Effective Communication: 7 C's Of Mastering Interaction Skills (2024)

A Checklist for Clear Communication

Think of how often you communicate with peopleduring the day. You write emails, facilitate meetings, participate inconference calls, create reports, devise presentations, debate with yourcolleagues… the list goes on.

We can spend almost our entire daycommunicating. So, it stands to reason that communicating clearly andeffectively can boost productivity.

This is why the 7 C’s of Communication are helpful. The 7 C’s provide a checklist for making sure that yourmeetings,emails,conference calls,reports, andpresentationsare well constructed and clear – so your audience gets your message.

In this article and in the video, below, we’lllook at each of the 7 C’s of Communication and illustrate each element withboth good and bad examples.

According to the 7 C’s, communication needs tobe:

1. Clear.
2. Concise.
3. Concrete.
4. Correct.
5. Coherent.
6. Complete.
7. Courteous.

1. Clear

When writing orspeaking to someone, be clear about your goal or message. What is your purposein communicating with this person? If you’re not sure, then your audience won’tbe either.

To be clear, try tominimize the number of ideas in each sentence. Make sure that it’s easy foryour reader to understand your meaning. People shouldn’t have to “readbetween the lines” and make assumptions on their own to understand whatyou’re trying to say.

Bad Example

Hi John,

I wanted to write you a quick note about Daniel, who’s working in yourdepartment. He’s a great asset, and I’d like to talk to you more about him whenyou have time.

Best,

Skip

What is this emailabout? Well, we’re not sure. First, if there are multiple Daniels in John’sdepartment, John won’t know who Skip is talking about.

Next, what is Danieldoing, specifically, that’s so great? We don’t know that either. It’s so vague,that John will definitely have to write back for more information.

Last, what is thepurpose of this email? Does Skip simply want to have an idle chat about Danielor is there some more specific goal here? There’s no sense of purpose to thismessage, so it’s a bit confusing.

Good Example

Hi John,

I wanted to write you a quick note about Daniel Kedar, who’s working inyour department. In recent weeks, he’s helped the IT department through severalpressing deadlines on his own time.

We’ve got a tough upgrade project due to run over the next three months,and his knowledge and skills would prove invaluable. Could we please have hishelp with this work?

I’d appreciate speaking with you about this. When is it best to call youto discuss this further?

Best wishes,

Skip

This second messageis much clearer because the reader has the information he needs to take action.

2. Concise

When you’re concisein your communication, you stick to the point and keep it brief. Your audiencedoesn’t want to read six sentences when you could communicate your message inthree. Ask yourself:

• Are there any adjectives or “filler words” that you candelete? You can often eliminate words like “for instance,” “yousee,” “definitely,” “kind of,” “literally,”“basically,” or “I mean.”
• Are there any unnecessary sentences?
• Have you repeated the point several times, in different ways?

Bad Example

Hi Matt,

I wanted to touch base with you about the email marketing campaign wekind of sketched out last Thursday. I really think that our target market isdefinitely going to want to see the company’s philanthropic efforts. I thinkthat could make a big impact, and it would stay in their minds longer than asales pitch.

For instance, if we talk about the company’s efforts to becomesustainable, as well as the charity work we’re doing in local schools, then thepeople that we want to attract are going to remember our message longer. Theimpact will just be greater.

What do you think?

Jessica

This email is toolong! There’s repetition, and there’s plenty of “filler” taking upspace.

Good Example

Watch what happenswhen we’re concise and take out the filler words:

Hi Matt,

I wanted to quickly discuss the email marketing campaign that weanalyzed last Thursday. Our target market will want to know about the company’sphilanthropic efforts, especially our goals to become sustainable and helplocal schools.

This would make a far greater impact, and it would stay in their mindslonger than a traditional sales pitch.

What do you think?

Jessica

3. Concrete

When your message is concrete, your audience has a clear picture of what you’re telling them. There are details (but not too many!) and vivid facts, and there’s a laser-like focus. Your message is solid.

Bad Example

Consider thisadvertising copy:

The Lunchbox Wizard will save you time every day.

A statement likethis probably won’t sell many of these products. There’s no passion, no vividdetail, nothing that creates emotion, and nothing that tells people in theaudience why they should care. This message isn’t concrete enough to make adifference.

