The second sentence of this module stated, you don't need to be a great writer to write a press release? I completely disagree. You must be an excellent writer! You must know how to communicate not just facts but why that press release is newsworthy to whoever you are sending it to. If it's just another copy paste or mundane press release - trust me, no one will want to publish it. TV producers, editors, bloggers, and trade professionals will ask for press releases and they will have to make an impact, if they don't..then why would your community be interested? Remember these media contacts are being pitched by thousands of PR firms and every day news - so make it relevant! And don't forget to follow-up via phone.

I have tried mirroring in the past and you have to be careful so that the other person is not consciously picking up on it and shutting you down. I always try to keep my hands in my lap, give them eye contact, smile, share stories of myself, and genuinely and sincerely help them to relax allowing them to think of their questions and concerns.

I am so aware of my body language. I have a tendency to cross my arms when I am standing speaking with a student. And now I can see how it could be misconstrued as being guarded, closed off, uninterested. I try with each student encounter to make sure we part each other's company happy.

It is so important when meeting with a prospective student that you take the time to clear your mind, relax your body and actively listen. I have found that once I am ready for the conversation, the prospective student is more relaxed and can communicate more easily. Reading between the lines is also so important in order to get to the root of the conversation. It enables you to go places that can assist the prospective student in identifying their goals.

What kind of programs do you have in place in the community? From what you've learned in this course, what programs could you put in place?

I'm curious to hear what type of messages if any would you leave if the phone number is not the prospects number, for example maybe a parents, friend or other family members voice mail?

I appreciated the Admissions code of Conduct attachment to this first module. it has everything that was discussed in the module plus some. This guide can remind us to become more human and not focus on the numbers so much. Asking the correct questions can help us better understand the students hopes and dreams for the future. the Code of Conduct provides us with amazing reminders and well as encouragement to always be looking for ways to expand our knowledge. Developing an upbeat and positive relationship with the student will help us understand them more, what their goals and ambitions are. Its important to enroll a student who wants to be working in the industry, or field because they are genuinely interested. this lesson taught me to not get caught up in the numbers, investigate and take the time to get to know educators of tomorrow!

At our school - we often do not get the opportunity to meet students face to face prior to the enrollment. So - email and phone communication skills are really important. However - the information provided in this lesson can be applied to any aspect of business and life. How we act, behave, listen and respond can positively or negatively impact any situation. For me personally - I have to slow down, focus, listen and not interrupt. Often - I have so many things going through my head all at once - it is often difficult to achieve these objectives. However - the most effective conversations happen when I can focus and listen.

Most of my customers find my company through our website. We have a form which they can complete if they are interested in our program. Often - the prospective student does not want to provide a telephone number - so email is my only option. What I have taken from this lesson is to avoid the typical emotion icons which are frequently used in casual conversation. My own experience has taught me to keep information brief and organized. Long email messages seem to lose the interest of the reader - and potentially lose the opportunity to earn the business.

What specific criteria do you use to evaluate a potential advertising partner? What qualities and competencies would you look for in an advertising agency?

WHAT DO YOU DO?

One body language stance that surprised me recently was one of "space". My students would put at least one chair, sometimes two, between them and the next student. While this was not unusual to see in one-off situations, it was happening overall in the student body. None of them were approachable and none of them wanted to interact with me, or each other. Now, you ask, what did I do? Well, I started by meeting individually with each student; then I incorporated team building exercises into my lectures; and split the students into groups to work on in-class assignments. Outside of classes, I asked them to reach out to me when ever needed. Slowly the students started moving toward each other. Now, they all sit side by side in the classroom. This, to me, is a bold body language that told me these students were influenced by their environment to stand "alone", trust no one, depend on no one.

Always start and end the conversation (call) with a smile

I work at a tech school so we teach one career class only. We are responsible for placing students in their first job, as we get audited on this. Sometimes potential students come in and I can see right off that they will not fit what the hiring offices are looking for. Sometimes I can tell by our phone calls that the caller has no idea what this career entails.

I am not the marketing person but was asked to take this course because it was though it could help us in marketing our school. The marketing media person is with our parent organization. I am having trouble with all the information presented as I can't relate to it. We are a new very small school--we only take 6 students a year. Our curriculum is very specialized. However we would like to increase the number of prospective students who apply. We are in our second year and for the first year we had only 9 prospective students who applied and for next year so far we have only 10 prospective students who applied. However we have had no problem selecting 6 qualified students from the pool. Any suggestions?

We have our own marketing/media manager. She is responsible for all marketing and media for our parent company and the new school we have started. Are any other schools using this approach as opposed to hiring an outside agency?

I am currently the Admission Coordinator for our college. However I work off-site. My involvement with prospective students is only to answer their inquiries about the college and provide them with links where they can download an application from our website. As such I do need to have knowledge about all aspects of the college. I am not involved in the interview or selection process. Has anyone had a similar situation?

What would be the approximate right amount of time that an admissions' rep should dedicate to a prospective student?

The most interesting part of module 4 was learning about reframing content and context. Learning how to re-invent the meaning of a situation will become very valuable in the future. I will be able to turn bad situations into good ones with my students. I will be able to give students positives out of the negatives. These are very important things to remember in communication!

I have had an issue in the last couple of months with several students that feel as if they are superior to other students and believe that they deserve special treatment. These students are students that are receiving financial aid to attend our school, yet show no gratitude to the fact that they are coming to our school at no cost to them. These students have caused so much turmoil within our school. What would be some affective ways to communicate with these students to get the point across to them that they have the same standards to uphold as any other student and that they should not be given special treatment? Any suggestions would be great! I am hoping that this communication course will help me learn some techniques to use in the future with problems like this!