16. Oral and Nonverbal Communications
1. make presentations that are clear and easy to understand and clarify and restate questions;
2. respond, review, and summarize information for groups;
3. utilize communication aids;
4. recognize cultural and gender-based norms;
5. adapt to audiences and make educational issues clear to parents and the public.
While administrators are not the only portal for new information to enter a building, they are the most frequent, and, generally, most appropriate forum for ideas to move from outside to within the school community. This being the case, it is important for administrators to be able to quickly grasp and understand information that will be shared with the staff and school community. Also important is to quickly understand information for the purposes of ascertaining whether it fits with the school’s mission or not and to understand the information in the context of the current situation within the school. From this point, the leader needs to put the information into the framework and context of where the building is, in terms of the new information? Is the staff ready to integrate a new program fully in a given time frame? What background connections need to be made between where the school community is and where it is moving to the new information: How will the information help us on our journey?
From that point, even if the new information were a perfect fit for the school it would be wise for the administrator to remember that change is difficult. The information needs to be presented in a straightforward manner demonstrating the benefits, acknowledging the detriments, and showing as many aspects of the material as necessary for understanding. The leader needs to be able to “read” the audience – are they all on board? When information is presented, if there a scattered few who seem to be holding back, the leader needs to adapt the presentation to make sure that understanding is universal; answer questions, give wait time, allow for staff to discuss in small groups, etc.
One key aspect to bringing new information to others is framing it correctly. In my experiences as facilitator of the science department PLC, I found that I had tremendous luck with alternating concept meetings with business and reflection meetings. We would first discuss the step that one or more of us was about to take as part of our lesson study process, then take a week or two for the step to take place, then meet to discuss and reflect on the process. Then have a week or two to reflect on implementation for the future and then meet to discuss those thoughts and gear up for the next concept. Progress was slow, but steady throughout the year. An integral part of the process for this group was a detailed agenda a few days before each meeting and detailed minutes, including action steps for the next meeting sent right after. While this last step does not fall within oral and non-verbal communications, it provided a detailed anticipatory set from which to work in the meetings, which kept the team running smoothly, and resulted in more focus within each meeting. I could have used meeting time for this purpose, but sending the memos allowed each member to arrive at the meetings in the best frame of mind to discuss the issue at hand in a more streamlined and productive way.
As I move forward, I will reflect on my experiences leading staff development and small group meetings. I think it is vital to establish relationships with the members of whatever group I am presenting to, preferably before the presentation, as it makes it easier to adapt the presentation. Finding common ground beyond a common purpose is important to getting people to buy in to change. Occasionally, the teachers who are the least tolerant of students’ resistance to buying in are the worst offenders of the same behavior in group instruction. It is important to be mindful that not everyone will let me know that they are not on board or do not understand in a public forum. Anticipating this, I plan to employ a range of techniques to allow for small group sharing and questioning: t-charts, strategic grouping, asking the staff for small-group input to be shared out, etc. Creating a good foundation through relationships, pre-meeting information and structuring, and being able to reach as many people as possible when sharing information with a group will help me to be as effective as possible in this area.
1. make presentations that are clear and easy to understand and clarify and restate questions;
2. respond, review, and summarize information for groups;
3. utilize communication aids;
4. recognize cultural and gender-based norms;
5. adapt to audiences and make educational issues clear to parents and the public.
While administrators are not the only portal for new information to enter a building, they are the most frequent, and, generally, most appropriate forum for ideas to move from outside to within the school community. This being the case, it is important for administrators to be able to quickly grasp and understand information that will be shared with the staff and school community. Also important is to quickly understand information for the purposes of ascertaining whether it fits with the school’s mission or not and to understand the information in the context of the current situation within the school. From this point, the leader needs to put the information into the framework and context of where the building is, in terms of the new information? Is the staff ready to integrate a new program fully in a given time frame? What background connections need to be made between where the school community is and where it is moving to the new information: How will the information help us on our journey?
From that point, even if the new information were a perfect fit for the school it would be wise for the administrator to remember that change is difficult. The information needs to be presented in a straightforward manner demonstrating the benefits, acknowledging the detriments, and showing as many aspects of the material as necessary for understanding. The leader needs to be able to “read” the audience – are they all on board? When information is presented, if there a scattered few who seem to be holding back, the leader needs to adapt the presentation to make sure that understanding is universal; answer questions, give wait time, allow for staff to discuss in small groups, etc.
One key aspect to bringing new information to others is framing it correctly. In my experiences as facilitator of the science department PLC, I found that I had tremendous luck with alternating concept meetings with business and reflection meetings. We would first discuss the step that one or more of us was about to take as part of our lesson study process, then take a week or two for the step to take place, then meet to discuss and reflect on the process. Then have a week or two to reflect on implementation for the future and then meet to discuss those thoughts and gear up for the next concept. Progress was slow, but steady throughout the year. An integral part of the process for this group was a detailed agenda a few days before each meeting and detailed minutes, including action steps for the next meeting sent right after. While this last step does not fall within oral and non-verbal communications, it provided a detailed anticipatory set from which to work in the meetings, which kept the team running smoothly, and resulted in more focus within each meeting. I could have used meeting time for this purpose, but sending the memos allowed each member to arrive at the meetings in the best frame of mind to discuss the issue at hand in a more streamlined and productive way.
As I move forward, I will reflect on my experiences leading staff development and small group meetings. I think it is vital to establish relationships with the members of whatever group I am presenting to, preferably before the presentation, as it makes it easier to adapt the presentation. Finding common ground beyond a common purpose is important to getting people to buy in to change. Occasionally, the teachers who are the least tolerant of students’ resistance to buying in are the worst offenders of the same behavior in group instruction. It is important to be mindful that not everyone will let me know that they are not on board or do not understand in a public forum. Anticipating this, I plan to employ a range of techniques to allow for small group sharing and questioning: t-charts, strategic grouping, asking the staff for small-group input to be shared out, etc. Creating a good foundation through relationships, pre-meeting information and structuring, and being able to reach as many people as possible when sharing information with a group will help me to be as effective as possible in this area.
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