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 we need to know about the 7 Cs of Communication. The 7 Cs provide a checklist for making sure that your thinking 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 we need to know about the 7 Cs of Communication. The 7 Cs 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.Messages must always be CLEAR.
According to the 7 Cs, communication needs to be:
In this article, we look at each of the 7 Cs of Communication, and we'll illustrate each element with both good and bad examples.
1. Clear -When writing or speaking to someone, be clear about your goal or message. What is your purpose in communicating with this person? If you're not sure, then your audience won't be sure either.To be clear, try to minimize the number of ideas in each sentence. Make sure that it's easy for your reader to understand your meaning. People shouldn't have to "read between the lines" to understand what you're trying to say.
Bad Example
Hi Nirved,
I wanted to write you a quick note about Yogo, who's working in your department. He's a great asset, and I'd like to talk to you more about him when you have time.
Best,
Skip
What is this email about? Well, we're not sure. First, if there are multipleYogo in Nirved department, Nirved won't know who Skip is talking about.
Next, what is yogo doing, specifically, that's so great? We don't know that either. It's so vague that Nirved will definitely have to write back for more information.
Last, what is the purpose of this email? Does Skip simply want to have an idle chat about Yogo, or is there some more specific goal here? There's no sense of purpose to this message, so it's quite confusing.
Good Example
Let's see how we could change this email to make it clear.
Hi Nirved,
I wanted to write you a quick note about Yogo jaiswal, who's working in your department. In recent weeks, he's helped the IT department through several pressing deadlines on his own time.
We've got a tough upgrade project due to run over the next three weeks, and his knowledge and skills would prove invaluable. Could we please have his help with this work?
I'd appreciate speaking with you about this. When is it best to call you to discuss this further?
Best wishes,
Skip
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 six sentences when you could communicate your message in three.
Are there any adjectives or "filler words" that you can delete? You can often eliminate words like "for instance," "you see," "definitely," "kind of," "literally," "basically," or "I mean."
Are there any unnecessary sentences?
Have you repeated the point several times, in different ways?
Bad Example
Hi Mahi,
I wanted to touch base with you about the email marketing campaign we kind of sketched out last Thursday. I really think that our target market is definitely going to want to see the company's philanthropic efforts. I think that could make a big impact, and it would stay in their minds longer than a sales pitch.
For 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 just be greater.
What do you think?
Bharti
This email is too long! There's repetition, and there's plenty of "filler" taking up space.
Good Example
Watch what happens when we're concise and take out the filler words:
Hi Mahi,
I wanted to quickly discuss the email marketing campaign that we analyzed last Thursday. Our 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?
Bharti
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.
Bad Example
Consider this advertising copy:
The Lunchbox Wizard will save you time every day. A 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
How much time do you spend every day packing your kids' lunches? No more! Just take a complete Lunchbox Wizard from your refrigerator each day to give your kids a healthy lunch AND have more time to play or read with them!
This copy is better because there are vivid images. The audience can picture spending quality time with their kids - and what parent could argue with that? And mentioning that the product is stored in the refrigerator explains how the idea is practical. The message has come alive through these details.
