Becoming confident and assertive Part 2.

So how does one follow on from a post all about full contact cage fighting and tie it into the day to day realities of English teaching?

It's fairly simple really. As a more experienced teacher who has just gone freelance I've come to realise that my abilities are good, my confidence measured but high, my experience valuable in the market and my assertiveness is growing.

I've come to realise and stand up for what I'm worth in the EFL market here in Bratislava.

Going freelance and working with a business license frees you from a lot of the contractual obligations most people work under, but also frees you from the contract protection those people have. In return, it's generally accepted that you will earn higher fees per hour than teachers who work with contracts.

Now it's up to you to figure out exactly what your school / agency / client will pay you and it varies depending on your experience and background (here natives can easily add 5 per hour over a non-native for many clients). I've gone from an average of about 14 per hour to an average pay of somewhere around 20 per hour. There is some variation of course as different agencies / schools take different cuts based on their costs and my direct clients pay slightly different rates depending on how big they are, how many lessons they have etc. but overall I'm very happy.

I've had to be assertive for a lot of what I have and it was hard at first. There's a constant fear that the people you are pushing for higher prices, be they students, companies or employers, will simply say no and let you walk away if you don't work to their limits.

Now I have the confidence and assertiveness to call that bluff. I know I'm a good teacher, I know I'm in demand and I know that I can earn just fine without any particular employer monopolising my time. I have the freedom to take the clients I want, work my schedule in a way that suits me so I don't have to work early mornings or late at night unless I choose to and end up in a better financial situation

So how does the bluffing/negotiating procedure go for me now?

Just had to include this photo ;-)

It's been going well. Perhaps buoyed by confidence from my cage fighting days coupled with the knowledge that I'm good at what I do and am in demand as a teacher, I now go into negotiations with a clear idea of what is acceptable or not and stay totally calm as I direct things go the way they should go. Knowing that I covered up and dealt with punches coming at my face while I was pinned to the ground in a cage makes it a lot easier to manage someone who is just arguing over a small work point.

Recently I have:
 - Established a new and much higher baseline pay rate that most people accept now.
 - Negotiated a higher pay rate with one school for a lesson they need me to cover.
 - Ensured that an agency covered the cost of training they didn't inform me about until the last minute (Sorry, I'm not paying to work for you).
 - Reorganised my schedule with a big school who were failing to provide enough lessons in a timely manner.


Now please understand (especially any new ESL teachers reading this) that you have a lot of responsibilities that go along with steps like those above. If you teach a bad lesson when you charge someone ten euros per hour, that's one thing, but double the price and you'd damn well better be on your game. People are less forgiving of mistakes and rightly so. If you charge a premium price, deliver a premium product.

I also put a lot of energy into my clients and my lessons, particularly in the initial stages when 'selling' the first few hours with a new student. I make sure they have a great time, I'm in a good mood (even if I'm tired/sick etc.), I really focus in on the English mistakes that matter to that student and leave them feeling like they enjoy what's happening and can see the benefits. I am happy and willing to pay 20 euros per hour for a private lesson of Slovak from a teacher I know and trust. My job is to make sure my students feel the same and know they are getting a better product than those who went for cheaper options.

When you are selling that first lesson, don't only bring your best attitude. You may want to let the lesson run over for 15 minutes or so, especially if you're having a good time. That way the students are happy that they get 'free' lesson time. Previously I offered half price or discounted first lessons and that was popular too. Now I go for the extended time but both ways are good to make people feel happy. You should leave them thinking:

"Wow, that was fun and useful. I can't wait to have the next lesson and spend more time with my new teacher."

Get that part done and you'll be rolling in students soon enough.

There you have the basic story of how I took the lessons learned in a cage and brought them into a classroom and business environment. I had to learn a lot, nerve myself up to call bluffs and pretend I wasn't scared but the end results have been worth it and continue to improve day by day.

So teachers, if you know you are worth a lot and you aren't happy with where you are, step up and take control of your career and the people you work with. Think like the ever impressive George St Pierre (in red trunks), the UFC welterweight champion, and make sure everyone knows you are a dedicated worker and are getting what you're worth.

Best wishes,

Pete

PS: I was smiling giddily and did a little happy dance the first time I successfully a negotiated a good deal. A behind the scenes moment of truth ;-)

Becoming confident and assertive Part 1...

I feel like I've recently hit a breakthrough in the way I conduct business and work as a teacher. It came down to confidence, experience and just a bit of faking it until I made it. The latter is something that I've really had to work on in my life but it's not just a popular saying. I've been finding that there is more and more truth in it and I enjoy it.

So what's with the picture at the top of the post? It's from April 2011 during my last week or so in the US before I came to Europe to teach. Following the end of long term relationship I had started training at a mixed martial arts gym and got into it a lot. The picture is me mentally preparing ahead of a full contact cage match with a training partner. If you think I look nervous, you're absolutely right.

I've done martial arts for a long time because I like them, I'm a small guy and I have always been scared of violence. Even though I've spent a long time involved in them, I was always scared of fighting and getting hit. That fear has never gone away. I felt a nervous trickle of adrenaline when my instructor called me up to spar and I knew I could (and would) be hit. Moving into a full contact sport like MMA was a major step for me.

I spent a long time believing that I was the only one afraid to get into the ring/cage and fight. Everybody else seemed so calm and ready to go at any time. It was only after faking it for a long time that I realised I needed to fake it less. I could deal with a lot of problems and challenges without backing down. Other people were also scared but they also learned to push it down and be confident.

So I stepped into the cage for nine minutes of full contact fighting.

This is one of the high points in the fight where I started to find good range for my kicks and land them on my buddy. Unfortunately...

...his wrestling and size were a bit much for me and I spent the latter part of the fight getting battered and pounded into the mats. I lost the fight by decision but I didn't quit in the fight (I wanted to), I didn't make excuses about why I lost (it was my lack of confidence in my striking skills that really sealed it) and I didn't give in to my temptation to cancel the fight before it started.

Now I'm not training MMA or other martial arts any more. I've picked up enough injuries and I'm getting old enough that I don't want too much of a bad legacy from my wild younger days.

So how exactly do the photos above correspond to what I'm doing with myself these days since I'm an English teacher, not a cage fighter, right?

Well it's about developing confidence and assertiveness. These are traits that will serve you well in the cage but also very well in life and business too.

Part 2 to follow soon...