The educational landscape has never been more competitive. Because of this, the role of Independent Educational Consultants (IECs) remains crucial. IECs steer students and families through the college admission process with many advantages. We want you to have access to these advantages. At CounselMore, we understand the importance of continuous learning and skill development for IECs. That's why we've established the Mentorship Roundtable Meetings—a platform for sharing counselors' insights, advice, and strategies to help others refine their counseling skills and manage their practices more efficiently.
However, ensuring the quality and relevance of these presentations is paramount. It's not just about sharing knowledge; it's about providing practical, actionable information tailored to our community's needs and concerns. With this in mind, we've set strict speaking requirements for those considering sharing their expertise at our meetings. Here's a comprehensive guide on what you need to know if you are considering speaking at a CounselMore Mentorship Roundtable Meeting.
The first and foremost requirement for speakers at our meetings is membership or affiliation with CounselMore. This isn't a bureaucratic move; it's about ensuring that our speakers truly understand our community's unique challenges and concerns. After all, who better to address these issues than those who have personally experienced them? Shared experiences among members lead to more focused and relevant discussions, creating a rich learning environment and promoting mutual growth. As a speaker of our community, you are uniquely positioned to address the pressing issues your fellow IECs encounter, making your insights particularly valuable.
At CounselMore, our fundamental belief lies in the power of actionable knowledge. We want our members to leave each meeting with new information and practical solutions they can apply directly to their practice. Therefore, we expect our speakers to primarily focus on problem-solving in their presentations. The goal is to arm IECs with practical methods to overcome counseling obstacles and manage their practices. By sharing experiences, case studies, and even lessons learned from failures, speakers can contribute significantly to their peers' professional growth, thereby strengthening the entire community.
We recognize and appreciate that our speakers bring a wealth of knowledge to the table and may have services or products that could benefit others. However, the primary objective of the presentations should be to educate and empower IECs, not to sell the speaker's services. We advocate for a minimal self-promotion policy. While a brief mention of your services or products at the end of the presentation is acceptable, the main takeaway for the audience should be valuable knowledge and practical solutions, not a sales pitch. This approach ensures the integrity of our platform and keeps the focus where it should be—on knowledge sharing and community growth.
The specificity of our audience—IECs—requires that the presentation topics be directly relevant to their daily challenges. Whether discussing effective counseling strategies, updating on the latest changes in college admissions, or providing tips for managing a successful practice, your focus should be on the issues IECs face daily. This relevance makes the discussion more beneficial, ensuring attendees leave with applicable insights they can use to improve their work.
We have identified five categories under which speaking topics typically fall. Below each category are examples of hypothetical speaking topics.
Notice that each topic addresses a potential challenge an IEC might face in their practice. Additionally, each is carefully chosen to provide broad coverage of the issues most important to our community. However, these categories are not exhaustive, and we're always open to new topics that can bring value to our members.
We strongly encourage our speakers to include an interactive component in their presentations to promote engagement and active learning. This could be a Q&A session, a quick quiz, or even a breakout room discussion for smaller groups. Including these elements makes the session more lively and engaging, it also promotes a better understanding of the material and allows attendees to ask questions, share their experiences, and connect with their peers. After all, learning is not a passive process; the more our members engage, the more they learn.
In keeping with our spirit of community and collaboration, we ask our speakers not to promote services or products that compete directly with CounselMore's offerings. This rule ensures a supportive and harmonious environment focused on learning and professional growth rather than competition. By honoring this clause, we can maintain a platform where everyone feels comfortable sharing their knowledge and experiences.
We often record the sessions to ensure the longevity of the knowledge shared during our Mentorship Roundtable Meetings. This practice not only allows us to maintain a theme of collective learning and ongoing development, but it also allows us to make your invaluable insights available to members who couldn't attend the live session. By recording these presentations, we create a knowledge pool that can be revisited and learned from repeatedly, ensuring the value of your contribution extends well beyond the live session. Please note that once your presentation is recorded, it becomes CounselMore's property. We guarantee that it will be used responsibly to encourage growth and learning in our community.
At CounselMore, we believe in the power of giving. We encourage our speakers to leave a gift for our participants—a memento that extends the learning beyond the meeting. This could be a free PDF guide, a set of handy resources, or even access to your presentation slides. This gift, however modest, serves as a practical takeaway from your talk, allowing participants to revisit and apply the learnings in their work.
Speaking at CounselMore's Mentorship Roundtable Meetings is more than just delivering a presentation; it's an opportunity to guide fellow IECs through the intricate terrain of college admissions. By being a member of CounselMore, focusing on problem-solving, limiting self-promotion, staying relevant to IECs, integrating an interactive element, honoring the non-compete clause, and leaving a lasting impact through a speaker's gift, you're setting the path for success—not just for yourself, but for our entire community.
You're not merely imparting your knowledge but molding the future of college admissions counseling. Your contribution is more than just a presentation; it's a lasting contribution to our community, and for that, we express our utmost gratitude.
Starting or expanding your practice? Need professional guidance? Join us at CounselMore's Mentorship Roundtable. Connect with new and seasoned members in a friendly, supportive community. Ready for the next level? Register Today!
Please follow this link to sign up for the next meeting Or contact the coordinator:
Marc Gray
501.920.4393
mgray@odysseycollegeprep.com
About the Author
Marc Gray is the Founder and Director of Education for Odyssey College Prep. Marc uses advanced aptitude testing to simplify the college admissions process for students and parents. He also guides students to create targeted passion projects to differentiate their college applications. Marc is a Certified Highlands Consultant. He currently serves as the Highlands Company’s Director of College Counseling Relations. In that role, he enjoys helping other college counselors and test prep specialists use aptitude testing to enhance their business. As an active member of CounselMore’s community, Marc hosts CounselMore’s Mentorship Community Roundtable Discussion, where college counselors can learn from one another and instruct each other in best practices.
