Good communication is essential to a thriving school community.
 

Communication is about more than just exchanging information. It's about understanding the emotion and intentions behind the information. Effective communication is also a two-way street. Listening well means not just understanding the words or the information being communicated, but also understanding the emotions the speaker is trying to communicate.  It's not only how we convey a message so that it is received and understood by someone in exactly the way we intended, it's also how we listen to gain the full meaning of what's being said and to make the other person feel heard and understood.
 

More than just the words that are used, effective communication combines a set of skills including nonverbal communication which uses body language and tone; engaged listening or reading, - doing so with an open mind; understanding the  stress in the moment; ability to communicate clearly and with conviction, and the capacity to recognize and understand our own emotions and those of the person or persons with whom we are communicating.
 

Effective communication is the glue that helps us deepen our connections to others and improve teamwork, decision making, and problem solving. It enables us to communicate even negative or difficult messages without creating conflict or destroying trust.
 

Effective communication is a skill to be learned and honed, and it is most effective when it is genuine and sincere rather than formulaic. Practicing good communication skills develop our critical thinking skills as well as our empathy. We must all practice these daily to build the trust and cohesiveness of our community.