Admissions, Building Trust, E-Mail, Improving Customer Service, Increasing Engagement, Leadership, Phone Calls, Text Messaging ·
By Jeremy Tiers, Vice President of Admissions Services
3 minute read
Whenever we ask students to give advice about communicating with Gen Z during the college search process, large amounts of quotes similar to these two continue to appear.
“We want something that feels personal and sounds like it actually was written for us and not a billion other people.”
“When we’re talking face to face don’t sound like you just memorized a script. It’s annoying!”
If you want to increase engagement and cultivate deeper, more personal relationships with this next class of students, it’s vital to not sound completely scripted and robotic.
That advice applies to emails, mail, phone calls, text messages, college fairs, high school visits, and your campus visit experience.
Here are 10 tips that will help you sound more genuine, authentic, and sincere:
- Practice beforehand. I’m often asked how I’m able to get up and talk to a large group for hours or give a keynote in front of hundreds and not constantly be looking down at notes. The reason is simple. I’ve not only written down talking points ahead of time, but I’ve rehearsed out loud and in my head – usually multiple times. I also review frequently asked questions I get (and how I will respond) as well as questions I may pose to the audience based on the topic(s) I’m discussing.
- Use the other person’s first or preferred name… more than once. If you’re speaking to a group, try and use as many first or preferred names as possible when answering questions or engaging. When you’re writing emails, don’t just include their first or preferred name at the start. Find ways to repeat it again in the body of your message.
- Make it a two-way conversation. It should always sound like you’re talking with and to the other person, not at them. This requires you to avoid vomiting information, and instead ask effective and direct questions and then take the feedback you receive and share details and information (or ask follow-up questions) based on the other person’s response.
- Be an active listener. Building on that last bullet, be an active listener and focus 100% of your energy on what the other person is saying, not how you’re going to respond. It’s okay if it takes you a few seconds to put together your thoughts once they finish. Nodding and making affirming sounds also shows you’re truly engaged.
- Maintain eye contact when you’re in person (or on video chat). Looking the person directly in the eye conveys that you are engaged and listening intently. This is a skill that for many needs practice.
- Your pace matters. Slow down, pronounce things clearly, and take pauses between thoughts or before you answer a question.
- Use more conversational, less formal language. When you’re overly formal or use admissions jargon it can be intimidating or even confusing. Too many people want to sound ‘perfect.’ That’s unrealistic and putting way too much pressure on yourself. Remember, the other person has no idea what you’re going to say. Focus more on sounding relaxed, relatable, and helpful. We all sound a little wordy from time to time and that’s okay.
- Your tone and emotion matter. Tone in particular involves the level and type of emotion you use (or don’t), as well as your volume. Match your facial expressions to your tone. Think about the words you emphasize. Are you speaking too softly or in monotone? Are you too excited and over the top where it feels fake? Also, one of the best ways to connect with your audience is by using emotion in your content. This can be done by sharing stories, using images and videos, or even just writing in a way that evokes emotion.
- Speak with confidence. When you speak confidently, it completely changes your tone of voice. A confident person is almost always more believable. Conversely, a lack of confidence in your voice can make others question whether or not you believe what you’re saying or if you completely understand it. Perception matters.
- Show gratitude. Thank the other person for sharing, especially when it’s a tough/heavy topic or you can clearly tell it wasn’t easy for them to share specific details.
If you’d like to talk more about something I said in this article, let’s do it! Send me a note at [email protected]
And if you found this article helpful, please forward it to someone else on your campus who could also benefit from reading it.
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