7Cs or Principles of Effective Communication

Business Administration
Principles and 7 C’s of Effective Communication

Communication is a very important factor in our life. Let's know the

principles & 7 important factors of effective communication.

Whether speaking formally or informally to a student or a team

member we should be careful about the principles of communication.
We are aware that the main motto of communication is to share
thoughts and ideas. To have effective communication we must
understand the capacity of the audience. While communicating all
should focus on its principles.
In my earlier two blogs, I have focused on the Language Skills, the
Process of Communication & its importance. In this blog, I focused
on the principles and 7Cs of effective communication.

Notice Your Audience

Communication is a two-way process. The prime objective of
communication is to make the audience understand. The
communication should always be packaged to suit the receiver's /
listener's level of understanding.

Understand Your Purpose

While communicating you should know your purpose. You should
make it clear that you are sharing specific information or being
social.

Know Your Topic

Senders should be aware of all the facts and details of the concerned
topic. Take feedback from time to time that will help in making the
topic clear.
Communicate a little at a time and check whether the receiver
understands or not. Ask the questions to the audience and let them
ask the questions.
Set a Goal
While communicating you should set a particular goal, because
impacting your audience is one of the important things in effective
communication. Everybody should figure out their real outcome at
the start.

Be Clear and Organized

Writing short sentences is essential to keep things clear. Moreover,
writing lengthy sentences is one of the quickest ways to lose the
attention of your audience. To avoid such problems, we should
replace long sentences with short ones.
Staying organized is not easy for most people. It creates a high-level
outline before you attempt to communicate with your audience.
Present information in several ways. The things which work for one
listener may not work for another. Look at the audience and
communicate by making eye contact that will help to build strong
relationships.

7 C’s of Communication

1. Conciseness
In formal communication, we should be very careful about the
briefness/conciseness of the message. As brevity is one of the
principles of formal communication. Also, it is one of the important
elements and prerequisites of effective communication.
It is always helpful for both the sender and the receiver because it
saves their time. Concise messages are helpful in getting the
meaning.

2. Correctness
Correctness means the accuracy of thoughts, figures, and words. If
the given information is not correctly conveyed, the sender will lose
reliability.
While communicating we should be careful about the correct use of
grammar, message composition and appropriate words. Successful
communication depends on the correct use of language & grammar.

3. Concreteness
While communicating one should be very specific. Concreteness is
an important aspect of effective communication. It is about being
specific and definite rather than general.
In oral communication, one cannot draw tables and graphs to make
our statement specific, but we can use apt and precise words to
convey a message. If the message is specific, that saves time and
increases the likelihood.

4. Clarity
Clarity is one of the principles of formal communication. Whatever
we speak/communicate should have clarity. The idea of the message
should be very clear in the mind of the sender.
The sender must be careful about the clarity of thought and objective
of communication.

5. Completeness
Effective communication depends on the completeness of the
message. Incomplete messages create ambiguity in the audience.
A complete message brings the desired results without any expense
or additional information. Therefore, each and every message which
is sent by the sender should be complete.

6. Consideration
It is an act of consideration. While sending a message the sender
should look from the angle of the audience. The sender should
understand the feelings and emotions of the receivers. It shows that
in communication we should consider the audience.

7. Courtesy
Courtesy means polite behavior. While communicating everybody
should show politeness towards others. It facilitates communication.
The polite messages help to strengthen relationships and to create
goodwill, which helps in expanding the business.
To conclude, I would like to say that everybody should use the 7 Cs
of communication to communicate effectively.
2nd Clarification

Effective communication is essential in every aspect of our life,

whether it be at home, at work, or with our friends. A person who
can communicate effectively will always have an advantage when
dealing with people. Fortunately, there is a guideline that one can
follow to implement the habit of effective communication. The 7 C’s
of communication are 7 attributes that you need to keep in mind
while communicating your message.

The 7 C’s of communication are as follows:

 Clear
 Concise
 Concrete
 Correct
 Consideration
 Complete
 Courteous

Let us take a look at each attribute in detail with examples for

implementation

1.) Clear

Convey your message in an easy-to-understand manner. Use short

simple sentences while speaking or writing. The aim is to share your
thoughts and ideas with utmost clarity. Clear messages consist of
exact and concrete words.

Bad Example

Hi Pete,
I would like to schedule a meeting with you in regards to yesterday’s
conversation. The topics you covered were great, and I’d like to
speak about them in detail. Please let me know when you would like
to have this meet.

Regards,

Chris

In the above example, we do not know which conversation Chris is

referring to. If Chris had met Pete on multiple occasions that day,
then he wouldn’t know what Chris is actually talking about.

Good Example

Hi Pete,

I would like to schedule a meeting with you in regards to your

presentation on email marketing. The topics you covered were great,
and I would like to discuss implementation on our current clients.
Please let me know when you have the time so that we can discuss it
in detail.

