By Jeremy Tiers, Senior Director of Admissions Services
2 minute read
A few weeks ago I shared this article with advice on how to get and keep a student’s attention at a college fair.
That piece generated a ton of feedback and follow-up questions from readers, so today I thought it would be helpful to share some additional ‘fall travel season’ do’s and don’ts:
- Smile a lot and make sure you have open body language (i.e. eye contact and open posture), not closed body language (i.e. crossed arms and looking like you don’t want to be there).
- Focus more on getting to know your students, and less on giving out a ton of information about your school.
- Come prepared with multiple conversation starters (i.e. direct questions that will help you learn about a student’s wants, needs, fears, and interests). One of the most effective continues to be “How are you feeling about your college search?”
- Ask follow-up questions like, “Help me understand why you feel that way?”
- Your pace matters. Slow down, pronounce things clearly, and take pauses between thoughts or before you answer a question. It doesn’t have to sound perfect. It just needs to be authentic and helpful.
- Use the student’s first or preferred name as you’re answering questions or explaining something. Even if you’re speaking to a group, try and use as many first or preferred names as possible when answering questions and engaging with others.
- Speak with confidence. When you speak confidently it completely changes your tone of voice. A confident person is almost always seen as well organized and more believable. Conversely, a lack of confidence in your voice can imply a lack of confidence in your school.
- Demonstrate empathy with students – empathy creates connection. You can do that by validating their feelings about different things, as well as putting yourself in their shoes.
- Be passionate and be excited, but don’t go overboard.
- Don’t have a condescending tone in your voice.
- Don’t exaggerate something or brag to try and make your school sound better.
- Don’t just drop off materials and leave if zero students show up for a high school visit. Spend a few minutes trying to make connections with the high school counselor or other staff members at the school (namely secretaries and deans).
- Say the words “I appreciate you” during your conversations with high school counselors.
- Have a daily plan for how and when you will enter student notes into you CRM. Do not wait until the end of the week or the end of travel season.
- Have a plan for how and when you’re going to follow-up with students (and parents) that you meet – do not wait until the end of travel season.
If you’d like to talk more about something related to fall travel I’m happy to connect. Simply reply back, or email me here.
And if you found this article helpful, forward it to someone else on your campus who could also benefit from reading it.