Customer Service Training Guide

Ambassador all day training
A comprehensive facilitation guide for an 8 hour training session on
customer service
Meghan Campbell, Hannah Kelliher, Chris Jones, and Lenora Willis
Helping Skills II

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Ambassador Training Schedule
Customer Service
9:00am – 5:30pm
9:00am- 9:15am Welcome/ Breakfast
9:15 – 9:30am Introductions
Schedule for Day
9:30- 9:45am Icebreaker/Team Building
Where the Wind Blows
9:45am- 10:30am Knowledge
Offices Services
Focus / Highlighting
10:30- 10:45am Break
10:45 – 11:30am Resource Tour
11:30 – 12:00pm Discussion/Debrief
12:00- 12:45 pm Lunch
12:45 – 1:45 pm Diversity Training
1:45 – 2:45 pm Diversity Training Part 2
2:45 – 3:00 pm Break
3:00 – 4:00pm Mediation & Conflict Resolution
4:00 – 5:15pm Communication & Positivity
5:15pm- 5:30pm Questions, Comments, Concerns, Moving Forward, and Evaluation

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Icebreaker
Where the Wind Blows
Time: 15 minutes
● The outcome of Where the Wind Blows is for students to learn about their fellow ambassadors in a fun
and engaging way. Where the Wind Blows is an icebreaker which gets the students up and moving around
all while getting to know their co-workers.
● Make a circle using pieces of the duct tape. You want to cut and place enough pieces of the duct tape for
all but one student. (If there are 12 students, you cut 11 pieces of duct tape)
● Ask for a volunteer to go first and that person will stand in the middle of the circle. The rest of the
students are to stand on a piece of duct tape.
● The person in the middle says one thing about themselves. (Example would be I like the red sox) and
everyone else who likes the red sox will leave their piece of tape and scramble to find an empty piece of
tape. The last one without a piece of tape is the person in the middle. If a person does not like what the
person in the middle says, then he or she stays on the tape.

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Knowledge of Your Campus
Aim: The aim of the knowledge of your campus is for student ambassadors to have information about their individual
campuses in order to provide effective tours and great customer service to prospective students and their families.
Objective:
1. Students will develop a better understanding of the various departments on the college campus and their many
functions in order to assist them in becoming strong student ambassadors.
2. Students will learn how to best represent their institution as student ambassadors.
3. Student ambassadors will learn how to answer possible questions and provide a welcoming environment for the
visitors.
4. Student ambassadors will learn how to provide excellent customer service.
Time:2 hours total
Session Activities:
Step Time Activity/ Method Content Resources Needed
Knowledge 45 minutes ● Information session
● Discussion
● Information on offices
and Services
● How to be an effective
ambassador
● PowerPoint
● Facilitators Guide
● Paper and pens
Resource
Tour/Campus
Treasures
45 Minutes ● Discussion
● Tour
● Learning about
physical campus
layout
● Campus treasure map
● Pen and paper
Discussion/wr
ap up
30 Minutes ● Information session
● Discussion
● Talk about what to do
when student
ambassadors do not
know answer to
question.
● Talk about what they
learned on Resource
Tour
● PowerPoint
● Paper and pens
Resources Needed
● PowerPoint
● Facilitators Guide
● Treasure Map
● Pens
● Paper
Key Points
● How to give effective tours, create a warm welcome, connect with visitors, anticipate visitor‘s
questions, and address financial concerns
● Learning about individual campuses layout
*Note: You should find specific information about each of these departments listed below. This
will help the student ambassadors learn about specific offices on your campus and their functions.

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Offices and Services
Departments you should know…
The following information is a list of some important departments students should be familiar with to better assist
student ambassadors. **If your campus calls them something different then please change the name.
Career Services
● Assist students with their career aspirations.
● Possibly provides career counseling.
Counseling & Health
● Counseling and health services provide health services to students, both mental and physical.
Disability Services
● The Disability Services office assists students with documented disabilities with their accommodations
Residence Life
● Residence life provides a safe environment for students to live while on campus.
● Residence life may administer programming outside of the classroom which students can take part in.
Campus Police
● Campus police is responsible for the institutions safety as a whole.
Registrar’s Office
● The registrar‘s office is responsible primarily for academic documentation, including transcripts and grades.
● Some possible services are but not limited to registration of classes in all semesters, scheduling of courses,
enrollment verifications and changes to majors/minors.
Financial Aid Office
● Financial Aid helps with all things regarding financial aid.
● May help with filling out the FASFA form, finding work study jobs, provides information about grants and
scholarships.
Bursar’s Office
● The bursar's office is responsible for all billing aspects surrounding your education. This is where students receive
their bills from
International Student Office
● Assists international students with acclimation to campus.
Library
● The library provides students with information both virtually and in person. There are many places to learn and
study within the library.
● The library staff provides students with help with finding information out for papers and/or projects.

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Civic Engagement / Inclusion
● Assists students with community service placement, service learning.
● Usually this office has a good rapport with the surrounding community to best ensure students are able to be
placed into a community service/service learning project.
Athletics
● Provides students with the opportunity to play a sport.
Student Activities / Clubs
● Student activities provides students with various events on campus
● Student activities may also be in charge of student government and other organizations on campus.

