PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

SEVEN C'S OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Courtesy/Consideration

Consideration means preparing every message after keeping the receiver in mind, by
putting yourself in their place. A considerate person does not loose temper, does not accuse
others and is aware of the desires, circumstances, emotions and requests of the receiver. The
sender has to be tactful and sincere, use expressions that show respect, emphasize the fact, be
aware of the feelings of others. In business world, almost everything starts and ends with
courtesy and consideration. Much can be accomplished if tact, diplomacy and appreciation of
people are woven in the message

The suggestions to be followed in this regard are:

1. Focus on "You" attitude, instead of " I" attitude. The "I" attitude should be discarded in
favor of "you" attitude to show respect and consideration towards the listener of receiver of
the message.

2. Show interest in the receiver and emphasize the benefits the receivers will gain out of the
message.

3. Emphasize positive and pleasant facts about the receiver of the message.

4. Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative.

5. Use expressions that show respect.

6. Choose nondiscriminatory expressions.

Clarity

Getting the meaning from your head into the head of the listener or reader –
accurately is the purpose of Clarity. It is difficult to attain as we all carry our own unique
interpretations, ideas and experiences associated with words.

Clarity is achieved in part through a balance between precise language and familiar language.
Simple language, words and expressions should be used. Choose familiar words. Familiar
words are often conversational and appropriate for the situation, so they make a good part of
speech or written communication.

Correctness

Message should not contain any wrong information, it should be authentic. Choose
the right level of Language. At the time of encoding, the sender should ensure that his
knowledge about the receiver is comprehensive. The level of knowledge, educational
background and status of the decoder help the encoder in formulating his message. In case of
discrepancy between the usage and comprehension of terms, miscommunication can arise.

At the core of correctness is proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. However, a message
may be perfect grammatically, but still insult or lose a customer.

Following are the guidelines for assuring correctness in the message:

 Use the right level of language: formal or informal and avoid substandard language or
words.
 Check accuracy of figures, facts and words
 Maintain acceptable writing mechanics

Concreteness

Communicating concretely means being specific, definite and vivid rather that vague and
general. Often it means using denotative (direct, explicit) rather than connotative words
(ideas or notions suggested by or associated with a word or phrase)

The following guidelines can be used to compose concrete, convincing messages:

_ Use specific facts and figures

_ Put action in your verbs

_ Choose vivid, image-building words

Examples:

Instead of: There has been a considerable rise in the sales as compared to last year.

Use: The sales figures have risen by 50% in one year.

Action in verbs:

Instead of: Mr. Vasudevan will give consideration to the report.

Use: Mr. Vasudevan will consider the report.

Vivid, image building words:

Instead of: Her work in groups was exemplary

Use: She could be called "the spark plug of the group"

Credibility

(Builds Trust) If the sender can establish his credibility, the receiver has no problems
in accepting his statement. Establishing credibility is not the outcome of a one shot statement.
It is a long drawn out process in which the receiver through constant interaction with the
sender understands his credible nature and is willing to accept his statement as being truthful
and honest.
Completeness and Consistency

The business message is complete when it contains all the facts the reader or listener
needs for the reaction the sender of the message desires. The sender and receiver differ in
their mental filters; they are influenced by their backgrounds, viewpoints, needs, experiences,
attitudes, status and emotions. Because of these differences, communication sender needs to
assess his message through the eyes of the receiver to be sure that he has included all relevant
information. While striving for completeness, the following guidelines are to be observed:

A. Provide all necessary information

B. Answer all questions asked
C. Give something extra, when desirable

Conciseness

Conciseness is saying what you have to say in fewest possible words. A concise
message is complete without being wordy. The message to be communicated should be as
brief and concise as possible. Weighty language definitely sounds impressive, but people
would be suitably impressed into doing precisely nothing. As far as possible, only simple and
brief statements should be made

To achieve Conciseness, following suggestions are observed:

A. Eliminate wordy expressions

B. Include only relevant material
C. Avoid unnecessary Repetition

Eliminate Wordy Expressions

Wordiness in expressions can be removed by suing single word substitutes instead of

phrases, replacing long conventional statements with concise versions, avoiding overuse of
phrases, omitting the use of "which" and "that" clauses and by limiting the use of passive
voice.
Examples:

Wordy : Allow me to say how helpful your last response was…

Concise : our last response was very helpful.

Wordy : It was known by Mr. Rajan that we must increase the production

Concise : Mr. Rajan knew that we must increase production

Seven C's of Communication

FOUR S'S OF COMMUNICATION

Though seven C's of communication are sufficient as Principles of effective

communication, but some authors also consider Four S's. Though these are overlapping to the
seven C's, but an understanding of the 4 S's of communication is equally important:

Shortness

"Brevity is the soul of wit." The same can be said about communication. If the
message can be made brief, and verbosity done away with, then the transmission and
comprehension of messages is going to be faster and more effective. Flooding messages with
high sounding words does not create a very lasting impact, as most of the time of the receiver
will be lost in actually deciphering and comprehending the message.
Simplicity

Simplicity both in the use of language an ideas reveals a clarity in the thinking
process. It is normally a tendency that when an individual is himself confused, he tries
equally confusing strategies to try and explain his point of view to the receiver. Simplicity
should be reveled in the communication by using simple terminology and equally simple
concepts

Strength

The strength of the message emanates from the credibility of the sender. If the sender
himself believes in a message that he is about to transmit, there is bound to be strength and
conviction in whatever he tries to state. Half hearted statements add a touch of falsehood to
the communication process.

Sincerity

If the sender is genuine and sincere, it will be reflected in the manner he

communicates. Suppose there is a small element of deceit involved in the interaction and the
receiver is a keen observant, he would be able to sense the make believe statement and no
concrete relationship between the sender and receiver will materialize.