The six Cs of Effective Messages

1
The six Cs of Effective Messages

• By
• Bryan Conyers

2
Courtesy

• Use the you attitude
• Use positive words
• Select gender-free terms
• Respond to messages promptly.
• Congratulations within 2 days
• Requests within 5 working days

3
Clarity

• Select appropriate words
• Place words in an orderly sequence
• Limit the use of it and there
• Position phrases correctly
• Keep sentences short
• Between 13-20 words

4
Conciseness

• Eliminate unnecessary words
• Select action verbs and efficient words
• Write in the active voice
• In the active voice the subject of the sentence
  performs the action
• Use necessary modifiers
• Words, phrases, or clauses that provide
  description in a sentence

5
Concreteness

• Know your reader
• Avoid opinions and generalizations
• Provide specific details

6
Correctness

• Use the following
• Dictionary
• Thesaurus
• Word division manual
• Format guide

7
Completeness

• A complete messages answers
• Who
• What
• When
• Where
• Why