1. 7 C’s of Effective Communication (The principles of communication providing guidelines for choice of content and style of presentation, adapted to the purpose and receiver of your message.)

2. Seven C’s 4 When we talk about “ Effective Communication”, one thing that comes to our mind is what the basic principles of “effective communication” are. 4 These principles tell us how your message can become effective for your target audience. 4 They also shed light on the style and importance of message. 4 These principles are commonly known as 7 C’s of effective communication.

3. Seven C’s of Effective Communication 1.Completeness 2.Conciseness 3.Consideration 4.Concreteness 5.Clarity 6.Courtesy 7.Correctness

4. 1) Completeness 4 A message is complete when it contains all facts the reader or listener needs for the reaction you desire. 4 Message receiver, either listener or reader, desires complete information. Example: 4 Suppose you are working for a multinational company which is engaged with engineering goods, like A.C. One of your major customers wants some technical information regarding “thermostat” (because he wants to convey the same to the end users ). In this case you have to provide him complete information in a short span of time.

5. ………Continued 4 If possible, provide him some extra information which he does not know,. 4 In this way you can maintain good business relations with him; otherwise, he may switch to an other company. 4 Completeness offers numerous benefits as it helps: tachieve desired result without the expense of additional messages. tbuild goodwill between the sender and receiver. tavert costly lawsuits which may result if important information is missing. tshow concern for the receiver.

6. Five W’s 4 One way to make your message complete is to answer the five W’s. 4 WHO? 4 WHAT? 4 WHEN? 4 WHERE? 4 WHY? 4 The five-question method is useful when you write requests, announcements, or other informative messages. 4 For instance, to order (request) merchandise, make clear WHAT you want, WHEN u need it, WHERE it is to be sent.

7. ……. Continued At the end we can say that, you must provide the receiver: 1. all necessary information requested by him. 2. Answers to all questions carefully 3. some more information, which he is not requiring, just to maintain good relations.

8. 2) Conciseness 4 Conciseness is saying what you have to say in the fewest possible words. 4 It is the prerequisite to effective internal and external communication. 4 A concise message saves time and expenses for both sender and receiver. 4 It contributes to emphasis----- important ideas stand out.

9. How to achieve conciseness ? To achieve conciseness, you have to consider the following. 1.Avoid wordy expression 2.Include only relevant material 3.Avoid unnecessary repetition.

10. Avoid Wordy Expression  Use single word substitutes instead of phrases. Wordy : At this time Concise : Now Wordy: Due to the fact that Concise: Because.  Omit trite, unnecessary expressions s Wordy :Please be advised that your admission statement was received. s Concise: Your admission statement has been received. s Wordy : Allow me to say how helpful your response was. Concise : Your last response was helpful.

11. ……Continued  Avoid overusing empty phrases. Wordy: It was known by Mr. Aslam that we must reduce inventory. Concise: Mr. Smith knew we must reduce inventory.  Replace wordy conventional statements with concise versions. Wordy: Please find attached the list you requested. Concise: The list you requested is attached. Wordy: Such refreshing comments are few and far between. Concise: Such refreshing comments are scarce.  Omit ‘which’ and ‘that’ clauses whenever possible: Wordy: She bought desks that are of the executive type. Concise: She bought executive –type desks.

12. Include only relevant information 4 Always try to provide only relevant information to the receiver of the message. –Stick to the purpose of message –Delete irrelevant words –Avoid long introduction, unnecessary explanation etc. –Get to the important point concisely.

13. Examples: Wordy: 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. 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 personnel interview. Concise: Please return the enclosed interview card to set up a convenient time for an interview.

14. Avoid unnecessary Repetition 4 Sometimes repetition is necessary for emphasis. 4 But when the same thing is said two or three times without any reasons, the message become wordy and boring. Therefore, try to avoid unnecessary repetition.

15. Some ways to eliminate unnecessary words 4 Use shorter name after you have mentioned the long one once. 4 Instead of North Central Company use North Central. 4 Use pronouns or initials E.g. Instead of world trade organization use WTO or You can use IT for Information Technology. (Keeping in view the fact that receiver knows about these terms)

16. 3) Consideration 4 Preparing every message with the message receiver in mind. 4 Specific ways to indicate consideration are as follows: t Focus on “You” instead of “I” and “We”. t Show audience benefit or interest in the receiver. t Emphasize positive, pleasant facts. t Focus on “You” instead of “I” and “We”. t Using “You” does help project a you –attitude, but overuse can lead to a negative reaction.

17. ……… Continued 4 Creating you-attitude may require avoiding telling others how they feel, assuming you know their needs. We- attitude: I am delighted to announce that we will be extending our hours to make shopping more convenient. You- attitude: You will be able to shop evenings with the extended hours. I -attitude: I live less than 15 minutes from your office, which is convenient for me. You-attitude: Your location is so convenient, I would have no trouble arriving on time, even in bad weather.

18. 4 “You” can be insensitive in negative situations. Moreover messages that contain “we” can be receiver oriented if we includes the recipient of the message. 4 The use of you in negative situations can be avoided by employing the passive voice, making the receiver part of a group, or depersonalizing the situation. 4 Insensitive: You failed to enclose your check in the envelop. 4 Considerate: The check was not enclosed.(passive voice) 4 Considerate: The envelope we received did not have a check in it. (depersonalized) ………Continued

19. 4 Show audience benefit or interest in the receiver. 4 Readers may react positively when benefits are shown them. E.g. “You will be glad to know that we now have a walk-up window open 7-9a.m. and 3-8p.m. 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 7-9 a.m. and 3-8 p.m. Monday through Friday. 4 If you are writing to a large group or a person, try to personalize the reader benefits instead of stating them in general way.

