Shared Characteristics of College Faculty Who Are Effective Communicators

This study sought to identify what characteristics faculty who are effective classroom communicators share. Qualitative methods of interviews and observations were used to collect data at two public, comprehensive universities. College faculty with good communication, particularly, immediacy and clarity, were all found to have humanistic views of their students and to be reflective about their teaching and their communication. Those who demonstrated poor communication skills were neither humanistic nor reflective teachers. This would suggest that in order to improve faculty effectiveness, we must consider underlying views and thought processes, rather than teach successful communication techniques in isolation.