 |
| You've received this newsletter because you subscribed to it using our double opt-in sign-up process. To unsubscribe, just click the link at the bottom of this email. Alternatively, if you're not already a subscriber, you can sign up here. |
|
|
Mind Tools Newsletter 151 - April 13, 2010
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate!
What are you working on today? Perhaps you're leading a team, helping a colleague, meeting with your boss, negotiating a contract, or giving a presentation? These things, and countless other everyday activities, have one thing in common: they rely on good communication skills.
Our featured article this week helps you communicate, communicate, communicate; and it gives you a checklist of not just three but seven key attributes of great communication. Read about these 7 Cs of Communication in our new article below!
Other articles in this newsletter tackle the diverse challenges of identifying training objectives, and improving productivity by enriching your people's jobs. Check out our articles on Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives and Hackman and Oldham's Job Characteristics in the list of resources below.
And find out about other ways of boosting your communication and career skills with resources from our members' community, the Mind Tools Career Excellence Club.
Enjoy this newsletter!
James Manktelow and Rachel Thompson
MindTools.com - Essential skills for an excellent career!
Featured Resources at Mind Tools
|
|
|
 |
| For all sorts of reasons, it's vital to communicate effectively at work. The "7 Cs of Communication" gives us a checklist for creating highly effective messages. All Readers' Skill Builder |
|
 |
| Delivering a presentation is common source of fear and nervous anticipation. Learn the tips and tricks that help you deliver cool, calm presentations that inspire and impress.
All Readers' Featured Favorite
|
|
 |
How much should you learn about a new topic? With this well-established tool, you'll be able to diagnose your current level of understanding and determine how much more you need to know to ensure success.
All Readers' Skill-Builder |
|
 |
| Workplace motivation is at the core of people's performance at work, and job design is a key element of this. Learn more about an important approach to job enrichment.
All Readers' Skill-Builder
|
|
| |
... And From the Career Excellence Club |
 |
From time to time, we can all struggle to focus on our work. In this article, we'll discuss strategies for improving your concentration.
All Members' Skill-Builder |
|
 |
| This fast, fun look at how the world is changing takes readers from China to Russia, Brazil and the US - because, perhaps strangely, individual places are the clearest illustrators of the power of globalization. Find out more about this book here.
Premium Members' Book Insight |
|
 |
| Using Break-even Analysis, you can quickly and easily determine if a project is likely to contribute to the bottom line, and then decide whether to pursue it further.
All Members' Skill-Builder |
|
 |
| You don't need to rely on "flashes of inspiration" to be creative. Learn three reliable tools which will draw out new ideas and support your creative process. All Members' Bite-Sized Training™ |
|
 |
| We often discuss time management from a personal productivity perspective. But how do you manage time on an organizational level? Find out here! All Members' Skill-Builder |
|
 |
| Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a very well known model, but do we apply it to our daily lives? If we paid closer attention to what we needed, how much more fulfilled and motivated could we feel?
All Members' Coaching Clinic |
|
 |
| Reputation consultant Tessa Hood talks about what personal branding is and how it can enhance your career. Find out why looking, sounding and feeling the part matters, and how to go about crafting your own authentic personal brand.
Premium Members' Expert Interview |
|
Editors' Choice Article
The 7 Cs of Communication
A Checklist for Clear Communication
Think of how often you communicate with people during your day. You write emails, facilitate meetings, participate in conference calls, create reports, devise presentations, debate with your colleagues... the list goes on.
We can spend almost our entire day communicating. So, how can we provide a huge boost to our productivity? We can make sure that we communicate in the clearest, most effective way possible.
This is why we need to know about the 7 Cs of Communication. The 7 Cs provide a checklist for making sure that your meetings, emails, conference calls, reports and presentations are well constructed and clear - so your audience gets your message. |
|
Messages must always be CLEAR.
©iStockphoto/horrocks |
According to the 7 Cs, communication needs to be:
- Clear.
- Concise.
- Concrete.
- Correct.
- Coherent.
- Complete.
- Courteous.
In this article, we look at each of the 7 Cs of Communication, and we'll illustrate each element with both good and bad examples.
