The 7 Cs of Communication

A Checklist for Clear Communication

Think of how often you communicate with people during your day. You write emails, facilitate meetings, participate in conference calls, create reports, devise presentations, debate with your colleagues the list goes on. We can spend almost our entire day communicating. So, how can we provide a huge boost to our productivity? We can make sure that we communicate in the clearest, most effective way possible. This is why the !s of !ommunication are helpful. The !s provide a checklist for making sure that your meetings , emails , conference calls , reports , and presentations are well constructed and clear " so your audience gets your message. #ccording to the !s, communication needs to be$ %. !lear. &. !oncise. '. !oncrete. (. !orrect. ). !oherent. *. !omplete. . !ourteous. +n this article, we look at each of the !s of !ommunication, and we,ll illustrate each element with both good and bad e-amples.

1. Clear
When writing or speaking to someone, be clear about your goal or message. What is your purpose in communicating with this person? +f you,re not sure, then your audience won,t be sure either. To be clear, try to minimi.e the number of ideas in each sentence. /ake sure that it,s easy for your reader to understand your meaning. 0eople shouldn,t have to 1read between the lines1 and make assumptions on their own to understand what you,re trying to say. Bad Example 2i #li, + wanted to write you a 3uick note about 4aniel, who,s working in your department. 2e,s a great asset, and +,d like to talk to you more about him when you have time. 5est, 6ulfi3ar What is this email about? Well, we,re not sure. 7irst, if there are multiple 4aniels in 8ohn,s department, 8ohn won,t know who Skip is talking about. 9e-t, what is 4aniel doing, specifically, that,s so great? We don,t know that either. +t,s so vague that 8ohn will definitely have to write back for more information. :ast, what is the purpose of this email? 4oes Skip simply want to have an idle chat about 4aniel, or is there some more specific goal here? There,s no sense of purpose to this message, so it,s a bit confusing. Good Example 2i #li, + wanted to write you a 3uick note about 4aniel ;edar, who,s working in your department. +n recent weeks, he,s helped the +T department through several pressing deadlines on his own time. We,ve got a tough upgrade pro<ect due to run over the ne-t three months, and his knowledge and skills would prove invaluable. !ould we please have his help with this work? +,d appreciate speaking with you about this. When is it best to call you to discuss this further? 5est wishes, 6ulif3ar This second message is much clearer, because the reader has the information he needs to take action.

2. Concise
When you,re concise in your communication, you stick to the point and keep it brief. Your audience doesn,t want to read si- sentences when you could communicate your message in three. #re there any ad<ectives or 1filler words1 that you can delete? You can often eliminate words like 1for instance,1 1you see,1 1definitely,1 1kind of,1 1literally,1 1basically,1 or 1+ mean.1 #re there any unnecessary sentences? 2ave you repeated the point several times, in different ways? Bad Example 2i #kbar, + wanted to touch base with you about the email marketing campaign we kind of sketched out last Thursday. + really think that our target market is definitely going to want to see the company,s philanthropic efforts. + think that could make a big impact, and it would stay in their minds longer than a sales pitch. 7or instance, if we talk about the company,s efforts to become sustainable, as well as the charity work we,re doing in local schools, then the people that we want to attract are going to remember our message longer. The impact will <ust be greater. What do you think? 6ainab This email is too long= There,s repetition, and there,s plenty of 1filler1 taking up space. Good Example Watch what happens when we,re concise and take out the filler words$ 2i #kbar, + wanted to 3uickly discuss the email marketing campaign that we analy.ed last Thursday. >ur target market will want to know about the company,s philanthropic efforts, especially our goals to become sustainable and help local schools. This would make a far greater impact, and it would stay in their minds longer than a traditional sales pitch. What do you think? 6ainab

3. Concrete
When your message is concrete, then your audience has a clear picture of what you,re telling them. There are details ?but not too many=@ and vivid facts, and there,s laserlike focus. Your message is solid. Bad Example !onsider this advertising copy$ The :unchbo- Wi.ard will save you time every day. # statement like this probably won,t sell many of these products. There,s no passion, no vivid detail, nothing that creates emotion, and nothing that tells people in the audience why they should care. This message isn,t concrete enough to make a difference. Good Example 2ow much time do you spend every day packing your kids, lunches? 9o more= 8ust take a complete :unchbo- Wi.ard from your refrigerator each day to give your kids a healthy lunch #94 have more time to play or read with them= This copy is better because there are vivid images. The audience can picture spending 3uality time with their kids " and what parent could argue with that? #nd mentioning that the product is stored in the refrigerator e-plains how the idea is practical. The message has come alive through these details.

