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Seven Cs of Effective Communication 4

Correctness:

At the core of correctness is proper

• Grammar

• Punctuation

• Spelling

The term correctness applied to business messages also means the following

characteristics.

•Use the right level of language

•Check accuracy of figures, facts and words

•Maintain acceptable writing mechanics

The term correctness applied to business messages also means the following

characteristics.

•Use the right level of language

•Check accuracy of figures, facts and words

•Maintain acceptable writing mechanics

Formal Writing

Formal writing is often associated with scholarly writing.

Examples

doctoral dissertations, scholarly articles, top-level government agreements etc

The style unconventional, usually impersonal, and contains long and involved sentences.

Informal Writing

This style of writing is more characteristic in business writing.

An example is the communications via E-mail, memos etc.

Reminder:

Avoid substandard language.

Using incorrect words,incorrect grammar, faulty pronunciation all suggest inability

to use good English.

Check accuracy of figures, facts and words

• It is impossible to convey the meaning of the words precisely, through words, from the

head of the sender to the receiver.

• Our goal is to be as precise as possible.

A good check of data is to have another person read and comment on the validity of the

material.

Figures and Facts

• Verify your statistical data.

• Double check your totals.

• Avoid guessing at Laws that have an impact on you.

Continued….

• Have someone else read your message if the topic involves data.

• Determine whether a fact has changed overtime.

Words that confuse

English language is constantly changing.

Though dictionaries cannot keep up with rapid change, but still are the most useful resource

for finding correct words.

Example:

a, an

Use a before consonant and consonant sounds or a long a sound. Use an before

vowels or silent h sounds.

Example

accept, except

Accept is a verb that means receive.

Except is a verb that relates to omitting out or leaving out.

Example:

Between, Among

Between involves two people, among, three or more.

Example:

Farther, further

Farther is used to express more distance in space, further for distance in time,

quality or degree.

Example:

Biannually, biennially

Biannually mean two time a year, biennially means every two years.

Maintain Acceptable Writing Mechanics

All material relating to mechanics, word processing and appearance is relevant here.

A careful attention to the mechanical part of every well-written document.

Revision of the seven C’s of effective communication:

Completeness

Conciseness

Consideration

Concreteness

Clarity

Courtesy

Correctness

Completeness:

Your message is complete when it contains all the facts, readers or listeners need for the

reaction you desire.

Communication senders need to assess their message from eyes of the receivers to be sure

they have included all the relevant information.

Benefits of Completeness:

• Complete messages are more likely to bring the desired results.

• They do a better job at building goodwill.

• Communication that seems inconsequential can become very important if information they

contain is complete and effective.

Keep the following guidelines in mind

• Provide all necessary information

• Answer all questions asked

• Give something extra, when desired

Provide all the necessary information:

Answer the five Ws that make the message clear.

• Who

• What

• When

• Where

• Why

Example:

When requesting a merchandise, make sure

•What you want ?

•When you need it?

•To whom and where it is to be sent ?

•And how the payment would be made ?

Credibility:

•Competence

–Does the audience perceive the message sender as communicating honestly ?

•Character

–Does the sender of the message know his or her message ?

Credibility:

•Composure

–Does the sender give the impression of being calm and collected ?

•Sociability

–Does the sender come across as a likable individual ?

•Extroversion

–Does the source exhibit outgoing tendencies rather than timidity?

Example:

You are the president of a Community welfare center, and receive the following message

I'm new to the city and would like to consider joining your welfare center. As I will be visiting

the center within the next month, will you please tell me where the next meeting will be held

?

If you answered only this question your letter would be incomplete.

You should added information about a welcome message, information about parking space,

date, day and time of meeting.

Your message will then have something extra that the reader really needs and appreciates.

Example:

Fax 1 Incomplete QuestionPlease fax me the in return the departures from Lahore to

Karachi on 8 May.

In reply to the fax you would have to “give something extra”, as to times of day, airline flying

that route, costs and departure and arrival times.

Consideration:

Consideration means preparing every message with the message receiver in mind.

Don’t loose your temper.

Don’t accuse.

Don’t charge them without facts.

Consideration:

•You are foremost aware of their desires, problems, circumstances, emotions and probable

reaction to your thoughts.

•Handle the matter from their point of view.

•This thoughtful consideration is also called the ‘you-attitude’, the human touch or

understanding human nature.

Three specific ways to indicate consideration.

Focus on ‘you’ instead of ‘I’ or ‘we’.

Show audience benefit or interest in the receiver.

Emphasize positive, pleasant facts.

Focus on ‘you’ instead of ‘I’ or ‘we’

• Using ‘you’ does help project a you-attitude.

• Overuse can lead to negative reaction.

Focus on ‘you’ Instead of ‘I’ or ‘we’:

•To create considerate, audience-oriented messages, focus on how message receivers will

benefit, what they will receive, and what they want or need to know.

•In some cases this can be accomplished by emphasis; you may downplay your own

feelings to make a point

Concreteness:

Communicating concretely means being specific, definite and vivid rather than vague and

general.

Misunderstanding of words have produced tragedies both in war and in peace, in business

and non-business situations.

Concreteness:

•Communicating concretely means being specific, definite, and vivid rather than vague and

general.

•Often it means using denotative (direct, explicit, often dictionary-based) rather than

connotative words.

Concreteness:

•The benefits to business professionals of using

concrete facts and figures are

–Your receivers know exactly what is desired

–When you supply specifics for the reader you increase the likelihood of that you message

will be interpreted the way you intended.

The following guidelines should be followed to compose concrete, convincing messages.

•Use specific and figures.

•Put action to words

•Use vivid image building words.

Use specific facts and figures:

It is desirable to be precise and concrete both in written and oral technical communications.

Vague : Students’ GMAT scores are higher.

Concrete : In 1996 the GMAT scores averaged 600; by 1997 they had risen to 610.

Clarity :

Getting the meaning from your head accurately to the reader is the purpose if clarity.

Remember:

•Choose precise, concrete and familiar words

•Construct effective sentences and paragraphs

Choose Precise, Concrete and Familiar words:

•Clarity is achieved through a balance between precise language and familiar language

•When you have the choice between a long word and a short word, choose the short familiar

word

Golden Rule:

•When in doubt, use the more familiar words; audience will understand them better.

•For example

you must use pay instead of remuneration and invoice instead of statement of

payment

Example:

•Unfamiliar

After our perusal of pertinent data, the conclusion is that a lucrative market exists for

subject property.

•Familiar

The data we studied show that your property is profitable and in high demand.

Courtesy :

•True courtesy involves being aware not only of the perspectives of others, but also their

feelings.

•Knowing your audience allows you to use statements of courtesy.

•Be aware of your message receiver

Courtesy:

•Courtesy stems from a sincere you-attitude.

•It is not merely politeness with mechanical insertion of ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, although

applying socially accepted manners is a form of courtesy.

•Rather it is politeness that grows out of respect and concern for others.

Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative:

•Tact

Though very few people are intentionally abrupt or blunt, these negative traits are a

common cause of discourtesy.

Sometimes they stem from a mistaken idea of conciseness, sometimes from

negative personal attitudes etc.

Example:

•Tactless, blunt

Stupid letter; I did not understand any of it.

•More tactful

It’s my understanding…..

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