Avoid This Mistake During Fall Travel

High school visits and college fairs have been popular topics these past few weeks during the 1-on-1 meetings I do with admissions counselors as part of the training workshops I lead.

One of the most common questions has been, “How do I start the conversation?”

I know it can be tempting to hand students some of your materials and dive right into the “spiel” – aka share a bunch of information about your school.

Don’t do it! That would be a big mistake.

Considering that most of these interactions will be your first impression (and you don’t get a do over), I encourage you to take a more personalized and less transactional approach.

When you first meet the student, make eye contact, smile, and be sure your body language says you’re approachable. Then, instead of talking about your school, focus on learning something about the student by asking a direct question that’s easy for them to answer. (Hint: It’s not “What major are you interested in?”)

A couple of good examples are:

“How are you feeling about your college search?”

“What are you excited about most when you think about being a college student?”

“How did you become interested in going to college?"

Once the student responds, take the information they give you and find a way to add some value to the conversation. Sometimes for you to do that you need more context which requires asking a follow-up question.

Let’s say you ask the first question and the student responds with a word like overwhelmed. You might say, “I hear that a lot and I know each student goes through this process differently, so help me understand why you’re feeling so overwhelmed.”

Let’s say you ask the second question instead and the student says something like “Joining some of the clubs.” Take that information and connect it to something about the student experience at your school.

Get engagement first, then give information – not the other way around. Always let the student’s response dictate where you steer the conversation next. That’s a big key to getting a student’s attention and making your conversation feel more personal.

Another benefit – you’ll differentiate yourself from most of the other admissions counselors who decide to vomit information.

Remember, the goal at any college fair or high school visit isn’t to share as much information as possible about your school. It’s to start building a relationship and be memorable enough that you create an opportunity for a future conversation with each prospective student.

Try this approach out and let me know how it works for you.

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