 Hello everybody. Welcome to the ITTT weekly live stream. My name is Lisa and today we're going to discuss an extremely important topic which is related to English teaching as a non-native ESL teacher and it's rather controversial because the field is pretty competitive. So many people want to find out if it is possible to stand out or not. So let's just quickly change the slide. So the reason I decided to choose this topic is that one of my regular viewers, watchers, visitors asked me about how to actually stand out as a non-native ESL teacher, especially online and I find it really important. So let's discuss it today. And before we move on, please let me know that you can hear me clearly and you can see me clearly because just right now I speak in front of myself and I cannot see anyone but I hope that you guys are there and I can reach you. So let me know via the chat box that you can hear and see me clearly. And if you don't know me, my name is Lisa, I am an ITTT TEFL expert and I'm super glad to welcome you to this live session. Thanks for coming. Okay, so moving on, I'd like to remind you that because you guys are super active and you come to watch this live sessions, ITTT shares this 30% discount of any ITTT TEFL courses. So if you guys feel like you want to take a TEFL course or you want to move your career to the next level, feel free to scan this QR code and yeah, you will get this 30% discount or otherwise you can just follow the link from the chat box and you'll be good. Okay, so if I have already mentioned today's live session is devoted to the problem of being a non-native ESL teacher online in such a competitive field and I'd really love to correspond to this problem and share my personal experience on how to build your personal brand on various social networks or just online like with your website or any other resources. And to begin with, I would like to refer to your personal brand. So basically, a personal brand is something related to marketing and I believe that most of you are pretty familiar with this topic, with this point. However, I still feel like this approach can be applicable to TEFL teaching as well. So for example, if you are a TEFL teacher in the beginning of your online teaching career, it's a great idea to implement this personal brand strategy to your profile. And it's pretty simple actually. What you have to do in the very beginning is telling your story and when we talk about this point, we want to make a clear picture to help other people to see you and to see you the way you want them to see yourself. And to do that, I'd like to draw your attention to these two very points. The first one would be, it is necessary to understand who are you. And it is always important to show what are your interests and maybe passions, what traits of personality you have and what are your values. So these key points will help you to make up, to build up your personal profile and share your story with the rest of the community. And another point is that it is really important to show what is your purpose. For example, it is necessary to explain what's your mission and why you're going to express yourself at the very beginning. And here is actually where you can add your credentials. Usually people get a lot of certificates. They become really professional theoretically. However, they don't know how to express it and how to show it to potential clients. And this is how it is actually done. So if you really want to connect with your prospective clients, it's a great idea to include your credentials into your brand story. And when we talk about your personal brand, it's almost the same as a brand of any other company. So you want to make sure that you look reasonable and you build this trust. Credentials actually help you to do that. And here I'd recommend you to list your certifications, diplomas and other stuff related to your professional development. But at the same time, it is really vital to show off your experience. If you don't have any, it's not a problem. The thing is you have to be proactive to work on your feedback. Like you have to find someone who will be able to give you this first feedback. And for this sake, it's a great idea to do some volunteer teaching, for example. Also, what is really valuable by other people is something you share for free. So apart from volunteer teaching, it's a great idea to share some resources as well. And I'll dwell upon this point a little bit later. But now I just want to share this example. So for example, I want to reach other people and I want to make sure they understand me as a brand. So what will I do? I'll try to tell them my story. And here it is. So I'm a TEFL certified ESL teacher with seven years of international experience, passionate about foreign languages, cultures and travel. So in this part, I try to include my credentials, partially my story, like how I began doing that. And what are my interests and passions? And in teaching, I try to implement a personal approach to every student and strive to build a relationship with everyone. So it is also really important to express your relation and approach to your teaching, to your work. And finally, I'll try to explain what is my mission, but it should be rather brief because people don't pay much attention to long reads, to long stories. So make sure that you keep rather short. And so my mission, for example, is to help students to overcome a language barrier and cross the cultural boundaries and think out of the box by sharing my knowledge and experience. So this is a sample story, but how to share it actually. And for this point, I'd move on to the next slide, because this is where you start building your community. So when you are at the very beginning of your career and you basically don't have any clients, you have to think of building trust with other people. And here I'd recommend you to think of your friends and families. Those are people who are usually supportive and who can help you to reach other people as well. Sometimes Tefl teachers in the beginning of their career still have old clients like some previous clients, maybe from your past jobs. For example, I used to work in an amusement park when I was at university, and I found several close friends there. So I reached them out and shared my story and shared that I started teaching and asked them to tell other people about myself. And