Communication Skills
7 C’s
Week 3
Course Teacher: Ghulam Mubasher
Mubasher Ghulam
Review
We discussed
Completeness
5W’s & 1H
Conciseness
Include only relevant
Eliminate Wordy Expression
Avoid repetition
Fog Index
Mubasher Ghulam
4. Consideration
1 You Attitude ( putting your feet in the shoes of receiver)
2 See your material from your reader’s point of view.
3 ‘You’ is more desirable than ‘I’ or ‘We’ in most instances.
4 Readers like to see benefits. Be sure benefits are a prominent part
of the message.
5 Consciously use positive words; readers will react more favorably.
Mubasher Ghulam
4. Consideration (Focus on ‘You’ instead
of ‘I’ and ‘we’)
We-attitude ▶You-attitude
▶ I am delighted 1 You will be able
to announce to shop in
that we will be evenings with
extending our the extended
hours to make hours.
shopping more
convenient.
▶ You failed to
enclose your 2 The check was
check in the not enclosed.
envelope.
Mubasher Ghulam
4. Consideration (Show audience
benefit or interest in the receiver, pleasant
facts)
Negative - Unpleasant ▶ Positive – Pleasant
▶ It is impossible to 1 As soon as your
open an account signature card
for you today. reaches us, we
▶ We don’t refund will gladly open
if the returned an account.
item is soiled and 2 We refund when
unsalable. the returned item
is clean and
resalable.
Mubasher Ghulam
4. Consideration (Emphasize
pleasant words)
liked Disliked
▶ Favorably 1 Blame
▶ Cordially 2 Complaint
▶ Benefit 3 Failed
▶ Happy 4 Fault
▶ Help 5 Negligence
▶ Generous 6 Regret
▶ Loyal 7 Reject
▶ Pleasure 8 Trouble
▶ Thanks 9 Unfair
▶ Considerable 10 Mistake
▶ Many more 11 Many more
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4. Consideration (Use of
Common titles/gender Noun/Pronoun)
▶ Use Common Gender, While addressing a gender-wise
mix audience to keep both genders involved
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5. Concreteness
▶ It is related to the authenticity of the message
▶ Concrete means solid but here solid means solid
information
▶ Confirmed and adequate information is concrete
▶ Opposite to concrete is guessed or inferred information
which might not be authentic and cause problem
▶ Violation of concreteness causes bad reputation in
market at business level
▶ Many problems are in the societies due to rumors and
rumors are the examples of the violation of
concreteness
Mubasher Ghulam
5. Concreteness
Ask Following questions to Yourself
1 Misunderstandings of words have produced tragedies
in both war and peace, in business and non-business
situations.
2 Were you precise in using facts and figure wherever
possible?
3 Did you use the active voice more than the passive?
4 Is there action in verbs rather than in nouns or
infinitives?
5 Did you try to occasionally use vivid, image-building
words? But in business writing, use them sparingly.
Mubasher Ghulam
5. Concreteness
Vague, General, Indefinite
1. Student GMAT scores are higher.
2. Eastern Europe is making progress in obtaining
investments.
Concrete, Clear
1 In 2007 the GMAT scores averaged 600; by 2008 they
had risen to 610.
2 In 2000 investments in Eastern Europe were about US $
30 millions; today that figure has increased by 10%.
Mubasher Ghulam
5. Concreteness
Put actions into your verbs
▶ Active verbs help ▶ Example & explanation
make your sentences:
1. Specific
1. The dean decided
2. Personal
2. You will notice instead
of “it will be noted”
3. Passive verbs dull
3. Emphatic action: the students
held a contest or “ a
contest was held by
the students”
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5. Activity Concreteness (which
ones are better and why)
▶ Tests were 1 Professors
administered by the administered the
professors. tests.
▶ Professor A. will
give consideration to 2 Prof. A. will consider
the report. the report.
