Business Communication INU, CBE, Marketing Department, 2016

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CHAPTER THREE
BUSINESS COMMUNICATION PRINCIPLES
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
 Explain the seven principles that contribute to effective business writing.
 Describe the difference between completeness and conciseness.
 Understand what considerations you should make to write a complete and concise business
message.
 State the factors that make a written business message to be considerate.
 Explain the considerations made to ensure courtesy in business writing.
 Explain the planning process in business writing.

3.1 Introduction
The application of business communication principles helps to communicate effectively through
letters, memorandums, reports, speeches, telephones, face-to-face conversation, etc. The commonly

used principles in business communication are discussed in this chapter. Just imagine if you are
working at a place and everyone in the place does not have proper communication skills and as a
result, everyone is following their own thoughts. Will that working place be effective? No, it will not
be effective, it will be a big mess. That is why is important to learn the 7 C’s of communication. Here
are those:
3.2 Principle of Completeness
A message or an idea is complete when the audience has everything that they want to be informed.
Also, this gives an authority to them to move to call of action. The complete communication generally
involves the call to action, which helps the readers understand what you want to imply to them. It also
includes all the facts and figures in the sentences. Due to complete communication, the reputation is
enhanced for an organization. A complete communication also involves additional information
whenever or wherever it is required. Thus, it leaves no room for doubt in the mind of the readers
and audiences and also helps in persuading the audience.

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Providing answers to your listeners with logic, fact, and relevancy is crucial in any form of
communication. You must provide complete information in your message without missing the major
points. Do not hesitate to provide additional explanations for the complex messages. It makes your
content more understandable as you provide details on what you’re saying. Moreover, it ensures that
you do not leave any questions in the receiver’s mind or leave them wondering.
Don’t: Leave out crucial details or information.
Bad Example: “Send me the files.”
Do: Provide all necessary details.
Good Example: “Please send me the sales report files for March by end of day.
Your business letter is “complete” when it contains all facts the reader needed for the reaction you
desire. To achieve both the specific purpose of the message and goodwill, examine your messages to
make sure that you have covered everything you intended to cover and that you provided sufficient
detail for your reader/receiver to know what you expect of him/her. Complete letter also minimizes
the possible cost of additional letter. To make your message complete, make sure the reader/receiver
knows who is to do what as well as where, when and why he/she is to do it. Furthermore to ensure
completeness:
 Answer all questions asked by the reader/receiver.
 Answer anticipated questions the reader may have but forgot to ask.
 Provide all the information necessary for the reader/receiver to make a logical decision.
 Explicitly ask the reader/receiver to perform an action required, as may be necessary.
 Make the subject content sufficiently clear to accomplish the business objective and
 Make the feeling suitable to accomplish the human objective.

3.3 Principle of Conciseness

The longer your message is, the harder it can be for the audience to remember. It’s easy for people
to lose attention when your message is long and includes a draggy explanation. Considering this fact,
your message must be brief and to the point. Getting to the end of your message quickly and
efficiently is essential. Being concise is one of the most important 7cs of communication and avoid
repetitions of the information. It saves your time while keeping your audiences engaged.
Don’t: Drag on and use unnecessary words

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Bad Example: “In order to possibly determine the outcome of the situation that we’re currently
looking at, we might need more data.”
Do: Get straight to the point
Good Example: “We need more data to determine the outcome.”
Conciseness is one of the most important principles of effective business writing because a wordy
message requires more time and money to type and read. Conciseness is writing a message in the
minimum possible words without sacrificing completeness and courtesy. Conciseness involves
eliminating unnecessary words which is economical by saving time and money. The following are
suggestions that could help to achieve conciseness.
I. Omit unnecessary and longer expressions – Example: Use thank you” instead of "I want to
thank you", May 4” instead of “from this coming Saturday'', etc.
II. Avoid unnecessary repetition and wordy statements – Avoid unnecessary repetition even
though it is sometimes necessary for emphasis. Here are some ways to eliminate unnecessary
repetition.
 Use a short name after you have mentioned the longer one once. For example, instead of the
Guna Trading company, “use the company”
 Use pronouns rather than repeating long names. For instance, instead of using “the Ethiopian
Insurance Company" again and again, uses “it.”
 Omit unnecessary articles, relative pronouns prepositions, and conjunctions Example:
Article:
The evidence we have Evidence we have
Relative pronoun:
He said that he agreed. He said he agreed.
Prepositional phrase:
Date of the policy Policy date
Conjunction:
and colon or period
Wordy Concise
During the year of 1993 during 1993
For the reason that since, because

