Effective Communication for Financial Aid

1. School and Student Service For Financial Aid 2002 NAIS/SSS Financial Aid Workshop Series Mark J. Mitchell, NAIS Margie Nelcoski, ETS

2. Strategies for Effective Communication with Families

3. If this is what YOU feel like you’re trying to do...

4. ... and this what THEY feel like you’re doing …

5. ... when this is what you want them to do…

6. Remember this…. • Precision of communication is important, more important than ever, in our era of hair trigger balances, when a false or misunderstood word may create as much disaster as a sudden thoughtless act. • James Thurber

7. Typical Forms of Communicating About Financial Aid • One-to-one contact • Printed publications and brochures • Policy and procedures manuals • Letters and correspondence • Presentations • Websites • Other???

8. One-to-One Contact • Most conversations are simply monologues delivered in the presence of a witness.- Margaret Miller • In-person • Via telephone • Via email

9. Letters and Correspondence • The extent to which you are able to transform your self-concern into “other-concern” will determine your effectiveness in getting others to follow along.- Unknown • Process kick-off • Missing information • Award—met need vs. unmet need • No award—no need vs. no funds • Financial aid waitlist

10. Printed Publications and Brochures • It is insight into human nature that is the key to the communicator's skill. For whereas the writer is concerned with what he puts into his writing, the communicator is concerned with what the reader gets out of it.- William Bernbach • Brief overview of what, why and how • Opportunity to disclose total cost of attendance • Profiles and examples of recipients to provide realistic impression of eligibility • Paint a picture with statistics • Carefully consider the target audiences

11. Policy and Procedure Manuals • Don't hide your strategy under a bushel. Communicate it throughout your (school). It's better today to disclose too much than too little. -- Joel E. Ross • When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt. - Henry Kaiser • Written rules with expressed flexibility • Internal version/External version? • Comprehensive but concise

12. Presentations • They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.- Carl W. Buechner • Parent-focused • Review the process, educate • How it works; expectations • Board-focused • Demonstrate fiscal integrity • What we spend; are we meeting our goals? • Staff-focused • Build awareness, buy-in • What we do; why it matters

13. Websites • Regardless of the changes in technology, the market for well-crafted messages will always have an audience.— Steve Burnett • Easy to find? • Where is financial aid information? • Links to other resources? • Loan and payment plan providers • Scholarship organizations • Financial planning services

14. Communicating about Financial Aid • Be clear, concise and straightforward • Underpromise and overdeliver • Interpersonal communication skills are essential • Learn personality types and how to adapt responses • Anger, conflict management • Handle objections with empathy • Saying “No” without finality • Be mindful of your telephone etiquette • Be sure you have support from leadership and other colleagues

15. Communicating about Financial Aid • Do you know what it’s like to complete the process? • Consider how your words and actions can alleviate the stress and complexity associated with the process • Consider how to solve these phenomena: • “Hand holding” • “Broken Record Syndrome” • Before, during, and/or after the process, ask parents what they think or feel about it • Remember and implement the “Golden Rule”

16. The “Golden Rule” of Communication • Communicate unto the other person that which you would want him to communicate unto you if your positions were reversed. • Aaron Goldman