The document discusses the principles of effective communication. It outlines the "Seven C's" which are completeness, conciseness, consideration, concreteness, clarity, courtesy and correctness. Each C is then defined and examples are provided. Completeness means including all necessary information for the intended purpose. Conciseness means using as few words as possible. Consideration means focusing on the needs of the audience. Concreteness requires using specific details and examples. Clarity means ensuring the meaning is understood accurately. Courtesy involves being respectful and tactful. Correctness refers to proper grammar, spelling and accurate facts.

1. Principles of Effective
Communication
(

2. ‘ Economy of Words’
Thoughtfulness of words is very important .
Do You think/plan before you Speak /Write
?

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

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

5. 1) Completeness
 A message is complete when it contains all facts the
reader or listener needs for the reaction you desire.
 Message receiver, either listener or reader, desires
complete information.
Example:
 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.

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

7. Rudyard Kipling’s Six Friends
I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
I send them over land and sea,
I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
I give them all a rest.

8. Six Friends in Effective
Communication
What =C
Why =P
When=T
How = W
Where =P
Who = A

9. Six Friends in Effective
Communication
What =Content
Why =Purpose
When=Time
How = Way
Where =Place
Who = Audience

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

11. ……. 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.

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

13. Churchill and Pascal
Shorter is harder.
Churchill
20 min= 2 Days
2 hours=now
Pascal =
“I have only made this letter longer because
I have not had the time to make it shorter."
(Letter 16, 1657)

14. 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.

15. 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(dull), unnecessary expressions
 Wordy :Please be advised that your admission statement
was received.
 Concise: Your admission statement has been received.
 Wordy : Allow me to say how helpful your response
was.
Concise : Your last response was helpful.

16. ……Continued
 Avoid overusing empty phrases.
• Wordy: It was known by Mr. Aslam that we must reduce
inventory.
Concise: Mr. Aslam 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(hard to find).
Omit ‘which’ and ‘that’ clauses whenever possible:
Wordy: She bought desks that are of the executive type.
Concise: She bought executive –type desks.

17. Include only relevant information
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.

18. 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.

19. Avoid unnecessary Repetition
Sometimes repetition is necessary for
emphasis.
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.

20. Some ways to eliminate unnecessary words
 Use shorter name after you have mentioned the
long one once.
 Instead of North Central Company use North
Central.
 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)

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

22. ……… Continued
 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.

23.  “You” can be insensitive in negative situations.
Moreover messages that contain “we” can be receiver
oriented if we includes the recipient of the message.
 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.
 Insensitive: You failed to enclose your cheque in the
envelope.
 Considerate: The cheque was not enclosed.(passive
voice)
 Considerate: The envelope we received did not have a
cheque in it. (depersonalized)
………Continued

24.  Show audience benefit or interest in the receiver.
 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.
 If you are writing to a large group or a person , try to
personalize the reader benefits instead of stating them in
general way.

25.  Emphasize positive, pleasant facts.
 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.

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

27.  Use specific facts and figures.
Whenever possible use concrete facts and figures in
place of general statements in oral as well as written
communication.
 Vague statement: Students’ GMAT scores are higher.
 Concrete/precise statement: In 2009 the GMAT
scores averaged 600; by 2010 they had risen to 610.
 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

28.  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

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

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

31. Technical terms should be avoided or must be
explained during the document rather than
later.
Understanding the receiver helps in choosing
appropriate and familiar words.
Construct effectively sentences and
paragraphs (length , unity , coherence )
Achieve appropriate readability.
Include examples, visual aids, pictures,
illustrations whenever required.

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

33. Courtesy
 Being abrupt or blunt shows your discourtesy.
 Being unaware of cultural differences may lead
you towards discourteous behavior. e.g.
Tactless : I rewrote that letter three times to make the
point clear.
Tactful: I am sorry the point was not clear here is
another clear version.

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

35. 7) Correctness

36. 7) Correctness
 At the core of correctness is
correct grammar, punctuation and spelling.
 You lose your credibility if the message is not
correct.
 Message must be perfect grammatically and
mechanically
 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

37. 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?

38. 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 Formal less formal
Participate Join
Endeavor try
Ascertain find out
Utilize use
Interrogate question

39. 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:
Substandard More Acceptable
Can’t hardly can hardly
Aim to proving aim to prove
Desirous to desirous of
Stoled stolen

40. 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

41. 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, An use a before consonants and
consonants sounds or a long ” u”
sound. Use an before vowels.
Accept, except accept is a verb and means to
receive. except is a verb or a
preposition and relates to
omitting or leaving out.
Anxious, eager Anxious implies worry, eager
conveys keen desire

42. The End
Thank You