The 7 C’s of Communication

If you think about it, we spend almost every part of our day communicating. We write emails, texts, and notes, participate in phone calls, create reports and presentations, talk to our bosses, peers, spouses, children, assistants…the list goes on and on!

Given that we communicate so much, how can we maximize our communication skills to be most effective? Years ago people had the same question and the “7 C’s of Communication” was developed. It has changed over time, but the goal is the same, to help people become better communicators. The 7 C’s are:

  1. Clear
  2. Concise
  3. Concrete
  4. Correct
  5. Coherent
  6. Complete
  7. Courteous
  1. Clear – In communicating with people, keep the end in mind and be clear about the message and goal. What is your purpose in communicating with this person? If you are not sure, your audience will not be sure either! Your message should be easy to understand. There should be no reading in between the lines or having to “assume” things. One way to make sure if you were clear or not, is have your audience communicate back what you said to make sure there is no misunderstanding.
  2. Concise – Don’t use 10 words when 5 will do. Stick to the point, keep it brief yet respectable. Eliminate unnecessary sentences, repetitions, and filler words if they don’t help your point. You don’t want to be too curt where you come across as disrespectful, but respecting their time is a form of disrespect too.
  3. Concrete – This gives your audience a clear picture of what you are communicating. You want your message to be focused and solid so your audience understands it. 
  4. Correct – Use communication that caters to and fits your audience. You want to make sure it is correct for them and applies to them. Keep your communication honest and error-free, it goes a long way to help your integrity.
  5. Coherent – You want your communication to be logical so your audience is connected and engaged. If your communication is disjointed and doesn’t flow, your audience will be lost and confused. You want your points to support the main topic and be consistent.
  6. Complete – You want your audience to have as much information to be properly informed and take action if need be. Anytime your communication is incomplete, there will be more questions that arise. Include all relevant information for you audience.
  7. Courteous – Be friendly, open and respectful. Take your audience’s viewpoint so you are empathetic to their positions. Especially for certain cultures, certain styles of communication can be perceived as an insult, so better to be courteous as possible!
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