We Were Just Talking Lesson Plan

Lesson Content

• Lesson Plan Template:

  CTE Lesson Plan

• CTE Course Info and Benchmark Notes

  
  

  Program Title: Customer Service Representative

  Course Title: Customer Service Representative 1

  Course Number:  8848110

  Career Cluster: Marketing Sales and Service

  CIP Number: 0252041100

  Course Type: Career Preparatory

  • 03.09 Demonstrate the ability to maintain a professional demeanor toward co-workers and customers.
  • 04.03 Identify appropriate conversation for work-related settings.
  • 07.17 Identify the ways that the reputation of a business is influenced by customer satisfaction.

• Unit Outline

  
  

  This lesson is designed to be used with the case study, “We Were Just Talking.” See CPALMS resource ID# 209218.

   

• Career Connection

  
  

  Students will understand the responsibility of representing a business and how employees impact organizational goals and customer retention.

   

• Learning Objectives

  
  

  Students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate a knowledge of professional demeanor toward co-workers and customers, within a work setting, to provide a positive effect on the reputation, acquisition, and retention of customers.
  • Present a role-play scenario demonstrating appropriate workplace conversations.
  • Identify ways employee behaviors impact organizational goals.

   

• Prior Knowledge

  
  

   

  Students should be familiar with/able to:

  • Work in small groups.
  • Comprehend grade-level content and vocabulary.
  • Understand customer service-related vocabulary.
  • Basic communication vocabulary: verbal, nonverbal, professional, communication, responsibility, social, effective, and interpersonal.

   

• Guiding Questions

  
  
  • How do employee actions impact the goals of the organization?
  • How do employee actions impact customer acquisition and retention?
  • How does communication impact relationships with co-workers?

   

• Procedure

  
  

  1. To introduce the lesson, provide students with the case study, “We Were Just Talking,” (see CPALMS resource #209218.) As you pass out copies of the case study, begin a conversation with students. Ask about students who have a job or are looking for a job and what type of job they would like to find.

  • Discuss professional behavior (demeanor), and how to interact professionally with coworkers and customers.

  • Discuss the difference between professional and personal conversation.

  • Discuss the terms applicable to the case study, acquisition, retention, customer loyalty, satisfaction, and organizational goals, how these impact a business's reputation, and the influence of customer satisfaction on organizational goals. This can be done by providing students with a copy of the attached Vocabulary handout.

  2. In small groups of 3 to 4 students, have students read the case study. One suggestion is round-robin style with each student reading a paragraph.

  3. When students finish reading, have students work in small groups to underline inappropriate communication that is taking place at the Bargain Store Outlet.

  4. For each inappropriate communication, have students change the story to either create something appropriate or delete the communication with a strike through to demonstrate the statement or topic does not belong in the professional setting.

  • Have students number each marked entry as a reference point.

  • Using margin notes students will compare their underlined text and determine which communication supports the organizational goals, and which does not support the organization's goals.

  5. After, have students recreate the scenario to role-play. In this scenario, students should focus on appropriate workplace communication and display ways that the characters can show professional demeanor to customers and coworkers. Have student groups take turns presenting their role-play, giving each a three-minute time limit. Have the audience debrief each presentation by identifying an example of appropriate conversation or professional demeanor.

  6. To bring the lesson to a close, use the guiding questions for whole group or small group discussion.

  • How do employee actions impact the goals of the organization?

  • How do employee actions impact customer acquisition and retention?

  • How does communication impact relationships with co-workers?

  • How does communication change based on the job a person has?

   

• Teacher Notes

  
  
  • Use the vocabulary as needed, relating it to employment expectations based on organizational goals.
  • For the closing activity, you may assign topics to each small group for group discussion, or use the topics for large group discussion, allowing the input to drive the conversation.

   

   

• Optional

  
  

  Formative Assessment Ideas:

  • Use teacher observation of small group participation to assess student understanding of appropriate conversations and professional demeanor.

  Extension Ideas:

  • Have students choose 3 (or more) of the vocabulary terms and to include in a written summary of their understanding, using the terms with the correct contextual application.