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How to Create a Warm Welcome!
(Following adapted from PaperClip Communications)
● Presenter will ask students what they think will help them in creating a warm environment.
○ Talk about the importance of knowing the names of the people student‘s ambassadors are giving tours for.
People feel wanted and valued if someone knows their name. Suggest having nametags for tour
participants.
○ Make sure student ambassadors encourage questions from the group of perspective students and their
families. Ask students if they remember their visit to campus and how many questions they and their
families had.
■ Talk about the importance of making time at the end of a tour for questions from people who may
not have felt comfortable asking in front of a group.
○ Discuss the importance of including everyone on the tour, not just those who are vocal.
○ Encourage student ambassadors to listen to those who are on their tours rather than just talk at them. This
will help with the people feeling welcome on campus.
○ Discuss the importance of sharing their knowledge with the tour. It makes the people feel like they are
part of the school by knowing about it and not just a visitor.
○ The presenter should talk about the importance of the student ambassadors informing their tours as to why
they are doing what they are doing. There may be a method the student ambassador is doing which is
unclear to the families and students on the tour but if it is explained the question will be answered without
a problem.
● Welcoming words!
○ Ask ambassadors what they like to hear when they go somewhere where they are going to buy something.
(examples: restaurant, store, car shopping etc.)
○ Go over their ideas and compare it with the following:
■ We‘re so glad you chose to come check us out!
■ Thanks for taking the time to see what our campus is all about.
■ It‘s really good to have you here with us.
■ We understand that it takes time and effort to visit different schools. Thanks for coming.
■ It‘s always so nice to meet folks who I‘ll be going to school with next year!
■ I‘m here to answer your questions and serve as your campus guide. Please let me know how I can
help you better understand our school.
■ Think about what feels genuine and true for you to say. And then create that welcome with your
words!

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How to Connect With Visitors
● Ask student ambassadors how they would like to make the initial contact with their tours. After this discussion go
over the following ideas:
○ Offering Identifying information: name, year in school, major, where do you originate from etc.
○ Ask where the members of the tour came from. This is a valuable tool to connect with people with.
○ Learn about visitor‘s interests and try to incorporate them into the tour.
○ Learn how they came about knowing about institution and why they are interested in it.
○ Student ambassadors should mention something they notice on a visitor, like a logo or a school or
something along those lines. If student ambassador can try to tie it into something about themselves. This
will form a connection between the visitor and ambassador.
○ Student ambassadors need to remain current with what is happening on campus so they can relay this
information on to visitors.
■ Have a discussion about what is happening at this time on your campus.
○ Presenter will ask the student ambassadors what they think about sharing their story with visitors. Talk
about appropriate level of sharing of personal stories and why sometimes it may not be ok.
How to anticipate visitor’s questions
● Presenter should discuss with the ambassadors what they feel is most important to know about their institution
and what areas they feel will be most questioned. Then go through their answers. Examples are below in case
these are not covered. Presenter should find out some information on these areas in order to discuss with
ambassadors.
○ Common questions surround following areas:
■ Dinning
■ Banking
■ Computers
■ Wellness and recreation
■ Living situations
■ Safety concerns
■ Green initiatives (recycling etc.)
How to address financial concerns
● Presenter should have a list of possible work study places and job places on campus where student ambassadors
can refer their visiting students to if the subject comes up.
● Talk about financial aid and the services the office provides on your specific campus. Pass this information onto
student ambassadors. Financial issues and questions are probably the top of people‘s concern and it can be a scary
subject to talk about for students. It is important to make this lesson as simplified as possible so the student
ambassadors can understand it in a way they can best answer possible questions.
● Go through the following questions. This is a good way for student ambassadors to use their common knowledge
to help answer possible financial questions and possibly make them less daunting.
○ ―Will tuition be going up in the next year?
○ What does the student fees go towards?
○ How much can I plan to spend on books each semester?
○ What does it cost of an annual parking pass?
○ Are all scholarships just based on grades?

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○ Does the financial aid office have any extended office hours for commuters and non-traditional students?
○ Are there any financial plans just for transfer students?
○ Why does it cost more to live in the campus apartments than in regular residence halls?
○ If you can‘t afford the required meal plan to live on campus, can you get out of it?‖
● Presenter should encourage students to keep a positive attitude when talking about financial issues as it is stressful
for most and if the ambassadors are all doom and gloom it could turn visitors away.
● Presenter should talk about empathizing with the students because no one really knows what each is going
through. Student ambassadors should listen for cues such as ―I am not sure how we are going to swing it this
year.‖ The student ambassador could use this time to talk about the work study opportunities or jobs on campus.
● Presenter should emphasize the importance of not pretending the ambassador knows all of the information. They
should talk about how to find the answer or send the person asking in the right direction.
● Presenters should inform student ambassadors about the financial literacy programs on campus and off campus
for those who want to learn more.
How to Give an Effective Tour
● Students need to go through their course prior to giving a tour. Chances are they will be walking backwards and
want to make sure they know of the areas where they may stumble.
● Ambassadors do not need to go on the scripted set if they don‘t want to they can make it their own as long as it is
ok with supervisor and covers all what needs to be covered. Ambassadors should practice these routes to make
sure they are effective.
○ Ways to make it your own:
■ Look for places you like and make sure to highlight some of them.
■ Talk about events you have attended and like. Sports, theatre etc
■ Involve visitors by asking them questions such as where do you think you go to get academic
advising?
● The ambassadors should not just go off of a script, make it fresh and talk comfortably with your visitors. Again
ambassadors want to make connections with them. Student ambassadors should remember information you
learned at the beginning when showing them places they mentioned they are interested in. For example: ‗I
remember you saying you are interested in volleyball, here is the gym and we have a volleyball court here and a
team you can try out for‘
● Ambassadors should talk about history. This means ambassadors should know a bit about the history of their
institution. Interesting information could be the growth of the school, the growth of the residence hall, which
building was first, who was the first student etc.
● Ambassadors should not talk too much.
● Encourage student visitors to share their interests and try to show them where they can take part.
● Ambassadors should not expect one tour to be exactly the same as the last.
● Ambassadors should use humor in an appropriate way
● Know how to handle an emergency on a tour
● Ambassadors should not rush ahead of the group. If tour needs to separate (elevator or whatever) let them know
what floor and where to meet you. Or ambassadors can escort groups separately.

