I will just simply adapt and keep a dialogue going depending on the audience feedback.
I feel some inital research on the style of person you I be dealing with will help me. I have used my charisma in the past, however these tools will also benefit me greatly.
Donald, thanks for sharing this. It sounds like you are going to work on allowing the student to fully respond to a question and yet, still have the opportunity to maintain focus on the topic at hand. Great job.
Dr. Jean Norris
I would listen to the students responses and make sure my body language shows that I'm listening effectivelly to what they're saying. I respond when it's my turn, but the goal is to turn the conversation full circle back to my key points.
Michael, great! It sounds like you have some ideas of how to move forward and how to better your communication.
Dr. Jean Norris
I plan on working on my listening skills....they can never be good enough. The course brought out some definate red flags to watch out for in our own methods of doing business. It will be fun to adapt much of what I have learned to make the communication process better!
Jon, that's a great point. When you repeat your presentations, the last one you do can sound monotonous. So, now that you have this awareness, I'm curious, what is your plan moving forward?
Dr. Jean Norris
Monique, sure. It looks like you have a plan in place to keep to an agenda, but also allowing flexibility if time lends itself.
Dr. Jean Norris
Donald, absolutely. When we only are concerned with our agenda, we may hinder the conversation. By allowing some customization and tailoring, we can then really explore the needs and wants of all parties involved. Great job.
Dr. Jean Norris
John, that's a great point. Listening is critical in this role. Even if the student get's off topic, they may be saying something that is important to them and so we can listen and start to build rapport with them.
Dr. Jean Norris
Thanks for sharing this Jenifer. It looks like you will use your skills to adapt and make sure that all of the student's needs are met when they leave the interview.
Dr. Jean Norris
I use all three forms of communication everyday and I have to force myself to slow down and think before I use any of them. Communicating about the same thing everyday can cause some myopia and may cause me to lose a student because I have not given them the right information in the right tone.
If the communication ventures beyond the key points I've identified, I will thoughtfully respond to the person's comments, story, etc., allowing them the freedom to communicate with me in their own style, and actively participating, as this is part of having a relationship with a person. Then I will gently steer the conversation back to topic at an appropriate moment. If that moment does not present itself, I will say something like, "Sharon, I'm so sorry to interupt you. I love hearing about how Chloe is doing, and please let her know that my thoughts are with her as she interviews for that job, but I also really want to let you out of this meeting at the time that I promised you, and so I'm really excited to talk with you about your vacation schedule..." Hopefully, "Sharon," will realize that I am genuine and not be offended by my agenda.
I have to remember that there may be more than simply my aganda. The additional scope of our discussion might be to my advantage, as a broader discussion may bring out points of discussion i may have overlooked.
I would explore with a few questions the relevance of the communication that seems to be beyond the key points. Communication is inherently a 2 way event, so I don't want to reduce my communication to a one way event. If the communication seems to be moving too far away from my purpose, I may suggest to the other party that we reconvene to continue the disussion, or to allow me to communicate my points of discussion, then allow the other person to do the same.
I think the biggest thing is to listen. The student may venture off topic or go on a tangent but if you do a good job of listening to your student you may be able to relate what they have been talking or rambling about to the topic that is the point of the conversation.
I can adapt my commuication to the student by listening more. In m,ost cases the studemt will come in with thier own list of questions that need to be addressed. I can adapt my meeting agenda to fufill the needs of the student first and then adjust the remaining time alotted to fill in with the things on my agenda, only going as far into detail as time allows.
Dianna, these sounds like great steps moving forward. Let us know how this plan works out.
Dr. Jean Norris
Devin, great job using the skills that you have learned. Keep it up.
Dr. Jean Norris
Hello Dr. Norris,
I hold myself by making a conscious choice when someone is talking. My degree and background is in communication so it helped that I did a lot of active listening exercises to learn this concept. Being approachable is the key for me. Thanks!
Ask more questions, keep focused on the prospective student. Identify all areas of needing more communication.
