The Importance Of Communication
Communication is one of the cornerstones of human life. In fact, communication has even been described as being as important as breathing.
Humans are social creatures so the process of sending and receiving information amongst ourselves is a rewarding one that helps us to feel connected to a huge range of things. Not only does it help to spread knowledge, but it also helps us to build strong relationships and meaningful connections.
The great thing is that the means for communication has increased dramatically with the range of options that technology provides.
We are lucky to have better access to all kinds of knowledge and information, and it is so much easier to reach people. Smoke signals, carrier pigeons and horseback messengers are a thing of the past. Communication can now be instantaneous, ensuring that the most up to date information is conveyed between parties.
So, what does that mean for a school?
How Communication Can Help You Reach Your Goals
You will know how important it is to make sure the teaching staff and support team are on the same page with your values and strategies. But there are so many different parties that require communication beyond the core school team. You have the board, the students, their parents, community members, friends of the school, alumni, and the general public.
That’s a lot of messages that need to go out!
Communication comes in many forms. It can be a conversation between two teachers in the staff room, it can be a teaching resource that helps students learn, it can be the newsletter that goes home in a book bag, it can be the announcement of a major school event, or any number of other transfers of information.
It is important to think about how the right kind of communication can help you achieve your goals and targets for the year. Want more community involvement? Then your messaging needs to reach the community in the right way. Maybe you would like more student participation in school activities, or more parent support to help run them? Then your communication strategy should remind both students and parents of the opportunities available.
That sounds great, but how can you make sure they get the message?
Getting Your Message Across
People have increasingly busy lives. That means they forget things. They don’t necessarily mean to, it just happens when you are trying to remember so much.
The key to making your communications stick in their mind? Two things… the right message, and keeping in front of them.
Once you know what you want to communicate about, then you have to remind them in a number of different ways. That can be an announcement at a school assembly, a newsletter home, a post on your school Facebook page, or a PTA table set up at the school entrance. Any of these traditional ways of delivering a message will work.
But some take a lot of effort. To complement your communication strategy, why not consider an electronic sign for your school. Once it is installed, it will only take a few seconds to update the message directly from your computer. You simply type in the message you wish to convey and it will be right there on the sign reminding everyone that comes near the school. You can schedule many different messages to play at different times of the day or week. You can advertise school events, highlight your teaching values, request support, remind the community of key dates, or any other important communication that you need to get across.
Communication is the lifeblood of school success. So this new year, adopt a new communication strategy that will get your message out to the world (or at least your school community!)
Get in touch with us here at WiPath to find out how we can help you nail communications this year.