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Campus Treasures/Resource Tour
● The purpose of Campus Treasures is for students to get to know each other while at the same time become more
familiar with the college campus and the main departments and their functions.
● Object of the Activity: Students will break up into groups of no more than four, and no less than two. Since this is
an activity where the objective is to learn new peers, the students will be instructed to match up with a stranger.
● Each group will be given a Campus Treasure Map with a series of questions related to the various college
departments, and different point people for them to meet and greet during their exploration.
● Before the groups are sent to find the answers to the clues and questions given, they will have (5) to (7) minutes to
meet and introduce themselves to the new members in their group…
● The group that answers all the questions on the map in the least amount of time will win a small prize. There will
be 1st
, 2nd
, and 3rd
place prizes awarded at the end of the exercise.
Directions: The following is the questions for the campus treasure hunt/resource tour the student ambassadors will be
embarking on. The presenter should find out the answers to the questions prior to the training in order to correct the
student ambassadors responses. Being that the presenters school may differ from others each presenter must do this on
their respective campuses.

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Campus Treasures Map Questions
College Knowledge Treasure Hunt
Directions: Find the answer to the following questions. Find the bonus items and attach them to this worksheet.
1. What is the name of the college/university? ______________________________
2. What city and state is it in? ______________________________
3. Go to the Athletic Department and find out the name of the college mascot?
* Bonus: Find a flyer on campus with a picture of the mascot and attach it to this form.
* Record the names of two members of staff?
4. Visit the student union. How many places to eat are in there?
*Bonus: Find a napkin from a restaurant in the student union and attach it to this form.
5. Visit the library. What is the name of the library? How many computers are on the 1st floor?
______________________________
6. Most schools print their own newspaper. What is the name of the newspaper?
*Bonus: Find a copy of the most recent newspaper and attach it to this form. _____________________
7. Bring with your group a copy of the freshman orientation catalog.
8. Bring with your group a blank police parking citation.
9. Find a scholarship brochure from the Financial Aid Office.
10. Bring with your group a business card from the president's office with his or her name on it.
11. Find a brochure from Student Activities that contains a list of the student clubs on campus.
12. Travel to one of the student dorms and retrieve a flyer with at least one hall activity listed this semester.

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Diversity
Aim: The aim is for student ambassadors to become cognizant of working with a diverse population. Student
ambassadors will increase their awareness through self and experiential reflection.
Objectives:
1. Students will develop an understanding of micro-aggressions and their effects on others.
2. Students will begin to recognize how stereotypes are not always the truth and begin to use this
knowledge to not make assumptions about groups of people.
3. Students will use their knowledge to best work with a diverse group of students and parents as
ambassadors to their institutions.
4. Students will be cognizant from the DOT exercise how outside sources influence their thinking.
5. Students will utilize the skills learned from the DOT exercise to help them recognize how their identity
is formed.
Time: 2 Hours
Session Activities:
Micro-
aggressions
25 Minutes ● Information
session
● Discussion
● Definition of micro-
aggressions
● Types of micro-
aggressions
● Why micro-
aggressions are
important
● PowerPoint
Stereotypes 35 Minutes ● Information
session
● Discussion
● Video
● Activity
● Definition of
Stereotypes
● Watching ―What
would you do?‖ clip
and discussion
● Completing the Racial
Sorting Exercise
● Internet connection
● Display Screen
● PowerPoint
DOT
Exercise
50 minutes ● Discussion
● Activity
● What is Dominant
Culture
● What are Culture
Identity messages
● DOT Exercise
● Discussion about the
DOT exercise
● Easel Paper
● Red, Green, Blue, and
Yellow Sticky
dots.(at least seven of
each color per student
ambassador)
● PowerPoint
Wrap up 10 minutes ● Discussion
● Answer questions on
paper
● Wrap up questions ● PowerPoint
● Pen and paper

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Resources Needed
● PowerPoint
● Internet Connection
● Display screen
● Pen and Paper
● Easel Paper and Markers
● Red, yellow, green, and blue sticky dots. At least 7 of each color for each student ambassador.
Key Points
● Micro-aggressions will be discussed
● Stereotypes will be explored through discussion, questions, video, and an exercise in racial
sorting
● Student Ambassadors will also learn about Dominant Culture and Culture Identity Messages in
order to have a better understanding of who they are.
● It is important to stress that they must be aware of what they are so they can make a conscious
effort not to use them while working as an ambassador and in the student‘s everyday life.
● Micro-aggressions are important to know about because assumptions made by people can hurt
others and often people do not even know they are saying something offensive. There is hardly
ever any malice behind these statements because of the fact they are said/done subconsciously