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Wordy sentence
There is no question that the increased use of advertising benefited the company.
Revised
Unquestionably, the increased advertising benefited the company.
III. Include only relevant facts with courtesy – Include only those ideas that develop the purpose
of the message. The extent of the length of a message depends on the job it is expected to
perform effectively. The major causes of irrelevancy include:
 Failure to stick to the purpose of the message.
 Including information obvious to the reader.
 Using big words to make an impression.
 Beating around the bush - failure to come to the point.
 Being excessively polite, etc.
III.4 Principle of Concreteness:
Concreteness refers to the idea of being clear and particular and avoids the basic fuzziness and
general in your ideas and thoughts. Concreteness also adds to your confidence level. Concreteness is
supported by figures and facts thus it gives your ideas a boost. As it involves clear words only, it
helps in increasing your reputation and little to none chances that your message is misinterpreted.
Writing concretely means being specific, definite, and vivid rather than vague and general. The
following guidelines help you write concretely.
1. Use specific facts and figures – To make your message concrete, use exact facts and Figures
rather than general words Example:
Vague, general, indefinite. Concrete and convincing
Our product has won several (Name) product has won first prize
Prizes. In four national contests within the
past three years.
Please send your check for the please send your check for $500
full amount soon. on or before June 5.

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Often vague, general words may have different meanings to the sender and the receiver. The list that
follows gives words, which can lead to uncertainty, misunderstanding, or confusion.
A few more short
High most slow
Large nice small
Low quick soon
Many several tall
Using plenty of examples, prefixed by phrases like “for instance,” “for example,” “such as,” also
helps make your writing concrete as well as clear.
2. Put action in your verbs – Strong verbs can activate other words and help made your sentences
definite. To write strong sentences:
o Use active rather than passive verbs, and
o Put action in your verbs instead of in nouns and infinitives.
Example: “The board of directors decided” is more explicit than “A decision has been made. “The
passive requires more words and thus, slows both the writing and reading. For instance: “Figures
show” is more concise than “It is shown by figures.
Action must also be put in verbs, not in nouns and infinitives. Notice the following examples:
Action hiding in a Noun Action in the verb
The function of this office is the This office collects accounts
collection of accounts and the and compiles statements.
compilation of statements.
Action hiding in Infinitive Action in the verb
The duty of a stenographer is A stenographer checks and
to check all incoming mail and records all incoming mail.
to record it.

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3.4 Principle of Clarity

Clarity is one of the most essential 7 Cs of communication. Your message should be easily
understandable and not confuse your audience. Make your perception of communication clear, as
you can’t make your audience understand unless you are clear on the message. Only you can carry
clear ideas with relevant meanings in messages. While carrying your ideas forward, put them
straight, using simple language to bring clarity to your speech or message.
Don’t: Use jargon or complicated words without explaining them.
Bad Example: “The ROI of our latest PPC campaign has surpassed our KPIs.”
Do: Make sure your message is easily understood.
Good Example: “The return on investment (ROI) of our latest pay-per-click (PPC) campaign has
exceeded our key performance indicators (KPIs).”

Clarity is the transfer of the writer’s thoughts to a reader without misunderstanding. It is the single
most important factor in communication. A misunderstood message is worse than no message at all.
A message that is not clear to a reader cannot possibly communicate the writer’s intentions. Thus,
clarity is the writer’s first responsibility. The first and most important task of the writer is to be
understood. That is, the writer wants to have his/her reader interpret the message with the same
meaning as intended. The following are some specific ways that help to make business writing clear.
A. Choose short and simple words rather than long and complicated words
Generally, short, familiar and everyday words communicate more effectively than longer and less
known words. Therefore, use short and familiar words if your reader is to understand your message.

