Basic Principles of

Communication

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THE SEVEN C’s OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

COMPLETENESS
CONCISENESS
CONSIDERATION
CONCRETENESS
CLARITY
COURTESY
CORRECTNESS

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 1. COMPLETENESS
• Sender and receiver differ in their mental
filters, family backgrounds, emotions, view
points, needs experience, attitudes, status,
age etc.
• A message is complete when it:
Provide all necessary information
• For writing requests announcements and
other information messages and five W’s
questions are necessary to be answered.

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 Answer all questions asked
• Located buried and implied questions and reply
answers precisely.
• Omissions cast suspicions.
• For unfavorable information reply with tact and
honestly.
 Give something entire when desirable
• When the entire message is incomplete or when
you think it appropriate to complete .
• Use good judgment in offering additional material
if the sender message was incomplete.

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• Suppose you are the president of Scorpion Club
and you receive this inquiry from an out-town
fellow:
• I’m new to the city and would like to consider
joining your club. As I will be visiting your club with
in the month, will you please tell me where the
next meeting will be held?
• if you Answered only this one question, your
message would be incomplete.
• Realizing that your reader is a newcomer to the
city and your Club, you should include, in your
reply a welcome, directions for reaching the
building, parking facilities, day, date and time of
the meeting.

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 2. CONCISENESS
• Saying in fewest possible words without
sacrificing other C’s qualities. A concise
message is complete without being wordy.
• Contributes to emphasis & important ideas
stand out.
• Save time of both of sender and receiver.

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• Eliminate wordy expressions by:
– Using single word substitutes instead of phrases
whenever possible without changing meanings.
– Omitting trite and unnecessary expressions.
– Replacing wordy conventional statements with
concise versions.
– Avoiding over using empty phrases.
– Omitting “which” & “that” clauses whenever
possible.
– Eliminate unnecessary prepositional phrases.
– Limiting the use of passive voice.

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• Include only relevant material
• Stick to the purpose of the message
• Delete irrelevant words and rambling
sentences.
• Omit information obvious to the receiver.
• Avoid long introductions, unnecessary
explanations, excessive adjectives and
preposition, pompous words & gushy
politeness.
• Get to the important point tactfully and
concisely.

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•
– Avoid unnecessary repetition
• Sometimes necessary for emphasis but unnecessary
repetition leads to dullness making the message boring
and wordy.
• Use a shorter name once you have mentioned the long
one . Instead of the Federal Administered Tribal Areas use
“tribal Areas”.
• Use pronouns or initials rather than repeat long names.
Like FATA or It.
• Cut out all needless repletion’s of phrases and sentences.

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• Wordy:
• will you ship us sometimes, anytime during the
month of October would be fine, or even
November if you are rushed ( November would
suit us just as well, in fact a little better) 300
pads regular blue felt with arm band with
brown logo on the top.
• Concise:
• please ship parcel post, before the end of
November, 300 pads regular blue felt with arm
band with brown logo on the top

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• Wordy: We hereby wish to let you know that
our company is immensely pleases with the
confidence you have reposed in us.
• Concise: We appreciate your confidence.
• Wordy: in due course
• Concise: soon
• Wordy: At the moment
• Concise: Now
• Wordy: due to the fact that
• Concise: because
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 3. CONSIDERATION
• Put yourself in the shoes of addressee and try
to look at the problem from his angle.
• Keep in mind their desires, problems,
circumstances, emotions and probable
reaction to your request.
• Sender is considerate when he does not
blame, lose temper, accuse and does not
change without facts.

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 – Focus on “you” instead of “I” and “we”
• Make an explicit reference.
• Use a direct quotation in responding to the request of
another individual.
• Avoid asking others how they feel, assume that you know
their needs.
• Use of “you” in negative situation can be avoided by
employing the passive voice, making the receiver part of
group, or depersonalizing the situation.
• Insensitive:
You failed to enclose your check in the envelop.
• Considerate:
• The check was not enclosed

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 Using the ‘You’ attitude in
communication
• Hamid placed this advertisement in the
classified section of the newspaper.
• Boy’s bicycle for sale, I need to sell it to raise
money for my vacation. Please purchase it
before Friday, October 10, as my vacation
starts from October 11.
• No one offered to buy the bicycle. After Hamid
and business teacher had discussed the ‘you’
attitude. Hamid rewrote the message thus:

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• Boy’s bicycle for sale. With this blazing red racer
bike, you’ll go like the wind. It’s priced so low
you can afford to buy it NOW.

