Get What You Want : Tips To Be A Better Communicator

We communicate every day. In our workplace, we give feedback to our team members, attend weekly meetings and ‘sell’ our ideas to our bosses. Some people are good communicators while others still have rooms for improvements.

To make our message more understandable and thus increasing the chances of getting what we want from it, we can use the 7Cs of Communication below;

Clear – Be clear of the reason why we communicate with others.  What is the purpose of our communication? It is to sell a product? Persuade others to accept our proposal? Highlight our team members’ poor performance?

Concise – Stick to the point and keep our message simple. Avoid beating around the bush. Remember, keep it as simple as possible. Simple message has better chances of being understood by our team members.

Concrete – When our message is concrete, our team members will have clear pictures of what we are saying. We can use examples, stories and metaphors to make our message more vivid. Limit them to one for each point that we are trying to emphasize.

Correct – A correct communication is an error-free communication. When speaking, pay attention to our language structure and pronunciation. Check and re-check our spelling and grammar when writing a memo, report or proposal.

Coherent - When our communication is coherent, it flows logically. For example, when presenting a proposal, our message has an opening, body and closing (call for action). Our ideas are connected and relevant, making our message easy to understand.

Complete – A complete message enables our team members to get all the information they need in order to take action. It has specific time frame and outcomes. For example, when writing minutes of meeting, we need to clearly state the task, person in charge and dateline for action.    

Courteous – Trust is important especially in face to face communication. It can be achieved by being friendly, open, and honest. Avoid ‘punching below the belt’, character assassination, insults or aggressive tones.

Next time we write a report, give sales presentation or asking for that extra budget for our department, the 7Cs of Communication above will help us to increase the chances of getting what we want by making our communication more impactful. Try it today!