Communication Methods for Educators

Let’s dig in, Educators! Connecting to the motivation behind your medium is going to help you feel more aligned in your business and as such, I wanted to start with helping you out with a few communication methods to take your relationship with your clients/customers to the next level. Communication with clients is necessary to setting appropriate expectations, making sure everyone is there for the right reason, and helping you mitigate an unhappy client.

Here are five ways creative educators can communicate more effectively with their clients, using exploration and education as key motivations:

1. Interactive Workshops & Challenges: Design hands-on workshops or challenges that encourage clients to explore new ideas and skills. By making the learning process experiential, clients feel engaged and motivated to dive deeper into the subject matter. For example, I created a little Instagram LIVE writing workshop to give people an intro to how I teach and to help them gain a wee bit of confidence in their writing skills while also allowing me to collect some data on the difficulties people experience when it comes to writing!
   

2. Client-Centered Learning Paths: Offer personalized education plans where clients can explore topics that interest them most. This might include self-paced modules, discovery sessions, or goal-setting exercises that allow clients to shape their learning journey. Encouraging curiosity-driven learning helps maintain their motivation and ownership over the process. Having resources on hand - like books, apps, or things that you use can help to round out your client’s experience with you.
   

3. Creative Exploration Assignments: Give clients exploratory tasks or projects designed to ignite their creativity and push their boundaries. These could include creative research assignments, reflective journaling, or exploring a new medium. By assigning work that fosters experimentation, clients can discover new passions and insights while building on their education. If you look at my Instagram, you will see curiosity is one of my driving values and I ask questions quite often in my posts. Regardless of your medium, allowing your client to explore & discover their own insights will only round out your own knowledge!
   

4. Collaborative Learning Communities: Build online or in-person communities where clients can connect, collaborate, and share their learning experiences. Group projects, discussion forums, or peer feedback sessions help clients explore new perspectives and learn from one another, fostering a sense of discovery and growth. I used to have a really solid Facebook group to educate other photographers on my findings in addition to hosting meetups for like minded folks to share their insights and understandings with each other.
   

5. Exploratory Coaching Sessions: Use coaching sessions to guide clients through new creative terrains. These sessions can focus on reflective questions, brainstorming, and out-of-the-box thinking, encouraging clients to explore unfamiliar ideas or techniques. Position the session as a space for creative inquiry, helping clients gain fresh insights while reinforcing their educational goals. At the beginning of the year I started my 366 Q’s group where we ask 1 question a day and whatever the answer is the answer is - it’s more of a group coaching experience, but the intent is to improve the curiosity of the attendees by the end of the year!!

Communicating as an Educator means creating approaches that can cultivate a more engaging and enriching learning environment for clients, blending creativity, exploration, and education into the communication process. Everyone is learning together & you are the glorious facilitator - collecting data and changing lives with your findings!