Sailing the 7 C's of Effective Business Communication

The 7 C's of Effective Communication in Business

The vast majority of employees don't consider their plans to communicate with coworkers or how effective the delivery will be. Most individuals are unaware of how critical communication skills are to career advancement or company success. The way employees speak, write, and listen to others impacts performance and employee engagement. On the flip side, ineffective businesscommunication skills and communication tools will impact sales, customer service, and the time spent on tasks.

But, what exactly is effective business communication? Effective business communication is when a speaker shares information so a recipient is equipped to take action. When implemented properly, employees will be able to finish tasks, understand key goals, and improve processes. Business owners should prioritize business communication to improve morale, lower turnover, gain happier customers, and increase sales.

Read ahead to learn more about the 7 key components of effective business communication, along with the top ways to improve communication.

1. Effective Business Communication is Clear

An inconsistent or unclear message will easily confuse a recipient and cause further problems in the workplace. While everyone wants to impress their boss and coworkers, it's impossible to do that without a clear message. Clarified messages are explicit, concise, and full of short sentences.

Wording should be concrete and easy to understand, even for the newest remember of the team. Clarification ensures the recipient knows exactly what to do after reading the message.

The Impact of Unclear Internal Communications:

• 74% of employees feel like they are missing out on the company news
  
• Employee productivity increases by 20-25% when team members and managers stay connected
  
• 74% of employees do not understand their company's long-term strategy
  
• Only 40% of HR professionals say employees understand the contribution they are making towards the company's long-term goals.
  

2. Effective Business Communication is Complete

No small business owner wants team members or customers to misunderstand him. It is a waste of time and usually requires rework or further phone calls and emails. Incomplete communications occur when the sender decides a detail isn't critical enough to include. It usually doesn't occur because the sender doesn't have enough data at his/her disposal.

While it may be aggravating to include extra details in an email or make yet another call, it's important to do so. Otherwise, there will be more work later on and potential bottlenecks that lead to errors and more frustration. A good rule of thumb is to always consider the recipient's needs prior to sending a message.

3. Effective Business Communication is Concise

Whenever anyone opens an email or reads a text, the first thing the recipient wonders is what the sender really wants. If the speaker sends a confusing and long-winded text message without specific instructions, it will be harder for the recipient to understand it. There will also be more back-and-forths, which is time-consuming and frustrating for both parties. In all business writing, individuals should make sure to avoid wordiness. Concise messages are also much more memorable.

How to Be More Concise When Speaking:

• Stop over-explaining
  
• Speak in essential chunks of information
  
• Eliminate phrases that don't mean anything
  
• Practice and record oneself to practice brevity
  
• Get to the point
  

4. Effective Business Communication is Concrete

Concrete communications are a mixture of clarity and concision. Important communication should include facts, reports, statistics, and pictures to help the recipient understand the message. This will leave no room for the recipient to misinterpret the message. Because all data is included within the message, there is also less chance for error or bottlenecks later on. Concrete messaging also makes employee communication more exciting and engaging, which helps a brand stand out.

5. Effective Business Communication is Considerate

Considerate speech is useful in every aspect of internal and external communications. Employees like to feel respected and appreciated by their employers. They don't want orders barked at them, or have curt, one-line messages sent to their inbox. Even nonverbal communication should be considerate. Individuals should use proper eye contact, good body language, and the right facial expressions to show respect to their audience. Inconsiderate, poor communication results in greater mistrust, more errors, and a higher turnover rate.

6. Effective Business Communication is Correct

Even worse than inconsiderate communication is inaccurate communication. While few people communicate perfectly, the bulk of any communication should be accurate. For any written communication, individuals should use good grammar, spelling, and syntax. Customers and vendors will probably judge a sender who can't spell properly or who constantly text in internet jargon. In short, both the substance of the content and the grammatical structure of the content should be proper and accurate.

Common Grammatical Problems in Emails:

• Posessive pronouns
  
• Using "it's" vs. "its"
  
• Good vs. Well
  
• There, they're, and their
  
• Word placement changing meaning
  
• Double negatives
  
• Active vs. passive voice consistency
  

7. Effective Business Communication is Courteous

Courteous communication is similar to considerate communication, but not entirely the same. Courteous communication is respectful, kind, and pleasant. In verbal communication and emails, there should be words such as "regards", "thank you", and "please".

Those who are new to the office setting may want to ask a superior what the expectations are for email. How formal do they want employees to be? Should there be a signature at the bottom? If unsure, it's always best to be more courteous, even if it's a casual relationship. This will help to gain the recipient's trust and put forth the best representation of the company.

Key Takeaways of Effective Business Communication

In conclusion, here are the 7 C's of effective business communication and the communication process -

• Business communications should be clear and complete to ensure the recipient understands them and knows what actions to take.

• Business communications should be concise and to the point. All important information and messages should be concrete and full of the correct data, reports, and stats.

• Business communications should be considered. The sender must respect the recipient's time and status to maintain a good relationship.

• Business communications should be correct and courteous. All information and grammar within the message should be accurate. Individuals should be kind, respectful, and use proper language when corresponding with a colleague or customer.