THE SEVEN C'S OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

It is important to apply certain communication principles while composing effective written or oral business messages. These are called the seven C's of communication or the C- qualities of communication. The C- qualities or seven C's of business communication are: 1) Completeness 2) Conciseness 3) Consideration 4) Concreteness 5) Clarity 6) Courtesy 7) Correctness 1) COMPLETENESS: A business message which contains all the facts the reader or listener needs for the reaction you desire is said to be complete. It is important to bear in mind the differences in the mental fitters of the sender and receiver. They are both influenced by this background, viewpoints, attitudes, needs, experiences, status and emotions. Due to these differences, senders of communication must assess their messages through the eyes of the receivers to ensure that all relevant information has been included. A complete message is likely to bring the desired result without having to send additional messages. They also help in building goodwill. Messages that contain information that the receiver needs also shows concern for others. It is important to remember the following guidelines in mind with regard to completeness: Provide all necessary information Answer all questions asked Give something extra, when desirable. Provide all necessary information: When you initiate business message, ensure to have provided all the information the reader requires for comprehension/understanding. Answering the 5 W's & 1H helps make messages complete: Who, When,Where,Why & How. Answer all questions asked: While replying to a letter, try to answer all questions both stated and implied. Answer all questions precisely. Give something extra, when desirable: Use your good & sound judgment in offering additional material if the sender's message was incomplete. 2) CONCISENESS: Conciseness is saying what you have to say in the fewest possible words without sacrificing the C-qualities. A concise message is complete without being wordy. A concise message saves time & expense for both the sender & the receiver. To achieve conciseness, observe the following guidelines: Eliminate wordy expressions Include only relevant material Avoid unnecessary repetition Eliminate wordy expressions: The following are some suggestions to reduce wordiness in your communication..

a) Use single-word substitutes instead of phrases whenever possible without changing meanings. E.g. Wordy: At this time. Concise: New Wordy: Due to the fact that Concise: Because b) Omit unnecessary expressions E.g. Wordy: Permit me to say how helpful your response was. Concise: Your last response was helpful. c) Replace wordy statements with concise versions E.g. Wordy: Please find attached the list you had requested. Concise: The list you requested is attached. d) Avoid overusing empty phrases E.g. Wordy: There are five rules that should be observed. Concise: Five rules should be observed. e) Omit 'which' & 'that' clauses whenever possible. E.g. Wordy: He bought papers that are of the handmade variety. Concise: He bought handmade variety paper. f) Limit the use of passive voice. Include only relevant material: Avoid unnecessary expressions & irrelevant statements. To ensure only relevant facts, observe the following suggestions: a) Stick to the purpose of the message b) Delete irrelevant words & rambling sentences c) Omit information obvious to the receiver d) Avoid long introductions, unnecessary explanations, pompous words, too many adjectives e) Get to the important point tactfully & concisely. Avoid unnecessary repetition 3) CONSIDERATION: Consideration means preparing a business message with the receiver in mind. Try to put yourself in their place. Thoughtful consideration is also called the You-attitude", empathy, understanding of human nature. Following are the specific ways to show consideration: Focus on you '' instead of '' I '' & '' We '' Show audience benefits or interest in the receiver Emphasize positive, pleasant facts Focus on '' you ": To create considerate business messages, focus on how the receiver of the message will benefit what they will receive or what they want or need to know. May be accomplished by emphasis, or by making an explicit reference. Show audience benefit or interest in the receiver: Readers may react positively when benefits are shown to them, i.e. Meeting the needs of the receivers.

