New Book: The Art of the Sale

I am taking a road trip from Columbus, Ohio to Madison, Wisconsin. It is a 9 hour drive from Columbus to Madison, and I stopped for the night at some good friends' house in Champaign, Illinois.

The Art of the Sale
I  have been listening to The Art of the Sale, a new book by Philip Delves Broughton. I have been a big Broughton fan since reading his book Ahead of the Curve, in which he describes his experience earning an MBA in the Harvard Business School. (I've actually read Ahead of the Curve several times - it is very insightful and entertaining and I highly recommend it.) In The Art of the Sale, Broughton shares great stories, addresses academic literature, and sums his findings up in clear, often humorous ways.

According to Broughton, some assert that there are two essentials to being a great salesperson: (1) the ability to empathize, and (2) a strong, unflappable ego. This crucial combination allows the salesperson to understand the potential client - background, desires, needs, and feelings - while at the same time possessing a great deal of confidence in the ability to to provide something useful. This ego also provides a healthy dose of resilience in the face of rejection, which is likely a big part of the life of the salesman.

I would probably rate myself fairly high in the empathize category and somewhere around average in the ego category. I am certainly not a salesman by title, but as in most every profession, I find that I must sell a great deal to the people around me. For me, a vital key to maintaining confidence amid the difficulties of selling is a firm belief in the product I am selling. I am currently the interim program chair for the MS Degree in Instructional Design and Performance Technology at Franklin University. Part of my duty is to promote the program to potential students, and if I didn't have a strong belief in the product of education in general and the degree specifically, I would not do too well at promoting the program. Luckily, I do believe in the "product" of education - I believe it raises sights and expands human potential in a way that many other things cannot.

Broughton also notes that the way a person interprets failures is vital. Is my failure due to my internal shortcomings, or simply due to external circumstances? Does a single instance of failure become interpreted as evidence of my global incompetence, or was it just specific instance of failure in a life of overall success? I have personally found that successfully enduring difficult experiences in life and having succeeded at other rewarding pursuits has given me a positive perspective on my own abilities as an individual, and those experiences serve as a foundation for moving forward with confidence in the face of difficulty. I try to think about negative, or difficult experiences as formative (something I can use to improve myself) instead of summative (like a final "grade" or statement of value that is assigned to me by someone else). As a friend  and coach once said, "There is no failure, only feedback."

I have listened to the first half of the book and will continue to listen as I move forward on my trip.

10 Best Practices for Student Retention in Online Courses

Student retention in an online course or program is absolutely vital. However, this continues to be a potent issue in many online programs. In the IDPT Program at Franklin University, we have recently focused on this topic.

To provide insight on this issue, a former coworker of mine, Kevin Shanley, recently reviewed the literature on the most important factors in retaining students in online courses. His focus was on general education courses at the undergraduate level, but I believe that most of the recommendations can and should be applied in in nearly all online courses. I provide a summary of his suggestions below, but I definitely recommend reviewing his entire publication. He provides some excellent ideas on improving student retention. (Here is a link to his review of literature.)

Summary of strategies for improving online student retention:

1. support services - provide students with technology and other support
2. early submission of work - allow students to get feedback on assignments before final submission
3. clear expectations - be clear about work and grading expectations
4. orientation - overview course and assignments at the beginning of each course
5. content relevancy and accuracy - be sure everything is up to date in your course
6. faculty preparedness - make sure faculty understand their expectations
7. student control - allow students to have some control over the learning process
8. age factors - be aware of age factors affecting student success
9. participation - encourage participation from all students
10. social integration - ensure plenty of relevant, positive social interaction

These strategies can be organized according to different levels within the university or college offering the course or program:

1. University Level
2. Program/Department Level
3. Course Design Level
4. Instructor Level

The difficult thing in implementing these and other strategies is that support must be provided at all levels. Without the necessary infrastructure and support from the university, student success is unlikely. Without support and resources from the program level, implementing effective course design and staffing with quality instructors is not possible. Without excellent course design, students are less likely to persist and succeed. And without great instructors, student success diminishes.

So, what are your best strategies for improving student retention in online courses?  I am definitely interested in hearing best practices that I can use in my own program and teaching.

Rude Customer Service and the Power of Character

The Guy at the Ticket Kiosk
I recently traveled to the 2012 ISPI Conference in Toronto. While returning, I attempted to use the self-serve kiosk to obtain my ticket so I could board my flight. I was having difficulty with the poorly-designed kiosk - it must have been poorly designed if I was having a hard time, right? - when an airline associate approached me to help me get my ticket and move on.

I was, of course, pleased that this individual was there to help me, but there was something immediately unsettling about the way this young man interacted with me. He was the kind of person that had the uncanny ability to smile and say helpful things while at the same time indicate through his voice, eyes, and body gesture that I was a total idiot. We interacted only for about 20 seconds or so, but I left feeling very uncomfortable and having ill feelings toward the individual the airline he represented.

Duplicity in Communication
I have learned over the years that communication includes 2 major parts: (1) what we communicate on the surface through our words, and (2) the intentions, feelings and beliefs that accompany that communication. And it is very difficult to decouple that those two components. The guy at the ticket kiosk could not hide his disdain for his job and his irritation with me. His words gave one message, and his non-verbal communication gave an entirely different message. (I write more about this kind of backhanded style in my post on toxic coworkers).

To be truly great communicators, we must on some level BE what we hope to communicate. If we want to communicate concern and encouragement, we must possess in some way characteristics of love and concern for others. Who we are - what we actually believe, think, and feel about ourselves and others - is communicated to the people around us, and we must be willing to change who we are so that our communication is more aligned.

Connecting to Education
I believe that the best teachers possess 3 important characteristics: (1) a high level of expertise in the content being taught, (2) a mastery and use of effective instructional strategies, and (3) a true desire to see their students succeed and flourish. This combination yields great power to move a student toward outstanding success.