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Diversity Part One:
Outcomes:
1. Students will develop an understanding of micro aggressions and their effects on others.
2. Students will begin to recognize how stereotypes are not always the truth and begin to use this knowledge to not
make assumptions about groups of people.
3. Students will use their knowledge to best work with a diverse group of students and parents as ambassadors to
their institutions.
Micro aggressions
Time: 25 minutes.
● Micro aggressions are defined as ―brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities,
whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults
towards people of color‖ (Sue, Capodilupo, Torino, Bucceri, Holder, Nadal, &Equin, 2007, para. 1).
● There are three types of micro aggressions listed below.
○ Micro-assaults: ―These discriminatory actions are done intentionally such as: racial names, white
supremacist symbols-swastikas, even not allowing child to date someone of a different race.
○ Micro-insults: ―Communication that happens verbally, nonverbally and through the environment all,
which communicates messages intentionally, meant to put down a person‟s heritage or identity. Example:
someone asks another employee if they got the job because of the color of their skin. (Implying they got
the job because of affirmative action not because of their skills)
○ Micro-validations: messages betrayed that subtly removes the person of color‟s thoughts, feelings and/or
reality.‖ (Sue, Rivera, (2010))
● Some examples of microaggressions are noted in Daniel Sue‘s article ―Racial Microaggressions in Everyday
Life‖ are listed below. Ask the class what they think is the hidden message. After you go through these
microaggressions open it up for a conversation and ask the class if they can think of anymore examples.
○ ―When a White couple (man and woman) passes a Black man on the sidewalk, the woman automatically
clutches her purse more tightly, while the White man checks for his wallet in the back pocket.‖ (Hidden
Message: Blacks are prone to crime and up to no good.)
○ ―A third generation Asian American is complemented by a taxi cab driver for speaking such good
English. (Hidden Message: Asian Americans are perceived as perpetual aliens in their own country and
not "real Americans.")
○ ―Police stop a Latino male driver for no apparent reason but to subtly check his driver's license to
determine immigration status.‖ (Hidden message: Latinas/os are illegal aliens.)
○ ―American Indian students at the University of Illinois see Native American symbols and mascots -
exemplified by Chief Illiniwek dancing and whooping fiercely during football games.‖ (Hidden Message:
American Indians are savages, blood-thirsty and their culture and traditions are demeaned.)” (Sue,
Rivera, (2010))
○ The presenter can talk about how the Washington Redskins have been in the news recently because if the
name of the team „Redskins‟ and how it may be offensive to the Native American population because the
name the European-Americans coined for the Native Americans who they took their land from and killed
them in masses. President Obama even mentioned if he were to own the team he would think about
changing the name.

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Stereotypes
Time: 35 minutes
● Ask the students what their understanding of what stereotypes are before giving the definition listed below
○ According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary (2013)the definition of stereotypes is: ―To believe unfairly
that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same‖
○ It is important for student ambassadors to understand what stereotypes are because they will be
interacting with many people from multiple backgrounds, races, and cultures and students should not
make assumptions about people based off what they think is true about a certain group. For instance an
ambassador should not assume that everyone has a parent or family member who has gone to college
before the student looking at the school therefore should treat students and parent‘s questions with respect
and don‘t answer them as if they should have known the answer.
● Ask the class where they think stereotypes come from. The answer is from family, friends, and the media are the
largest places where we learn stereotypes. Ask the class for examples.
● Watch the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbIUEiDBPPg and follow up with following questions:
○ What was the most surprising thing about the video?
○ What was the most inspiring part of the video?
○ Have you seen similar incidents in your life?
○ In what ways could this scenario play itself out on campus?
○ What are the stereotypes found in this video?
Racial Sorting Exercise
● You will need a computer with internet access for the next activity which is attached to a big screen in order to do
it with a class as a whole.
● This activity is another learning tool to use in order to highlight how we make stereotypes is to partake in the
Racial Sorting Exercise which is found here:http://www.pbs.org/race/002_SortingPeople/002_00-home.htm
● This exercise asks students to put the picture of a person into the label of what racial category they feel as though
they belong.
○ When doing this with the class chances are high there may be disagreement with which picture belongs in
which category and this is a healthy conversation to have. Facilitate this conversation by asking leading
questions as to why the person feels the picture belongs in a certain category. This can easily be tied into
the conversation about stereotypes.

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Diversity Part Two
The presenter will start the second part of the diversity training by summarizing the last hour and ask if there are any
comments or concerns before moving forward.
Discussion Questions:
1. How do you feel about the topics covered in the first part of Diversity?
2. Do you feel as though you have a clear understanding of what micro aggressions and stereotypes are and why
they are important to understand?
The DOT Exercise: Exploring messages that influence identity
Designed by Cris Clifford Cullinan PhD.
Outcomes:
1. Students will be cognizant from the DOT exercise how outside sources influence their thinking.
2. Students will utilize the skills learned from the DOT exercise to help them recognize how their identity is formed.
● This exercise is useful in that it helps participants explore how identity is shaped and valued, and yet it does not
demand that participants reveal what they, themselves believe about various issues of identity.
● This exercise also ties into the discussion about stereotypes that was had in the previous section.
In preparation ask the class the following questions:
1) What are some of the ways that we are different from one another?
2) Where could we learn misinformation about a group to which we do not belong?
It is also useful if participants are familiar with the term ―dominant culture‖ and it is important to explain that every
culture has cultural identity messages that tell members of that culture ―how things are‖ or ―how things should be‖
● Dominant Culture: Ask students for their understanding of what dominant culture is before giving the definition
below.
○ According to Sparknotes (2013) dominant culture is ―the group whose members are in the majority or
who wield more power than other groups. In the United States, the dominant culture is that of white,
middle-class, Protestant people of northern European descent‖(para 2).
● Culture Identity messages: talk with the class about this concept and ask for their ideas about specific messages
given out. Examples would be in the old days women would be expected to stay home and raise the family while
the man went out and worked.
● Have the following done ahead of time: Choose seven statements (listed below) that are written one to a page on
pieces of easel paper, which are posted on the wall prior to the training. (They are not visible when the exercise is
first being explained. You can hang a second piece of easel paper over each piece of written on paper to help
block the activity).
● It will take time to discuss the results of this exercise and working with more than seven statements takes more
time. Some other possible statements are listed below. It is best to use a series of statements that you can connect
with one another when processing the exercise. For instance, in the group of statements listed below, consider the
impact of these "cultural messages" on a person who is a female immigrant to the United States is proud of her
heritage, and whose your skin color regularly identifies her as not belonging to the dominant culture.