Example:
Complicated word simple word
Interrogate ask
Subsequent to after
Give consideration to consider
Under date of on
As of this writing now

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In addition, when you select words you should make sure that the words you have selected would
mean the same thing to your audience as they do to you. Words have both denotations (dictionary
meaning) and connotations (associated, personal meanings). The words inexpensive and cheap can
denote the same thing. But their connotations are different. For most people, inexpensive simply
means low in cost while cheap means poorly made or a poor value.
B. Avoid ambiguous and equivocal words
Ambiguous words have more than one meaning and equivocal words. Whenever possible, avoid
technical jargons when you talk or write to a person who is not familiar with such words. If you must
use technical words, define them briefly and clearly, otherwise you will confuse, embarrass, or
irritate your reader, and perhaps be forced to explain later.
Example:
Technical jargon Expressions familiar to layperson
Annual premium annual payment
Assessed valuation value of property for tax purpose
Charge to your principal increase the balance of your loan
Maturity date final payment date
Per diem daily
Sentence: Days of grace under this policy expire May 15, 1980
Revised: The extra 30 - days allowed you to pay your premium without interest end May 15, 1980
C. Use concrete and specific words rather than general and abstract words
Specific language enables the reader to visualize the action of your letter and it creates believability.
Always give exact facts, figures, details, explanations and examples. For example, instead of soon use
March 15, 2002.

D. Use short and simple sentences

Sentence structure is also an important consideration in achieving clarity. The easiest sentences to
read and to understand are short, simple sentences using active voice in the past, present, or future
tense and making an explicit statement. While it is true that to avoid monotony, sentence length
should be varied; short sentences are easier to read and are therefore usually clearer than long
sentences. Use short sentences for your main ideas, and place supporting information in the longer
sentences. Beyond proper length, sentences seem to grow weaker with added word.

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E. Your message must be definite and straight forward

State your message explicitly rather than implicitly. Using specific and concrete words will help you
make explicit statements. Example:
Explicit: By ordering now, you will receive two issues absolutely free.
F. Construct effective sentences and paragraphs
Clear writing depends on logical structure. A clear message requires a definite beginning, middle
and end. In addition to the logical structure, the writer also needs to provide the reader with a unified
message that moves clearly from point to point.
A unified message has continuity of thought. Unity and structure requires planning. You should
group related ideas together and then arrange the groups into a logical sentence. Eliminate ideas that
do not pertain to either your subject content or your feeling content. So that your reader will always
know where your message has been and where it is going as you move from idea to idea, provide your
reader with a clear, specific reference to the preceding idea or anticipate your next idea with an
explicit statement of direction. As a result your statement (writing) should aim for unity and
coherence.
In a sentence, unity means having one idea and other ideas closely related to it. For instance, the
manager of the firm-X is Abraha and Alemu won a gold medal in the marathon, game. These two
ideas do not relate; the second idea is irrelevant to the first ideas
Sentences and paragraphs should have logical sequence showing the reader the relationship between
them. The use of linking words is important in this case. The principal ways of establishing the unity,
coherence and transition required for clarity are given as follows:
G. Include visual Aids, when desirable
Visual aids- such as headings, tabulations, itemizations, pictures, and charts are definite aids to clarity
and easy reading.
3.5 Principle of Correctness
Correctness plays a crucial role in ensuring effective communication. Your audience can not
understand your intended message if you do not ensure correctness. Your message must be correct
both grammatically and technically. It means your ideas and information must be error-free and
based on facts and reality. It must not contain any inaccurate or false information. The errors,
misstatements, and lies lead to ineffective communication, resulting in loss of confidence and trust
issues.

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Don’t: Use incorrect grammar or misinformation.

Bad Example: "There sales last month was good."
Do: Ensure your message is grammatically and factually accurate.
Good Example: “Their sales last month were impressive.”

