As a teacher, you spend most of your professional life communicating with someone. Your days are spent working with students, at meetings, talking with other teachers, in discussions with parents, and responding to the administration. Good communication skills are vital to your professional growth and development. You need to be able to communicate in person, on the telephone, on the Internet and in writing. Communication involves more than just talking and listening. It involves developing an awareness of the other person and becoming attuned to whether understanding is taking place. Ronald Reagan was known as "The Great Communicator" primarily because he had an easy way of talking with people, making them want to listen, and expressing genuine interest and concern for them in the process. To be a good communicator you will need to be an active listener who is able to clearly get his or her message across and understand the messages of others. To be a great communicator, you will also need to be an empathic listener and speaker, truly caring about the outcome of the communication and the parties involved. Take time to ask questions, to express interest, to understand the other person.