7c's / Pre-requisites of Communication

7C's of communication is also known as pre-requisite of communication. The other name of 7c,s is the principles of communication

1. Completeness:

When your message is complete through each and every aspect is called completeness. if the message is complete it will be very helpful in cost reduction and it will increase the good will of the person who is writing and also increase the Goodwill of organization, a message will be consider complete when the following items are ensure in the message . Make sure you have included all the information the reader needs to know. (Do not include those details that are interesting but are not relevant.) The biggest problem with ignoring or leaving out information is that the reader has to make assumptions. For example, do not say, “When we last told about the situation,” when you can say, “When we told on June 8 about hiring a new administrative assistant.” Remember that the reader can not read your mind. Only the reader can guess at what you left out. In order to have completeness follow the following suggestions.

· Provide all the necessary information.

Provide all necessary information so that the receiver should not write again to ask some thing, if you answer the five W questions you are going towards completeness (When ,what, who, where, why)

· Answer all questions asked

Focus on the questions asked by the receiver, reply each and every question separately so that the receiver can understand completely, and its more better to use simple language.

Answer the following question.

Quality of the product
What are the term and condition
What about delivery method
What are the prices etc

· Give something extra ,when desirable

Give some extra information if it is required e.g if a person want to open account with the bank the banker must provide the information about all the accounts.etc

2. Conciseness:

Conciseness mean when our Message is short but comprehensive, the message which is written may be short but it must contain the entire necessary information .A concise letter eliminates all the words which is not necessary. Why use four words, “due to fact that,” when you can use one word, “because”? This is not to say that you can’t write long letters, but the longer the letter, the more ineffective it becomes. It is better to write a short letter with attachments than a long, detailed one. Short letters are read and remembered; long letters are skimmed.

Advantages

Save Time
Reduce Cost Of The Message

If you want your message to be concise use the followings,

· Eliminate wordy expressions

Wordy expression Short

Due to fact that (because)

Have need for (need)

In due course (soon)

At this time (now)

· Include only Relevant Material

Stick to the purpose of the message i.e

Lengthy:

We here by wish to let you know that we have a long time in business relation we supported you in every bad situation…..

Short: (we appreciate your confidence)

· Avoid unnecessary repetition

Use shorter names

Use short name like NWFP instead of North West Frontier Province.

Use pronouns: use he, she instead of complete name every time.

3. Consideration:

Consideration means keeping in view the receiver in the mind while writing the message i.e when someone is writing the message he should think about the receiver’s thinking opinion liking and disliking attitude environment etc in order to bring consideration use the following techniques.

i) Focus on “ U” attitude instead of “I” attitude

when we are writing a message we should keep in mind the reader that what he like and what he does not like we should keep in mind the receivers benefits, try to offer benefits, do not talk for yourself or your interests.

ii) Show audience benefit:

You should consider the benefit of other people you should explain the benefits of the other people that how it will help them. i.e if you want to sell goods and services you should tell your customer about the product benefits. But the benefits should match the receiver.

1) Emphasis positive and pleasant facts:

Negative: We do not accept if the return items are soiled and unsellable.

Positive: We return if the return items are clear and saleable.

Negative: We can’t open an account for you at this time

Positive: We can open your account as soon as your signature card reaches us.

4. Concreteness:

When our message is clear, vivid, specific and definite .when our message is free from any doubt and ambiguity .We should use denotative words instead of connotative. Use specific terms that cannot be misunderstood. Don’t say, “The large order that we requested has not arrived.” Say, “The order for 10,000 basins that we requested on May 3, 2012, has not arrived as of June 20.” Identify names and numbers. Write about what people can count or do. Include what people can see, touch, smell, taste or hear. In other words, make your language tangible. Make it concrete.

i) Use specific facts and figure

Do not use such words which create doubt in the mind like female (daughter or woman)

The following words are unspecific which should be avoided, Example are given as under

Little, small, few, soon, early, high, almost, several, about.

How much little how much small etc

ii) Put action in verb:

We should use active voice instead of passive voice because in active voice the subject is an action.

I write a letter (use this)

A letter is written by me

2) I read a book (use this)

A book is read by me

3) Choose image building words

Like grace, majesty, honorable etc

5.Clarity:

When we convey message successfully from our mind into the mind of the receivers is called clarity. The goal of clarity is that the reader understands precisely what you are saying. The language of your letter should be adapted to the recipient. This means that you write in a matter-of-fact, conversational tone. Use specific examples the reader can relate to. Don’t assume that your reader understands the tone of your trade. Remember, most letters will be read by people other than the recipient of the letter. These people may be unfamiliar with the technical language or jargon you use. Clarity also means organizing your letter so each paragraph deals with only one main idea and presenting your ideas in a logical order. Your letter should not be a collection of random ideas. It should be single-minded in its purpose.

1) Choose precise concrete and familiar words

Use Simple, Euphemism, doubtless words must not be used like the following words

Latin words Familiar Words

Circa : (Famous)
Subsequent; (after)
Domicile; (home)

2) Construct effective sentences and paragraphs:

The following [points should be kept in mind:

The Length:

The length of the sentence must not be exceed from 17 to20 words .The lines in one paragraph should not exceed from 3.5 lines otherwise it will be boring .

Unity:

The sentences should be interconnected with each other, there should be one idea which will be the main and other ideas must be related to it.

3) Coherence:

In a coherence sentence the words should be in arrange form so that the ideas clearly express the intended meanings.

Ahmad is a nice boy.

4) Emphasis: Put the main idea up front with in a sentence.

6. Courtesy:

When we use politeness and respect in our message is called courtesy.

Understand the receiver’s feeling:

In certain situation we should carefully highlight the receiver feelings how he will feel if the situation is angriness, gloomy and sad, how he will feel if the situation is happiness, pleasant etc use the words which can increase the sympathy of the reader. We should keep in mind the receiver that what he will be thinking it this time.

Adopt social accepted manners:

If we use socially acceptable manners our receiver will definitely respect us and will be happy, in writing we should use the words which are socially acceptable otherwise people will mind it. Focus on the following examples.

Avoid Use

fresh man ( 1^st year student)
main power (worker, employees, person)
man made (manufactured constructed)

7. Correctness:

When we use the right level of language, grammar, punctuation etc than the message will be known as correct message.

The last step in writing any business letter is to proofread it. You automatically check your image in a Mirror before going out or meeting someone. The letter you send is your image on paper. If it is riddled with spelling, grammatical and typographical errors, it will detract from what you are trying to get across. The reaction will be, “He can’t spell,”

There are three kind of language which can be used

1 Formal language

2 Informal language

3 Substandard language

Formal language is used for top level management agreements, legal documents, scholarly articles. Informal is more characteristic of business writings, we use short words, well known words, etc

Substandard language should be avoided we use words which are often mind by people.

More formal less formal

1 participate join

2 procure get

3 utilize use

Substandard More Acceptable

Can’t hardly can hardly

Stoled stolen

Should of should have

KHYBER ACADEMY