Removing communication barriers
September 25, 2007 – 3:09 pmI recently started reading ConverStations regularly and I’ve been enjoying it. I say this because a recent post over at ConverStations inspired me to write this one.
The post reminded me of what has always been a fond memory of a communication professor I had. She was the kind of professor who really did a great job flipping your thought process and changing the way you look at what’s being said (or not said) and why.
The first time I walked into her class, she was nowhere to be seen. Normally this isn’t a big deal, professors don’t exactly spend all their time sitting in their class room… but today I was late (a great start to a class, I know). So I plop down in a seat, and start talking with the person next to me. Her name was Edna.
Five minutes past the hour and still no professor.
I casually remark to Edna about whether or not we will end up having class today since the professor was nowhere to be found. Almost all at once, Edna says something or other, shoots our of her chair, and heads to the front of the class.
Edna was my professor. This made sense to me. She related well to me and did a really good job of making me feel like I was being listened to. I was being worked over by a pro!
What Edna did has always stuck with me. I think it was a great way for her to remove the animosity that can be present in communication classes. But she didn’t just remove the tension, she removed the pedestal and began the relationships- starting from day one.
2 Responses to “Removing communication barriers”
That could have turnedout bad… I can see it now, “Hi Edna - How’s it going? I HATE communications class. Hopefully the professor won’t show up so that we can leave…”
By Andy Drish on Sep 26, 2007
You would think that that would cause it to turn out bad, but there were students who had talked to her who said they didn’t like communications class. The thing is, she really cared and she knew not everyone liked COMM- she didn’t take it personally. She responded to each one individually and brought a lot of people out of their shell in a manner that was okay for them.
By Nathan Snell on Sep 26, 2007