The Tutor Podcast

Neil tackles the difficult decision of when to quit work and retire. This is often not only influenced by finances but also societal pressures, family, health and your own love for your job. He shares his thoughts on this landmark point in most of our lives.  KEY TAKEAWAYS What we do is part of our identity.  Retirement can be the start of a mental and physical decline. Work can provide an active...

The key question you should ask yourself is ‘What are the 100 stupid things that I’m doing that really muck things up?’ Neil encourages you to take the time to give real thought to the truth. KEY TAKEAWAYS Honesty is important to find your worst stupid things. Do not stop until you have at least 100. The counterpart question is ‘What are the 100 smart things that I’m not doing?’ BEST MOMENTS ‘I wa...

Neil explains the concept of scripts, the simple and powerful tool for defining all things that you would like to have and be, and that are particularly good when used by people with poor self-image, low motivation or lack of direction. KEY TAKEAWAYS A script should be properly written down and consistent and should be read aloud at least twice a day. We tend to manifest the things we say. Begin w...

Neil explains the absolute importance of sticking to your word especially when it comes to your work and the advantages you can gain if people know they can rely on you.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Reliability is the foundation of everything a tutor does.  If we have to make sacrifices to be reliable, so be it.  Unreliability is a crippling reputation to have.  BEST MOMENTS‘This got me thinking about reliabili...

Most of us carry with us everywhere one of the most corrosive, divisive, wasteful and narcissistic forms of evil currently affecting modern society. Wherever you go, you have an electronic tag and listening device with you stealing your focus, time, energy and attention. Neil reminds us of how much better things could be if we cut the cord to the mobile phone.    KEY TAKEAWAYS Despite laws to the...

Neil explains the need to test any new idea, method, acquisition or project to confirm its efficiency within your setup and to consistently keep abreast of your measurables.       KEY TAKEAWAYS Change is the one true constant. Testing can help you eliminate less effective methods and replace them with more favourable ones.  You cannot manage what you don’t measure. BEST MOMENTS ‘Looking at life in...

Neil reveals his secret to ensuring the productive use of your time and resources every day. Before you settle in, however, grab yourself a pen and paper, because this is the equipment you will need to achieve a daily, focused, worthwhile effort in the running of your business.     KEY TAKEAWAYS Every day needs a plan. A plan is nothing unless it is written down. If you follow a written plan you a...

Neil’s favourite acronym, False Evidence Appearing Real, fear is the focus of this episode. With two very different students fifty years apart in age suffering the same problem, Neil focuses on this very common and familiar block to progress with two different strategies to overcome the problem.  KEY TAKEAWAYS You may need differing strategies for different students.  By using the student’s person...

Neil shares with you the RUSH model. RUSH stands for Ruthless, Unflinching, Self Honesty. This is his core philosophy for building a robust self-image and attitude towards any useful and worthwhile project, task or opportunity. KEY TAKEAWAYS Exercise an unflinching and dispassionate attitude towards oneself to attain a rational viewpoint of your position. Stay steady and forthright when meeting pr...

It may not be a completely good idea to forget, obfuscate or deny our failings on our journey to being an expert in our field. Although it seems like a good idea to only present the positive, Neil explains the advantages of being open and honest about our past failures and mistakes in the content of our teaching.    KEY TAKEAWAYS Honesty builds a bridge between you and your students. Students will...

How is it possible that in so many tutor’s experiences a student claims to forget everything they have learned as soon as they leave the teaching room? Neil shares his theories on this puzzling phenomena of instantly vanishing memory.    KEY THEORIES Maybe the lesson hasn’t been embedded properly by the tutor.   The student may be resistant to learning for their own reasons. There could be a confl...

In light of the recent Ed Sheeran’s recent success in court defending himself against a spurious copyright claim, Neil takes a look at Intellectual Property and Copyright in the UK and how it applies to tutoring in terms of teaching tools and materials.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Tutors get to add their flavour and slant to the materials they teach. These materials are a tangible asset to you and your busines...

