Try This at Home: Read the Room

This is part of my summer series posts of, “Try This at Home,” that focus on coaching attributes you can practice now and carry into the school year. Let’s think about reading the room.  
 
During one of my previous jobs in a district-level position, my supervisor caught me by surprise when, after a meeting with a group of decision-makers, he cautioned me that I needed to take better care to “read the room.” What he meant was, I needed to attend more to how people were responding, using their body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice, in addition to the words that were said.
 
I was surprised by my supervisor’s suggestion because I thought that attending to these features was something I’d refined while coaching. I thought I had learned to proceed with caution, listen for openings, and recognize what was hidden. I thought I had learned to be totally present and give others my full attention. I thought I had learned to use all my senses to guide me through a conversation. As I reflected on my supervisor’s suggestion, I realized that in my district position I often felt I had to fight for what I believed in when it came to literacy instruction. I had gotten into the habit of being on the offensive, and it had impacted my “listening” skills.
 
There are so many roadblocks to reading the room. If our focus is on our own thinking and opinion, we will miss too much. But if our focus is on others, we will notice their eyes, their smile or scowl, and their posture. Their messages will speak loud and clear to us, even if they are silent. And in that listening, we can find a way forward.
 
Although subtle, the ability to read a conversation with all of our senses is a valuable coaching talent. As with any talent, it takes time and practice to develop. The good news is, we probably have many opportunities daily to practice this talent, so you can try this at home (or at the family reunion, pool, or vacation location). Any conversation, in any context, can help us develop the full-body listening skills that will make our coaching stronger. If you try this at home, you’ll be a better coach when the school year gets underway.
 
This week, you might want to take a look at:

A beautiful, printable poster with tips for new teachers:
 
http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/publications/TipsForNewTeachers_Poster.pdf
 
 
How mentors help first-year teachers:
 
http://neatoday.org/2017/06/19/lean-on-me-how-mentors-help-first-year-teachers/
 
 
Moving coaching relationships from social to professional:
 
https://choiceliteracy.com/article/failure-to-norm/
 
 
Poetry for kindergartners:
 
https://www.edutopia.org/article/poetic-writing-kindergarten
 
 
A Pinterest board with lots of relevant links for instructional coaches:
 
https://www.pinterest.com/alysoncarpenter/instructional-coaching-partnerships/?lp=true
 
 
That’s it for this week.  Happy Coaching!
 
Want more coaching tips? Check out my book, Differentiated Mentoring & Coaching in Education: From Preservice Teacher to Expert Practitioner, available from Teachers College Press!  I’m so excited to share it with you! TODAY you can still use the code: JUL2024 for 20% off. Click  here  and I’ll email you the free Book Group Study Guide that includes questions, prompts, and activities you can use as you share the book with colleagues.  I hope you’ll love this book as much as I loved making it for you!
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