Four (4) C's of Communication

Clarity

If you want the reader to follow your thought, you need to do three things: Tell the reader where you're going, present your information or explain your thinking and offer your conclusion. In brief exchanges, with the context established, this three-part structure may not be needed, but for more substantive, deliberate, thoughtful writing, it's essential. The three-part paragraph provides a road map: topic, development, resolution.

Coherence

Paragraphs help you connect your thoughts. A paragraph may contain a number of points, but every point is linked to a unifying theme and every sentence supports the main purpose. After you have drafted your document, you can check its organization by reading the first sentence of each paragraph. Have you created a logical progression? Have you repeated yourself? Have you omitted a key point?

Control

These building blocks of composition help you set your pace and control your emphasis. Shorter paragraphs create a faster pace and a less formal style. Longer paragraphs create a slower pace and a more formal style. Because first and last sentences have natural prominence, key points go there. Quotations work best in these locations. In legal writing, positive information is presented first and last; negative information is buried in the middle.

Credibility

Credibility results from multiple factors: command of language, knowledge of subject, rapport with audience, word choice, sentence structure and — perhaps surprisingly — paragraphing. To write in paragraphs is to demonstrate how your mind works. Outline format fails to convey an essential element: quality of mind, or "voice" in writing.

#walkthetalk