Principles of Business Communication | 7Cs of Communication

Principles of Business Communication there are some guidelines or principles that are to be considered and followed to make Communication effective. Among them seven are fundamental and relevant and these are clarity, completeness, conciseness, courtesy, correctness, consideration and concreteness. These principles are popularly known’s as 7Cs of Business Communication. The details about these principles of Communication are discussed below:

Principles of Business Communication

Principle of Courtesy: While communicating, we must create friendliness with all those to whom we send message. Friendliness is inseparable from courtesy and Courtesy demands a considerate and friendly behavior toward others. There is a popular proverb regarding courtesy “Courtesy costs nothing but wins everything” The communicating parties should always keep this in mind. The following principles may help to promote courtesy:

• Answer the message promptly
• Omit irritating expressions
• Apologize sincerely for an omission or mistake
• Thank generously for a favor

Principle of Completeness: Completeness of facts is vitally necessary in Business Communication. Incomplete communication can irritate the reader and it can also lead the receiver to misinterpret the message. So, a message should be organized in such a way that the receiver can understand its meaning easily and properly. The sender of a message must be aware of 5Ws:

• Who is the receiver of the message?
• What does the message contain?
• Where the receiver is to be reached?
• When the receiver is to be reached?
• Why the sender is sending the message?

Principle of Conciseness: Brevity in expression effectively wins the attention of the reader. A message should be as long or as short as is necessary to tell the story effectively. A message must include everything necessary and at the same time exclude anything unnecessary. Sometimes a two page message may seem short, while a ten line message may seem too long. The following four rules may help to achieve conciseness in the message:

• Include only relevant facts
• Avoid repetition
• Avoid trite and wordy expression
• Organize the message well

However, conciseness must not be attained at the cost of Principal of Business completeness or clarity.

7Cs of Communication

Principle of Clarity: The idea or thought that the sender wants to transmit must be clear enough to be understood by the receiver. In Written Business Communication the clarity of thought and the clarity of expression are of two important things. It is also important in oral and non-verbal messages. For clarity, the following guidelines can be followed:

• Select short, familiar and easy words
• Avoid ambiguous words and jargons
• Use short and effective sentence and paragraphs
• Avoid excessive use of infinitive
• Put appropriate examples, illustration and visual aids where applicable

Principle of Concreteness: Concreteness means being specific, definite and vivid rather than vague and general. The message must be concrete or exact so that the receiver can read it easily or hear clearly. Anything interfering the information should be avoided. There might be fairness, openness and straightness in communication the message with the intended parties. The following guidelines can help writing concrete message:

• Use specific facts and figures
• Use action or active verb
• Select vivid, lively and handsome words
• Tell exactly what you want to tell
• Avoid irrelevant information

Principle of Correctness: The fact of the message might be in correct language. Any incorrect or partial Business Communication or message may lead the receiver misinterpret the message. Before transmitting any message, the transmitter might be sure that it contains correct facts, it is transmitted at the correct time and it is of correct style. Any mistake in the subject matter of Business Communication not only creates confusion in the mind of the receiver but also in signifies the objectives of Business Communication. In fact, you should not send any message unless you are absolutely sure of its correctness and if you are not sure about it, you should verify it immediately. For correctness, keep the following suggestions in mind:

• Check your message or writing from grammatical and linguistic viewpoints
• Use none discriminatory words like chair person, police officer, sales person, camera operator instead of sexist words
• Check accuracy of figures, facts and words
• Send your message at the correct time
• Send your message in the correct style.

Principle of Consideration: Consideration means preparing every message keeping the receiver in mind. While encoding the message the sender should try to put himself in the place of the receiver. The desires, problems, emotions, feelings and possible reactions of the receiver should be considered duly. Give the receivers situations highest priority while drafting message. Follow the rules mentioned below to ensure consideration to your audience:

• Use “You view point” instead of “I” or “We of point”
• Avoid insensitive you like, you have failed to
• Show reader benefit or interest
• Emphasize on positive, pleasant facts
• Write only what you honestly feel to be correct

From the above discussion, we can say that in order to make Business Communication effective, vivid and enjoy able the 7Cs play vital role. We, as communicators must keep these seven principles in mind to make Business Communication successful. There are more information about Functions of Business Communication.