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Some statements that can be used for the DOT exercise:
● Everyone is Equal
● The United States is the land of opportunity, and if you try hard enough you will succeed.
● Poor People are lazy.
● History is the past and is not an important force in shaping how individuals relate to one another.
● Some races are just more intelligent than others.
● In some ways, men are just more competent than women.
● Immigrants need to recognize that it is their responsibility to assimilate to their new culture as quickly as possible.
● The only healthy sexual orientation is being heterosexual
● People with disabilities are not likely to be the most competent people to do a job.
● It would be better if we had a colorblind society
● People who speak English with an accent are probably less intelligent.
● Most people get what they deserve.
● Authority must be respected above all else.
● A leader‘s job is to make sure everyone follows the rules.
● If they conflict, honesty is more important than loyalty to the group.
● People are only victims if they let themselves be victims.
To Begin:
● Each participant is given colored stick on dots, seven each of four different colors.
● Each color represents the source of messages about identity and value.
● The presenter should write the meaning of the color dots on a piece of easel paper so the students can easily refer
back to it or it can be left on a slide for the students to reference.
○ RED – people who raised you.
○ GREEN – k-12 schooling
○ YELLOW – mass media; including television, radio, books, movies, internet, etc.
○ BLUE – your friends
● Participants are told that they will be reading seven statements, which they will find, written one per page on
seven pieces of easel paper hung on the wall.
● Under each statement, they will find a continuum, from deeply rejected to deeply held. Students are asked to
place all four colors of dots on each page; under each statement illustrating where the messages they received
from each of the four sources lay on this continuum.
● This is an example of how one person‘s dots might be placed on one of the sheets.

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● At this point the 7 messages are revealed and read. Then all participants take their dots and place them on the
sheets on the walls at the same time.
● After all dots are placed, starting from the first sheet the group examines the color map under each statement.
● Where are most of the red dots? The green? Why?
● Ask participants to volunteer information about why they put dots where they put them.
This exercise can be processed and discussed in a variety of ways.
● You can go through the statements one by one, noting patterns and differences in these patterns between sources,
and exploring why dots are placed where they are.
● Asking participants to volunteer to explain the placement of their "people who raised you‖ dots, for instance can
provide opportunities for the group to hear some differences in the ways members were raised that are very likely
not apparent by just looking at the group.
Some other questions that can provide focus include the following.
● Do you see any patterns in the ways the dots are placed?
● How many of you found that the messages you received from these different sources agreed with one another?
● How many of you found that some these sources disagreed with one another on some of these issues?
● What is it like for you when you have all these messages that are in conflict with one another? Is someone willing
to give an example of this and talk about what it is like?
● How might different messages make it difficult to hear and understand the experience of someone comes to you
about discrimination they have experienced?
● How much unanimity is there in the patterns? What might be the sources of the agreements? Of disagreements?
● Where do you notice major differences in the patterns? What might be the sources of those?
● To what extent are the messages from the people that raised you different from the messages of your friends?
Different from your own beliefs as you are aware of them?
● How might this mapping be different in another country? Where might we see their primary cultural messages?
● How might we discover the important cultural and identity messages in a country to which we are not native? To
which we are not acculturated?
● The presenter will talk with the class about and emphasize that we have all received messages like these
[statements] and that how we interpret, test, and decide to agree or disagree with them affects the way we look at
issues of diversity, difference, equity, privilege, fairness, and social justice.
● Emphasize that it is important that when we are dealing with any other person, that person brings with them ALL
the messages each has received throughout life. This is not to blame others but to bring awareness to how we
learn what we learn and how we practice as communities surrounding issues of diversity.
Wrap Up!
Have the student ambassadors answer the following questions on a piece of paper. This activity can remain anonymous to
ensure honest answers.
● Did you feel comfortable with the material covered in the diversity section?
● What was the most valuable part of this portion of the training for you?
● Do you feel as if you learned about yourself?
● Were you surprised about what you learned?
● Do you see the value in understanding about microaggressions and stereotypes as student ambassadors?

18
Mediation and Conflict Resolution
Aim: Student Ambassadors will learn the skills to confront and de-escalate conflict within the workplace.
Objective:
● Students will be able to assess a situation using problem solving and critical thinking skills.
● Students will be able to understand different confrontation styles and develop which one is the most comfortable
for them.
● Students will be able to de-escalate situation using the techniques provided
Time: 1 Hour
Session Activities:
What would
you do?
20 minutes Information
Session/
Discussion
Discuss types of issues that may
arise in the position and how they
should be handled as an Ambassador
-PowerPoint -
Presentation
De-escalation 20 minutes Information
Session/
Discussion
Students will learn specific de-
escalation techniques (both verbal
and non-verbal)
-PowerPoint -
Presentation
Mirroring 15 minutes Activity Active listening and ―I‖ statements
combine as a particularly
appropriate conflict resolution tool
to use during mediation
Mirroring Handout
Wrap
Up
5 Minutes Discussion How to utilize what was learned
today into your jobs as students and
student workers
N/A
Resources Needed:
- PowerPoint Presentation
- Internet Connection
- Scenario scripts
- Paper
- Pens/Pencils
- Facilitator‘s Guide
Key Points:
● Conflict comes up every day, but as student professionals are you ready to confront them and still well represent
the institution.
● Re-cap on micro aggressions and influential external messages and how they affect how we understand/ define
conflict.

