Accuracy! Brevity! Clarity! Three Key Words for Effective Communication

Why only three words and not four, five, seven or more are essentials for an effective communication? It is evident from my little experimentation that it is easy and convenient to remember and act on three words/points. Later these take the shape of natural habit and instinct. It is easier to remember ABC of communications than 7 Cs or six steps to communications or 10 mistakes of communications.

I teach in an NGO where youths from rural and underprivileged class, mostly school and college drop outs, are students. At the end of the each lesson, I give them a star having five corners. They are asked to remember and write five things that they learnt during the session of two hours. They all easily write three things and thereafter they start scratching their heads searching for two more points. I have introduced this star called “Take Away Star” even in a prestigious university where I teach quite well placed (from education point of view) youth. They also write three aspects without any hassle but start scratching their heads for the fourth and fifth points. I tried this for class IX children in my village school; same result. So it is much easier and convenient to remember and follow three things than 4,5,6,7 or more things.

When a busy manager or CEO is trying to write a mail or draft a memo or indulges in verbal communication, try and asking him/her; did you follow 7Cs of communication or did you remember to avoid 10 mistakes of communications? I am sure he/she will go crazy. But on the other hand, it would be very easy to remember and follow accuracy, brevity and clarity concept.

Another three things that I remember since my childhood, are when I was in standard II or III in a Hindi medium school in my village. The teacher asked us to write an essay (Nibandh/lekh as called in Hindi) on cow. And he specifically instructed us that the essay should have three parts ie Introduction (Parichay), main body/pros and cons/description (vaykhaya) and summary/conclusion (upsanghar). I remember these and follow in my communications. I am sure, these three aspects combined with ABC will make, not only excellent written or verbal communication but will also simplify, complex theories of communications.

Another three, as I perceive are the senses. Out of five senses, we maximum use three at a time to communicate. When we hear and watch TV or any person talk, only two senses are being used. Taste, seeing and touching are at play when we eat with hands. When we shake hands or hug; touching, hearing and seeing are being used. When we present a bouquet of flower with fragrance; sense of smell, seeing and in case one of them speaks, then hearing are predominant. It is hard to find a situation when all the five senses come into play simultaneously. In fact, some of us totally omit to recognise the sense of taste as an effective means of communication, I am sure chefs won’t like this. Even though one uses two or three senses at a time, but in reality the concentration is only on one.

There are situations when even written or spoken words are not required for effective communication; body language with appropriate facial expressions may be adequate. In the military, there is a formal and the briefest communicating word “WILCO”. It means message received, understood and will be complied with. In Persian language there is a word “CHASHM”. It means the same as Wilco. Wilco is formal and tantamount to obedience of command whereas “CHASHM” is soft, delicate, polite, respectful and very sweet to ears.

Like all leadership and management concepts, ABC of Communications have also come from the teachings and usages in the military. Accuracy, Brevity and Clarity are not only the best methods to follow while communicating by any means, but these also save time, space on the bandwidth, use of materials like papers or power while working on computers or while transmitting. Even the person who receives a message on the pattern of ABC, grasps the content much faster and acts/reacts appropriately. Moreover, ABC are echo friendly, convenient, easy to remember, simple to practise and can be easily converted into natural habits/instinct for very effective communication.

Take Away Star