Communication

Technology advances in society and particularly in education have brought about some amazing advantages and should be making our lives easier. Unfortunately, these gains can come at a cost for many of us – our work can now seep effortlessly into nearly every corner of our life. Most school staff own and use a personal smart phone to communicate and be contactable in their professional role, as well as accessing a work laptop or desktop computer, often a tablet… and usually run more devices at home too! While our digital connectivity can enhance our productivity and bring about positive outcomes, it can also very quickly increase our stress and anxiety, affecting both our personal balance and ability to perform. Not…

Schools are busy, people places. At times we will need to work with people we don’t get along with. In part 2 we share more tips for communicating with people we find difficult to get on with. Get specific Tell them exactly what they do that you do not like, exactly what you would prefer, and exactly what you or both of you could do to help. There is too much room for misinterpretation when you use vague words. Avoid giving your opinions, interpretations, or generalisations when you are having communication problems. They are likely to be misunderstood or seen in a negative light during these times. Stick with the recent past when you talk about problems It is harder…

I get really frustrated when I find myself surrounded by negative people, who appear to be filled with doom and gloom. I feel at risk of being buried in their negativity. You know the people, they light up a room….when they leave! Recently I was made aware of the concept of operating ABOVE or BELOW the line of life. Below the line all we hear are denial, excuses or blame. “We’re doing pretty well, considering!” “These students are from low socio-economic families; they aren’t real bright!” “Communication at this school is terrible, I never know what’s going on around here!” “We’d get better results if we had more money for teacher aide time or resources.” Whilst these statements might be…

Email should be a convenient and efficient communication tool. However, it is also fraught with danger as messages can be misinterpreted, especially if a ‘tone’ is read into the content. It is important to remember these key points when communicating with parents using email. Once you press SEND, your message is gone. You can’t take back and it’s “on the record”. Filling in the TO section last, avoids making the mistake of prematurely sending the message. (PS Retracting an email just highlights your mistake and is likely to make them pay even closer attention to what you wrote!) Avoid rushing your response. Time pressures and the reactive nature of email can contribute to us rushing our response to a confronting…