Is more communication always better communication?

With all of the new ways we can engage parents, staff, and other stakeholders, there is a tendency to want to use more and more communications tools more and more often.

This can be a problem.

First, very often, the desire to improve our internal and external communication results in school and district leaders adding new and presumably better tools and practices to their communications efforts. The thinking often is, when it comes to communication, more is better, right?

Similarly, increasingly we are seeing schools and districts communicate, often on social media, for the apparent sake of communicating. Often, there is no strategy behind the communication. It is posting for the sake of posting.

We have long promoted the idea of communicating more than is needed: to over-communicate. But after a point, more is not necessarily better.

Always be strategic in your communications decisions. While the newest tools and practices can improve communications, don’t just blindly add these items to your communications plan. Moreover, don’t just communicate on social media just because you are committed to posting. Do not post filler copy to check an item off your to-do list. Make sure they help you achieve your goals.

In all things, be strategic.

When it comes to improving your school and district communications, more is not always better. Better is better.