20. 4 Emphasize positive, pleasant facts. 4 Accent the positive things i.e. stress on what can be done instead of what cannot be done. Negative –Unpleasant: It is impossible to open an account for you today. Positive-pleasant: As soon as your signature card reaches us, we will gladly open an account for you. Another message with negative tone. we regret that since you closed your account your name will be missing from our long list of satisfied customers. We sincerely hope that despite the best efforts of our fine staff there were no occasions on which you felt we failed to serve you properly.

21. 4) Concreteness 4 Being concrete means being specific, definite and vivid rather than vague and general. 4 Misunderstandings of words have produced tragedies in both war and peace, in business and non business situations. 4 Use denotative words instead of connotative words to gain concreteness. 4 Using obvious words let your receiver know exactly what is desired. Guidelines for composing concrete and convincing message. 4 Use specific facts and figures. 4 Put actions in your verbs. 4 Choose vivid, image –building words.

22. 4 Use specific facts and figures. Whenever possible use concrete facts and figures in place of general statements in oral as well as written communication. 4 Vague statement: Students’ GMAT scores are higher. 4 Concrete/precise statement: In 2009 the GMAT scores averaged 600; by 2010 they had risen to 610. 4 Put actions in your verbs. Be,give, have, hold, make,put and take can be designated as “deadly” verbs when the action they introduce is hidden in a “quiet” noun. Guidelines for composing concrete messages

23. 4 E.g. Action hidden in quiet noun: the function of this office the collection of payments and the compilation of statements. Action in the verbs: This office collects payments and compiles statements. Put actions in Verbs, not in Infinitives Action hiding in infinitive: The duty of the secretary is to check all incoming mail and to record it. In addition it is his/her responsibility to keep the assignment book up to date. Action in the verb: A secretary checks and records all incoming mail and keeps the assignment book up to date. Guidelines for composing concrete messages

24. 5) Clarity Getting the meaning in the head of receiver accurately.

25. 4 Choose precise, concrete and familiar words. 4 Easily understandable and appropriate for the situation. 4 Short VS. Long sentences 4 When uncertain, use familiar words. e.g. 4 Unfamiliar: After our perusal of pertinent data the conclusion is that a lucrative market exists for the subject properly. 4 Familiar : The data we studied show that your property is profitable and in high demand. Clarity

26. 4 Technical terms should be avoided or must be explained during the document rather than later. 4 Understanding the receiver helps in choosing appropriate and familiar words. 4 Construct effectively sentences and paragraphs (length, unity, coherence & unity) 4 Length: 17-20 words. If it exceeds 40 words or less than 10 words?

27. 4 Knowing your audience allows you to use statements of courtesy. 4 Being courteous means to say “sorry” or “thank you” ? 4 Politeness that grows out of respects and concern for others. 4 Guidelines to achieve courteous manner 4 Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative. 4 Use expressions that show respect. 4 Choose nondiscriminatory expressions. 6. Courtesy (to know other’s perspectives and feelings)

28. Courtesy Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative. Tactful 4 Being abrupt or blunt shows your discourtesy. 4 Being unaware of cultural differences may lead you towards discourteous behaviour. e.g. Tactless : I rewrote that letter three times the point was clear. Tactful: I am sorry the point was not clear here is another clear version.

29. …..Continued 4 Thoughtfulness and appreciation 4 Cordial and courteous messages help in building good will. 4 Use expressions that show respect. 4 Offending messages must be avoided. 4 Omit irritating expressions 4 I don’t agree with you VS. the fact that 4 Irresponsible VS. You forgot to 4 Omit questionable humour Laughter to one person is disgust for another

30. 7) Correctness

31. 4 At the core of correctness is correct grammar, punctuation and spelling. 4 Message must be perfect grammatically and mechanically 4 The term correctness, as applied to business messages also mean three characteristics o Use the right level of language o Check the accuracy of figures, facts and words o Maintain acceptable writing mechanics

32. Use the right Level of Language There are three levels of language: 1. Formal 2. Informal 3. Substandard. Make a quick guess: What kind of writing is associated with each level? What is the style of each?

33. Formal and Informal Words Formal writing is often associated with scholarly writing: doctoral dissertations, scholarly, legal documents, top- level government agreements and other materials where formality is demanded. Informal writing is more characteristic of business writing. Here you use words that are short, well-known and conversational as in this comparison list: More Formalless formal ParticipateJoin Endeavortry Ascertainfind out Utilizeuse Interrogatequestion

34. Substandard Language Avoid substandard language. Using inappropriate words, incorrect grammar, faulty pronunciation suggest that the writer is unable to use good English. Some examples are as follows: SubstandardMore Acceptable Can’t hardlycan hardly Aim to provingaim to prove Desirous to desirous of Stoledstolen

35. Facts and Figures Accuracy Check accuracy of facts, figures and words It is impossible to convey meaning precisely, through words, from the head of the sender to a receiver. Our goal is to be as precise as possible, which means checking and double-checking to ensure that the figures, facts and words you use are correct. “A good check of your 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, the sender and your  Have someone else read your message if the topic involves data.  Determine whether a “fact” has changed over time

36. Proper Use of Confusing Words ! Our Language (any) is constantly changing. In fact, even dictionaries cannot keep up with the rapid change in our language. The following words often confuse: A, Anuse a before consonants and consonants sounds or a long ” u” sound. Use an before vowels. Accept, exceptaccept is a verb and means to receive. except is a verb or a preposition and relates to omitting or leaving out. Anxious, eagerAnxious implies worry, eager conveys keen desire

37. The End Thank You