I recently read an interesting thesis ( ‘Internal Communication in organizations undergoing change’ by Linda Bertelsen and Anders Nerman) and found the following thoughts on effective communication relevant and useful for communicators to apply at their workplace.
There are 7 Cs of effective internal communication as collated by researchers.
1.   Communication needs to be concrete – easily understandable by the receiver
2.   Communication to be concentrated – focusing on issues that are essential for the receiver to simplfy matters
3.   Coordinated communication will enable managers to effectively get the message over
4.   Information needs to be consequent over time – which means it is better to communicate defective facts over time to be consistent rather than say one thing and take it back over the next communication, thereby losing credibility. I find this the most essential in practice and noted many organizations fall into the trap of communicating inconsistently.
5.   It is important to form ‘constrasts’ in the communication. Memos and emails can become dull and boring and less interactive compared to face to face communication. Hence, usage of pictures, images, charts and content on sidebars will help make the communication interesting and easier to assimilate. Effective communication affects knowledge as well as feelings of the receiver.
6.   Communication should ideally develop contacts – or create a dialogue or open channels for discussion for further exchange of ideas.
7.   It is critical to pursue communication on a continuous basis to keep the dialogue flowing and increase credibility.
Any perspectives from your experiences? Keen to hear about it.
The fifth point is something which I will vouch for. There is a lot of communication download that happens on a daily basis in an organization. If an announcement is designed well with corporate colors and has an image/ any design element which reflects the content of the announcement, it always tends to stand out and captures the attention of the readers. It is important that we bring this element in the internal announcements in an organization. The overall package of an announcement (content, placement of content, the design, subject line) is what that makes it effective.
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Great blog. Great article…… In a nutshell, if I understand this I understand communication:
It’s broadcast if it’s one-way. Communication needs two!