5 Awesome Traits of School Communicators – SCN Encourager 6/10/2013
Sometimes all you can do is stand back and marvel.
And maybe even smile a bit.
At any rate, you’ve got to love what we school communicators do… and more importantly, who we are.
I can’t say I’ve actually sat around thinking about all of us in this way until recently – but after my Encourager last Friday, which included a photo of a grocery store employment sign for a “donut fryer,” I’m seeing us in a new light.
While I thought I was just emailing out an end-of-the-week joke, some of you sent me back ideas on how I could’ve made last Friday’s Encourager better.
Now, admittedly, for you to come up with ideas for how I could make any Encourager better is an exercise that only requires you to reach for the lowest of the lowest of the “lowest hanging fruit.”
You’re hardly offering up your best advice to John Grisham. (You’re aware of this, right?)
Making suggestions to me to “re-do this” or “try this instead” is very much like yelling “don’t fumble the ball” at the Detroit Lions.
Improvements just don’t come easy for us – no matter how obvious they are to the rest of the planet.
But I am grateful to the school communicators who responded to last week’s donut-themed Encourager just the same. It kickstarted my thinking about the #1 Awesome Trait of School Communicators.
And that #1 Awesome Trait of School Communicators is our universal “we’re-willing-to-help” spirit.
Here’s my real-world proof.
Consider these following suggestions that my feeble “donut fryer” Encourager inspired.
I was impressed.
One reader wrote to inform me that Friday was “National Donut Day” and that I could’ve improved my Encourager by making it more “topical.” (Of course, I don’t disagree with this. But having forgotten my wife’s birthday on May 13, I was in no position to go hog wild about “National Donut Day.”)
But I appreciated the observation and the link to “10 Fun Facts about Donuts.”
Another person pointed out that the federal government released its May unemployment numbers on Friday. And that, while the rate ticked up to 7.6%, the CEO of Dunkin’ Donuts was quoted in the news report optimistically announcing big expansion and hiring plans nevertheless. This reader thought my own donut ditty was on the light-side, and by connecting it to the national economy, I could’ve amplified it significantly.
Once again, I don’t disagree. But I feel that a portion of Dunkin’ Donuts improved profit forecasts were due to my widely read donut-themed Encourager last Friday, and they’ve totally refused to acknowledge this in any way. No matter. I’ve now made it a policy that I will no longer write about donuts ever again without adequate compensation and full credit.
The other suggestion that came in said I should’ve written about donuts last Friday in the broader context of “cause marketing.” After all, didn’t I know that the The Salvation Army and Krispy Kreme had teamed up for a much-publicized joint promotion on “National Donut Day?” (Uh… nope.) Was I really this out of touch with current events? (Uh… yikes! Apparently I am!)
So, #1 in my list of “5 Awesome Traits of School Communicators” has to be our tremendous willingness to be helpful and supportive wherever and whenever we can.
The #2 trait is: we are universally haunted by the exact same nightmare. (Details on Tuesday.)
The #3 trait is: we are universally “speedy kwik” to fill-in-the-blanks. (Details on Wednesday.)
The #4 trait is: we are universally in the midst of the same battles. (Details on Thursday.)
And the #5 trait is: we universally love to combine a particular activity with our learning. (Details on Friday.)
I’ll bet you can now hardly wait for the full details in the next four Encouragers, right?
And how do I know this? Well… to be honest … “patience” is not one of our universal traits.
Tom Page, SCN
