Category: How to Get & Keep Attention

#239 How to Capture the AdCom’s Attention (Repost)

In this episode, we take the core principles from Oren Klaff’s Pitch Anything, and discuss 4 ways you can get and keep attention in your application. The primal “croc brain” that hears a pitch is very different from the logical “neocortex” that designs a pitch. The “croc brain” is intrigued by pleasant novelty, movement, and suspense.…
#238 Feel Ordinary? Try “The J.D. Vance” Positioning Strategy

Do you feel like your profile is ordinary for business school? Why not try the “J.D. Vance?” Instead of sharing positions and achievements, why not talk about the significant obstacles you overcame to get where you are? Why not offer admissions readers more context in which to evaluate your performance?
#237 3 Storytelling Strategies to Power Up your MBA Application (from Storytelling Champion & Author Matthew Dicks)

Darren shares 3 storytelling lessons from ten-time Moth GrandSLAM winner Matthew Dicks that will help you capture your MBA admissions readers’ and interviewers’ attention.
#236 Get Ahead Before You Apply with MBA Pre-Assessments

Many top-ranked MBA programs in Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia actively encourage applicants to connect with admissions teams before submitting an application. But most applicants don’t know this – or are too nervous to reach out. Should you contact admissions before you’re ready? What if you haven’t taken the GMAT yet, or your resume isn’t…
#233 6 Ways to Make Your Application Stick (Repost)

Darren uses the marketing classic Made to Stick as inspiration for how to create a memorable MBA application. Six elements – Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, and Story (SUCCES) – are the building blocks of sticky ideas. Be sure to incorporate all 6 elements into your MBA application.
#231 Crafting a Personal Narrative that Stands Out with Ellin Lolis

How can you stand out from thousands of MBA applicants with impressive CVs? Darren sits down with Ellin Lolis, Founder and President of Ellin Lolis Consulting and one of the top ranked MBA admissions consultants on Poets & Quants, to learn how she helps MBA applicants craft powerful personal narratives. With a near 99% success…
#221 Excellent Advice for Living (and MBA Applications!)

Inspired by Kevin Kelly’s Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I Knew Earlier, Darren shares 10 bits of life wisdom that could materially improve your chances of getting into business school and building a successful career.
#218 Lessons from Listeners (Vol. 2): Drawing a Roadmap for Admissions, Prioritizing Conversations, Prematurely Applying, Being Strategic Yet Flexible

Darren shares more hard-earned application lessons from four listeners (now graduated MBAs): drawing a roadmap for the admissions team, prioritizing conversations when picking schools, “prematurely applying” and being strategic yet flexible
#217 Lessons from Listeners (Vol. 1): Working for Unknown Companies, Determining Best-Fit Schools, Dealing with Dings

Darren shares three lessons from three admitted applicants that have stood the test of time: how to present yourself if you work for a relatively unknown company, how to determine best-fit b-schools, and how to deal with dings.
#209 How Wharton Reviews MBA Applicants & More with Thomas Caleel, Former Head of MBA Admissions for Wharton

Thomas Caleel, former Head of MBA Admissions for Wharton, takes us behind the scenes of how an Admissions Director builds a class and what he or she looks for from applicants. What are the key qualities and characteristics that admissions committees look for? How did Thomas’ team review 8,000 applicants per year? And how can you…
#203 What Are Your Game-Changing Differentiators? with Paul Bodine from Admitify

Paul Bodine, one of the world’s most experienced admissions consultants and president of Admitify, shares how he helps clients with seemingly par-for-the-course profiles discover their game-changing assets. Sixty percent of Admitify’s MBA clients gain admission or interview invitation at Stanford, Wharton and Harvard, and Admitify’s clients win over $2M in scholarships each year. Listen on…
#200 The 3S’s of Scintillating Storytelling

Inspired by The Moth, Darren highlights three tools you can use immediately to improve your stories, so you can show adcoms who you really are and draw them closer to you. Darren also shares over a dozen questions that will help you identify your most compelling stories.
#199 10 Application Lessons from 10 Years of Touch MBA

We’re nearing 200 episodes of Touch MBA. Feeling nostalgic, Darren reflects on 10 lessons for applicants from 10 years of Touch MBA!
#190 3 Timeless Application Strategies from MBA Admissions Strategy (2005) by Avi Gordon

Darren shares three foundational application strategies from Avi Gordon’s MBA Admissions Strategy: From Profile Building to Essay Writing (2005) that have stood the test of time. It’s always advantageous to master the fundamentals of any art form – including constructing a winning MBA application. Listen on to review the basics!
#176 Use the 5 Senses to Make Your MBA Application Stick

Darren shares how you can use the five senses – sight, sound, smell, taste and touch – to make your application more three dimensional.