1. Clear
When writing or speaking to someone, be clear about your goal or message. What is your purpose in communicating with this person? If you're not sure, then your audience won't be sure either.
To be clear, try to minimize the number of ideas in each sentence. Make sure that it's easy for your reader to understand your meaning. People shouldn't have to "read between the lines" to understand what you're trying to say.
Bad Example
Hi John,
I wanted to write you a quick note about Daniel, who's working in your department. He's a great asset, and I'd like to talk to you more about him when you have time.
Best,
Skip
|
What is this email about? Well, we're not sure. First, if there are multiple Daniels in John's department, John won't know who Skip is talking about.
Next, what is Daniel doing, 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 the purpose of this email? Does Skip simply want to have an idle chat about Daniel, or is there some more specific goal here? There's no sense of purpose to this message, so it's quite confusing.
Good Example
Let's see how we could change this email to make it clear.
Hi John,
I wanted to write you a quick note about Daniel Kedar, who's working in your department. In recent weeks, he's helped the IT department through several pressing deadlines on his own time.
We've got a tough upgrade project due to run over the next three weeks, and his knowledge and skills would prove invaluable. Could we please have his help with this work?
I'd appreciate speaking with you about this. When is it best to call you to discuss this further?
Best wishes,
Skip |
This second message is much clearer, because the reader has the information he needs to take action.
2. Concise
When you're concise in your communication, you stick to the point and keep it brief. Your audience doesn't want to read six sentences when you could communicate your message in three.
- Are there any adjectives or "filler words" that you can delete? You can often eliminate words like "for instance," "you see," "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 we kind of sketched out last Thursday. I really think that our target market is definitely going to want to see the company's philanthropic efforts. I think that could make a big impact, and it would stay in their minds longer than a sales pitch.
For instance, if we talk about the company's efforts to become sustainable, as well as the charity work we're doing in local schools, then the people that we want to attract are going to remember our message longer. The impact will just be greater.
What do you think?
Jessica
|
This email is too long! There's repetition, and there's plenty of "filler" taking up space.
Good Example
Watch what happens when we're concise and take out the filler words:
Hi Matt,
I wanted to quickly discuss the email marketing campaign that we analyzed last Thursday. Our target market will want to know about the company's philanthropic efforts, especially our goals to become sustainable and help local schools.
This would make a far greater impact, and it would stay in their minds longer than a traditional sales pitch.
What do you think?
Jessica
|
3. Concrete
When your message is concrete, then 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 laserlike focus.
Bad Example
Consider this advertising copy:
|
The Lunchbox Wizard will save you time every day.
|
A statement like this probably won't sell many of these products. There's no passion, no vivid detail, nothing that creates emotion, and nothing that tells people in the audience why they should care. This message isn't concrete enough to make a difference.
Good Example
|
How much time do you spend every day packing your kids' lunches? No more! Just take a complete Lunchbox Wizard from your refrigerator each day to give your kids a healthy lunch AND have more time to play or read with them!
|
This copy is better because there are vivid images. The audience can picture spending quality time with their kids - and what parent could argue with that? And mentioning that the product is stored in the refrigerator explains how the idea is practical. The message has come alive through these details.
4. Correct
When your communication is correct, it fits your audience's needs. And correct communication is also error-free communication.
- Do the technical terms that you use fit your audience's level of education and knowledge?
- Have you checked your writing 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 our conservation, and I'm looking forward to moving ahead on our project. I'm sure that the two-weak deadline won't be an issue.
Thanks again, and I'll speak to you soon!
Best,
Jack Miller
|
If you read that example fast, then you might not have caught any errors. But on closer inspection, you'll find two. Can you see them?
The first mistake 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 "week".
Again, spell checkers won't catch word errors like this, which is why it's so important to proofread everything!
5. Coherent
When your communication is coherent, it's logical. All points are connected to 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 last week. I gave it to Michelle to proof, and she wanted to make sure you knew about the department meeting we're having this Friday. We'll be creating an outline for the new employee handbook.
Thanks,
Michelle
|
As you can see, this email doesn't communicate its point very well. Where is Michelle's feedback on Traci's report? She started to mention it, but then she changed the topic to talk about Friday's meeting.
