7 Cs of Communication - Revisited!

Civilized, refined and intelligent communication is a trait that makes human beings outstanding from other creatures on the globe. Communication is an integral part of our lives no matter we live in a society, work in a community or even adopt to live a secluded and isolated lifestyle from others. It is an essential need for our survival and progress at the workplace and within a family as well. One’s business and employability prospects are brightened if the communication skills are good enough. There is much more assumption and expectation in the commercial atmosphere of the present era as one is environed by wired as well as wireless devices and gadgets to communicate with their clients, business partners, colleagues, and coworkers. The more communicative we are the more rational and social we turn out to be and the more weak we are in our communication skills, the more languished and stagnant we become. And no matter how good we are at communication, there is always a room for improvement. 

There are certain aspects of effective communication that are essential if one aims to excel in one’s surroundings and environment. These aspects or attributes are popularly known as the 7 Cs of Communication. The 7 Cs of Communication were first published in 1952 by Scott Munson Cutlip and Allen H. Center in their famous book entitled Effective Public Relations, the first ever textbook on the subject of Public Relations.  

1. Clarity
2. Completeness
3. Conciseness
4. Consideration
5. Concreteness
6. Courtesy
7. Correctness

There are various versions of the aforementioned list that are often modified slightly to be discussed in the contexts of business communications, marketing and public relations. A communicator is highly recommended and advised to refer to this checklist and revisit the message that is to be sent to the recipient.

Their descriptions, usefulness and scenarios are stated and elaborated below:

1. CLARITY

Clarity is about purpose in communication. The message of the communicator has to be very crisp and clear and this is only possible when one really knows the purpose of the message to be sent or received. As the communicator becomes well aware of the communication’s purpose, the tools, medium, message and recipient of the message also becomes clear. Otherwise, the very aim of communication is failed and the objective can never be fulfilled. 

In order to achieve clarity, the communicator should follow the KISS approach. KISS is an acronym for Keep It Short and Simple. It refers to the idea that the more short, precise and simple the message is, the more it becomes clear to other party. So, one should abstain from using long and unfamiliar words, so that the recipient on the other end can understand and comprehend the message easily. All obscurities and vague information must be avoided, revisited and revised for clarity.

However, there are exceptions and instances when one must ignore the KISS approach and needs more detail and verbosity in order to bring more clarity. For example, if an author or scholar is writing a book or a theory/thesis to explain or elaborate what is intended to be conveyed, then more detail and information with appropriate citations may be required for effective communication. At times people do use visual, symbolic and or other illustrative tools to communicate effectively. For instance, what if a normal human being has to communicate with deaf audiences!

Scenario & Example

Some examples of long words and their synonyms are as follows:

Use “After” instead of “Subsequent”

Use “Pay” instead of “Salary”

Use “Home” instead of “Adobe”

Use “Invoice” instead of “Statement of Payment”, etc.

2. COMPLETENESS

Another important quality of effective communication is “Completeness”. This refers to the idea that all the relevant information has to be included in the message so that the objective or purpose of the communication is fulfilled. This relevance and completeness in communication is better addressed via including information that pertains to the 5 “Ws” i.e. WHAT, WHY, WHO, WHEN, and WHERE.  

 Very often, a communicator is required to deliver message that includes a ‘’call to action”.  The aim of “call to action” is never met if the information contained in the message is not actionable. And this practice is very common when the communicator is in an emergency situation.

Scenario & Example

For instance, if one needs to call an ambulance or a police to inform or report about an emergency or crime then the sender has to deliver all the relevant information to the recipient so that necessary action can be taken on time. In this scenario, information like location, address, contact details, name(s) of the patient/victim, national Identity card number/NTN number is relevant to fulfill the aim of communication effectively.

3. CONCISENESS

“Conciseness” means brief but comprehensive. The idea of delivering a lot of information in a few words is called conciseness. Communication becomes ineffective if a simple idea or thought is conveyed with a huge volume of information that could have been delivered or understood in a few pages, paragraphs, sentences or words. The more short and concise the message is, the more convenient it will be for the recipient of the message to understand and comprehend it clearly.   

