12 characteristics of efficient communication.
The principle
The 12 C model is a guideline that was developed to help with communication. It is about making your communication efficient so that your message gets across.
Also keep in mind that you communicate with a wide variety of people every day through a wide variety of media. Since you are probably not the only one your contacts are communicating with, it is important that your communication is efficient so that it stands out, is clearly understandable and fulfills its purpose.
The 12 C’s come from the English language and stand for characteristics or content that you should consider in all communication – no matter what form! – should take into account:
1. Clear
2. Concise
3. Concrete
4. Coherent
5. Correct
6. Competent
7. Complete
8. Courteous
9. Conversational
10. Cherishing
11. Calm
12. Curious
The practice
1. Clear
When you communicate with someone, you should express your message clearly. What is the reason for the communication, why are you communicating with this person? If you do not express yourself clearly, your message or the meaning of your communication will not be clearly understood. Then your communication partners may not know what you want from them. People who communicate unclearly are often perceived as unpleasant communication partners, as you constantly have to ask yourself “What does this person want from me?” or keep thinking “Get to the point!”
Express yourself clearly and in a structured way, avoid digressions, spontaneous changes of subject or distractions and finish sentences you have started.
Try to avoid foreign words, complicated expressions and technical jargon.
2. Concise
When you present figures, facts or other information in your communication, you should do so as precisely as possible. If your data is not presented precisely or you do not present it accurately, it may not be understood. The result is that you confuse people rather than inform them. Many a conversation has failed early on because figures were presented in an imprecise way.
Prepare your facts so that you can present them in an easily understandable format and context. Be precise in your statements and use logic to explain and connect connections.
3. Concrete
When you describe things, situations or circumstances etc. in your communication, you should be very specific. If your description or explanation is vague, i.e. not precise, your communication partners may not be able to imagine what you are saying. Your message may not be understood. Inaccurate statements may also mean that the person you are talking to is unable to understand you or your point of view, which is unfavorable for your position.
Avoid paraphrasing and express clearly what you are talking about. If necessary, take a stand or present your point of view objectively and factually. It must always be clear what you want or what the purpose of the communication is.
4. Coherent
If you communicate coherent information, it is logical, comprehensible and the individual topics are relevant to each other. If your communication is incoherent, i.e. not logically structured and not coherent, your communication partners will not be able to follow you and will not understand what you want to tell them because they may not be able to recognize the connections.
Make sure your communication is logical and coherent. At best, one topic leads to the next and everything remains comprehensible. Try to tell a story that has a beginning, a middle and an end.
5. Correct
If your communication contains errors, e.g. in spelling, grammar or pronunciation, if you misspell or mispronounce names, this will have a negative effect. Even if a small slip of the tongue can be excused, your communication partners will look askance at the latest when you present false facts or twist facts to your advantage.
Keep an eye on your spelling, grammar and expression. Depending on the occasion, try to avoid colloquial language and check facts before you present them. Always stick to the truth!
6. Competent
If you are communicating a specific topic, specialist area or context, you should make sure that you have the necessary expertise. Your statements, data and facts should reflect that you know your stuff. Otherwise, you will appear insecure and your communication partners may not understand what you are telling them or they may question your competence.
Alongside appearance, competence is one of the most important components of communication. However, be careful not to appear too doctrinaire or omniscient, as this can be off-putting. Factual, objective competence is the golden mean.
7. Complete
If you communicate incomplete information, there is a chance that your communication partners will not understand you. If you do not communicate all the relevant information and present it logically, for example because you assume that the other person knows this information, they may be missing important content to understand your communication – to follow it. Presenting incomplete information can also lead to you not being taken seriously or being seen as unprofessional.
Only present complete information – facts! Also make sure that your communication partners also receive the additional information they may need to understand you or your explanations.
8. Courteous
No matter who you are communicating with and in what context: You should always be polite! Negative wording and the expression of negative emotions will most likely be understood by your communication partners as a personal attack or even an insult. This will prevent efficient communication and will not get you anywhere.
Show respect to your communication partners by being polite. This shows education, good manners and appreciation for the other person. Politeness is also friendliness: therefore, your communication and demeanor should always express friendliness.
9. Conversational
If you are very self-centered in your communication, i.e. you only talk about yourself and only say what you want to say, this may be perceived negatively. If possible, there should be less “I” and more “you” in your communication. Formulate your communication in such a way that a dialog can develop.
Actively involve your communication partners in the communication and do not hold monologues. Ask questions so that a “we” can develop and, if possible, relate to the other person. Try to guide your communication partners towards self-reflection and self-awareness.
10. Cherishing
Appreciation is the ultimate in politeness and friendliness. Not showing appreciation in a communication takes away some of the impact of your arguments and content. Just like politeness and friendliness, appreciation is a cornerstone of successful and efficient communication.
Always try to express some form of appreciation in your communication, such as a compliment, praise or recognition. However, make sure that it does not come across as exaggerated or artificial! Exercise restraint, find the right measure and the right words.
11. Calm
As with politeness, no matter who you are communicating with and in what context, you should always be relaxed and calm. Emotional outbursts, stress and tension are poisons to effective communication. They lead to tenseness and this will make itself felt – physically and mentally. In addition, restlessness and tension also lead to nervousness, which is also unfavorable for harmonious communication.
Don’t let yourself get flustered. A relaxed and calm demeanor always exudes an air of confidence without conveying arrogance. Calm people radiate calmness and reliability. Take advantage of this effect!
12. Curious
If you want to get the attention of your communication partners, the last C is particularly important in addition to the previous 11 C’s: create curiosity! Curiosity is a characteristic that people usually pursue. Curiosity creates excitement and interest. It’s not called “arouse curiosity” for nothing, because by making people curious, you wake them up!
Make sure that you don’t always or immediately communicate everything you want to say, but that you also generate curiosity and prompt your communication partners to ask or react. This will also help you integrate them better into the communication and give them the feeling of being an active part of it.
How to use 12 C communication:
1. First write your communication roughly in bullet points.
2. Go through the 12 C’s and check whether your communication takes all points into account.
3. Correct or formulate your key points and formulate complete sentences.
4. Go through your final communication again and check whether you have taken all 12 C’s into account.
12 C Communication checklist
1. Clear
“Is my communication formulated and structured clearly and comprehensibly?”
2. Concise
“Are information, data and facts presented accurately?”
3. Concrete
“Is the information presented exactly comprehensible?”
4. Coherent
“Is the information presented logical and coherent?”
5. Correct
“Is the information correct and have all errors been corrected?”
6. Competent
“Does my communication express competence?”
7. Complete
“Is all the information (facts, figures, data, etc.) available?”
8. Courteous
“Does my communication express politeness?”
9. Coversational
“Is my communication interactive and related to my counterpart?”
10. Cherishing
“Does my communication express appreciation?”
11. Calm
“Is my communication calm and relaxed, or does it express this?”
12. Curious
“Does my communication or the information arouse curiosity?”