline won't be an issue.
Thanks again, and I'll speak to you soon!
Best,
Jack Miller

(spell checkers don't catch word errors like this)

Credible and Creative
Credible – Does your message improve or highlight your
credibility ?
The better we communicate, the more credibility we'll have
with our clients, our boss and our co-workers.
Creative – Does your message communicate your main
points creatively? Creative communication can help to keep
your audience engaged and leave a better and positive impact.
 Thank you


i ff ic u lties
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probl
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handle with care