By- Meenakshi Aggarwal
August 18, 2011
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Completeness Conciseness Consideration Concreteness Clarity Courtesy Correctness
Completeness of facts is absolutely necessary Incomplete information creates misunderstanding Incomplete information is worse than no information For e.g.- when ordering shirts by mail, one has to specify all the relevant facts
Size Color Catalogue number Quantity Mode of payment Mode of dispatch Required date of delivery
One way to make your message complete is to answer the five W’s. WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? WHY? The five question method is useful when you write requests, announcements, or other informative messages. For instance, to order (request) merchandise, make clear WHAT you want, WHEN u need it, WHERE it is to be sent.
Convey the message using fewest words Conciseness is the prerequisite to effective business communication due to paucity of time A concise message saves time and expenses for both the parties
Include only relevant facts Avoid repetition Avoid wordy expressions Organize your message well
E.g. Wordy:- at this time. Instead of “at this time” you can just use only a concise word:- NOW , Always try to use “ To the point Approach” in a business scenario
Always try to provide only relevant information to the receiver of the message. Lets say one of the customers of a company requested for the list of the clients of the company
In reply , the company should provide only the list of clients No need to provide detailed business information about client at all
In order to include only relevant information
Stick to the purpose of message Delete irrelevant words Avoid long introduction, unnecessary explanation etc. Get to the important
Consider the receiver’s interest/intention Adopt the you attitude Emphasize positive, pleasant facts Maintain a level of decency
You attitude “You have a choice of four schemes in which you can invest your savings.� Readers may react positively when benefits are shown to them.
Message should be specific instead of general. Misunderstanding of words creates problems for both parties ďƒ’ Using facts and figures instead of irrelevant information, makes the message more concrete and believable ďƒ’
General He is a very intelligent student and held the first rank in the class. Concrete Ali’s GPA in MBA (Finance) was 9.9 and he held the first rank in his class.
Clarity of thought- The communication starts with the generation of idea in the transmitter’s mind. She must be clear about three things What
is the objective of communication? What is to be communicated? Which is the most suitable medium for the purpose?
Clarity of expression- If the encoding is faulty, the message may be misinterpreted. A careful choice of words is a must. Points to be noted Use
simple words Use concrete expressions Prefer active constructions Avoid jargon Avoid ambiguity
Courtesy
involves being aware, not only of the perspective of others, but also their feelings. Courtesy stems from a sincere ‘you’ attitude. it is not merely politeness with mechanical insertions of “please” and “Thank you” . Courtesy demands a considerate and friendly behavior towards others
Be thoughtful and appreciative Use expressions that show respect for the others Choose nondiscriminatory expressions Omit irritating expressions like- you forgot, you failed, your irresponsible approach Apologize sincerely for an omission Thank generously for a favor
Correct facts and figures At a proper time In the correct style Correct use of language