06/09/2016
Communication in Online Learning Environments
Published on September 3, 2016
Betsy Lopez, PhDFollowBetsy Lopez, PhD
Have you ever wondered why some people are more successful than others when communicating?
Well, the answer is simple. Good communicators think before they talk. Good communicators have empathy and know their audience.
In order to communicate effectively, as online instructors, we need to focus on the communication style, the expected outcomes and of course, we need to put ourselves in the place of the receiver.
Online communication is a little more complicated than face to face communication.
Let’s remember, that, when we are in a traditional classroom we can see each of our students and “read” their non-verbal language. We are aware of how they are receiving our message and we can determine if we change our wording and tone while we talk.
In online environments, we cannot see our audience, we cannot “read” their non-verbal communication.
To be an effective communicator in online environments, we need to be careful with our tone. Our tone will transfer our professionalism and respect to the receiver.
Tone means making sure we are polite. It means communicating the same way we will like others to communicate with us. Words and phrases like: “Hello”, “Hi”, “Greetings”, “Have a great day”, “Have a good weekend”, and “Best Regards”, among others, are polite ways of starting and ending an online message. They show politeness and respect.
Using words and phrases like: “I hope you are having a great day”, and “I hope you are doing well”, shows care.
Showing care is very important in the online learning environment. When we communicate with our students, we must make sure they understand that, we, do care about their success and what is going on in their lives.
How do we expect students to respect us, see us as their mentors and as facilitators, if we do not show respect and care for them?
Online communication should be clear and to the point.
We should avoid fancy words hard to understand, and we should not deviate from the main idea we want to transfer.
Remember, if we have too much “noise” in our message, the purpose of it will be lost.
Effective communicators are brief, but clear. They are polite and respectful through their tone. They engage their audience by using proper language and key words.
Effective communicators understand their audience. They do not use the same communication techniques with everyone. They do not use generic messaging.
To be an effective communicator, you need to be personal. This means you need to create specific messages for each individual you are communicating with.
For example, you have 5 students that have not participated in a discussion board.
A generic message will be: “Hello, you have not participated in the DB yet. We expect you to participate before the end of the week.”
This is not an effective message. Here you are telling the student that you already know the same thing they know. You are not personal. The tone is totally discouraging.
Now, if you personalize your message saying for example: “Hello John, I hope you are doing well. We have not seen you in the course. Are you having issues preventing you from participating in class? Is there something we can do to help? Please let us know. Remember we are here to help you reach your academic goals effectively and on time. Have a great day”
This is a personal message that will caught your students’ attention. You are showing respect, and care. The message is polite, clear and specific. It is also brief and to the point. You also included questions! This means you are telling the student that you expect an answer.
Effective online communication might not be easy, but, it is achievable if we want it to be.
Having the intention of communicating effectively in online learning environments include, as we have previously mention, positive tone, politeness, care, respect, and being personal. As effective communicators we need to have empathy toward the receiver and understand our audience.
How effective are you as an online communicator?
