The Tutor Podcast

Neil diligently battles through his fly to bring you this episode on diligence! As he defines it, it’s the ongoing execution of right action in the pursuit of worthy goals. Describing how to stay around the straight and narrow, Neil explains the advantages of being diligent about timescale and your attention and to be sure that what you are aiming for is worth your efforts. KEY TAKEAWAYS A lot of...

We all have one. Yeah, you do! It’s the stupid idiot part of us that keeps on doing stupid things even when we know for sure it isn’t going to help us move forward, stay in shape, maintain our relationships and do better business and make more money. Neil is going to help you kick out that inner moron.  KEY TAKEAWAYS  The little inner voice that tells you deserve a Mars bar because you’ve been to...

When trying to challenge students' ideas of their own identity, or even one's own, there are 3 parts to this easily applied psychological method to make your efforts flow much more easily.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Absolutely ; find what the student believes is absolutely true for them. For example ‘I’m tone deaf’ or ‘I have no rhythm’. Always ; find something the student believes they are good at, but have...

These are the two elements that being a successful teacher really hinges on, but which has the greatest affect on the student, imparting skills and knowledge or the ability to change their belief systems?    KEY TAKEAWAYS Your communication skills are your ability to present, demonstrate and explain practical skills in a way the student can understand.  Ultimately the imparting of skills will lead...

Pacing and Leading is a concept within Neuro Linguistic Programming, or NLP, which is applied linguistics and psychology to alter or set patterns of human behaviour.  Pacing and Leading is a great way to gain rapport and trust with students and allows you to take an unmotivated, stressed out student and move them to a more positive position. Neil tells you how.    KEY TAKEAWAYS Pacing is where you...

In this episode Neil leads you through how to identify the right price to charge for your tutoring sessions and what factors to consider and ignore when reaching your decision. Pricing matters, but maybe not in the way you think.    KEY TAKEAWAYS It is not greedy to charge as much as people are willing to pay for what you do, its just sensible. People don’t pay just for your actions but for your k...

Many people think they are not creative, devoid of inspiration or don’t have the required skill or natural makeup to even improvise. Neil disagrees and believes that all of us are creative to a greater or lesser extent and it is a skill that must be practiced to be developed. He explains how he encourages and teaches his students to move beyond their own narrow definitions of themselves.   KEY TAK...

Neil explains ‘The Great Escape’ or ‘The Great Retreat’ as a preventative measure for those who get swamped, overwhelmed or over absorbed in their business or work. Here is Neil’s method of getting back to the big picture, the long view, and strategic planning if you get caught up in the nitty-gritty, everyday grind of your business. KEY TAKEAWAYS We tend to miss small details, trends and shifts i...

A ‘brand’ is a product, service, business or even person that is easily identified and widely known. But what is it that makes a brand and how do you become one? Neil takes a look at how you can get started on the road to being well known for the services that you offer. KEY TAKEAWAYS A brand is not simply a logo or a slogan. These are all just signifiers, signposts for the potential customer to f...

If you are in business for yourself your are in a significant minority with currently only 13.7% of working people self employed, the lowest since 2011. There is a lot of peer pressure to get a job and be miserable. However, Neil urges you to carry on with your own business and keep your time and happiness under your own control. KEY TAKEAWAYS Avoid the ‘loser speak’ because that’s what you are go...

If you are listening in the UK this episode may trigger some of your British reticence. This ones all about negotiation and selling, so steel yourself to have the nerve to ask for what you are worth. Neil explains how good sales is actually providing a service that people really want and negotiation is just the pathway to it.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Sales is often seen as a shameful occupation dedicated t...

Neil talks about wealth, what it is and what it ain’t. Different people have different concepts of what it is to be wealthy, so what do they mean when we talk about wealth?   KEY TAKEAWAYS  Money is just a small component of the whole ‘wealth ecosystem’. Friends and people you love are part of a rich experience of the world.  Time is your most precious and your most finite resource.   BEST MOMENTS...