• with in the three days the bicycle was sold.

Why? In the 1st advertisement Hamid showed
only what he would gain. The second
advertisement showed the reader what fun the
bike would provide.

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Show audience benefit or interest in the receiver

Benefits must meet recipient’s needs, address their

concern or offer them rewards.
You must identify the legitimate benefits of your
position, policy or product and then put yourself in
the place of the receivers assess their perspectives.
Where direct benefits are not possible, show
interest & concern for the receiver.

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Emphasis positive, pleasant facts.
• Accent to positive side instead of negative in your message.
• Stressing what can be done instead of what cannot be done.
• Focusing on favorable words.
• Because of past connections with words, readers will react
positively or negatively to certain words.
• Among the words to which people react favorably are
benefit, cordial, happy, heap generous, loyal, pleasure,
thanks, thoughtful.
• Avoid Words with negative connotations that often arouse
unfavorable reactions include blame, Complaints, failed, fault
negligence, regret, reject, trouble, unfair.

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• Negative:
• When you travel on company expense, you
will not receive approval for first class fare.
• Positive:
• When you travel on company expense, your
approved fare is for tourist class.

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 4. CONCRETENESS:

• Communicating concretely means being

specific definite and vivid rather than vague
and general. Vague message invites vague or
no response.
• Use specific facts & figures:
• It is desirable to be precise and concrete in
both written and oral business
communication.
• Use an exact, precise statement or a figure.

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• Vague:
• Eastern Europe is making progress in obtaining
investments.

• Correct, Precise
• In 1990 investments in Eastern Europe were
about $30 million; today that figure increased
by 12 percent.

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 Put action in your verbs:
• Use the active voice.
• Active verbs help to make your sentence more
specific, personal, and concise emphatic.
• Some times you may prefer the passive voice
instead of active like,
– When you want to avoid personal, blunt accusation
or comment.
– When you want to stress the object of the action.
– When the doer is not important in the sentence.

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• Put action in verbs not in nouns.
•
• Verbs propel though, they move ideas in place of slower-
moving nouns.
• Seven verbs---be, give, have, hold, make, put, and
take might be designated as deadly when the action they
introduce is hidden in a quiet noun.
• Action Hiding in a Quiet Noun:
• He will give consideration to the report.
• Action in the Verb:
• He will consider the report.
• He has got two factories.
• He has two factories.
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 Choose vivid image building words:
» Business writing uses fewer descriptors than does a
magazine article or fiction writing.
» Use of sensory appeals, comparisons, figurative
language, concrete nouns and well –chosen adjectives
and adverbs make your message forceful ,vivid and
specific.
• Sensory Appeal:
• Concrete language often evokes a sensory
response in people; it appeals to one or more of
the five senses such language tends to be more
descriptive than conventional business
language..
• Comparisons:
• Analogies or comparisons can make an unclear
idea clear or make an idea more vivid. 23
Bland image: This is a longer letter.
More Vivid Image:
This letter is three times as long as you said it would
be.
3. Figurative language:
• Use figures of speech with caution. When used
sparingly they do make an idea more vivid.
• Literal
• Her work in a group was exemplary
More Vivid, Figurative
• She could be called “the spark plug of the group”.

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 5. CLARITY :
• Getting the meaning from your head into the head of
your reader accurately is the purpose of clarity.
• It is not an easy task because we all carry unique
interpretations, ideas, experiences associated with
words. It could be achieved through
CHOOSING PRECISE, CONCRETE AND FAMILIAR WORDS.
• Select exactly the right, short and familiar word to
convey your meaning, because they need not be
pretentious.
• To use technical terms and business jargon may be
appropriate in some professional situation, but avoid
while communicating with a person who is not
acquainted with the terminology.

