How to communicate with students and parents 🤝

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Why is communication important? 💖

Your relationship with your students (and their parents) will directly impact how effective your tutoring will be. Developing relationships built on respect, trust and support provide a great foundation for a student's ability to learn. Strong communication skills are KEY to developing these relationships and are a very important component of the service we provide at Evolutionary Tutors.

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Examples of good communication skills 🙌

1. Be an active listener. Active listening involves paying close attention to what the other person is saying, asking clarifying questions, and reflecting back what you have heard to ensure you have understood correctly ("So, what you're saying is…"). Through active listening, you develop trust with your student. When a student feels heard, they are more likely to hear what you have to say as their tutor.
2. Be aware of your non-verbal communication: Only 7% of communication is verbal while 38% is the tone and inflection and 55% is body language! Therefore your body language, eye contact, hand gestures and tone of voice all colour the message you are trying to convey.  A relaxed, open stance (arms open, legs relaxed), and a friendly tone will make you appear approachable and will encourage others to speak openly with you. Also, pay attention to your student's body language while you are talking. Often, nonverbal cues convey how a person is really feeling. For example, if your student is not looking you in the eye, he or she might be uncomfortable or disengaged.
3. Speak clearly and concisely: Good verbal communication means saying just enough. To avoid rambling and to get your point across most effectively, think about what you want to say before you say it. This is especially important when you first contact a student or their parent.

When is good communication important as an Evolutionary Tutor? 🤩

Good communication is always important! And your communication will directly impact on your success as an Evolutionary Tutor:

1. When responding to texts and emails from the Evolutionary Tutors team. Your reliability as a tutor is measured by your responsiveness to our texts and emails. We will contact you via text to check your availability to take on new students and we expect a response within 24 hours. If you have poor responsiveness, you will not be allocated students.
2. When contacting your student for the first time. First impressions are important, and these will be made over the phone. A Harvard Study found that it takes 8 subsequent positive encounters to change a person's negative impression of you, so do your best to make great first impression.
3. During lessons with your student. It is important to establish the right tone for your relationship from the start. Active listening will help you understand your student's strengths, weaknesses, aspirations and fears. It is also important to set clear expectations during this first lesson around what tutoring IS and ISN'T. For example, as a tutor you are there to guide and support your students, to review their work and encourage their learning. You are NOT there to write their essays for them, complete their exams and do their homework.