As higher education practitioners, a large part of our work revolves around communicating with current students, alumni and potential students. And modern communications methods are staggeringly diverse--from face-to-face conversations to text messaging and beyond. When clear communication is integral to your job, how do you make sure you're understood?
At its most basic, effective communication occurs when the message intent corresponds closely to how it is perceived and responded by the receiver" (Moss, 2007)--an elusive quality to assess. Effective communications require the alignment of policy, practice and technology across the entire institution.
Keys to understanding
To start with, you must select the communication platform appropriate to your audience and your message. In just a few decades, for example, email has risen and fallen as an effective way to communicate. In fact, these days traditional-aged students and young adults rarely use email, according to a New York Times article: they find that email involves a boringly long process of signing into an account, typing out a subject line and then sending a message that might not be received or answered for hours┬" (Richtel, 2010). Texting, on the other hand, is almost ubiquitous among young adults (63%) (Lenhart, 2012).
Identifying the most effective platform for communication is just the first step. In addition, you must:
- Ensure compliance with campus-wide communications policies.
- Understand how to convey message and tone via the selected platform.
- Anticipate changes in preferred platforms and have technology and personnel ready to transition as communication needs change.
For more insight into effective communication strategies, read this AACRAO Consulting white paper on the topic. You can also visit AACRAO Consulting at the 23rd Annual SEM Conference.