Neil shares his evil genius with you in this episode explaining how, when you overturn your student’s expectations, difficulties and complexities so extensively that they sit there open-mouthed, it really makes your tutoring job worthwhile.     KEY TAKEAWAYS Simplify. Simplify. Simplify. Peel away the complexity and present the core of an idea. Resistance exists when there is no clarity. BEST MOME...

Neil addresses the myth of getting rich quickly and explains the reality of getting rich slowly.  He’s done the latter himself so he’s here to explain to you how.  KEY TAKEAWAYS From today you could decide to become wealthy, whatever that means to you. Write down your target, think medium to long term, and remind yourself daily.  Discipline and dedicate your efforts to achieving this, keeping up y...

The people in your network, your friends, your family, your students and anyone who positively knows you, can not only be a social support but a business one too. Neil explains how people you know can recruit students for you with a little incentive.  KEY TAKEAWAYS You can turn your friends into recruiters by providing your network with a reward for finding you students or allowing them to offer f...

Neil explains The Benefit Trap, the mistaken belief that you have to accept any idea that has any kind of benefit to it despite the amount it offers or its compatibility with your current methods. He urges you to raise the bar when you consider a method and think carefully if any idea is worth including in your tutoring tool kit.  KEY TAKEAWAYS A technique that has some benefit may not have enough...

Neil expands on the concept of ‘The Work’ and how, rather than being a source of angst and torture, it can be the main source of fun and joy in your life.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Neil is compelled to teach. It is his reason. Tutoring is an opportunity to spend time with people you love. The job is to help people to shine a light in their darkness.  BEST MOMENTS ‘If someone else’s idea of a bad night is sit...

What is the difference between tutors that are struggling to make ends meet and always working, ever popular, always booked tutors? Neil identifies the ‘special sauce’ that turns clients into raving fans whereas someone with the same technical skills can struggle to make a living.   KEY TAKEAWAYS You are the selling point of your business. You are the unique offering. All your skills and experienc...

Neil has come to realise there are 2 kinds of work. The first is bookkeeping, routine admin, scheduling lessons, lesson plans etc, the everyday routine work that is so regular that it does not require 100% focus. The second kind is ‘deep’ work, the most challenging, energising, absorbing and ‘time-distorting’ work.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Deep work is characterised by a total focus on just the work at hand...

Neil explains the meaning and regular usage of his IDGAF muscle. As an entrepreneur and someone making things happen for yourself, you have to be willing to go against the grain of mainstream thinking. Listen in to find out what the ‘F’ stands for. No prizes though. KEY TAKEAWAYS 80% to 90% of people really dislike what they do for a living. Do not give a …. for what the world thinks. Use your IDG...

Neil introduces a few techniques to build rapport and increase the effectiveness of teaching to any student. If used well, they can be used to improve communication and ease, increasing your chances of making good progress with even a difficult client.  KEY TAKEAWAYS The more like us we perceive a person to be the more we like them.  The Neurolinguistic Programming Techniques of matching and mirro...

There is the fear of failure and the fear of success. Neil examines both of these fears and how they can leave us stuck with his own story of encouraging success, how we jump through hoops to fool ourselves that doing nothing is a good strategy, and how we can fight the urge to take an apparently ‘safe’ route and defeat the fear.   KEY TAKEAWAYS The actual task, goal or dream is in itself not scar...

Neil has been producing The Tutor Podcast for five full years, every Monday, every week, without fail through pandemics, and economic crises, as well as running three successful businesses. In this episode, he shares why, and what he has learned from the experience.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Nearly everyone struggles with self-doubt and a fear of failure. People feel guilty about success and money.  Educate...

What are the motivations of successful coaches and teachers? What drives those people that keep plugging away at the job and never seem to lose enthusiasm or energy? Neil is one of those people and has been teaching guitar since 1999 and is still loving it. He reveals his reasons for never losing his love for his chosen career. KEY TAKEAWAYS Neil has an addictive personality and wants to turn it t...

Change is the only constant in human life. Teaching is about changing students for the better and so tutors know more than most why change is so hard, and how and why we resist change. Neil explains how to break down that natural resistance and how to identify and remove a students limiting beliefs about themselves and what they are capable of.  KEY TAKEAWAYS Talent generally is irrelevant in guit...