What Not To Do During Fall Travel Season

Most of the interactions and conversations you’re about to have during high school visits and college fairs will be your first impression. You don’t get a do over.

It can be tempting to dive into a rehearsed presentation, especially if you’re a new counselor, but here’s something important I want you to keep in mind. Students aren’t going to remember most of what you talk about, but they will absolutely remember how you make them feel.

I encourage you to focus less on presenting and more on connecting.

Whenever you’re starting a conversation with someone who doesn’t know you, if you want to increase the chances for connection and engagement, make it all about them.

One simple way to do that involves looking for context clues. If they have a cool shirt, shoes, hat, or piece of jewelry on, offer a compliment and ask where they got it.

Another effective strategy involves a question that doesn’t directly pertain to your school as a way to gain a better understanding of who a student is, where they’re at in their college search, or how they’re feeling about something related to the college search process.

Make sure any questions you ask are easy for the student to answer. The only thing they should have to debate is whether or not they feel comfortable sharing the information with you.

Also be mindful of how you say what you say. The “feel” of the language you use with prospective students is extremely important. Does it feel sincere, genuine, and empathetic, or forced, scripted and robotic? Your tone always matters.

Here are a few examples:

• What’s something you’re involved in at school or in your community that you really enjoy?

• How do you think college classes will be different from high school?

• How would you describe the atmosphere and community you’re hoping your future college will have?

• What’s one thing you’ve heard from a college so far that made you think ‘Oh, that’s pretty cool’?

• What’s something you wish colleges and universities would talk about more at this point in the process?

• What are one or two things that kind of make you nervous when you think about the college application process?

Once the student begins sharing things with you, that’s when you should start giving them pieces of information and/or sharing stories about different parts of the student experience at your school.

Get engagement first, give information second because it will help the conversation and the information you share feel more personalized and relevant.

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

ANOTHER BRAND NEW PODCAST EPISODE FOR YOU

Kelly Peiffer from Manor College shares insights on how colleges can leverage authentic storytelling to drive enrollment and build genuine connections with prospective students and their families. You’ll hear strategies for creating impactful stories, balancing brand consistency with authenticity, utilizing social media effectively, and more! Listen to our conversation on Apple, Spotify, or right here.