One Word You Should Use More With Students

Words are powerful and how you say what you say matters.

Slight tweaks in language can be the difference between getting a response or getting a student to take action, and getting ghosted.

During a yield workshop last month I encouraged the group of admissions counselors to start incorporating one persuasive word in their conversations with admitted students who were still undecided.

That word is “because.”

Using it has been proven to help increase response rates because it triggers a justification for doing something in our brain. 

Let me give you two examples. You could say to an admitted student who hasn’t visited campus, “Jeremy, I encourage you to talk with your family about coming to visit campus for our admitted student day because it’s usually the moment when students can actually picture themselves here.”

If you’re communicating with a junior inquiry you might say, “Jeremy, what are two or three things that matter most to you in a college because that usually ends up shaping the whole search process.”

I encourage you to incorporate this strategy into your upcoming conversations.

P.S. If you’re in a position of leadership you should also lean into using the word “because” which can help you not only provide clearer instructions, but add important context and nuance to a directive.

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