The Great Comeback: On Communications Clarity & A True Global Mission

As schools across the world reopen amidst an uneven tapestry of local, government-mandated rules and varying levels of worry, educators and administrators must decide how to communicate what comes next for the institutions they lead. At a time when few decisions will garner unanimous approval and when students may opt-out of in-person classes or defer attendance, a few communication measures can provide reassurance.

Leaders Must Lead, Visibly and Clearly

In times of crisis, clear communication from leadership is important. While such communication is usually disseminated in written form, a video message can help the institution’s leaders to come across as more empathetic, since the recipients are able to see intent and emotion through facial expression and general demeanour rather than having to infer it from a written statement. Actually seeing leaders project confidence provides a morale boost to all constituents.

Explain Procedures and Plans

Given the surrounding confusion, clear explanations of the institution’s procedures and plans are key. Again, while it is necessary to communicate this information in traditional written form, more visual forms of communication might be more efficient. Here, while video can be useful, charts and graphics are best, as they provide concise information while allowing recipients to take it in at their own pace.

Create Personal Connection Through Virtual Introductions

As in-person contact is necessarily reduced due to public health guidelines, videos that present staff and faculty, especially in-class instructors and TAs, in a more personable way (i.e. showing their personalities, hobbies, families, etc.) will go a long way toward creating a connection with students and building trust with parents. These videos can be shot by a professional team like ours, or put together from self-shot videos. Either way, packaging them with graphics in a consistent manner through professional editing is key.

Sharing Every Day Creates Community

Once school activities have resumed in both virtual and in-person settings, daily content sharing should be a vital part of the institution’s strategy. Enlisting educators, administrators, and staff in content creation is important. Furthermore, embracing the unevenness of content is paramount: in pandemic communications, the focus really should be the message, not the form. We are living an imperfect reality, so there is no point, at this time, in adhering to a uniform visual language. Rather, this moment calls for a curated but playful collage-like aesthetic.

A Time to Lead

Educational institutions exist largely to prepare future generations to lead. While these institutions generally take much care to accomplish this goal with regards to the student body, they can sometimes neglect their larger responsibility.Now is a great time to embrace your role within the larger network of educational institutions and become a global leader. How? Make classroom exercises,  worksheets, and key lessons public, organize open webinars, and most importantly, share best practices.

While there is no denying that the current situation poses significant challenges to education across levels and geographies, the pandemic also provides an opportunity for institutional leadership. Now is when schools, colleges, and universities have a chance to spread knowledge. We’ll be there to create content for the world to consume, and we hope you will too.