Effective Communication — The upshot of 7C

“The Biggest communication problem is that we do not listen to understand. We listen to reply.”-Stephen R. Covey.

Communication is energy. Commonly defined as a transmission of any information either sending or receiving. Anything we want to achieve comes down to our communication skills only. The best communicators always get the highest grades and best jobs.

We have observed people who light up a room by walking through the door.

If we want to make it happen in our lives very effectively, the role of 7 C is very important to understand.

1. Clarity in Communication

Clarity is best achieved through short, simple, fluent sentences or paragraphs. Each part of your message construct should convey one clear message or thought. Don’t try to say too many things in one sentence, otherwise, it could muddle your main message. Too much information is also hard for others to register in one go. Make sure you are clear about what you want to convey as your message. Once that is done, keep your main objective in mind while you write or speak your message.

Imagination is the worst thing for any communication. If the recipient has to assume or guess what you mean, it will result in miscommunication. This will lead to either the wrong action or wasted time over clarifications.

Consider, for example, that you receive an email that says, ‘The project yesterday was bad. I will need more help from you.’ This message gives no indication or background information on what has happened or exactly what is expected. It leaves a lot of room for misinterpretation. Instead, try a message like this:

“This is to inform you that the meeting yesterday regarding client expectations did not go as expected. There is some new information that you should be aware of. Let me know a time when we can discuss this further.”

2. Correctness in Communication

Correctness refers to both factual and linguistic accuracy. All your information must be credible, backed by data, and grammatically sound. When you give information, simply making a statement may not seem credible or believable enough. However, backing that up with credible sources or facts makes accepting it easier.

Correctness also involves semantic barriers. Make sure you use language and terms that your audience can easily understand. Also, ensure you spell-check and fact-check before sharing any information. Every person you communicate with receives large amounts of information on a daily basis. Incorrect information might send the wrong message or not register at all.

One common mistake people make is addressing others. Make sure you address people the right way and ensure they have sufficient knowledge to understand your message. If they don’t understand your message, modify your message to help them understand better. At the end of the day, your goal is not writing out the most beautiful message. Your goal is to ensure people understand you.

3. Completeness in Communication

One thing that people miss out on in communication is that it is a two-way street. A complete message has all the information, facts, and context the recipient needs, including a call to action. It must convey the urgency of the task, all the parties and stakeholders involved, and the next step for the recipient to take to move the conversation forward. Your message must contain the information the other person needs so there is no room for assumptions and misunderstanding.

You wouldn’t, for example, walk into a room and declare that everyone should follow you to the conference hall. People normally prioritize tasks in their heads, and as soon as new tasks come up, they calculate which task is more important and urgent and prioritize that over the others. So, you need to give them enough information to decide and prioritize your task over the one they are currently doing. So, the right way to deliver your message would be to set the context, state the problem, and the time to execute it, followed by the call to action.

4. Conciseness in Communication

A longer message is not necessarily a better message. As the world is now used to social media and shorter forms of communication, they won’t normally read a longer message than it needs to be. Keep your message concise, to the point, and brief. This way, you avoid wasting your time and that of the person receiving the message.

One thing you should eliminate from all your communications as we advance is any form of filler phrases and words. Filler phrases include ‘I mean,’ ‘sort of,’ ‘really,’ ‘basically,’ and other phrases accentuating sentences. While they might sound like they are helping you be clearer in your communication, they undercut your tone and reduce your message’s impact. Filler phrases can also be identified at the start of sentences, in words like ‘in fact’ and ‘for instance.’

Another thing to check for is that you don’t repeat the same point throughout your conversation. Keeping your message concise and giving accurate, crisp information will be more impactful and get better results.

5. Concreteness in Communication

A concrete message is like a factsheet of words. It should be something you can clearly picture in your mind. You must believe your message and form a mental image before conveying it to anyone else. You also need to ensure that your audience can visualize your message so that they understand it better.

A concrete message includes facts and vivid graphic details without having uselessly elaborate details. This ensures your message is solid, without any gaps or scope of error. Concreteness in communication is something that advertising and marketing campaigns require very extensively. The passion points and psychological triggers they play to, need to be able to pull in the customer or audience, not push them away or bore them.

Throw in some graphic adjectives to make your message more concrete and ensure your CTA captures exactly how you want your audience to feel. For example, saying the Taj Hotel is nice might convey the message. However, saying that the Taj Hotel in Delhi is ‘an architectural marvel that punctuates the city’s bustle’ gives a robust sense of the hotel’s grandness.

6. Coherence in Communication

Syntax and flow are important parts of a well-formed message. Ensure all the information is grammatically correct and all the facts flow into each other. Without coherence, the reader will quickly lose interest or not fully grasp the message that you are trying to give.

Business heads and working professionals can process huge amounts of information simultaneously. However, depending on other factors, they may also get tired and lose focus, so you must ensure your message is not difficult to follow. You can improve readability by breaking down your text into paragraphs, using bullet points and lists, making tables, and highlighting key points.

The body of your message needs to be coherent, too. Information needs to be presented in a thought-through and easy-to-understand flow. First, the context is set, and the relevance of the communication is revealed. Then, follow it with the action that has taken place and conclude it with the next steps and the recipient’s expectations. This will ensure that your communication is understood and that your message has the desired impact.

7. Courteousness in Communication

Being polite and courteous is one of the most important skills needed in a professional workplace. A courteous message is written from the point of view of the audience. It is open, friendly, and honest, without any hidden meaning or message besides your words.

A courteous message helps maintain friendly relationships and increases your social currency. Using hidden messages or insults in your communication might make the other person feel bad, but it reflects badly on you, too. It makes you look petty and unprofessional. If you are a team leader sending a message to your team, a lack of courtesy can greatly drop morale and confidence and, consequently, reduce productivity.

Avoid using accusatory or judgmental tones in your message. ‘Your team never responds to my queries’ is a problem statement, but it must be expressed courteously. A better way would be, ‘While I understand your team is busy, I am on a deadline and would appreciate a prompt response.’ This message highlights the problem, offers a solution, and does so without aggression or anger.

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