Say This, Not That to Your Professor: 20 Talking Tips for College Success

Say This, Not That to Your Professor: 20 Talking Tips for College Success is dedicated to the student-professor relationship and provides students with the exact words they need to competently and confidently deal with challenging classroom situations.

Readers learn how to professionally communicate in common classroom situations, such as overcoming grade confusion, respectfully challenging a professor, dealing with zeroes and extra credit, and managing late work or absences. The text covers ways to professionally interact during office hours, via email/social media, and when asking for a letter of recommendation. Finally, readers gain self-advocacy strategies for particularly challenging interactions, such as when the class is too boring or too difficult, when feedback is unclear, or when the whole class fails.

The third edition features newly written material throughout, fresh organization, and a condensed, streamlined presentation. Additionally, the book includes new quotes from both industry professionals and professors at the end of each chapter to provide students with real-world examples and insight on a range of topics.

Say This, Not That to Your Professor is ideal for courses in college success, first-year experience programs, communication, English as a second language, and international orientation courses.

Ellen Bremen holds degrees in communication studies and post-secondary education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She is 15 year tenured faculty in the Communication Studies Department at Highline College in Des Moines, Washington, and formerly spent four years in the Speech Department at Darton College. She is a past recipient of the Sloan Consortium's Excellence in Online Teaching and Learning Award. Professor Bremen has been recognized by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development and the National Council of Instructional Administrators for teaching innovation. She has contributed to titles with McGraw-Hill, Pearson Education, Oxford University Press, and Cengage Learning.

“This has pretty much every topic you could hope for (and a few I had not thought of) thoroughly covered. A fun read but also very informative for anyone in academia.
A clear, well-organized book; really useful both for students AND college professors who could use some insight into the minds of their students. It is a sort of manual for many aspects of college teaching!”
Betsey Dexter Dyer, Wheaton College, Department of Biology 

”The text provides a concise and thoughtful guidebook for college students. The advice and examples throughout allow the reader to navigate the college experience with confidence while building toward a successful professional career after.”
Ryan M. Parish, University of Memphis, Department of Earth Sciences 

“Ellen Bremen offers clear and relevant advice for today’s instructors and students. The readability ensures this is one to share and use in the classroom.”
Rena Holcomb, Indiana University, Office of Student Success 

”This is the book I didn’t know I was looking for to provide a template for my First Year Seminar class!”
Eric Atkinson, Northwest College, Department of Biology