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• Unfamiliar ;
• After our perusal of pertinent date, the
conclusion is that a lucrative market exists for
the subject property.
• Familiar:
• The data we studied show that your property is
profitable and in high demand.
Familiar Pretentious

About Circa
After Subsequent
Home Domicile
For example e.g.
Pay Remuneration
Invoice Statement of
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• CONSTRUCTING EFFECTIVE SENTENCES AND
PARAGRAPHS:
– LENGTH: Try for an average sentence length of
between 17 and 20 words.
– UNITY: There should be one main idea and any other
ideas in the sentence must closely relate to it.
– CONHERENCE: Words should be correctly arranged so
that the idea clearly expresses the intended meaning.
– EMPHASIS: Give force to important part of sentences
and put main ideas up front with in a sentence.
Unclear: His report was about managers, broken down
by age and gender.
Clear: His report focused on age and gender of
managers.
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• Little Emphasis:
• the airplane finally approached the speed of sound,
and it became very difficult to control.

• Better Emphasis:
• As it finally approached the speed of sound, the
airplane became difficult to control.

• METHODS OF EMPHASIS :
itemizations, graphs, line charts, pie charts,
Underlining, italics, or even wide or short margins.

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 6. COURTESY:
• Being aware not only of the perspective of others but
also their feelings. Politeness grows out of respect
and concern for others.
– BE SINCERELY TACTFUL,THOUGHTFUL AND APPRECIATIVE:
1. TACK: Negative traits like abruptness and bluntness are
common cause of discourtesy. They stem from mistaken
idea of conciseness ,negative personal attitude not
knowing the culture of a country.
• Tactless/Blunt :
• I rewrote that letter three times; the point was not
clear.
• More Tactful:
• I am sorry the point was not clear; here is another
version
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• THOUGHT FULNESS AND APPRECIATION: Thought fullness needs to
be more soft and polite appreciation and deserved congratulation
help to build goodwill.
• II. USE EXPRESSION THAT SHOW RESPECT:
» Omit irritation expressions
» Omit questionable humor because laughter to one person is
disgust for another as each of us has a difference sense of humor
.
» Avoid expression particularly with YOU or YOUR

e.g I do not agree with you.

Offensive humor
Give my regards to the little lady. And I wish her the
best; she’ll need it
More Courteous:
Give our warm regards to your new partner.
Said M-HITEC Uni
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 III CHOOSE NONDISCRIMINATORY EXPRESSION:
• Use language that reflects equal treatment of people
regardless of gender, race ethnic origin and physical
features.
• Avoid gender terms/”man” words. Use alternative
expressions for man that are neutral in form.
• E.g the best man for the position
• The best person/ candidate for the position
• Avoid singular pronouns: Avoid using he, him and his
when referring the hypothetical person or humanity in
general.
• Questionable:
• Any one who comes to class late will get his grade
reduced.
• More Desirable:
• Students who come late to class will have their grade
reduced.
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• Name: While using name treat each gender
with respect and use names in parallel form.
• Mr. Ahmad & Mrs. Ahmad

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 7. CORRECTNESS :
• Proper grammar, punctuation and spelling are
the major principles related to correctness.
• Beside these principles following characteristic
should be applied.
– USE THE RIGHT LEVEL OF LANGUAGE :
• Formal writing is associated with scholarly writing like
doctoral dissertation, scholarly articles, legal document
top-level government agreements.
• Informal writing is used in business writing with short well
known and conversational words.
• Avoid substandard language containing incorrect words
incorrect grammar and faulty pronunciation.

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• .
More Formal Less formal

Participate Join
Procure Get
Endeavor Try
Ascertain Find out
Deem Think
Edifice Building
Utilize Use
interrogate question

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• CHECK ACCURACY OF FIGURES,FACTS AND
WORDS.
– Figures and facts.
• Verify your statistical data.
• Double check your totals.
• Avoid guessing at laws that have an impact on you, the
sender, and your message receiver.
• Have some one else read your message if the topic
involved data.
• Determine whether a fact has changed over time.
• Avoid using words you are not sure o their
meaning or use while using confusing words
having pairs ,care should be taken .
• Eminent & imminent
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 – MAINTAIN ACCEPTABLE WRITING MECHANICS:
• Although various packages are available for
computer like grammar check and spell checks
have made your editing tasks easier.
• Yet careful attention should be given to the
mechanical part of every well written document.

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