Communication Strategies Applied to Class

We have been delving into business literature a bit this semester to broaden our thinking about leadership, organizations and communications. I find this realm to be easy to read, clear and sometimes a little heavy on the "no duh" content. Still, there are many realms in which clarification of generally understood good sense is valuable for recognizing when modification can make things better.

In an exploration of communication we were asked to consider this graph from the book Guide to Managerial Communications by Mary Munter.

It was valuable for me to see this concept visually. Often when communicating as educators, with our students or the people we are working with, we neglect to consider where on this scale we are in a given moment. And, of course, personality is such a huge player in this. If you are someone for whom having control over a conversation is important, (or if releasing control is difficult), you will tend to have a style of communication -- and perhaps a classroom-- that is by definition low in "audience involvement".

The ramifications for in a classroom setting are huge. We often talk about classroom engagement and student voice (in all elements of what school means-- class, assessments, homework, discussion, etc. . . ). If we aspire to embrace constructivism and student centered learning, then this graph is a great visual depiction of what has to happen to a teacher's control of the situation-- it will be lessened.

Still, the other benefit of looking at this diagram is that one can visualize the importance of being nimble moving along the scale depending on the objective of the lesson or communication. There will be times when more teacher control is required and times when student voice and expression ("audience participation") is what we are looking for. Using this lens might allow teachers to externalize their thinking about what goes on in their classes and make it less about them, and therefore allow the possibility of a change to be less threatening.

As teachers (or educational leaders), a theoretical understanding of communication styles is central to our continued development and improvement. Seems like business literature offers a great deal of support in this task.