19
What Would You Do?
Time:20 minutes
Who in the room has ever had a conflict? (Raise your hand) Who has not?
Conflict is all around us. It is something that we all have to deal with. Youmayfacedisgruntled,angryvisitorson occasion. Sometimes
the conflict may seem trivial as a family arriving late for the tour and missing information; or it may be more complicated, such as
a family does not speak English and requires a translator who is unavailable. This session is about handling conflict in a
productive and effective way.
What does conflict mean?
Talking Points
· Have participants recall a particular conflict and call out some common feelings, symptoms, and emotions that they
experienced when they were in a conflict. Some will describe fights or disagreements. Consider symptoms such as
tension, stress, low productivity, ill health, anxiety, resentment, or unresolved problems.
How do we know a conflict is happening?
There may be some obvious signs in which we can easily recognize or there may only be a few subtle clues.
What are the levels of conflict? Often times we can see a conflict brewing well before we see it reach the crisis stage Let‘s look at the
varying levels in between.
(©The Conflict Resolution Network; Understanding Conflict III)
Important Points to Cover:
Look for the early clues to conflict. Stay alert, ready to act, if and when appropriate.
Greet conflict in a positive way, ready to learn something new or improve the relationship.
Identify the level of conflict as this may help us choose an appropriate strategy.

20
Confrontation and De-escalation
Time: 20 minutes
Now that we are able to recognize the different levels of conflict let‘s learn how to effectively diffuse and de-escalate the
situation before it reaches the point of crisis.
De-Escalation is a tactic that we use to diffuse a situation. To de-escalate a situation you must open as many lines of
communication as possible. Some possible barriers to communication can cause actually escalate situations.
Communication Barriers
Pre-judging
Not listening
Criticizing
Name-calling
Engaging in power
struggles
Ordering
Threatening
Minimizing
Arguing
Some techniques for de-escalation include:
Listening
Three Main Listening Skills: Attending: Giving your physical and mental attention to another person; Following:
Making Sure you are engaged by using eye contact and using un-intrusive gestures such as nodding of your head or
saying ok; Reflecting: Paraphrasing and reflecting, using the feelings of the other person. No multitasking!
Re-focusing the other person on something positive
Use positive and helpful statements such as ―I want to help you. ―Or ―Let me find someone who will be able to help you.‖
Use humor (sparingly) to lighten the mood (be very careful with this!)
Empathizing with the other person
Giving choices
Setting limits
Here are some pointers… BE PREPARED!!
Remain calm -- Listen - really listen!
Avoid overreaction.
Validate! ―I understand why you might be upset.‖
(This does not indicate that you agree with them.)
Remove onlookers -- or relocate to a safer place.
(Onlookers can become either ―cheerleaders‖ or
additional victims.) Send an onlooker for help.
Watch for non-verbal clues or threats.
Bring in another trained person to assist
whenever possible.
There is less chance of aggressive behavior if two
people are talking to one person.
Bepreparedandconfident(without) beingarrogant
Havea proper
attitude(includingempathyandrapport)forabette
rchanceof acceptance
Starttheconversationwithanopenmind
Speakclearlyandwithcompassiontoincreaseunder
standing
Explainassumptionsandlimitations
Avoidconfusingterms
Behonestandfrank
Listento
concernsandfeelingssothatneedscanbemet
Don‘tinterrupt—thatcanmakethingsworse
LetothersknowWHYcertainthingsneedtooccurorW
HYcertainpolicies/proceduresareinplace
Ifyoudonotknowthe answerto aquestion,
sayso,andoffer tofind out theanswer
Operatewith integrity

1
Respecttheotherperson‘sright
toasatisfactorysolutiontotheproblem
It‘snot about winning—it‘sabout keepingthings
respectfulandopenso
youcanallcometosomesortofresolution.
Key Points:
Define empathy
More communication techniques will be explained later

1
Mirroring
Time: 15 minutes
Mirroring is a technique that involves two important skills: active listening and ―I‖ Statements.
Have the students partner up to take turns to speak and to listen.
We‟re going to do a role play to practice the skill of mirroring.
Partner A briefly describes a difficulty with someone else and gives to Partner B an interpretation of the other person's
needs, issues and values as they relate to the difficulty. Partner B will role play that other person, working from the
description given by Partner A and some guesses on the person's motivations.
Partner A, you make an "I" Statement expressing how you feel about the issue.
Partner B, you actively listen to Partner A. You reflect what you hear from Partner A. Use your own words, aiming to
reflect back both content and feeling.
Partner A says "Yes, that's what I said'' or ''No, that's not what I said'' and tries again. Partner B reflects again until Partner
A says ''Yes, that's what I said''.
Now Partner B makes an "I" Statement. You express how you feel about the issue. Partner A reflects back content and
feeling until Partner B says "Yes''. Now it is Partner A's turn to make a new "I" Statement. This process repeats until some
noticeable movement is made towards resolution or mutual understanding.
Discussion: Did either person become defensive? Was the re-statement free from opinions and judgments? Did you both
feel heard? Did you both feel able to reply? How does the issue look different now?
Important Points to Cover:
This may be a very useful process to establish at the opening of a conflict-resolving dialogue, with or
without a neutral third party.
The process may be initiated by a mediator when anger between the parties is high. It slows everything
down and makes sure both sides are heard. It is not always possible to insist on a perfect "I" Statement,
but it is possible to encourage both parties to indicate they speak from their own points of view ("As I
see it...‖ ''From my point of view...''; "This is how I feel about it" etc.)
People frequently do not absorb or even hear information that requires them to change their perception
of the other person or the situation.