Presenting a message correctly helps you to avoid the risk of miscommunication. Mistakes cause
misunderstanding and they can destruct the recipients from concentrating on the intended message.
Besides, errors can affect the credibility of the sender and the message. As a principle of effective
writing the broad term correctness refers to:
 Correct figures, accurate statements, facts and explicit identification of assumptions an opinion.
It is obvious that without correct figures and statements, accurate communication is impossible.
 Correct spelling, grammar, mechanics, and language usage. Misspelled words, faulty
punctuation, and awkward constructions will be barriers to communication. Your ability to use
language correctly and to write a message free from superficial errors is a nonverbal message that
tells your readers that you are an intelligent, careful person who cares enough about them to pay
attention to the details of your message. Because your letters, memos, and reports provide a lasting
record of your abilities to think, write and communicate about business matters, you should take the
time to ensure correctness since communication errors will undermine your business effectiveness.
Thus, as a writer of a business letter, you should apply the following guidelines in your
communication.
i. Use correct level of language, spelling, and grammar and mechanics.
 Use short, well-known, and conversational words.
 Spelling - misspelled words are the single most common error in business letters.
 Punctuation - Review the rules for using commas, semicolons, and quotation marks.
 Use colon before a list of items, Example: Use the first five English alphabets: A, B, C, D, and E.
 Use commas to separate items in a series. Use quotation- Example. For direct quotations when
said, “I will go to USA”
Subject - verb agreement. Subjects and verbs must agree in number and in person.
Example: The manager (singular) is (singular) quite young.
Pronoun - antecedent agreement – Pronouns and their antecedents must agree in person, number and
gender.

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Example: Abraham (singular, masculine, third person) is pushing his (singular, masculine, third
person) product.
Tense progression. Use the simple tenses (past, present, and future) whenever possible. Make sure
that the verbs used for each event accurately depict the time appropriate for that event.
Parallel construction – Like ideas should be expressed in like grammatical structures. Pay particular
attention to series, lists, appositives, and ideas proceeded by correlative conjunctions (either--- or,
neither--- nor, not only--- but also). Example:
 He should either quit his job or learn to operate the machine.
 Neither his supervisor nor his assistant filed the paper.
The manager prepared not only the reports but also the tapes.
Correct placement of modifiers – Place modifiers close to the word or idea that requires the
modifier. Example:
Dangling: by working hard, the report will be finished soon.
Correct: by working hard, I will finish the report soon.
Misplaced: I know a man who sells filing cabinet named smith.
Correct: I know a man named smith who sells filling cabinets.
Finally, you remember to proofread, when correspondence has your nonce on it,
it represents the best work you are able to do. If your secretary can’t type a decent letter or memo, that
is still your responsibility, and your business associates will judge you rather than your secretary, by
the material you sign.
ii. Ensure that the facts, figures and words used are accurate:
One erroneous digit can make a difference of thousands of money. Even small errors of a few cents
can be annoying to customers and undermine goodwill. To be sure of the accuracy of your facts, you
should verify all statements before writing and again before you sign approve the message. You also
need to be up-to-date on laws that affect your organization.
Guessing or assuming that you are right can be costly. Just because a certain fact was true about a
customer last year- or even last month- does not assure it is true now. You should also realize that,
like most things in life, language is alive and ever changing. This is to say that language is in a
continuous development. New words emerge; old words die. The change in words may result
confusion in usage.

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3.6 Principle of Consideration

The relationship between of the message, the sender and the receiver profoundly affects
communication effectiveness. Consideration means that preparing a message with the recipient in
mind. This includes trying to put oneself in his/her place. It involves visualizing and evaluating the
recipient's situation, the desires, problems, circumstances, emotions and probable reactions to
one's request so as to adjust the message from the recipient's point of view. This includes taking into
account the language and tone of your message. This thoughtful of consideration is also called “you
- attitude,” empathy, the human touch, and understanding of human nature. To achieve consideration,
it is necessary to apply the following.
 Focus on “you” instead of “I” and “we”
Readers are usually more concerned about themselves than about the writer or the company they
represent. They are more likely to read the writer's message when they see their name and the pronoun
“you” rather than “I, We, Us.”
Usually it is desirable to get the reader into the first paragraph. If psychologically desirable, begin
with “you” or “your,” and keep your reader in the message (tactfully) until you finish. The opposite of
your –attitude is the we-attitude, in which the writer views every matter from his/her own (or
organization’s) standpoint rather than from the reader’s.
We – attitude you - attitude
I want to send my Congratulations to you on
Congratulations……. You’re …
Study the following example:
We – attitude: May I take this opportunity to express my thanks for the account you recently
opened with our store.
We are pleased to furnish a wide variety of products for the home or individual
You – attitude: Thank you for the account you recently opened at DASHEN’S.
Serving you with your needs for clothing and a home furnishing is a pleasure.
As the foregoing example illustrates, a letter is likely to have better you – attitude when it contains
more “you’d” than “I’s.” However, in two kinds of situations it is advisable not to use “you.”
 When the reader has made a mistake:

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Don't say you failed to enclose your check in the envelope.