Good Example

How much time do you spend every day packing yourkids’ lunches? No more! Just take a complete Lunchbox Wizard from yourrefrigerator each day to give your kids a healthy lunchandhave more time toplay or read with them!

This copy is betterbecause there are vivid images. The audience can picture spending quality timewith their kids – and what parent could argue with that? And mentioning thatthe product is stored in the refrigerator explains how the product is alsopractical. The message has come alive through these details.

4. Correct

When yourcommunication is correct, your audience will be able to understand it. Andcorrect communication is also error-free communication. Make sure your messageis correct by asking yourself the following questions:

• Do the technical terms you use fit your audience’s level of education or knowledge?
• Have you checked yourwriting for grammatical errors? (Remember, spell checkers won’t catch everything).
• Are all names and titles spelled correctly?

Bad Example

Hi Daniel,

Thanks so much for meeting me at lunch today! I enjoyed ourconservation, and I’m looking forward to moving ahead on our project. I’m surethat the two-weak deadline won’t be an issue.

Thanks again, and I’ll speak to you soon!

Best,

Jack Miller

If you read thatexample fast, then you might not have caught any errors. But on closerinspection, you’ll find two. Can you see them?

The first error is that the writer accidentally typed conservation instead of conversation. This common error can happen when you’re typing too fast. The other error is using weak instead of a week.

Again, spellcheckers won’t catch word errors like this, which is why it’s so important toproofread everything!

5. Coherent

When yourcommunication is coherent, it’s logical. All points are connected and relevantto the main topic, and the tone and flow of the text is consistent.

Bad Example

Traci,

I wanted to write you a quick note about the report you finished lastweek. I gave it to Michelle to proof, and she wanted to make sure you knewabout the department meeting we’re having this Friday. We’ll be creating anoutline for the new employee handbook.

Thanks,

Michelle

As you can see,this email doesn’t communicate its point very well. Where is Michelle’sfeedback on Traci’s report? She started to mention it, but then she changed thetopic to Friday’s meeting.

Good Example

Hi Traci,

I wanted to write you a quick note about the report you finished lastweek. I gave it to Michelle to proof, and she let me know that there are a fewchanges that you’ll need to make. She’ll email you her detailed comments laterthis afternoon.

Thanks,

Michelle

Notice that in thegood example, Michelle does not mention Friday’s meeting. This is because themeeting reminder should be an entirely separate email. This way, Traci candelete the report feedback email after she makes her changes, but save theemail about the meeting as her reminder to attend. Each email has only one maintopic.

6. Complete

In a completemessage, the audience has everything they need to be informed and, ifapplicable, take action.

• Does your message include a “call to action,” so that youraudience clearly knows what you want them to do?
• Have you included all relevant information – contact names, dates,times, locations, and so on?

Bad Example

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to send you all a reminder about the meeting we’re havingtomorrow!

See you then,

Chris

This message is notcomplete, for obvious reasons. What meeting? When is it? Where? Chris has lefthis team without the necessary information.

Good Example

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to remind you about tomorrow’s meeting on the new telecommutingpolicies. The meeting will be at 10 a.m. in the second-level conference room.Please let me know if you can’t attend.

See you then,

Chris

7. Courteous

Courteouscommunication is friendly, open and honest. There are no hidden insults or passive-aggressivetones. You keep your reader’s viewpoint in mind, and you’re empathetic to theirneeds.

Bad Example

Jeff,

I wanted to let you know that I don’t appreciate how your team alwaysmonopolizes the discussion at our weekly meetings. I have a lot of projects,and I really need time to get my team’s progress discussed as well. So far,thanks to your department, I haven’t been able to do that. Can you make surethey make time for me and my team next week?

Thanks,

Phil

Well, that’s hardlycourteous! Messages like this can potentially start office-wide fights. Andthis email does nothing but create bad feelings, which can lower productivityand morale. A little bit of courtesy, even in difficult situations, can go along way.

Good Example

Hi Jeff,

I wanted to write you a quick note to ask a favor. During our weeklymeetings, your team does an excellent job of highlighting their progress. Butthis uses some of the time available for my team to highlight theirs. I’dreally appreciate it if you could give my team a little extra time each week tofully cover their progress reports.

Thanks so much, and please let me know if there’s anything I can do foryou!

Best,

Phil

What a difference!This email is courteous and friendly, and it has little chance of spreading badfeelings around the office.