STUDENTS' CORNER - 194

The popular 7Cs associated with the communication we have looked into though briefly yet adequately.  Now we will recapitulate the 7Cs for the sake of totality of the subject at a glance because there is a possibility that most of us might have forgotten what has passed earlier.

The 7Cs are Clear, Correct, Complete, Concrete, Concise, Consideration and Courteousness.

What you communicate must be clear first of all to you; then only, you can pass on to the other. Clarity of understanding of what you want to communicate is a prerequisite, a skill that brings in the other skills; in fact, all the skills are inter-related because essentially communication is a single act, single task involving all these skills. Defective in any one skill will render communication defective to that extent like a disabled individual.

Clarity of perception, of thought will lead to correct statements. In Business Communication, communication must carry correct information, correct to both the parties; then only, proper understanding of the message will be there. Apart from the correctness of the content, there is so to say a correctness of approach. Simply, a business letter must have an immediate reply from the sender. If you answer the business letter you receive almost immediately, or within three days depending on the nature of the company and the correspondence, the receiver, your business partner will have a high opinion of your company and this will prove a positive influence on your partner. If the right approach is practiced consistently, then, the opinion matures into a fact and this will build the image of the company in a favourable light. That is, your reply must be timed well.  After all, a business letter carries not only the message but also the image of the company.

The message you send in your business letter must be complete in the sense that you have given all relevant details to the receiver, be it a relative, a friend, or a business partner or your customer. Completeness means that you have not only given relevant details required for the present immediate context but also answered to apprehensions, future expectations or even threats.  Reasonable level of predictions impresses the other.  Moreover, such complete communications will influence the other into respecting your decision-making. After all, we know by experience that impressions do influence.

In our next session, we shall briefly deal with the rest of the Cs of Communication.