Say the envelope we received did not have your check in it.
 When the reader has expressed an opinion different from your own.
Don't say you are entirely wrong in your attitude.
Say the proposed plan has three aspects which are extremely important and which we need to
explain now.

 Shows interest in the reader

Whenever possible and true, show how readers will benefit from whatever the message asks or
announces. They will be more likely to react favorably and do what you suggest if you show that
benefits be worth the effort and cost. For instance, reader-benefits are desirable in job applications,
favor requests, and announcements to your customers, prospective buyers, stockholders and
employees. If your company provides employee benefits such as, health insurance and various
retirement plans-management should make every effort to assure that all employees understand and
appreciate those benefits. To inform employees effectively, management can use such media as
memos, employee manuals, bulletins reports, etc.
 Emphasize on pleasant & positive facts. Here, reader is required to accent the positive.
This means
- Stressing what can be done instead of what cannot be done and
- Focusing on ideas your reader can view favorably.
The reader wants to know what the writer can do for him/her. For most people negative words like no,
won’t, cannot, never, impossible trigger unpleasant emotional reactions. By making clear what you
can or will do, you (by implication) often make clear what you cannot do, without using a single
negative word. Example:
Negative-Unpleasant Positive-Pleasant
It is impossible to open an As soon as your signature card
account for you today. reaches us, we will gladly
open an account.
When a customer closes an account, try to begin your follow-up letter to the former customer with a
favorable positive paragraph. A negative opening emphasizes ideas you would rather not have the
reader think about.

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 Be Honest
To be truly considerate, apply integrity - high moral standards, personal honor, truthfulness, sincerity-
to your messages. Integrity is always indispensable. Without it business communications would
prove worthless and our confidence in people would be shattered. Since you are an agent of your
company, always remember that your messages help build the company’s image. And to make this
image one of integrity requires consistently fair treatment of customers and to be honest and sincere
for them. For example, though the following sentence sounds “you” centered, the manager who wrote
it was not honest or insincere. His action is stated in parentheses.
“Your request will be given our careful attention, and we assure you our objective is to be fair.” (This
writer merely threw the case into a file folder, and told his secretary that he/she had no intention of
working on it or assigning anyone else to do so, he hoped that after a long wait the customer would
forget.)
Consideration involves the golden rule - showing to others that the same fairness and honesty
We expect for ourselves. Remember both your own integrity and that of your company are revealed in
the business message you write.
a. Principle of Courtesy
Courteous message helps to strengthen present business friendship, as well as make new friends.
Courtesy stems from sincere you-attitude. It is not merely politeness with mechanical insertions of
“pleases” and “thank-yours”. To be courteous, the communicator should follow the following
suggestions regarding tone and promptness of messages.
b. Be sincerely Tactful, Thoughtful, and Appreciative
A truly courteous person sincerely likes people, is thoughtful of their feelings, and tries honestly to
help them. The courteous communicator tries to make messages tactful and shows thoughtful
appreciation in special messages as well as in every day communication.
Tactless Tactful.
Your letter is not clear at all: If I understand your letter
I can’t understand it. Correctly…..
Apparently you have already As mentioned in my May 15
Forgotten what I wrote you letter (or memo) to you,

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Two weeks ago. (Continue with the facts)…

Words that convey cordial and courteous messages in congratulations and appreciation (to persons
both inside and outside the organization) help build goodwill. Much money is spent on advertising to
attract new customers and to keep desirable old customers. While advertising may bring buyers into
the front door of your firm, discourteous letters can drive customers out the back door. Remember,
since customers indirectly help pay your salary; you should let them know you appreciate their orders,
payments and inquiries.
c. Omit Expressions that Irritate, Hurt, or Belittle
The thought-full business writer should avoid expressions that might offend the reader. Therefore, in
order to keep your letter courteous you have to avoid:
Irritating expressions such as “contrary to your inference” I do not agree with you”
Belittling statements - Talking undermining a reader is another form of discourtesy that can have a
profoundly unfavorable effect.
d. Grant and apologize Good-naturedly
Whenever you have occasion to comply with a customer’s request, begin your letter with the best
news first and inject a courteous, ungrudging tone. Notice the difference in tone of the following two
paragraphs
Grudging
Your request causes a great deal of extra paper work to change monthly payments. However, in
compliance with your request, we…
Good-natured
As you requested, we will reduce the monthly interest and principal payments called for in your note
to….
If a request has caused you extra work, you may tactfully tell the customer somewhere in the letter -
but not the first paragraph.
Occasionally you may get a “nasty” letter from a customer, who is wrong in his/her accusations. A
courteous reply can lead not only to an apology from the customer but also future staunch loyalty as a
boaster for your organization.
e. Answer your mail promptly

