The communication hierarchy will be the first place I will want to focus. I have a hard time turning small talk into mutual interest. Possibly because I need to listen better to what isn't being said, most of the time students want to give you the basic information.
I would like to help my students reframe their current situation and reinforce how this might be an ideal time to pursue their education.
Mirroring is so important and doing this will allow a student to feel more comfortable with you and if they do this, you immediately have a non-verbal that tells you that they are comfortable with you.
Additionally, vocal pitch and speed is also important, especially in phone sales. Phone sales do not allow for many non-verbals such as body language or mirroring even. By ensuring that you are speaking appropriately will give your listner reason to pay attention to you and what you ohave to say about the University.
Jaclyn, exactly right, you aren't with the student, but can understand why they may feel a certain way.
Dr. Jean Norris
Empathy so that they feel someone can relate.
Paula, that is a great point. Mirroring here can be a great way to start to build rapport.
Dr. Jean Norris
I will work on developing my mirroring skills in order to successfully build rapport with others. This is especially important as I work with a diverse population who's first language is not always English.
Tiffany, absolutely. Allowing the student to talk about themselves can open up topics of discussion and help your branch off into other topics about the program or different things going on at the school.
Dr. Jean Norris
I always ask the student what do they enjoy doing, hobbies, etc.
Leon, thanks for sharing this. It sounds like you have a plan to move forward. I would be interested to hear how the modeling and mirror skills are working with your students. Keep us posted.
Dr. Jean Norris
The skills that I will work to develop in order to successfully build rapport with others, are modeling positive body language and mirroring.
Lisa, great point. When we take into consideration any differences we can figure out a way to build rapport with the student and ultimately, that's what we want.
Dr. Jean Norris
I agree. And cultural differences or similarities doesn't have to be limited to ethnicity, in my opinion. For example, I have a lot of students who have tattoos and piercings. I even see some of them across the room at local concerts watching their friends' bands play. They share a pop cultural interest with me and I try to use that as a way to show that I understand where they are coming from when they come to me with problems or questions.
Robert, thank you for sharing these techniques. It sounds like you have a plan in place to build rapport with your students which will ultimately help you partner with them through their decision making process.
Dr. Jean Norris
Building a strong relationship with the person by staring with small talk and listening to their needs.Making sure that I'm mirroring the individual that I'm talking to will insure that they'er comfortable with talking to me.
Clay, thanks for sharing this. It sounds like you have a plan in place to continue to build rapport.
Dr. Jean Norris
Diane, that is a great point. Cultural differences can make or break rapport and so mirroring is a good technique to use here. Thanks for sharing this.
Dr. Jean Norris
I realize I need to think more about how I say things and keeping emotions in check, especially if I really want to communicate efficiently and effectively.
I do work with different ethnic backgrounds. It is very tricky sometimes with what some of our words have several meanings. Mirroring is very importtant
David, it sounds like you plan to use active listening skills in order to help you build rapport with others. This is an effective way to make sure you are understanding the message they are looking to communicate.
Dr. Jean Norris