Be Specific, personal , concise and emphatic
6. Concreteness
▶ It is related to the Accuracy of the message
▶ Correct means error free information
▶ Accurate and correct information is concrete
▶ Opposite to correct is wrong or incorrect information
which might cause the legal problems
▶ Violation of Correctness can be disastrous for business
▶ Many problems are in the societies due to rumors and
rumors are the examples of the violation of
concreteness
Mubasher Ghulam
6. Correctness
1 Select the right level of language for your
communication: either formal or informal
▶ Formal: scholarly writing like doctoral dissertations, article,
legal documents etc.
▶ Informal: characteristic of business writing where words are
short, well-known and conversational. e.g.
▶ Formal Less Formal
Participate join
Procure get
Endeavor try
Edifice building
Interrogate question
6. Correctness
1. Realize that informal language is also used
in business communication.
2. Check –often by letting another person read your
material – for correct figures, facts, and words.
3. Verify your statistical data,
4. Double check your total,
5. Determine whether a “fact” has changed over time
6. Apply the principles of accepted mechanics
to your writing.
▶ Spelling. grammar, sentence construction, sentence
fragment, run-on sentences, punctuation,
consistency in tenses etc.
Comparison of Correctness
and concreteness
Concreteness Correctness
▶ Authentic ▶ Accurate
▶ Confirmed and true ▶ Correct and right
▶ Its violation might be ▶ Its violation is
intentional mistake unintentional mistake
Mubasher Ghulam
7. Courtesy (Last but not least
▶ It is related to the Politeness of the message
▶ Correct means being polite
▶ Polite style can engage easily
▶ Everyone likes to be respected
▶ You can achieve the most difficult communicative
targets through Politeness which can not be achieved
even by Force
▶ Courtesy brings extra benefits like trust, faith and
respect.
Mubasher Ghulam
7. Courtesy
1 Ask yourself: Does the communication have a
sincere you-attitude?
▶ Not only politeness like “Please” or “Thank you” but also
socially accepted manners.
▶ Be sincerely tactful, thoughtful and appreciative.
2. Have someone else look at your statement if you
have doubts about whether it is tactful. Another
opinion may cause you to reconsider making a
statement.
▶ Be careful about being dishonest
▶ Other opinion should be of some expert.
7. Courtesy
3 Be cautious in using humor in
communication. Here too it pays to
have someone else review your words.
▶ Most of the humor is culturally specific.
▶ Maintain a line between humor and irony
4. Be careful in using discriminatory
language; this means being aware of
gender, race, age, color, creed, sexual
preferences, or ethnic origins.
7. Courtesy (be sincerely tactful, thoughtful,
and appreciative)
Tactless, blunt, Irritating Tactful, Courteous
▶ I can’t understand any of it. 1 It’s my understanding.
▶ You are delinquent 2 Contrary to you inference
▶ You did not tell us 3 I’m sure you must realize
▶ Your complaint 4 We find it difficult to believe
that
▶ Your stubborn silence 5 Why have you ignored
7. Courtesy (Choose nondiscriminatory
expression)
Avoid More desirable
▶ Manpower 1 4th semester students
▶ Man-made 2 Workers, employees
▶ The best man 3 The best person/
for the position candidate
7. Courtesy (Omit irritating expressions)
▶ We must insist ▶ You did not tell us
▶ Simply nonsense ▶ You failed to
▶ Why you have ignored ▶ You forgot to
▶ If you care ▶ You leave us no choice
▶ Irresponsible ▶ You should know
▶ Obnoxious ▶ Your stubborn silence
Recapitulation
Consideration:
▶ See your material from your reader’s point of view.
▶ ‘You’ is more desirable than ‘I’ or ‘We’ in most
instances.
▶ Readers like to see benefits. Be sure benefits are a
prominent part of the message.
▶ Consciously use positive words; readers will react
more favorably.
▶ Show audience benefit or interest in the receiver,
pleasant facts
▶ Emphasize pleasant words
Mubasher Ghulam
Thank You
Mubasher Ghulam
