Someone that I know that exhibits very effective communication skills is the principal at my children’s school. She is very conscientious when she speaks with the children, their families as well as the teachers at the school. I have been fortunate and unfortunate enough to deal with her on a regular basis because 1. my daughter has some special needs so she has had her share of visits to her office and 2. I am a substitute teacher at the school so I get to deal with her on a more positive side.
When she is dealing with a child that is having some issues, she always asks them what and how they are feeling. I find this to be very critical when talking with a child who is having a difficult time expressing their emotions. It is a very effective way of communicating. She also listens to them very carefully so that she can validate their thoughts and feelings when they are done talking. She repeats what they have said and confirms their thoughts.
When having conversations with parents she always makes sure to ask them what their thoughts are first before she speaks and gives her professional opinions. I think this is very critical to communication with parents because she is letting the parents know that this is their child, they are the experts and they have a say in what is happening. She always respects the parents thoughts and opinions.
I would definitely want to model her behaviors when it comes to communication. She is responsive, uses respectful body language and eye contact. She ask questions, lets others voice their own opinions and concerns, and always restates the thoughts of others to make sure that she is understanding them correctly. She is definitely a strong role model for how communication should occur when dealing with young children and their families.
ecepassion 
Michele, it is great that you can work at your child’s school . I did the same thing with my daughter. In duel roles like yourself, I found out that my communication skills would changed depending who I was talking with at the time. I spoke as a staff member with staff, yet I spoke like a parent with her teacher. From either in, I gave respect, explained the need at hand and it always came back in a positive way Thank you for sharing your post!.
Thank your for sharing your post. I enjoyed reading about your child’s school principle. I think it is great how she listens to the child having a challenge and repeats back what was said to validate its importance. I think it is also great that the principle values the fact that parents know the child and listens to parents. Having someone who actively listens and shows compassion to everyone she encounters is great.
Great post. I will definitely benefit from it as a professional. It is good to know which communication techniques parents appreciate best. I do not have children of my own, so I did not know what it’s like sitting ‘on the other side of the desk’. From my experience I can also say that sometimes when parents complain about the misconduct on the part of one of the staff members or their expectations not being met, they just want someone to say ‘I’m sorry’. It’s especially true in International schools, like mine, where parents pay tuition fees higher than what I pay for this degree, and expect for their expectations to be met. It is very frustrating catering to each and every individual separately because all the families have different ideas about education. I will keep your post in mind next time I am talking to parents. I will try to listen more instead of being defensive.
My kids attend a Catholic School so we also pay tuition. Some parents also act as if they are owed so much because of that. My thought is that, I am choosing to pay tuition and that doesn’t mean that I should expect the principal to meet every single need I have. She still has a school to run and has to have set expectations for everyone.
Your school principle possesses some great communication qualities. I like the part you mentioned about how when speaking with parents she she always makes sure to ask them what their thoughts are first before she speaks and gives her professional opinions. GREAT starting point when talking with parents. starting off with a positive!.
Your school principle is the best most adults are not asking the child how they feel they just jump right into discipline. I also would like to model the conversations she has with parents because sometimes I jump stright to the point of why we are having a conversation vs asking the parent.