Communication

I know most teachers will answer the above question with a resounding “Yes!” We have all had parents who add to our stress. You know that parent, who when you see them coming along the path towards you, your tension levels start to rise and that internal dialogue starts inside your head, “I hope they aren’t coming to see me! What am I meant to have done now? What else has happened?”  We all know that research says that having parents engaged in their child’s education is beneficial, however, some parents can be ‘high maintenance’ and their engagement adds to our stress. Let’s look at what we can do to build partnerships with parents. Studies suggest that many parents feel…

Successful parent – teacher conferences are important in establishing good relationships with parents and carers. Well planned and conducted parent – teacher conferences establish a solid foundation for a partnership that is in the student’s best interests and prevent further problems developing. Preparation is vital for effective meetings with parents. The intended outcome of meetings with parents should be building a partnership – the school and family working together to optimise the student’s learning. Therefore, the aim for both parents and teachers should be an increased knowledge and a shared understanding of how well the student is currently achieving and what are the next steps to help them. In preparing for the conference try to think in a ‘we’re in…

In the military, a poorly formatted email may be the difference between mission accomplished and mission failure. The structure of the email is important in making communication crisper and cleaner, eliciting quicker and higher-quality responses. Here are three of the main tips on formatting your emails with military precision: Subjects with keywords. The first thing the recipient sees is your name and subject line, so it’s critical that the subject clearly states the purpose of the email and specifically, what you want them to do with your message. Military personnel use keywords that characterize the nature of the email in the subject. Some of these keywords include: ACTION – Compulsory for the recipient to take some action SIGN – Requires the signature…

I am constantly amazed by the number of clients I work with who make things harder than they need to be. There’s often several reasons why: They were shown to do something that way so they’ve always done it that way. They don’t have the time to try something different so they figure, “at least I know this way works”. They don’t think “big picture”, they think about putting a band aid on something rather than diagnosing the problem and working out a solution. Here are a couple of simple things you can do that will save lots of time and frustration on repetitive tasks. Repetitive Emails Instead of searching for an old email and editing it, try the following:…