The ability to communicate effectively with others is considered a prized quality of the successful business people. To communicate easily and effectively with your readers, you should apply the Seven ‘C’ principles:
1. Completeness 5. Clarity
2. Conciseness 6. Courtesy
3. Consideration 7. Correctness
4. Concreteness
C1 => Completeness
Provide all necessary information.
Answer all questions asked.
Give something extra, when desirable.
Provide all necessary information
Your reader needs to know how much, what size, what type, and other details. To achieve this clarity, your message should answer the “five Ws and one H”
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
Answer all questions asked
Replying to an inquiry or request, answer all questions asked, and even anticipate the reader’s reaction by providing other relevant information.
Look for questions: some may even appear buried within a paragraph.
Open Questions
Closed Questions
Give something extra, when desirable.
Sometimes, as an intelligent writer, you know what your reader may need to know about any certain thing. In this case you must include anything that is of your reader’s benefit.
Use your good judgment while offering additional material.
What type of leave you availed?
Casual
C2 => Conciseness
Eliminate wordy expressions.
Include only relevant material.
Avoid unnecessary repetition.
Eliminate wordy expressions
To avoid wordy expressions, use single words whenever possible. Here are some examples of how word economy saves the reader’s time and effort.
• Wordy: I want to take this opportunity to tell you that we are grateful to you
• Concise: Thank you
• Wordy: We are grateful and appreciative
• Concise: We look forward with anticipation to…
• Wordy: At this time.
• Concise: Now…
Include only relevant material
Your reader will lose interest in your message if he/she finds irrelevant things in your message. Using only well-chosen words can help you convey relevant facts.
Avoid, information obvious to the reader.
Avoid long introduction, excessive adjectives, pompous works.
Course Introduction must not include Instructor Introduction.
Avoid unnecessary repetition
Avoid repetition by using pronouns, short names or acronyms, etc.
Stick to the purpose of the message.
Writing concisely means using only necessary, meaningful words.
Use NIC instead of whole detail…
I like Aslam. He is my best friend.
Unnecessary repletion leads to “DULLNESS”
C3 => Consideration
Focus on “You” instead of “I” or “We”.
Show audience benefit or interest in the receiver.
Emphasize positive, pleasant fact.
Focus on “You” instead of “I” or “We”
For writing considerate message, think how your reader will benefit from your messages. For example.
• ‘I’ or ‘We’ attitude: we are delighted to announce…..
• ‘You’ attitude: you will be pleased to know…….
Insensitive: You failed to enclose your check in the envelop.
Consideration: The check was not enclosed.
But in Groups and Teams… Take care.
Show audience benefit or interest
Your reader is likely to response positively when you show them benefits. Even in conveying unfavorable message to your reader, you can plan it in a way the reader finds some benefit in it.
WIIFM
“What's In It for Me”
A sprite
A burger
Emphasize positive, pleasant fact
Another way to show ‘you attitude’ for your reader is to present facts in a positive, pleasant way.
You are wearing a good dress.
You have obliged us many times.
Etc….
Negative: It is impossible to open an account for you today.
Positive: As soon as your signature card reaches us, we will gladly open your account.
C4 => Concreteness
Use specific facts and figures.
Put actions into verbs.
Choose vivid, image-building words.
Use specific facts and figures
Always use specific facts and figures in your messages. For example:
Vague: Please send us the following items by the end of this month.
Clear: The following items should reach us on or before 21 August.
Vague: She is a brain.
Clear: She secured 95% marks.
Put actions into verbs
Active verbs make writing forceful and more interesting to read or hear.
Passive: The proposal was approved.
Active: The general manager approved the proposal.
Passive: The tests were administered by the professors.
Active: Professors administered the tests.
Choose vivid, image-building words
Business writing uses less figurative language than does the world of fiction.
Sensory Appeal: It can appeal to one or more of the five senses…e.g.:
Bland: Secretary was tired after working before computer whole the day.
Vivid: The secretary’s face was wrinkled after working before computer the entire day.
Comparison: It can make an unclear idea clear…e.g.:
Bland: This is a long report.
Vivid: This letter is three times as long as you said it would be.
Bland: Student MCS scores are higher.
Vivid: In 1996 the MCS scores averaged 600; by 1997 they had risen to 610.
Figurative: It can make an idea vivid…e.g.:
Bland: Her work in group was exemplary.
Vivid: She was sparking plug of the group.
C5 => Clarity
Choose precise, concrete, and familiar words.
Construct effective sentences and paragraph.
Choose precise, concrete, and familiar words
Complex
- At a later date
- Statement of pay
- At the present
- Subsequent
- Remuneration
Simple
- Later
- Payroll
- Now
- After
- Pay
Construct effective sentences and paragraph
At the core of clarity is the sentence. A sentence moves thought clearly within a paragraph. Important characteristics are as follows:
– • Length (of a sentence 17 to 20 words)
– • Unity (One Main Idea)
– • Coherence (Correct arrangement to express intending meaning)
Coherence
• Vague: Being the chief executive, we can expect help from you.
• Clear: Being the chief executive, you can surely help us.
Emphasis
• Little Emphasis: The order was received and the manager started preparing for it.
• Better Emphasis: As the letter was received, the manager started preparing for it.
• Little Emphasis: Its better for you to do it.
• Better Emphasis: Your must do it.
Best emphasis on paragraph is formatting, tabs, alignments and, proper headings etc.
C6 => Courtesy
Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful, and appreciative.
Use expressions that show respect.
Choose nondiscriminatory expressions.
Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful, and appreciative
Sometimes you have to deal with unpleasant messages. Always remember that by using tact and being thoughtful you can convey anything, however unpleasant it may be, to your readers.
– Blunt: We have believed that the extent of your current obligations makes you a bad credit risk.
– Tactful: Our credit department believes that, because of your current obligations additional credit might be difficult for you to handle at this time.
– Blunt: I rewrote letter three times then point was clear.
– Tactful: I am sorry the point was not clear; here is another version.
Use expressions that show respect
Expressions like, ‘irresponsible’ or ‘I do not agree with’ etc., are annoying. Use expressions that show respect for your reader and help him think positively about your message.
Choose nondiscriminatory expressions
Courtesy also requires use of nondiscriminatory expressions that refer to any particular, gender, and race, ethnic. Origin, etc. For Example:
Chairman Chairperson
Manpower Worker
Salesman Sales Agent
C7 => Correctness
Use the right level of language.
Check accuracy of figures, facts, and words.
Maintain acceptable writing mechanics.
Use the right level of language
There are two types of writings: formal and informal. In formal writing, our style is un-conversational. In informal writing, we use words that are short, familiar and conversational.
A formal style is characterized by more complex sentences.
An informal style is characterized by Short words and sentences (Thanks a lot for your letter).
Contraction & Abbreviations (I haven’t, there’s) simple words.
Check accuracy of figures, facts, and words
Any mistakes in names, figures, facts, etc, can make your message unclear. Such mistakes can also create problems for you. Imagine if you write 2000 where you were supposed to write 200.
Mistakes in punctuation and capitalization must be avoided.
So be careful to:
Verify your statistical data.
Double-check your totals.
Avoid guessing at laws that have an Impact on you and your receiver.
Maintain acceptable writing mechanics
At the core of correctness is proper
– • Grammar
– • Punctuation
– • Spelling
Use word processors, Like MS Word.
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