usually if you have this close connection with others, they are pretty open to tell about you. And what is the most cool about this approach is that word of mouth works best. When people say good stuff about yourself, other people just believe. And that's it. And the last point would be it is still important to find some new loyal followers. So this is something to keep in mind. You still want to make friends with others and you want to show yourself as a professional. So here what is quite important is to show others that you're interested in their stories and that you are engaged with them as just other people. So it's just something that matters in any type of relationship, either business ones or just some friendly relationship. The next point is that when you have your small community, like even 10 people is a community, you want to give value to these people. And here is when we start building trust over different resources like social media, using various strategies and content. And also we build this engagement and trust with others. And what is really important on this stage is that you have to stick to your values. You want to show that you are always consistent in your sayings, in your vision and whatever. So just remember that when you build this community, you can't change your opinion that often. However, it is still possible. And if we move back to the point of how to build your personal brand, I'd say that it's not just about social media. It's also possible to do in real life on the first place and then to do it with some other resources apart from social media. However, it is always better to know where your audience exists, like for example, YouTube. Some people prefer to watch YouTube. So maybe it's a great idea to start building your social profile on this network. However, some other people are more often to serve Facebook, for example. So this social network might be beneficial as well. So just try to think of as many resources you could use in order to achieve your goal, like in order to show that you are a professional and to make sure everyone knows it and believes you. And here I'd say that another factor which helps teachers to create this personal brand story is an ability to sell. Of course, we don't want to sell, we don't want everybody to pay money for whatever, for just useless things. However, we want to show that we are trustworthy, that we are professional and stuff like that. And it is also related to this ability of selling yourself, of telling the best stories over other people. And yeah, this is actually how it's done. And if you ask me like if it's possible to tell stories over such resources as teaching platforms, here are a couple of examples. I just went to Italki to research some interesting teachers and I found these two guys. The first thing I done, the first thing I did was I watched their introductory videos and I learned something about themselves. So the first girl, she was really, really open minded in her video. She shared her interests, she told about her life experience and why she chose to teach people. And it was really, it was in a friendly manner. So she actually did a great job from my point of view. And she basically told her story and this is how she helped me to find out about her personal brand. The other guy, he was really consistent in expressing his strong opinion on the point of sharing language experience. Like he's proficient in different languages because he lives in India. And in different parts of India, people speak different dialects as I understood that. However, those dialects are pretty different and still this language helps to broaden yourself to open your boundaries. And it was also interesting to learn about his approach and his personal story. So I'd really like to take a couple of lessons with this guy as well. Apart from that, I also checked their profiles in order to find out if they connect with their audiences somewhere else. And it turned out that the first girl, she actually runs a YouTube channel which is pretty successful. And this is where she distributes her content just for free. So she basically gives value for no money and it helps to build trust as well. So it's also, I'd say it's also a part of her personal brand because this way she helps other people to understand in which areas she's actually professional. So basically you don't have to create your social media. It's just pretty normal to use this personal brand approach over online teaching platforms. However, if you still want to reach out to a lot of people, it's a great idea to use the power of social media as well. As for me, it's a really challenging approach because you have to be consistent and you have to spend a lot of energy on creating materials like creating content. You have to spend time communicating with your audience because it is also important to correspond to questions and maybe to comments online. So you still have to pull on your weight and take a lot of efforts. So it's something to think of and still I'd recommend you to consider this approach because it's a proactive one. And nowadays when we teach in this competitive field, it's quite important to be flexible and try different ways and ideas. So I still believe that something like that is real and a lot of teachers can try that. If we talk about this problem from another perspective, like if this strategy actually works with real employers like English teaching schools, for example, I'd say yes as well because such approach helps you to create your perfect resume and basically resume is also a paper which contains your brand story. However, it should be shorter and it should be really brief and focused on details. However, you still can use it to tell your personal story and it is vital as well. This is how you can actually reach your potential employers. And as for this part, I believe that is all what I wanted to say. However, I'd like to hear from you and let's have this Q&A session and I'd rather say let's have a discussion. So if you have any ideas on the point I've just mentioned, I've just talked about, please share your opinions and let's try to work productively right now. I think that this approach is really interesting, although it's not the easy one. But as for me, there is no easy way to stand out of the crowd and be the best teacher online. So this is the only way you can find clients and