Talking points for making retention calls to students

From AFSWiki

Jump to: navigation, search


Contents

Overview

The objective of making phone calls to students during this stage is to assist them in preparing for their departure by offering support and encouragement. During this time, students can spend a lot of waiting anxiously for host family, school, travel and visa information. When Volunteers and Returnees are in contact with the student during this time, they feel supported by AFS. Below you will find talking points for reaching out to students during this time.



Before you make the call

  • Set aside uninterrupted time and create a comfortable and quiet environment for yourself.
  • Retrieve your list of students from Global Link, see Global Link Tutorials for Sending How to pull a list of all Sending Participants whose Applications have been sent abroad for Review]].
  • Print key materials on hand during the calls:
1) Print this wiki page of talking points.
2) FAQ's: Common Retention Questions
3) How to Record a Contact in a Student's Contact Log
  • Remember, you are reaching out to support and encourage the student -- you do not necessarily need to have all the answers. Instead, focus on relationship building and be familiar with the many resources available to you, students and parents. See 'Sending Resources', below.


Return to the Sending Home Page

Making the call

For Volunteers:

  • Introduction: Hello, my name is ____ and I am a volunteer with AFS. Is ____there?
  • Once you are speaking with the student: I’m calling to introduce myself. I am an AFS volunteer and also live in ___. I see you are preparing for a program to ____. I wanted to check in and see how things are going.

For Returnees:

  • Introductions: Hello, my name is ____ and I am an AFS Returnee. Is ___there?
  • Once you are speaking with the student: I’m calling to introduce myself. I went abroad with AFS to ___. I see you are preparing for a program to ____. I wanted to check in and see how you are doing and if you have any questions about what it is like to be an AFS Exchange Student.

Quick Tips:

  • Be sure to provide your local community name and/or your AFS country, to create a connection.
  • Refer to the student's country or program to personalize the phone call.
  • After you state why you are calling, be sure to PAUSE, and let the student respond to what you have said.
  • If you do not reach the student, take the opportunity to chat with the parent or sibling who answers the phone - they may be needing a word of encouragement, reassurance and support, themselves. Also, see below for directions on leaving a voicemail.

Engage with open-ended questions

Next, you want to address the student, based on where they are in the acceptance process. There is a two step acceptance process at AFS-USA. First, a student is accepted by AFS-USA. Once they have been accepted by AFS-USA, their application is sent to the partner country. The partner country will consider their application, and then accept the application, if they meet acceptance requirements. For this reason, it is important to not use the word 'accepted' lightly, since they may not yet be all the way through the acceptance process, and we don't want to misguide or misinform students. Please be sure to read THIS PAGE to ensure you know how to view the stage of the process of the students you are calling.

Partner Review:
When a student is in Partner Review, it means their application has been sent to the partner country, but they have not yet been guaranteed.

While the student waits to hear about their partner acceptance, they can take the time to learn more and get excited about their potential country. It is also a great time to do some fundraising. Here are some conversation starters for students in Partner Review.:

  • Have you checked out the AFS blogs? If not, they are a great resource and can be found: http://afsblog.org/
  • Have you done some research about the country that you are going to?
  • Have you been studying up on the language?
  • Have you attended a fund raising conference call? There are also is great information on fund raising on our website at: http://www.afsusa.org/usa_en/focus_on/stories/high_school
  • Have you received the information about the local Pre-Departure Orientation? Do you have any questions about it?
Partner Guaranteed:
When a student is in Partner Guaranteed, it means they have been accepted by the partner but not yet placed with a host family.

While the student waits to hear about their host family placement -which sometimes does not come until 3 weeks before departure-- they should take time work on their online orientation, work out details of getting school credit, and apply for visas, if necessary. Here are some conversation starters for students in Partner Guaranteed.:

  • Have you met with your school counselor and figured out what classes you need to take while abroad?
  • Have you looked through the information that is available through your AFS Student Account? You account is a great way to get information, such as host family information (when available) travel details (when available), make tuition payments and much more.
  • Have you started working on Culture Trek? Culture Trek is a great way for you to start thinking about what you will experience while abroad and living in a different culture. Culture Trek can be accessed through your AFS Account.
  • Have you received your visa instructions? Have you read them thoroughly? If the visa instructions have not been received, please be assured that they will be provided to you shortly.
  • Have you received the information about the local Pre-Departure Orientation? Do you have any questions about it?
Host Family Assigned:
When a student is in Host Familiy Assigned, it means the student has been assigned full placement information -- host family and school or community service project information.

While the student is in Host Family Assigned, the student can be in touch with their family, and start to learn more about that part of the world.

  • Have you been in touch with your host family?
  • Have you done some research into the part of the country that you will be living in?
  • Have you been studying up on the language?
  • Have you thought about local gifts that you could bring to your host family as presents?
  • Have you received the information about the local Pre-Departure Orientation? Do you have any questions about it?

Quick Tips:

  • Use the above conversation starters to get the dialogue started, but then let the student do most of the talking.
  • Rephrase what you have heard to make sure you are understanding he/she correcting, and to build trust that you are a good listener.
  • Always be empathetic to where the student is coming from.
  • When a student is feeling impatient with the waiting process, redirect their energy into one of the positive things they can do while they play the waiting game.

Responding to common questions

* FAQ's: Common Retention Questions Print this to have handy while you are making calls.


Quick Tips:

  • Be familiar with how to respond to common questions. As the questions require additional information, direct the parent to their Student Services Advisor.

Saying good-bye

It has been great to speak with you. I wish you the best of luck as you prepare for the upcoming program. Please be in touch as you have questions (provide contact information). You are also welcome to be in touch with your Application Advisor at 1-800-AFS-INFO

Quick Tip:

  • This can be a great time to let them know of upcoming events in your area.

After you make the call

  • Once you finish the conversation, send a follow-up email, letting the student and/or parent know it was great to speak with them, and include any links to www.afsusa.org that may be helpful.
  • Be sure to log the call in Global Link, using these easy instructions: How to Record a Contact in a Student's Contact Log

How to leave a message

When reaching out to students and parents, you will at times reach voice mail. Here is a sample message you can leave.


Hello, my name is ____ and I am a volunteer with AFS. I live in ____. I'm calling to introduce myself and provide support as (student) prepares for (his/her) upcoming program. It would be great to speak with you, feel free to get back to me at (your number or email).

Quick Tips:

  • It's helpful to say your phone # or email slowly, and then repeat yourself.
  • If you prefer, you can provide 1-800-AFS-INFO and encourage parents to contact their Advisor.


Resources


Return to the Sending Home Page

Retrieved from "http://www.afswiki.org/index.php/Talking_points_for_making_retention_calls_to_students"
Personal tools
May 24 2012
Search Tip
  • "Go" links directly to page
  • <Enter key> = "Go"
  • "Search" displays full text search results