Methods To Effectively Improve Student Communication
Communication is a powerful skill for students as it plays an important role in career development and the quality of interpersonal relationships at every level of life. It is imperative to focus on the process of developing effective communication skills right from elementary school and throughout the education. However, each stage of a student’s growth has different requirements pertaining to communication.
Some effective strategies that can significantly improve a student’s communication skills are:
Some effective strategies that can significantly improve a student’s communication skills are:
- Watching Films Or Videos: Students can learn important elements of effective communication by watching films and videos rich in meaningful interactions. Encourage them to observe things like body language, eye contact, paraphrasing, responses, etc.
- Use Of Technology: There are plenty of technological tools that can be used by students to improve their communication skills e.g. audio books, podcasts, communication-centric apps, and other digital tools. They should be encouraged to read along when listening to audio books in order to pick up the right pronunciation and enunciations of words and phrases.
- Active Listening: Listening is pivotal for developing good communication skills as it encourages pausing and reflecting on what is being said, leading to a deeper understanding of the subject.
- Group Presentations And Assignments: Such tasks push students towards interacting with team members which helps in sharpening their written and oral communication skills. They learn to listen to others and put across their points in a convincing manner while working towards a common objective.
- Asking Open-Ended Questions: Open-ended questions teach students how to respond by using more words. They inspire discussions and teach students different ways of perceiving and answering questions.
- Task-Based Methods: Such methods use activities and games as a means of sparking conversations in an informal set-up. Students do not feel pressured to perform and communicate freely. They get a chance to learn from mistakes made by them and others. They get creative with their words and expressions which fosters creative thinking.
- Reflective Learning Opportunities: Students can learn a lot about their strengths in communication and identify areas in which they need to put in more effort by listening to their recordings/videotape of reading something aloud.
- Role-Play In Classrooms: Provide students with situations in which they can act-out and conduct discussions. They should be encouraged to create their own dialogues as per the scenario provided and figure out apt responses for the statements made by others.
- Non-Verbal Cues: Some professionals suggest that body language comprises of 50 to 70 percent of communication. Students should be taught the impact of facial expressions, mouth expressions, posture, gestures, personal space and limb placement on communication.
