Softeners
Have you used softeners before and how did it work out?
I try to go into a little detail at the beginning of our initial calls with students letting them know I'm going to be asking them some questions about themselves to get to know them a little bit better. When I don't preface the conversation with "I'm going to ask you a little about yourself, your goals, your past education," people seem to have much shorter answers. Maybe it's all in my head but they seem a little more open and relaxed when I use some sort of softeners with them.
@earnold - Emily, I think that is a great way to use softners when speaking with students. I have not thought about this but we do use this approach - or if we don't we should - so that the students know what to expect. We have also used the term "up front contract" to describe this approach.
