Another Recommended Book: The 4Cs of Truth in Communications

The 4Cs of Truth in Communications: How to Identify, Discuss, Evaluate and Present Stand-out, Effective Communication, by Isabelle Albanese (Ithaca: Paramount Mountain Publishing, 2007)

Reviewed by
Shel Horowitz

From the Fortune 500 world of advertising comes this perky little book, and surprisingly, its advice is very applicable to small entrepreneurs with limited budgets, and translates well to many other media besides TV ads.

Albanese’s thesis is that the most effective communications embody four characteristics, all of which begin with the letter c:

  1. Comprehension: how well the message gets across
  2. Connection: whether the reader/listener/viewer/web visitor feels the material is relevant and emotionally arresting
  3. Credibility: Is the message in tune with the customer’s perception of the brand? Is it based in ethics?
  4. Contagiousness: Will the message spread with the help of its own prospects and the media?

She quotes Edward R. Murrow:

To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; to be credible we must be truthful

And then flips the statement around to say that credibiity creates believability…which creates persuasion…which results in sales.

After analyzing each of the 4 Cs, she applies them to a raft of marketing and informational messages, including e-mail (a particularly good analysis that mirrors many of the points I’ve discussed in my Frugal Marketing Tips and my various books), Instant Messaging, eBay, and even movies. Oh yes, and she shows how the 4 Cs may have influenced the 2004 presidential election. In the final chapter, she applies the formula to personal communications between lovers or spouses, and between parents and children.

Shel Horowitz is the founder of the Business Ethics Pledge and the award-winning author of Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First and six other books.

1 Comment so far »

  1. Shel Horowitz’s Monthly Newsletters » Blog Archive » Positive Power of Principled Profit, October 2008 said,

    Wrote on October 16, 2008 @ 6:09 am

    […] Another Recommended Book: The 4Cs of Truth in Communications The 4Cs of Truth in Communications: How to Identify, Discuss, Evaluate and Present Stand-out, […]

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