“Effective Communication for Success: A Structure for Designing Specifications Grading System” was the title of a session by Drs. Lesley Casarez and Tia Agan from Angelo State University. They work with advanced certification programs and educational leadership candidates. The goals of the session was to apply strategies for professional communication. They shared a quote by Simon Sinek about communication. They also shared a video by Maxwell and “A Minute with Maxwell” about how we communicate with our demeanor. The presenters also explained that email is not private: emails can be forwarded. Agan spoke about the importance of verbal communication to “plant a seed” and not just to “complain things to the ground…” They played a hilarious clip from Friends about non-verbal communication. They shared some recommendations about proxemics: the physical space, for example, between speakers. They also played a Seinfeld clip about the tone of voice. Some tips for communicating on the phone because the receiver cannot “see” the non-verbal communication, they suggested checking your own tone of voice, are you smiling?, is there background noise?, is this a convenient time to chat? They also spoke about communicating via e-mail and shared some suggestions about openings and closings. I appreciate that they suggested practicing peer review and reading out loud emails before sending them. They shared five strategies for effective communication:
- Defer action and gather pertinent information
- Refuse to be baited and compile responses
- Recognize dissenters and develop a plan
- Speak softly and develop listening skills
- Learn to apologize and move on
I love this list! At the end of the session, one of the questions was how to respond when you don’t know how to respond. One of the suggested strategies was to acknowledge that you are listening and defer action. They also explained that you “should refuse to be baited” and confront someone. The presenters spoke about being professional and respectful. These strategies can be implemented in a variety of courses and shared with students. We could use these as prompts for discussion in BIT 295.