The easiest person to lie to is you. We tell ourselves reassuring stories of how great we are and how we are productive and doing our best while binge watching the latest Netflix drama. Neil gives his tips on how to avoid long bouts of indolence and denial and keep asking the right questions of yourself.   KEY TAKEAWAYS We can all distort reality to reassure ourselves we are progressing. It is not...

As a guitar tutor patience is not only a virtue but a necessity. After being asked by his students how he never loses his temper, Neil shares his tips on managing your emotions in this episode.    KEY TAKEAWAYS Recognise that you are having an emotional reaction and identify it. If you can’t recognise it, you can’t manage it.  What you call the emotion will affect your response to the emotion you’...

One of the really interesting things you get to do when you are exposed to lots of people socially or via business is choose between the plethora of opportunities that come your way if you listen and connect with people. The possibilities are endless for business, pleasure or helping people if you keep your ears open and see the collaborations possible between those in your community.    KEY TAKEA...

Teaching, coaching and mentoring people is about change. We are constantly shaping and changing their minds. Neil shares how he helps his students grow by bypassing their habitual psychological defences to teach new habits and techniques.    KEY TAKEAWAYS The teaching process is fairly consistent, it's about shaping and changing people's minds for the better. The students' sense of identity will e...

In this episode Neil talks about how working in the occupation you love and gaining energy from is difficult to relinquish. In fact, should we really retire at all if we gain so much impetus from a job that we love?     KEY TAKEAWAYS We are all at our best when we are useful to other people. The work itself is the reward if you enjoy your job. Why give that up? Don’t let society, or anyone else, t...

Following on from the last episode of the importance of alternative income streams to support you doing the job you love, Neil explains the options available to you with the BEEP model, your four choices when deciding on the types of extra business you want to adopt.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Business/commercial activity (with or without your active involvement.) Earn it through an extra job or tuition fees...

Teaching, tutoring and coaching may be the thing you love primarily, but being in business for yourself can often open your eyes to more business opportunities that come your way. Neil talks about the dangers of the bright, shiny project that can pull you away from your first love, tutoring but also how having more than a single business can free you to enjoy what you find the most fun.   KEY TAKE...

Summer Term is coming to an end and students are providing holiday dates. Neil thinks holidays are overrated. If you enjoy your job, why would you need one?   KEY TAKEAWAYS Don’t do stuff that makes you unhappy. Like golf. Others don’t understand the drive of the entrepreneur and their single mindedness.  Keep your eyes open. Continue to look for opportunities in your down time.   BEST MOMENTS ‘I...

In this episode Neil addresses the biggest problem affecting you in your tutoring business, time. It is something we all wish we had more of and so Neil has a few tips and rules to stick to when deciding how to use this precious resource.   KEY TAKEAWAYS You could be using your time upgrading your skills, creating systems that make your use of time even more efficient or investing it in people you...

Neil presents to you The Encyclopaedia of Applied Fantasticness, the tome containing all the positive and inspiring notes, reviews and information provided by his students over the years. If you don’t have one yourself, Neil tells you why you should be starting one immediately.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Your own collection of positivity provided by your students can be a book you can return to when you feel...

Neil recently discovered a textbook on forensics and was reminded of Edmond Locard who created the first crime lab. He presented the theory, The Locard Principle, that every criminal brings something  to a crime scene and also leaves with something and both of these can be utilised in forensic detection. Equally, every contact between tutor and student will also leave a trace of the exchange, as N...

Everyone running a business has an obligation to keep up to date records of their finances to satisfy tax law. However, not everyone has accounting or record keeping skills or are organised enough to keep on top of the task. Neil explains the basics of what is required for you to be able to rest assured that you are covering all the legal bases.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Please don’t ignore these requiremen...

The first step in becoming an expert in any field is to read up on it yet in modern times fewer people seem to consider this as essential. Neil explains why you are what you read.   KEY TAKEAWAYS By seeing the books that people are reading you can roughly predict how peoples 5 year future is going to pan out. A constant reading regimen or habit can catapult you in to expertise in any field you cho...