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For courtesy as well as better results one should answer a business inquiry promptly. If you need time
to gather information, or have a stack of other urgent work, before you can answer a request, send a
short note like the following:
I will gladly send you the information you need. It may take a few days to assemble the facts. You
will hear from me by….
f. Planning in Communication
Your careful planning of the message is most important for effective communication since your goal is
to gain desired reaction or action from the recipient. Thus, think and plan before you communicate.
This means, to determine what points to include in your message, and to determine how to arrange
those points for greatest effectiveness. You need to analyze the communication context by asking
yourself: what is the purpose of the message? What is the reader’s point of view? And what is
necessary to achieve the principles of effective communication?
Planning in communication requires applying the following steps:
g. Understand the purpose of the message
Determine the receiver of your message and what you want to achieve. Your first step is to determine
what you want to achieve out of the message. Every message has two categories of purposes or
objectives.
Business objective - establishes the subject content. Your business objective is to obtain the
information that will help your dealer help you. Example: informing your reader that you are offering
a new product or service or persuading him/her to purchase the new product or service or informing
him/her the delay of the shipment. You may also inquire the availability of sufficient goods.
Human objective - establishes the feeling content. Your human objective is to establish empathy
with the reader so that a spirit of cooperation will prevail. This part of purpose is important to build
goodwill. Thus, be sure to keep, both your business purpose (specific) and human purpose (general), in
mind as you plan every message.
h. Visualize your reader
Understand your reader and your reader’s point of view. Your reader can be a business or professional
person, superior, colleague or subordinate; man or woman; young, middle aged, or elderly new or
longtime customer; and so on. The different people with whom you are communicating will not have
the same point of view. Visualizing that there is an individual difference adjust your message
accordingly. Write your message with the individual reader in mind

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i. Choose the ideas that the message is to include

Identifying the purpose and the ideas that the purpose is to include is helpful to avoid irrelevant ideas
and overall wordiness. The ideas you will include in the writing depend upon the type of message you
are considering.
j. Get all the facts to support your ideas
Once you have determined the ideas, you must ensure that you have the necessary figures, facts and
quotations to support these ides. Be sure you know your company policy, procedures and product
details if this message requires them.
k. Organize your ideas/thoughts
Before you write your message, outline your ideas in a sequence/logical order so that the flow of
ideas can be smooth.
l. Write, revise, and proofread
Write and revise your message carefully. No matter your writing is routine short communication or
complex long communication you must read your draft objectively, from the viewpoint of your reader.
Make sure that your message meets all principles of effective business writing. Finally, after your
message is type written (handwritten) it needs careful proof reading. Proof reading is essential to
correct any possible error; so that your message will reflect favorably on you and your business.

Summary
Communication is vital for everyone, whether for an individual or an organization.
The 7 Cs of communication play a significant role in improving your
communication to achieve effectiveness. It allows you to influence your audience
with your words. Such perk applies to various sectors such as organization,
business, and education. It helps improve your work efficiency and improve your
business communication.
All business writing situations can be analyzed according to the foregoing method. And as infinitely
varied as the possibilities are, all business messages should answer the same general questions and
contain the same basic elements. Cheek every message you write for answer to the following
questions:
 Is the message structured to emphasize its main purpose?

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 What is its business purpose?

 What is its human purpose?
 Does the message have secondary purpose?
 Does the message take the reader’s point of view into account?
 What does the reader already know?
 What does the reader want to know?
 What is the reader hoping to hear?
 Does the message contain enough information to be clear?
 Does the message maintain a courteous tone throughout?
 Is it concise?
 Is it grammatically, mechanically, and factually correct?
 Does it express confidence in the reader and the message without being overconfident?
 Does it have a pleasant, conversational tone?
 Does the message specify how the reader will benefit out of it

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