5 Cs of Communication Five Cs of communication

5 Cs of Communication • Five Cs of communication – Complete – Clear – Concise – Cohesive – Courteous

THE C’S OF COMMUNICATION 1. Clarity: A message must be as straight forward and as logically stated as possible. 2. Completeness: A message must be complete in all respects (if written) while trying to simplify and clarify, we, fall into the trap of incompleteness. 3. Conciseness: A message must be concise, but not incomplete.

4. Concreteness: The communicator should avoid pushing real things into abstract. 5. Correctness: Only correct message should be communicated correctly.

STYLE OF COMMUNICATION • • Represents Leadership or management style. Four styles are: 1. Tell. 2. Sell 3. Confer 4. Join

1. TELL STYLE • To explain instruct or inform • You know “answer” & you want to TELL audience the “answers. ” • Not authoritarian style. • Used in upward communication e. g. report to boss, suggestions, application, recruitments, appraisal, minutes of meeting.

2. SELL STYLE • To change action • You know “answers” & you want audience to act differently because of these “answers”. • To motivate customers to take your desired action e. g. signing contract. • In presentation to sell your idea approval of plan.

3. CONFER STYLE • To consult or interact with audience. • To gather information or opinions. • You don’t know the “answer”, You want to learn from audience. • E. g. as a result of reading survey, at least 50% employees will respond by answering questions.

4. JION STYLE • High involvement of audience. • You & audience act together. • Brainstorm and collaborate to discover the”answer”. • E. g. as a result of reading this agenda, my audience will come to meeting prepared to offer their thoughts on the topic.

WHEN TO USE THESE STYLES? • No style is good or bad. We must use all these styles depending on need & situation. Use Tell & Sell style when: • We have all required information. • Can understand that information without any help from others. • Concerned with logical, orderly quick decision.

Use Confirm & Join Style When: • Need more information. • Need critical evaluation, opinions & ideas from others. • Concerned with feelings of people involved & carrying decisions effectively.

COMMUNICATION FLOW

COMMUNICATION FLOW 1. Downward Communication. • From higher levels to lower levels. • E. g. memo, policy, procedures, manuals, staff meetings, news letter, job descriptions, announcements, performance appraisals, counseling sessions, interviews, telephonic conversation.

Purpose of downward communication • To explain set standards e. g. informing employees about policy. • To provide feedback to employees e. g. performance appraisal. • To encourage participation e. g. new ideas, feedback on policies. • To motivate or inspire e. g. role of employee in company’s mission.

Danger in downward communication • Information may garbled on way. • Loss of information at each level a message descend. How to overcome this danger: • • • Use two way communication. Confirm subordinates attending meetings. Use appropriate tone not to insult people. Communication must be clear. Mutual trust between employee & employer.

2. Upward Communication • From subordinates to supervisors e. g. reports, memos, meetings, interviews. Purpose: • Reporting activities & accomplishments. • Offer suggestions & opinions. • Increase participation in management function e. g. planning or controlling. • So better use of subordinate’s abilities.

Problems : • Employee think that they will be in trouble by giving honest opinion. • Employees may be perceived as lacking independence. fear by being “penalized”. • Feeling of lack of interest by managers in employees. How to overcome: • Relationship b/w boss & subordinates. • Guidelines how much boss want to know. • Avoid impolite tone.

3. Horizontal or lateral communication • Communication b/w people at same hierarchical level but in different functional areas. e. g. marketing manager & production manager. Purpose: • Teamwork & coordination, problem solving, interpersonal rapports.

Problems: • Departmental isolation. • Lack of time & communication opportunity. • Jealousy & rivalry b/w groups.

4. Outward (External)communication • From org. to outside org. • e. g. suppliers, dealers, vendors, manufacturers, customers, Govt. agencies, community groups. • Through advertisements, press releases, mailing by P. R. pt. • Who ever write / speak for company represent company.