6. Principles of Business Communication OR 7 C’s
Question No.6: What are the qualities of a good business message? OR What are the principles of business communication? OR What are the 7 C’s of business communication?
Answer:
Principles of Business Communication
The world of business is expanding now-a-days. For effective business transaction, dynamic and rapid business communication is needed. It is only good and effective writing that this goal can be achieved. For this purpose, some principles have been devised. These principles are known as “7 C’s.” A good business message has following principles.
· 1. Clarity:
“Have something to say and say it as clearly as possible.”
The first and foremost principle which is necessary for a good business message is clarity. It means the message should be clear and straightforward. It should not be ambiguous. Clarity depends upon the words you use and the way you use them. It clearly shows that you must have a clear idea of what you want to say. Having written the message, revise it at least twice. If necessary, revise it again.
Example:
Unclear: Being an excellent lawyer, I am sure you can help me.
Clear: Being an excellent lawyer, you can surely help us.
· 2. Correctness:
Second requisite necessary for a good business message is correctness. The message which you want to convey must be correct. Make sure that you have made no mistake in your message. There is no doubt in the fact that mistakes are unintentional, even then mar the image of the writer. These errors include the following.
o Misspelled words and names
o Mistakes in figures and dates
o Omission of signature and address
o Mistakes in punctuation
o Mistakes in choosing the right words, etc.
It is very necessary to read and revise the letter carefully before it is mailed.
· 3. Conciseness:
“Brevity is the soul of wit.”
Whatever you want to convey must be as brief as possible. A brief message saves the time of sender as well as receiver but it does not mean that you avoid necessary points and try to write brief message. It means you must be relevant and to the point in your details and avoid repetition of ideas. You must also shun wordy expressions.
Examples:
1. Wordy:In due course
Concise:Soon
2. Wordy:At this time
Concise:Now
· 4. Courtesy:
“Every one gains where courtesy reigns.”
It is very old but very famous maxim. Your main purpose in an organization is to achieve your goals as soon as possible. Definitely, you are to win your customers. To win the customers, politeness and courtesy in letter are inevitable. Courtesy costs nothing but wins a reputation. Use of harsh words will annoy the customers. To create a courteous tone, some suggestions are given below.
o Be sincere and tactful
o Use the expressions that show respect
o Avoid the use of harsh words
o Choose non-discriminatory expressions
· 5. Consideration:
Consideration means acting on the “You Attitude.” “You Attitude” means writing from the reader’s point of view. We must put ourselves in our reader’s place so that we may know our reader’s desires, problems and emotions. In this way, we become considerate. As a considerate, there are many chances for you to win your customers.
There are three ways to indicate consideration.
o Focus on “You” instead of “I” and “We.”
o Show audience benefit or interest
o Focus on positive and pleasant facts
· 6. Completeness:
The business message should be complete in all aspects. There should be nothing to compel your reader to ask you further questions about it. We should write everything the receiver wants to know. It helps to get positive results. Incomplete and ineffective messages never produce the results according to your desires. To write a complete message, keep following things in your mind.
o Provide all necessary information
o Answer all the questions asked
o Write something extra when desirable
· 7. Concreteness:
Concreteness means being specific, definite and vivid rather than vague and general because a vague and general message may mislead the reader and cause misunderstanding. Following points should be kept in mind to write a concrete message.
o The writer should use the specific facts and figures. For example,
Vague:Please send us the following items by the end of this month.
Clear: The following items should reach us on or before October 30.
o Put active verbs in the sentences.
o Choose vivid and image building words.
Conclusion:
We can conclude that success in the business career largely depends upon the ability to prepare a business report with all the characteristics mentioned above.