Emphasis Positive, Pleasant Facts: The third way to show consideration is to emphasize the positive facts i.e. stressing on what can be done, instead of what cannot be done. 4) CONCRETENESS: Communicating 'concretely' means being specific, definite & vivid rather than vague & general. Often, it means using denotative (direct, explicit) words rather than connotative words (ideas/notions suggested). Therefore, the term 'female' may appear in a personnel folder as a part of job description, yet different connotative may occur while using terms such as wife, daughter, mother, etc. Each of them refers to 'female' but with widely ranging associations. Concreteness follows the following suggestions: Use specific facts & figures. Put action in your verbs. Choose vivid, image-building words. Use specific facts & figures: Whenever possible, use an exact precise statement or figure in place of a general word to make your message concrete. Put action in your verbs: Use the active voice, the action should be in the verbs instead of noun's & infinitives. Active verbs helps in making your sentences more specific, personal, concise, emphatic. Choose vivid, image-building words: Use vivid, image-building words in business messages sparingly. 5) CLARITY: The purpose of clarity is to get the meaning from your head into the head of the reader, accurately. Choose precise, concrete & familiar words Construct effective sentences & paragraphs. Choose precise, concrete & familiar words: While using precise, concrete language, you select exactly the right word to convey your meaning. When you use familiar words or language, you select a word that is a part of your personal vocabulary, familiar to the audience & appropriate for the situation. Construct effective sentences & paragraphs: At the heart of clarity, is the sentence. A grammatical statement, when clearly expressed, moves thoughts within a paragraph. The important characteristics to consider are length, unity, coherence & emphasis. Length: An average sentence length should be between 17 & 20 words. Unity: Unity means expressing just one main/key idea in a sentence, be it a simple, compound or complex sentence. Coherence: In a coherent sentence, the words are correctly arranged so that the ideas clearly express the intended meaning. Emphasis: Important to decide what needs emphasis in a communication & then select a correct sentence structure. Most often, place the main idea/ideas at the beginning of the sentence (i.e. in the main clause).

6) COURTESY: Courtesy is a step beyond consideration. True courtesy involves being aware of not just the perspective of others, but also their feelings. Courtesy arises from a sincere "you-attitude". Be aware of the receiver of the message. Courtesy is not merely "the please" & "thank you". It is politeness that grows out of respect & concern for others. The following suggestions are useful for generating a courteous tone: Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful & appreciative Use expressions that show respect Choose non-discriminatory expressions. Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful & appreciative: Add tactful words in your messages. Also, important to be sincere & appreciative whenever required. Be thoughtful of the receiver of your message & the receivers emotions & feelings. Do not be blunt. Write cardial, courteous messages. Important to value goodwill. Use expressions that show respect: No receiver/reader would like to receive messages that offend. Do not use expressions that irritate your reader. Do not use humor which is questionable. Choose non-discriminatory expressions: Don't use expressions in communication that would be discriminatory. Use language that reflects equal treatment of people regardless of gender, sale, ethnic origin & physical features. 7) CORRECTNESS: Correctness refers to proper grammar, punctuation & spelling. The following are the guidelines: Use the right level of language Check accuracy of figures, facts & words Maintain acceptable writing mechanics. Use the right level of language: There are three levels of language; formal, informal & sub-standard. Formal writing is to do with thesis or dissertation legal documents. The style is unconventional & contains long sentences. Informal writing has more to do with business writing. You use words that are short, well-known & conversational. Substandard language refers to incorrect words, incorrect grammar, faulty pronunciation-which all suggest an inability to use good English. Check accuracy of figures, facts & words: Our goal in lending a business message is to be as precise is possible. This means checking & cross-checking to ensure facts, figures & words you use are correct. Locate correct words & the intended meaning. Maintain acceptable writing mechanics: Look into the mechanical details of every well-written document. CENTRALISATION Vs DECENTRALISATION Line personal are usually defined as those who are directly responsible for planning & executing a company's dominant activity. There are two kinds of line-staff structure namely i) Centralized ii) Decentralized.

The decentralized structure provides different divisions & each division has its own line & staff structure. The decentralized structure provides each divisions with a set of managers & specialists, allowing decisions to be made by those who know the product best. Decentralization is a matter of degree & an organization manifests it through action. In centralized structure, you have one main head & the different divisions reporting to the main head. The main head makes all the decisions & this is conveyed to the different divisions. The different divisions act as advised by the main head & reports back to the head. While both systems have their own merits, decentralisation relieves top management of information overload & places decision making in the hands of managers who are most knowledgeable about their products, customers & other issues. It creates organisational units small enough for people to identify with & it allows more people to participate in the decision making. By comparison, however, a more centralized structure places staff people in large groupings, allowing them to develop their professional competencies in greater depth places decision making with those who see the overall needs of the organization, & avoids certain dual reporting duties.

Centralized