The 4 C’s of Communication

Read time: 5 minutes

What’s the difference between writing that bores and writing that inspires?

I recently talked with Rachel Buller, an editor at W Publishing, on my podcast, and she unpacked a super helpful (and memorable) framework called the “4 C’s of Communication.”

I found it so helpful, I’m sharing it here with you.

Fumbling Without a Framework

As writers, it’s easy to just “do what we do,” without giving it much thought. In our minds, the goal is just to get words on the page.

However, without a framework, you can’t assess your writing objectively or thoroughly. Without specificity—really knowing what you’re looking for as you revise—you’re basically fumbling in the dark, hoping that tiny, sporadic edits will make a difference.

There’s a better way.

If you adopt the easy-to-use framework I’m about to teach you, you’ll know exactly how to improve your writing. Let’s dive in.

The 4 C’s of Communication

When testing the quality of a diamond, experts examine four qualities:

Color

Clarity

Carat

Cut

These four factors make a helpful analogy that, when formed into a framework, will drastically improve your writing chops.

Let’s unpack each C, one at a time.

Color

The first C is color. Just as every diamond has a one-of-a-kind hue, your voice is unique. No one else speaks exactly like you. Your words on the page resound with your experience, personality, and perspective.

However, there are many ways your voice can get buried or lost. Here’s a few questions to help you gauge if that’s happening:

• Imitation - Am I trying to sound like someone else, perhaps another writer or leader I look up to? How can I be myself, even if it means sounding less sophisticated, entertaining, or cool?
• Exaggeration - Does my writing reflect how I would talk to someone in-person, over coffee, or am I overstating things? Are there places I need to be more honest, humble, or charitable?
• Cowardice - Is my writing trying too hard to please people instead of speaking truth? Where am I too afraid to say what I really think?

It takes years to develop your own writing voice. We all imitate before we differentiate. That’s ok. We’re learning.

Nonetheless, there is only one you—with your knowledge, experience, personality, and lens. Readers need to hear from you, not someone else. Their attention is sacred, and they’re trusting you with it, so give them something real. Bring your full self to the page. Ask God for courage and humility as you do so.

Clarity

The second C is clarity, which refers to how pure a diamond is. No one wants a “cloudy” diamond, and similarly, readers don’t want to feel lost in confusing prose.

Here’s a few simple tactics to increase the clarity of your writing:

1. Mark the moral of the story

Clarity doesn’t have to be complicated. Sometimes you simply need to tell readers: “Here’s why I’m telling you this.”

For example, at the end of a story, offer a clarifying statement like: “Here’s the point” or “What I learned was…” Little takeaways are a gift to your readers.

2. Limit the length of your stories

Stories are indispensable in nonfiction writing. However, like any useful tool, they can be abused.

Be careful not to get carried away with every detail. This can be difficult when a story means a lot to you. Curate details with an eye on the reader. Consider those elements of your story that will help, inspire, or teach them. Cut the rest.

3. Scan for tedious sentences

Similarly, scan your writing for overly long sentences. Even if you have the chops to string along phrases for miles, limit such literary marathons as much as possible.

Don’t conflate complexity and profundity. Some of the best writing comes in little sips. Short sentences and punchy phrases. If you pour out words too zealously, readers will drown in your prose.

Carat

The third C is carat, which refers to the weight of your writing. If readers can’t immediately tell why its urgent that they read your book, they probably won’t.

In Christian publishing, there’s no shortage of predictable prose. It’s easy to say nice things—it’s much harder to say life-changing things. Push yourself to be bold. Give readers the gift of gravitas.

Editor and author Stephanie Duncan Smith recommends this diagnostic question for writers brainstorming a concept:

Is your book’s big idea expressed in the boldest, clearest statement it can make?

I love this question. Go big and go bold. Don’t settle for safe. Put yourself in others’ shoes and ask yourself if you would read this book based on your description. Whatever you’re writing, stop, write out a one-sentence summary of your idea, and apply the boldness test.

Cut

The fourth C is cut. In its raw form, a diamond has latent potential. It’s only when a diamond is cut by an expert that it shines with its full potential.

Similarly, your words need trimmed, rearranged, and polished. Some sentences—even whole sections—will need to be eliminated. Until the structure is right, your message won’t shine. A lot of brilliant ideas get buried alive in the rubble of disheveled writing.

Strive for structure. At the end of the process, your writing will look, feel, and sound better than you could have imagined.

In last week’s newsletter, I did a deep dive on how to structure your writing. You can read it here.

Summary

I’ve distilled each of the 4 C’s down to a single question. So the next time you finish a draft, chapter, article, or even a whole book, ask yourself these four questions:

1. Does this represent my voice—who I really am? (color)
2. Where do I need to give the moral of the story, shorten stories, or simplify sentences? (clarity)
3. Is my big idea expressed in the boldest statement it can make? (carat)
4. Is there a solid underlying structure supporting my ideas? (cut)

There it is. Knock yourself out with the 4 C’s.

I’m rooting for you.