Parent communication skills that teachers in educational and training institutions must master
Time:2026-01-13
Source:Artstep
As a teacher, communication skills and teaching abilities are equally important. Parents' temperaments, demands, and ways of dealing with people vary greatly. Therefore, in the process of communicating with parents, it is necessary to pay attention to the application of skills. Effective communication is one that can both reflect the problem and gain the trust of parents.
Adhere to the principle of communication and exchange
We must adhere to the principle of "everything starts from helping students grow and helping parents solve problems" when communicating with parents. In this way, parents are more likely to cooperate with teachers in educating together.
Learn to manage your emotions
Dealing with emotions beforehand and things afterwards, if emotions are not handled well, things will get worse. When a teacher encounters something that troubles their students, they tend to get emotional. In this situation, it is necessary to first deal with emotions and then solve problems.
Before communicating with parents, it is important to think carefully about whether I am here to solve problems or to vent emotions. To get things done well, one must first deal with emotions in order to objectively and fairly view a person or thing, otherwise there will be many erroneous judgments. Many problems are actually not big, but as long as emotions are brought into communication, things can become bigger and more difficult, and communication will encounter obstacles.
Master the principles of communication and exchange
1. Point to point, face-to-face
All communication with parents must be point-to-point and face-to-face. You can use your mobile phone for point-to-point communication, and if necessary, you can also visit your home or invite parents to the school for face-to-face communication.
Remember: Do not use WeChat groups, text messages, and other online tools for communication. This is done to protect teachers from speaking inappropriately and leaving a negative impression on parents.
2. Respect more and be less assertive
Effective communication begins with sufficient respect, and teachers must respect students and parents from the bottom of their hearts in order to have effective communication. In the eyes of teachers, regardless of how students and parents are treated, they should be treated sincerely and have an equal relationship with each other, with more respect.
Remember: Teachers should not be too dominant and should not always try to suppress parents in order for them to listen to them. Doing so may backfire.
3. Praise more and criticize less
In the Chinese concept, one can say whatever their own child's problem is, but others cannot say it. If a teacher says that a child is worthless, most parents cannot accept it.
Therefore, in the process of communicating with parents, it is necessary to first praise and then reflect individual problems of students in a gentle way. It is important to remember that when praising children, it must be sincere, whether it is facial expressions, eye contact, tone of speech, etc., to make students and parents feel that the teacher likes and approves of the child.
4. When talking about shortcomings, be gentle and tactful
We report students' problems to parents with the aim of making them aware of their shortcomings and cooperating with us to strengthen their education. Therefore, it is only necessary to make parents understand, there is no need to exaggerate unnecessarily. When communicating, it is better to use the phrase 'if (what) can be done, it would be even better (how good)!' which can be accepted by both parents and students.
As a parent, it is very embarrassing for others to criticize their children for being bad, and it can also cause students and parents to resent teachers.
5. Me and him, don't compare
When reflecting on students' problems, never compare them with other students who have done well. This will make students feel hurt in their hearts and also undermine their self-esteem. Over time, frequent occurrences can also cause students to lose confidence.
As teachers, we not only need to do this ourselves, but also persuade parents to do it. Once it is discovered that parents also like to compare their own children with others' children, it is necessary to persuade them in a tactful way. Without comparison, there is no harm; with comparison, there is harm.
6. If there is scolding, it should be stopped
Many parents, due to factors such as temperament and personality, coupled with a strong sense of impatience, often loudly scold or accuse their children when they encounter problems. This not only triggers rebellion in children, but also causes personality loss in them.
For example, many children will gradually become weak, indecisive, and hesitant in their actions. This behavior can be said to be extremely harmful to their current and future learning, work, and life, especially for our guidance of students.
7. Be cautious when encountering protective measures
Teachers cannot ignore parents who protect their children, nor can they insist on clarifying the right or wrong of things regardless of the consequences. At this point, the teacher may also give some relief to the parents who are taking care of their children.
No matter how bad someone else's child is, they are still their child.
Therefore, when encountering parents who protect their shortcomings, do not force them to do anything. Instead, stand from the perspective of the parents, use a questioning and advisory tone, and guide them to consciously approach the teacher's viewpoint based on the principles of care and education.
8. There are many problems, speak slowly
Many teachers like to pour out beans like bamboo tubes when reporting problems to parents, wishing to tell all the shortcomings and problems of their students to parents in one go.
Although it can reflect the teacher's eagerness, this approach is really not advisable.
Firstly, it will make parents doubt. In fact, many of their children's problems may not be known to parents, and even if they know, there are not many ways to educate them. Saying too much can actually make parents wonder, 'Is my child that bad?';
The second is that it will make parents feel hopeless, thinking that whether or not their children receive tutoring, it will have little effect. And neither of these are what we hope to see, and we are not asking parents to come up with solutions when we report problems, but to tell them where we will correct their children's problems and let them know what we are about to do or have done for their children.
Therefore, we can gradually and tactfully reflect the child's problems, there is no need to be too hasty.
9. There is joy to share
When students make slight progress, teachers must report the good news to parents as soon as possible. To make parents feel our sincerity and understand that we are genuinely happy for our children's progress.
Let children know that as long as they do well, we will praise them in front of their parents. They can use their efforts to earn praise from teachers and rewards from parents, further stimulating students' interest and confidence in learning. There is joy to share. More can be done in this regard.