Now that we’re all going through these online classes together, one of the most important skills we can have is effective communication with our professors.
When we were doing in-person learning, many more opportunities to talk naturally came up. However, communication is still important during this time of remote-learning, whether you’re chatting through Zoom, email, or texting. It can help to know the best ways to send an effective message while we can’t have “normal” contact, so here are some tips I’ve collected from experiences of mine and an interview with another Whittier student, Ivonne Ochoa 22’.
Remember to Say Hi
When first sending an email to your professor, be sure to introduce yourself. It’s best to reach out with who you are, your grade year, your intent, and how they may know you. While writing the email itself, be sure to remember that your professor is human, too; people may enjoy a greeting before going straight to a problem.
Be Open and Honest
It is best to be sincere throughout. Building this rapport with your professor is one of the essential parts of improving your comfort with the class. The more comfortable you are with your teacher and class, the more comfortable you will be with sharing ideas and learning from each other.
Remember, Use Your Subject Line
And send from the right email. The subject line will be the first part of your email that your professor reads, so it’s best to have that pertain to the email’s contents. As well, it is best to reach out via your Poets’ email so that there’s little chance your message will end up in the spam folder.
Take the Time to Re-read
Professors will have to look through many emails similar to yours. So it can help to take the time to look through your email again. Is it concise, have you used the right grammar, are there any punctuation errors? Clearing these up will help show your professor that you care about the communication.
When Texting
Another form of communication that some professors will feel comfortable with is texting. If your professor is comfortable with that communication method, be respectful of when you’re reaching out to them and keep professionalism in your texts.
Speak Up in Class
All of us are in this remote-learning experience together, and it’s forced us to become learners again. We learn best when we feel comfortable, though, especially in the class setting. While it is more of a task, it’s best not to be scared to speak up and be ready to make mistakes. We’re all making mistakes right now and learning from them so that we can learn best together, in a communicative “classroom.”
Being able to communicate effectively with your professor and others in the class is the first step towards having a comfortable space of learners, ready to progress together. So I hope some of these tips can help!