Regards

Chris

In this example, the reader knows exactly what is expected of him

because the message is clear.

2.) Concise

Concise means to be to the point without using a lot of words. Avoid

using filler words like “you see”, “at this point of time”, “a lot of
sense”, “kind of”, “what I mean”, “sort of”. You need to ask yourself
if there are any unnecessary sentences and if you have written the
same points multiple times. Being concise saves the time of both you
and your reader and adds value to your message.

Bad Example
Dear Bharat,

I wanted to talk about the video editing ideas we sort of planned out
the other day. Don’t you think it would make a lot of sense to also
add additional elements to the videos? I mean, I think that would sort
of improve the quality of the videos as well as have a stronger impact
on the client’s message.

For instance, we could add a dissolve transition to each movie, which

would then give it a seamless flow. This would then make the video
cleaner and be more appealing in the minds of the people. The
impact would just be a lot greater. This makes a lot more sense
according to me.

What do you think?

Regards

Aaron

There is a lot of repetition in this email and it is quite long. The

email can be made shorter and to the point.

Good Example

Dear Bharat,

I wanted to discuss the video editing ideas we planned out yesterday.

It would be better to add additional elements to the video in order to
have a stronger impact on the client’s message.

A dissolve transition would give a seamless flow to each movie and

make the videos cleaner and appealing in the minds of the target
audience.

What do you think?

Regards

Aaron
3.) Concrete

Concrete messages are clear and usually supported with facts. It

gives a laser focus touch to your messages without being vague.
There are details in the message without it being too long. A concrete
message is solid and specific.

Bad Example

Save time with the Indicator Master Every Day

This kind of tagline does not give the user any details. There are no
facts and it’s vague. People might not download this application
since it’s not concrete enough to entice the user.

Good Example

Have you ever been late for a meeting just because you didn’t know
the train schedule? Hate waiting for a bus because you don’t know
its timings? Then download the Indicator Master app. It will give
you all the train and bus schedules so that you can avoid delays and
save time!

4.) Correct

Make sure all your facts and figures are accurate with no
grammatical errors. Always proofread your work before presenting
it. A correct message with viable facts will add credibility to your
work.

Bad Example

Hi Sam,

It was wonderful meeting you last week. I had a good time. I’m sure
we will be able to do some great work on this project. Let me know
whether you need any supplies from the company and I’ll get them
delivered as soon as possible.

Thanks again, speak to you soon!

Regards

Desmond

If you noticed in the above email, there are two errors. The first one
is the writer has spelled week incorrectly and the second is the use of
the word weather instead of whether. Spell checkers don’t always
work so make sure you proofread everything.

5.) Consideration

Consideration is simply keeping in mind the audience’s requirements

and views while formulating your message. Follow the ‘You’
approach when dealing with your audience. Consider their level of
education, interests, mindsets, etc. Emphasize what is possible rather
than what’s not when dealing with them. This will result in positive
outcomes during your interactions

6.) Complete

A complete message gives the user all the information and is clear
and detailed. When your message is complete, your audience knows
exactly what needs to be done. Make sure all the facts you want to
convey in your message are accurate and there is a clear call to
action present in your message.

Bad Example

Hi Guys,

Please make sure to carry all the items tomorrow for the meeting.

Regards

Amar

The message is clearly incomplete. There are no details as to what

items, which meeting, and at what time.

Good Example
Hi Guys,

Just a reminder that we have a meeting scheduled at 10.00 am

tomorrow to discuss the Britannia event. Please make sure you get
all the event props that need to be presented to the client.

Regards

Amar

7.) Courteous

Being courteous is the most important attribute of communication.

Always be friendly and honest. Respect the speaker while you
communicate. Even if you have some feedback that needs to be
pointed out, it can be conveyed in a constructive manner. A
courteous message will leave the speaker in a positive mindset rather
than negative one.

Bad Example

Dear Suzie,

I have noticed that there are always delays in the orders. You need to
focus on the orders department as a priority. Please get all the orders
cleared ASAP!

Regards

Greg

There is a very good chance that the reader will get angry if they
receive a message like this. It might result in creating a toxic
environment rather than solving any issues. Here is another way you
can convey the same message:

Good Example

Dear Suzie,
Thank you for your work at the book fair. I have noticed that there
are orders pending which need to be cleared on priority. I would
appreciate it if you could focus on getting these cleared so that we
can avoid any delays to the customer.

Thanks a lot, and please let me know if you have any questions
regarding the same.

Best,

Greg

Now you can see that the same message has been conveyed in a
constructive and positive manner. The reader would be more likely
to respond positively in this case rather than react.

Conclusion

The way we communicate is a huge factor in how successful we are

in life. If we communicate effectively, it gives us more credibility in
our jobs as well as personal life.

Using the 7 C’s of communication, that is when you’re clear,

concise, concrete, correct, consider the speaker,
complete and courteous, with your message, you will become an
effective communicator and find more success in your interactions
with people.