my coaching style
18/01/2012

these gentle metaphors help to explain, in an informal way, my coaching style and the coaching techniques I use on my music workshops, especially my Everyone Can Sing voice workshop 

they may seem simple and fun but they are profound and work extremely well

tightrope walking
singing and making music can be difficult, like walking a tightrope
by creating a safe, non-critical environment however, the tightrope is now only a few inches from the floor
singing and making music is still difficult but there is now little risk with failure and students feel more free to try and then improve

cliff flying
it's not my role as tutor to drag students to the top of the cliff, show them how steep it is, push them off and then shout at them for flying badly
I invite students to the top of the cliff to enjoy the view and if they want to have a little fly, then I'll be there to take them under my wing, if they need it   

the door
'tutors open the door but you must enter by yourself' (Chinese proverb)   

the bird cage
students voices are like birds in a cage
as tutor, I open the cage door
some birds fly straight out without a backward glance  
others hesitate a little and sit on the open doorway to get their bearings before flying
some birds fly out but come back to the cage at night
others stay in the cage but know they can fly out anytime they want
some birds fly out, come back and trash the cage before flying onwards  

read about my quality prinicples for training

read how my confidence-developing model bonds groups

read about the many benefits

read the superb feedback we get for my Everyone Can Sing class
attend a workshop