Good Example
I wanted to write you a quick note about the report you finished last week. I gave it to Michelle to proof, and she let me know that there are a few changes that you'll need to make. She'll email you her detailed comments later this afternoon.
Thanks,
Michelle
|
Notice that in the good example, Michelle does not mention Friday's meeting. This is because the meeting reminder should be in an entirely separate email. This way, Traci can delete the report feedback email after she makes her changes, but save the email about the meeting as her reminder to attend. Each email has only one main topic.
6. Complete
In a complete message, the audience has everything they need to be informed and, if applicable, take action.
- Does your message include a "call to action", so that your audience 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 having tomorrow!
See you then,
Chris
|
This message is not complete, for obvious reasons. What meeting? When is it? Where? Chris has left his team without the necessary information.
Good Example
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to remind you about tomorrow's meeting on the new telecommuting policies. The meeting will be at 10:00 a.m. in the second-level conference room. Please let me know if you can't attend.
See you then,
Chris
|
7. Courteous
Courteous communication is friendly, open, and honest. There are no hidden insults or passive-aggressive tones. You keep your reader's viewpoint in mind, and you're empathetic to their needs.
Bad Example
Jeff,
I wanted to let you know that I don't appreciate how your team always monopolizes 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 sure they make time for me and my team next week?
Thanks,
Phil |
Well, that's hardly courteous! Messages like this can start officewide feuds. And this email does nothing but create bad feelings, and lower productivity and morale. A little bit of courtesy, even in difficult situations, can go a long way.
Good Example
Hi Jeff,
I wanted to write you a quick note to ask a favor. During our weekly meetings, your people do an excellent job of highlighting their progress. But this uses some of the time available for my team to highlight theirs. I'd really appreciate it if you could give my team a little extra time each week to cover their progress reports.
Thanks so much, and please let me know if there's anything I can do for you!
Best,
Phil |
What a difference! This email is courteous and friendly, and it has little chance of spreading bad feelings around the office.
Variations
There are a few variations of the 7 Cs of Communication:
- Credible - Does your message improve or highlight your credibility? This is especially important when communicating with an audience that doesn't know much about you.
- Creative - Does your message communicate creatively? Creative communication helps keep your audience engaged.
|
Key Points
Most of us communicate every day. The better we communicate, the more credibility we'll have with our clients, our bosses, and our colleagues.
Use the 7 Cs of Communication as a checklist each time you communicate. By doing this, you'll stay clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, and courteous.
|
A Final Note from James
Whatever work you're involved in today, remember those 7Cs: clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, and courteous. With a little help from today's article and the other communications tools here at Mind Tools, you'll soon be impressing everyone with the quality of your communications!
We'll be back in two weeks with a tool that helps you deliver training that everyone will understand, and with tools and techniques that help you lead and delegate more effectively.
Until then, have an excellent two weeks!
 |
James Manktelow
email us
Mind Tools
Essential Skills for an Excellent Career! |
Privacy Policy:
Mind Tools will treat your email address with complete respect and will not circulate it to any third party.
If you are not already a subscriber to this newsletter and you would like to be one, you can sign up at http://www.mindtools.com/subscribe.htm
If you have enjoyed this issue, please do email it on to your friends and co-workers.
To find out about new tools on the Mind Tools site the moment they're uploaded, click here to subscribe to the Mind Tools RSS feed (you'll need an RSS newsreader installed).
We welcome appropriate reprinting and reuse of Mind Tools material, but , you must get our permission first! To do this, please visit our Permissions Center.
© Mind Tools Ltd, 2010.
This newsletter is published by Mind Tools Ltd of 2nd Floor, 145-157 St John Street, London, EC1V 4PY, UK. You have received this email because you have confirmed that you want to receive it using our confirmed opt-in process. To unsubscribe, please use the link at the bottom of this email.
Mind Tools Ltd (Company Number 04829074, VAT Number: GB 840 1273 62) and Mind Tools (North America) Ltd (Company Number 05610859) are companies registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Hardwick House, Prospect Place, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN1 3LJ, United Kingdom. |
|