Conciseness is a quality that is very often observed in proverbs and famous quotes by popular and famous personalities. So, one can say that at times this quality is harder to achieve as compared to others as this may require experience and command over the language or tools on behalf of the communicator.  

Scenario & Example

Here are some instances in everyday life:

One can say that “I am a Pakistani” instead of “I am a Pakistani national”. Similarly, a passionate reader or book lover can say that “I am a bibliophile” instead of saying “I love reading books as a hobby”. Another typical example is writing a very detailed request letter for an emergency leave instead of writing your request in simpler words and fewer lines. Here, the former practice must be avoided and the latter habit must be developed for effective communication.  

4. CONSIDERATION

Consideration is about adaptability of the communicator with respect to the nature of environment and the level of intended recipient of the message. A communicator should and very often must consider that in what scenario the intended message is being addressed to what level of recipient. If consideration is not kept in mind while communication, either the purpose of the communication is failed or may not be met, with professionalism or required mannerism and etiquette. 

For consideration to take place in communication, the communicator must know the level of understanding and comprehension of the recipient, the common or different medium(s) via which the message is being transferred that should be feasible for both the sender and the recipient. Very often words and distance matter and very often they do not as it all depends upon the level of the communicator and nature of the environment where communication takes place.

Scenario & Example

When a technical staff tries to communicate with a layman then the technical person must consider the level of technical knowledge and awareness of the layman. In software industry, many times this purpose if being met with the help of a Functional/Technical Consultant or Business Analyst who acts as a bridge between the technical and non-technical staff.

5. CONCRETENESS

Concreteness refers to the idea that the communicator is definite, and certain about the message being delivered. Concreteness beings more practicality and utility in communication as one has to stay focused on the message and the very purpose of communication.  As the message is appropriately concrete, the intended audience(s) can easily visualize what the sender wants to convey and consequently more impact can be made at the recipient’s end.

Concreteness brings more confidence on behalf of the communicator and more pleasant experience on behalf of the audience(s). Vague words should be substituted with specific words with definite meanings.

Scenario & Example

Use “quarterly, partially, fractionally” instead of “slightly”. Specify the quantity if necessary.

Use “tiny” or “minute” instead of “small”. Specify the quantity if necessary.

Use “I am at the university” instead of “I am almost there”. Specify the exact location as and when necessary and required.

6. COURTESY

Respect is something that we all cherish and strive for in our daily lives. Courtesy is the quality of paying due respect to the intended recipient of the message and to the environment as well. The culture of the environment where the communication is taking place matters a lot. Once cannot be aggressive or too argumentative where one needs to be or required to be polite and humble. If courtesy is ignored by the communicator, then his or her relationship with the other party will be adversely affected. And as a result, the concerned party may or will never consider communicating again.

Attributes like age, position, designation, premises and the nature of the message are being considered for bringing required courtesy to convey the intended message. Courteous communication is frank, honest and does include the required tone to communicate with the concerned party.

Scenario & Example

A Customer Support or a Helpdesk person has to communicate politely with the customer particularly irate one even if the customer is wrong.  On the hand, a policeman must have to communicate aggressively with the law breaker or criminal so that the law is never broken again.      

7. CORRECTNESS

Communication must be free from errors and mistakes. The communicator should revisit the intended message to be delivered and rectify it as required so that correct information is delivered. This information may be numerical, factual or visual in nature. The mistakes could be grammatical or informational. Incorrect information would lead to incorrect communication and as a result the entire purpose of the communication will not be met.

So one has to rethink and reconsider or proofread prior one’s message is to be delivered. The accuracy of facts and figures must be checked and rectified. Appropriate titles and correct words must be included to communicate effectively otherwise the confidence in communication is lost and credibility gets adversely affected.

Scenario & Example

A Finance Minister tends to portray the wrong figures for the future budget in order to hide corruption. A Filmmaker tends to portray a different story that does not depict the reality of our society at all or something that was never expected, assumed or desired by the audience(s).