4. Correct
When your communication is correct, it fits your audience. #nd correct communication is also errorAfree communication. 4o the technical terms you use fit your audience,s level of education or knowledge? 2ave you checked your writing for grammatical errors? Bemember, spell checkers won,t catch everything. #re all names and titles spelled correctly? Bad Example 2i +rti.a, Thanks so much for meeting me at lunch today= + en<oyed our conservation, and +,m looking forward to moving ahead on our pro<ect. +,m sure that the twoAweak deadline won,t be an issue. Thanks again, and +,ll speak to you soon= 5est, /urta.a +f you read that e-ample fast, then you might not have caught any errors. 5ut on closer inspection, you,ll find two. !an you see them? The first error is that the writer accidentally typed conservation instead of conversation. This common error can happen when you,re typing too fast. The other error is using weak instead of week. #gain, spell checkers won,t catch word errors like this, which is why it,s so important to proofread everything=

. Coherent
When your communication is coherent, it,s logical. #ll points are connected and relevant to the main topic, and the tone and flow of the te-t is consistent. Bad Example 7atima, + wanted to write you a 3uick note about the report you finished last week. + gave it to /ichelle to proof, and she wanted to make sure you knew about the department meeting we,re having this 7riday. We,ll be creating an outline for the new employee handbook. Thanks, ;ulsoom #s you can see, this email doesn,t communicate its point very well. Where is /ichelle,s feedback on Traci,s report? She started to mention it, but then she changed the topic to 7riday,s meeting. Good Example 2i 7atima, + wanted to write you a 3uick note about the report you finished last week. + gave it to /ichelle to proof, and she let me know that there are a few changes that you,ll need to make. She,ll email you her detailed comments later this afternoon. Thanks, ;ulsoom 9otice that in the good e-ample, ;ulsoom does not mention 7riday,s meeting. This is because the meeting reminder should be an entirely separate email. This way, 7atima can delete the report feedback email after she makes her changes, but save the email about the meeting as her reminder to attend. Cach email has only one main topic.

!. Complete
+n a complete message, the audience has everything they need to be informed and, if applicable, take action. 4oes your message include a 1call to action1, so that your audience clearly knows what you want them to do? 2ave you included all relevant information " contact names, dates, times,locations, and so on? Bad Example 2i everyone, + <ust wanted to send you all a reminder about the meeting we,re having tomorrow= See you then, 2aider This message is not complete, for obvious reasons. What meeting? When is it? Where? !hris has left his team without the necessary information. Good Example 2i everyone, + <ust wanted to remind you about tomorrow,s meeting on the new telecommuting policies. The meeting will be at %D$DD a.m. in the secondAlevel conference room. 0lease let me know if you can,t attend. See you then, 2aider

7. Courteous
!ourteous communication is friendly, open, and honest. There are no hidden insults or passiveAaggressive tones. You keep your reader,s viewpoint in mind, and you,re empathetic to their needs. Bad Example 8affar + wanted to let you know that + don,t appreciate how your team always monopoli.es the discussion at our weekly meetings. + have a lot of pro<ects, and + really need time to get my team,s progress discussed as well. So far, thanks to your department, + haven,t been able to do that. !an you make sure they make time for me and my team ne-t week? Thanks, 2ussain Well, that,s hardly courteous= /essages like this can potentially start office wide fights. #nd this email does nothing but create bad feelings, and lower productivity and morale. # little bit of courtesy, even in difficult situations, can go a long way. Good Example 2i 8affar, + wanted to write you a 3uick note to ask a favor. 4uring our weekly meetings, your team does an e-cellent <ob of highlighting their progress. 5ut this uses some of the time available for my team to highlight theirs. +,d really appreciate it if you could give my team a little e-tra time each week to fully cover their progress reports. Thanks so much, and please let me know if there,s anything + can do for you= 5est, 2usain

What a difference= This email is courteous and friendly, and it has little chance of spreading bad feelings around the office.

"ote#
There are a few variations of the !s of !ommunication$ Credi$le " 4oes your message improve or highlight your credibility? This is especially important when communicating with an audience that doesn,t know much about you. Creati%e " 4oes your message communicate creatively? !reative communication helps keep your audience engaged.

&e' (oints
#ll of us communicate every day. The better we communicate, the more credibility we,ll have with our clients, our boss, and our colleagues. Ese the !s of !ommunication as a checklist for all of your communication. 5y doing this, you,ll stay clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, and courteous.