Communication · Singapore Polytechnic · ACER Student Ambassadors · July and August 2026
From Waiting to Be Approached to Starting the Conversation: Interpersonal Skills for Singapore Polytechnic’s ACERs
At an open house, an ACER ambassador is often the first person from Singapore Polytechnic that a prospective student or parent speaks to. That first conversation shapes how the visitor remembers the whole place. Yet starting a conversation with a stranger, reading how they feel and ending it well are not skills most students are ever taught.
So when Singapore Polytechnic asked Leaven Academy to prepare its ACER student ambassadors, we did not plan a lecture on communication. We planned a three-hour session in which the ambassadors would practise each step of a real conversation, then try it on each other and hear honest feedback before they met a single visitor.
The polytechnic ran the session twice, on 29 July and 19 August 2026, for two groups of its ambassadors.
What Singapore Polytechnic Needed
The ambassadors were already confident speakers in front of a group. What the polytechnic wanted next was connection one to one. At roadshows and open houses, the ambassadors needed to start conversations with strangers instead of waiting to be approached, read and respond to what a visitor was feeling, adjust their tone for each person, and stay calm when a question became difficult. These are not instincts. They are built through practice in conditions that feel like the real thing.
How We Designed It
The session followed the Leaven Learning Cycle: experience, reflection, insight, behaviour and consequence. It opened with a role demonstration and a two-minute conversation exercise, so the ambassadors first felt how hard it is to open a conversation with someone they do not know. Only then did we ask how they would start one, and work through conversation starters, open questions, what gets in the way of empathy and how to show it, and what tone and body language say before a word is spoken.
The second half was practice. A guessing game, role plays of real visitor conversations, and a quiz brought the skills together. The session closed with a demonstration and circular feedback, in which each ambassador heard from their peers what worked in their conversation and what to change. The skills tie directly to our communication programmes.
The Moment That Mattered Most
When we asked the ambassadors what they liked most, they did not name a tip. They named the practice. One wrote about "The face to face opportunity to try out the new skills we have learnt instead of just listening and penning them down", and added: "It gave me the opportunity to know where I lack in conversations." That is the shift the session was built for: a student ambassador who knows, before open house, which part of a conversation they still need to work on.
What the Numbers Said
On 29 July, the 15 ambassadors rated the programme's effectiveness at 92.5% and coach effectiveness at 97.3%. On 19 August, the 20 ambassadors rated the programme at 92.4% and the coach at 93.0%. Each run was three curriculum hours. On 29 July, 13 of the 15 gave the top rating to "The Coach was clear in his/her presentation."
Three Things That Made the Difference
Feel it before you learn it. The ambassadors tried to hold a conversation with a stranger before anyone gave them a single tip, so every tip that followed answered a difficulty they had just felt.
Practice, not notes. The second half of the session was spent doing: role plays, a quiz and live conversations. As one ambassador put it, the best part was "Putting the tips into practice and role playing with people".
Feedback from peers. The session ended with every ambassador hearing from the others what worked and what to change, so each one left with a specific thing to improve before meeting visitors.
Thinking About Something Similar for Your Students?
Leaven Academy works with primary schools, secondary schools, junior colleges, polytechnics, ITE colleges and youth organisations across Singapore to build leadership, teamwork and communication through practice rather than talks. You can read more about our communication programmes.
If you have student ambassadors, guides or peer leaders who meet the public, we would be glad to talk through what that could look like for your institution. Get in touch.
“The face to face opportunity to try out the new skills we have learnt instead of just listening and penning them down. It gave me the opportunity to know where I lack in conversations.”
“He is a very entertaining guy who doesn’t just give us tips but make sure we know how to put them in place.”
“The interactive sections, it’s not just a mundane program where we just sit all the time. We moved about and actually got to have a little experience in the thing.”