Communication Skills: Abc Principle
Communication Skills: ABC Principle
Your communication should always be ABC:
A = Accurate
B = Brief
C = Clear
A: How to make your communication more Accurate.
Accuracy means two things:
- Accurate in the sense of being factually accurate
- Accurate in the sense of using accurate grammar
Accurate facts: Always check your facts. Check your sources. The world is full of fake-news and the responsibility is on you to ensure that what you say is factually accurate.
Accurate grammar: Your facts may be accurate, but your grammar may be ambiguous. For example:
- When I nod my head, that's the signal for you to hit it.
- I took my dog and my wife into town so I could have her deloused.
You need to be sure your writing is accurate in both content and grammatical structure.
B: Be Brief
The message must be sufficiently brief to allow the listener or reader to "take it in".
If you present too much information, then most people will be put off.
Cut all non-essential items.
C: Make Sure You are Clear
Clear means clearly defined. All concepts must be clearly defined.
There are three ways to clearly define your meaning:
1. By using numbers:
Rather than saying, "taxes are too high". Say "VAT is currently 20% and it should be reduced to 17.5%"
2. By using definitions:
Give definitions of ambiguous words. For example; "Power" is a measure of the amount of work done in a unit of time.
3. By using images:
Often a picture is worth a thousand words.
For example, have a look at the diagram below and I think you will immediately see what it means. But to explain without an image, would be quite tricky.
Summary
Your communication should always be:
A = Accurate: Facts and grammar
B = Brief: Edit all non-essentials
C = Clear: By giving numbers, definitions or images.
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Further Reading in Communication - Clear Communication
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Communication Skills: ABC Principle
Making sure that people understand your message is important, and there are three ways you can make this happen: By being accurate, being brief and being clear. We call this the ABC principle.
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Presentation Skills for Nervous People
Many people find making presentations nerve-wracking. But there is a success formula for making effective presentations, which can help even the most nervous speaker. Find out how you can be more confident and take advantage of FREE training today.
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Communication Skills: Two Opposites
Ambiguity and vagueness in language causes breakdown in communication and leads to misunderstanding and conflicts.
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Communication Skills: Clear, Rational and Positive
Do people always understand what you mean, or do you leave ambiguities in your message? Empower yourself by making your communication clear, rational and positive, in order to engage people and get your ideas across and accepted.
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The Importance of Business Communication Skills
If you want to succeed in business, being a good communicator is essential. Not only do you need to communicate to others what, why and how a goal is to be achieved, you need to listen to feedback received in order to make adaptive changes.
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