3
Communication & Positivity
Aim: Student Ambassadors will learn the skills to effectively communicate with diverse groups of individuals
in a positive nature.
Objective:
● Students will develop an understanding of the importance of having good communication skills.
● Students will learn what type of communicator they are and how that impacts those they interact with.
● Students will gain an understanding of how language choices affect our attitude and our energy levels.
Time: 1 Hour and 15 minutes
Session Activities:
Types of
Communication
2 minutes Information Session -Defining Written, Oral, and
Non-Verbal Communication
-PowerPoint -
Presentation
5 Habits of Highly
Effective
Communicators
15 minutes Information Session -Explanation of 5 habits with
video clips to demonstrate
what not to do
-PowerPoint -
Presentation
-Internet Connection
What Color are
You?
20 Minutes Activity/
Discussion
-Discovering your color and
communication style
-Discussing how to utilize
your color effectively
- What Color are You
handouts
-Pens/Pencils
Creator vs. Victim 3 Minutes Information Session -Defining Creator, victim,
personal responsibility, &
creator victim language
-PowerPoint
Mastering Creator
Language
10 Minutes Activity -Transforming victim talk into
creator talk
-Mastering Creator
Language Handout
-Pens/Pencils
Have to/ Choose to 15 Minutes Activity -Choosing language to
positively affect our attitude
and energy
-Paper
-Pens/Pencils
Discussion & Wrap
Up
10 Minutes Discussion -How to utilize what was
learned today into your jobs as
students and student workers
N/A
Resources Needed:
- PowerPoint Presentation
- Internet Connection
- Creator vs. Victim Language Sheet
- Paper
- Pens/Pencils
- What Color are You Handouts
- Facilitator‘s Guide

4
Key Points:
● Learning the skills to effectively communicate with a diverse population is essential in today‘s world.
● Changing the way that you view your situation will help improve your ability to achieve as well as your
energy.

5
Types of Communication
Written –A medium for communication that entails the written word. Letters, emails, and manuals are forms of
written communication.
Oral-A medium for communication that entails talking using the spoken word, such as talking face-to-face, on a
telephone, or as a speech.
Non-Verbal- A medium for communication that entails using cues via body language to convey message
content. Facial expressions, body gestures, and voice intonation are forms of nonverbal communication.
Talking Points:
● It is important to understand how you communicate using each form.
● In today‟s society, communicating effectively orally, written, or nonverbally is essential.

6
5 Habits of Highly Effective Communicators
1. Mind the say-do gap. Your behavior is your single greatest mode of communication, and it must be
congruent with what you say. If your actions don‘t align with your words, people are not going to think you are
being honest with them.
(2:38) Fun with Flagshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vicuZS0ChYQ
Talking Points:
● Being a good communicator means that your actions and what you say or write match.
● People are more comfortable when you are more confident and less “robotic”
2. Make the complex simple. Your customers are being bombarded 24/7 by information, making it hard for
them to hear you. Simplicity has never been more powerful or necessary. Effective communicators distill
complex thoughts and strategies into simple, memorable terms that colleagues and customers can grasp and act
upon. Say what you mean in as few words as possible.
(1:51) Communication Through the Wallhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zd1xNidSpc
Talking Points:
● In a fast paced society, you only have a short time to get your message across.
● Communicating effectively is essential if you want people to LISTEN.
3. Find your own voice. Use language that‘s distinctly your own. Let your values come through in your
communication. People want real. People respect real. People follow real. Don‘t disguise who you are. Be
genuine, and people will respect you for it.
(1:16) Different Communication Styleshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1co5bdo3Gyk
Talking Points:
● Try to be as genuine as possible and let your own communication style shine through.
● Just make sure that it is still professional!
4. Be visible. Visibility is about letting your key stakeholders get a feel for who you are and what you care
about. It‘s easy to hide behind a computer and transmit messages to others without seeing or interacting with
them. In today‘s environment, people are often burned out and need to feel a personal connection to you and the
work that you believe in.
(2:22) Sheldon as a Robothttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4a_jZoU_C0
Talking Points:
● When communicating with individuals, sometimes it cannot be done through the computer.
● People appreciate when you take the effort to communicate with them in person.
● When people can match a name to a face, they are more likely to trust you and develop a relationship
with you.

7
5. Listen with your eyes as well as your ears. Stop, look and listen. Remember that effective communication
is two-way. Good leaders know how to ask good questions, and then listen with both their eyes and ears. Listen
and hear what is coming back at you. Look for the nonverbal cues. Sometimes a person‘s body language will
tell you everything you need to know.
(3:02)Texting Datehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfaU9zFLBnE
Talking Points:
● Make sure to listen and take in what the other individual is saying.
● It is important to understand that people communicate differently.
● If you can recognize how another individual likes to communicate, communicate with them through that medium.

8
What Color are You Activity & Discussion
What is True Colors??
True Colors is an inventory designed to help you better understand yourself and others.
True Colors is an activity used to promote the appreciation of individual differences.
True Colors is a self-awareness activity enabling individuals to become aware of their personality styles.
True Colors is a team-builder helping members to understand the preferred styles of their colleagues.
Directions:Below are groups of words in horizontal rows. Number each category of words horizontally from 1
to 4 with 4 being the category that most closely describes you in that row and 1 being the category that is most
different from you in that row of words. You will end up with a row of four numbers, ranked from “4” (most like
you) to “1” (least like you). Continue for each row. Then add each column vertically and put the total in the
boxes at the bottom.
Points to Remember
 Each color is reflective of your personality.
 You will identify a primary and secondary color. These are your preferred styles.
 The colors you do not choose will have some characteristics that are representative of you; however, it is
not your preferred style.
 True Colors is valuable for improving your effectiveness in working with others; however, as a short,
self-report assessment it is not 100% accurate.

18
Discussion:
● Share what color you are.
● What does your color mean when you are communicating with others?
● In this position, where might some strengths be when you communicate with prospective students or
families?
● Where might some weaknesses lie for you?
● Do you think it is beneficial for you to know other people‟s color?

