The seven essentials of business communication
There are seven essential elements to successful business communication:
• Structure
• Clarity
• Consistency
• Medium
• Relevancy
• Primacy/Recency
• Psychological Rule of 7±2
If you are going to communicate effectively in business it is essential that you have a solid grasp of these seven elements.
So let's look at each in turn...
Structure
How you structure your communication is fundamental to how easily it is absorbed and understood by your audience.
Every good communication should have these three structural elements: an opening, a body, and a close.
The Opening allows your communication's audience to quickly understand what the communication is about. Short, sharp and to the point, a good opening lets your audience quickly reach a decision of whether or not to pay attention to your message.
The Body is where you get to the 'heart' of your message. It is in the body of the message that you communicate all of your facts and figures relative to the action you want your communication's audience to take after attending to your message.
There's a key to rapid uptake of your message -- KISS. Pitch your presentation's graphics at a grade seven child. If THEY can follow and understand them, chances are good that your audience will too.
The Close is where you sum up your communication, remind your audience of your key points, and leave them with a clear understanding of what you want them to do next. The more powerfully you can end your communication, the more easily remembered it will be by your audience.
This structural rule holds true no matter what your communication is -- a memo, a phone call, a voice mail message, a personal presentat ...