How College Majors Can Affect Our Lives

I had no idea what I wanted to do with my Communications Major when I was 22 years old. I just knew I loved radio. That was it.

My daughter, Kara, and I at the 65th Anniversary of WGRE-FM (DePauw University).

But because of poor planning and a general lack of ambition, I never actually got a job in radio. But as I look back, that fact was insignificant.

The Lessons Keep Coming

Recently, I went back to my alma mater for the 65th Anniversary of WGRE-FM, the campus radio station of which I was a part – and where my daughter, Kara, spends time now.

And it caused me to reflect on what I learned from my experience there. Indulge me for a moment – for perhaps one of my lessons can be of value you to you, or others in your life. Feel free to send this on to college students who are unclear if their college life has any bearing on their future. It does.

1. How to interview people. As a podcaster and content provider today, I get the chance to interview fascinating experts (The Advanced Selling Podcast). I can say that what little I know about interviewing guests came from WGRE. As people would come to campus – Senators, Congressmen, Mayors, authors – I always had the opportunity to interview them. For a 20-year old, it gave me enormous confidence to talk to celebrities. (Senator Richard Lugar, R-Indiana, was my favorite.)  In a way, selling is really nothing but interviewing. You are there to discover what makes the prospect tic – what his/her issues are – what their goals are.
2. How to ‘concisely’ deliver a message. Our news stories were less than :60, so I learned how to take a complex story and tell it simply and concisely. Today, I seem to have lost that skill. (My stories can go a little too long). But when you’re in front of a group of prospects or clients, your ability to tell a compelling story in a concise manner is vital.
3. Deadlines. We had news at the top and bottom of the hour, so I needed to ‘deliver‘ every hour. It was great practice at working toward a deadline. Would the world have ended if I didn’t nail it? Of course not. But our station director listened to EVERY newscast, (so my world actually might have ended.) The lesson here is to deliver. As Seth Godin would say, “Ship it.” It’ll never be perfect, but it has no value to the world if it doesn’t get “delivered.”
4. How to be managed. I had been an athlete so had always had coaches. But had never had a manager from whom I took direction. Erik Sorenson (later with MSNBC and CBS News) was our leader and while abrasive and testy, he knew what he wanted. I love leaders who know exactly what’s required. Erik had command of the vision and people who bought into it, lined up to follow along.

What did you learn from college that’s still with you today? Did your college majors carry through to your life? I’ll bet it did. Love to hear your stories!