19
Creator vs. Victim
● Victim- a person that keeps doing what they have been doing even when it does not work
● Creator- a person that will change their beliefs and behaviors to create the best result they can
● Accepting Personal Responsibility – when you accept personal responsibility, you believe that you
create everything in your life. Accidents happen, they say. People treat them badly. Sometimes they
really are victims of outside forces. If you accept personal responsibility for creating your own results
you will look for ways to create your desired outcomes and experiences despite obstacles.
● Victim and Creator Language
○ Victims: Blame others, complain, make excuses, repeat ineffective behavior, ―have to‖ do things,
pretend their problems belong to others, ―try‖, give up--- seldom achieve goals
○ Creators: Accept responsibility, take actions, seek solutions, do something new, ―choose to‖ do
things, own their problems, commit & follow through, take control of their choices and their
lives---often achieve goals
Talking Points:
● Think about situations where you have made yourself the victim.
● We have all done it, now it‟s important to learn how to change the way you think and make yourself the
creator.

20
Mastering Creator Language
Directions: Victims and Creators see the world very differently. As a result, they use different vocabularies to
represent their realities.Look at the following sheet of victim responses. Reword these phrases into creator talk.
Victim Talk Creator Talk
1. I would be doing a lot better at this college if the
teachers were any good.
2. They ought to do something about the food around
here.
3. I couldn‘t come to class because I had to go to the
dentist for a checkup.
4. You just can‘t pass a course when it‘s that hard.
5. My boss makes me so angry.
6. I can‘t help talking in class.
7. I couldn‘t get the assignment because I was absent.
8. I couldn‘t come to the conference I scheduled with you
yesterday because my math teacher made me take a makeup
test.
9. People always get angry when they work hard and still
fail a course.
10. I couldn‘t attend class because I had to drive my mother
to work.
11. I would have called you, but my daughter got sick.
12. They don‘t know what they‘re doing around here.
13. I couldn‘t get to class on time because my last teacher
kept us late.
14. I tried calling him, but he‘s never home.
15. I didn‘t have time to do my homework.
Discussion:
● Read one of the victim statements. Can anyone share their translation?
● What is the theme that emerges from the victim talk?
○ Victims believe that their behaviors, results, and feelings lie outside of them. They believe that
other people and bad luck are responsible for their problems
● Why do you think it is important to begin reframing the way you think about certain situations you are
in?

21
Have to /Choose to
Directions:
1. On a piece of paper, draw a vertical line down the middle of a page. On the left side of the line, make a list of
five things you ―have to‖ do. Example: ―I have to go to college‖, ―I have to call my mother on Sundays‖
2. Everyone stand and choose a partner. Each partner reads from his or her list three things that he or she ―has
to‖ do. If you head a new ―have to‖ that is true for you, add it to your list. Then move on to a new partner and
repeat the exchange of ―have to‘s‖ Keep it going until I call stop.
3. Now, on the right side of the line, rewrite each of your sentences/ Change ―have to‖ to ―choose to‖ and add a
―because...‖ or ―so…‖ clause to the sentence, one that gives a positive reason for your choice. Examples: ―I
choose to go to college because my degree will qualify me for the job I want‖ or ―I choose to call my mother on
Sundays so she will feel loved‖
4. Everyone stand and meet a partner as we did before. This time each of you will read three things that you
―Choose to‖ do. After you both read, move on to another partner. Keep going until I call stop. Notice if you feel
any different this time.
Discussion:
● How did it feel to say “choose to” rather than “have to”?
● What does this experience suggest about how your language choices affect you?
● What is the life lesson here?
Discussion & Wrap Up
● How can you use what you have learned today when working in the admissions office?
● Why do you think it is important to learn how to effectively communicate with other people when
working in the admissions office?
● Why do you think it is important to learn how to be positive when talking about the institution to
prospective students and their families?

22
Evaluation
Directions for presenter: Please have a student hand out and collect the evaluation upon completion. This assessment is
used for the presenter to assess the quality of the presentation on Customer Service for student ambassadors. It also
allows the presenter to see what the students have learned from the presentation itself.
Directions for students: Please fill out this evaluation as honestly as possible. Thanks!
1. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, how would you rate the presentation?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. Can you put into your own words why good customer service skills is important to have as a student ambassador?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest, how would you rate the presenter‘s knowledge of the
material?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
4. If you had the opportunity to add something to the presentation, what would you include?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
5. How did you like the activities?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
6. Was the presentation fun? Boring? If you thought it was boring, do you have any suggestions as to what would
make it more engaging?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
7. Do you think the topics covered will help you with your customer service skills?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

23
References
Chapter 2: Accepting personal responsibility . Houghton Mifflin Company Retrieved from
http://faculty.coloradomtn.edu/skent/college 101/manual/downing_irm_ch02.pdf
Merriem Webster (2013) Retrieved from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stereotype
PaperClip Communications (2013) The student ambassador how-to-guide. Retrieved from: http://www.paper-
clip.com/Media/GenComProductCatalog/ambassadorguidefinal_EK.pdf
SparkNotes (2013). Retrieved from: http://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/society-and-culture/section6.rhtml
Sue, D.W., Capodilupo, C., Torino, G, Bucceri, J., Holder, A., Nadal, K., &Equin, M. (2007). Racial Microaggressions in
Everyday Life: Implications for Clinical Practice. The American Psychologist , 62 (4) 271-286. Retrieved from:
http://www.div17.org/TAAR/media/topics/microaggressions.php
Sue, D.W. & Rivera, D. (2010). Microaggressions in everyday life. Is subtle bias harmless? Retrieved from:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/microaggressions-in-everyday-life/201010/racial-microaggressions-in-everyday-
life
Tardanico, S. (2012, 11 29).5 habits of highly effective communicators.Forbes. Retrieved from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/susantardanico/2012/11/29/5-habits-of-highly-effective-communicators/
Tooling University (2013). Essentials of communication . Retrieved from http://www.toolingu.com/definition-
950120-92944-written-communication.html

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