Effective communication between a sender and receiver only occurs when there is an exchange of thoughts, ideas, and knowledge. Such that the intention of the conversation is fulfilled in its best manner. The seven C’s of communication provide a checklist to ensure you achieve the goal of your message. Understanding them will aid in you in communicating better as a writer and an entity.
What are the 7 c’s of Communication?
The 7 c’s of communication include:
Clear
For your message to be clear, it must answer “What is the purpose of communicating to this person”. Once you are unsure about your message, the audience will provide an unsure reaction.
To be clear, minimize the number of ideas in each sentence. Short and precise sentences demand the attention of your audience.
Leave no room for assumptions or “reading between the lines”. Your intended message must be clear, so the reader has the information they need to act.
Concise
This involves sticking to the point and making it brief. Avoid the use of filler words such as ‘you see’, ‘literally’, ‘basically’ or ‘I mean’. They make sentences long and exhausting to read.
Check your message for unnecessary sentences. Those that hold no significance to the purpose of the message.
Concrete
A concrete message allows your audience to form a picture of what you are telling them. The details and vivid facts on your message build itself to form a mental image of a certain concept or idea. To give your idea mass, use statistics, data, and analogy in your delivery.
Correct
When your content is correct, it fits your audience. Ensure you use technical terms that are parallel to your audience’s level of knowledge.
Furthermore, it is important to keenly go through your work and edit the grammatical errors and check that all names and titles are spelled correctly.
Coherent
This means your concept must be logical. All sentences, paragraphs are connected and and have a common point, the purpose of the message. This is achieved by maintaining a relevant tone and flow in your wording
Complete
A complete point can induce an action from the audience. When people are well informed, they take quick action towards change. Does your message include a “call to action,” so that your audience clearly knows what you want them to do? Including this aspect prevents hanging messages.
Courteous
Your communication needs to be polite, friendly, and open to attract engagement. It is important to ensure your audience is comfortable with your language for ease in comprehension.
From your formal to informal emails, the 7C’s of communication can be a helpful tool to help you draft better messages for your clientele.