build this trust. And by the way, I forgot to mention that another key factor in your brand story is your client's feedback. So basically, if you have some experience, you can reach out to your previous clients and ask them for an honest feedback. If it is not that positive, it's okay. You can use it for the sake of working on yourself and working out your problems. However, if you still have some positive feedback, it's a great idea to store all of the good comments and words in your address. And later, when you figure out how to represent yourself online, well, make a folder or maybe a part on a website related to feedbacks. Because new clients and potential students, they prefer to choose between this teacher or that one based on some positive feedbacks. And if your feedback is pretty reliable, it's something to show off as well. Okay. Hello, guys. So, yeah, let's move on to the Q&A session. And I can see that there are several questions already. And I really move to the comments box. Okay. Yeah. Thanks a lot for joining. I can see a lot of familiar faces. Yeah. Okay. So, this question isn't related to today's point. However, we can briefly discuss it. I believe that the only way to become fluent is to practice as much as you can, but your practice shouldn't be circled over just one particular skill, but rather on various different skills. Like if you want to be fluent as a speaker, it's not enough just to speak. It is also important to listen a lot and to read different articles, books and whatever. So, I know that many English teachers, that many non-native English teachers, when they become pretty experienced in terms of English learning, they just stop working on their problems and they focus on teaching itself. However, it is still necessary to polish your skills. So, think of just being a student yourself, a student of like advanced level. Okay. So, yeah, basically this is the only way you become fluent. All right. Okay. So, yeah, Philip, you can totally comment and I'll reach you back after the session. However, if you still have any questions right now or any feedback and I don't know, maybe suggestions, please feel free to contact right now over the comments section. And I'll try to be helpful and I'll try to respond. Okay. Hello, Amitava. Nice to see you. Thanks for joining again. So guys, if you have any questions related to today's point, like how to stand out as a non-native English teacher, feel free to comment right now. Or if you have just other questions related to TEFL, maybe English teaching itself, please feel free to ask me as well. And by the way, here on the right, you can see this QR code which can move you directly to my Facebook group. I created a Facebook group to communicate with those who come to this live sessions. So, with other teachers, with those who are interested in TEFL and in online teaching. If you want to stay connected, if you want to keep in touch with me, please scan this QR code with your cell phone. And yeah, I'll be really glad to communicate with you. I think this way is really nice. And I am open to new people and appreciate when you guys reach me back. Okay. When you reach me out, actually. Okay, so Lisa asks if being a cheerful and a happy person might harm her professionalism. I think no, because it is extremely important to possess those qualities that you've just mentioned. So, I don't believe that there is anyone who prefers to work with modest and, I don't know, gloomy people. So, especially when we talk about teachers. And I have actually a really good example from my personal experience. So, last Friday, I spoke to one of my students father on the phone. And he mentioned that the only thing that keeps his daughter with myself is not actually my teaching, but rather the way I am. His daughter really likes to work with me as with a person. And I believe that such qualities as cheerfulness is something that helped me to create, to build that connection with the girl. Of course, I try to put a lot of efforts to creating interesting materials for her to explaining everything as interesting and engaging as it is possible. However, my personal qualities are probably even more important because students, especially the younger ones, they want other people to be kind with them, especially teachers. And if we, for example, distinguish between tutors and school teachers, we know that those teachers who work with bigger groups, they don't have this opportunity to build close relationship. Okay. So, yeah, I think that cheerfulness and being a happy person is actually something that really can help you to look even more professional. But the thing is, you have to tell your right story. So try to make this personal brand be based on your cheerfulness and happiness. Yeah, something like that. Okay, so the next question. So what is the best and easy way to change parents mindset to lift up their children to learn English? So do you mean some parents don't want their children to learn English? If yes, then probably it's a great idea to show the benefits which English gives to those who can actually speak it and who can do other stuff English like read English books, watch movies without translation and stuff like that. So, for example, when you talk to open-minded parents, they usually mention that the most beneficial aspects from learning English for their children is an ability to be successful in future. Like to have more career perspectives, to have more opportunities to study abroad, for example, and this is something which drives those parents a lot. I know that for some parents, it is challenging to pay for private classes, for example, or just for some extra classes. However, they still know that knowing English is a necessary skill this day. What is important for you as a teacher to make sure that you fit your potential clients? Like, if you meet parents with the mindset like that, who don't want their children to learn English and who don't understand why it is necessary, then probably it's just not a perfect fit for you as a teacher. And the most important thing here is to stay comfortable as a teacher. Because we usually think about others, we usually think about how to comfort other people, how to comfort clients, but we don't think about ourselves. So, if it's not a perfect fit, just don't worry, just don't take it personal and move on to the next opportunity. Okay. Yeah, thanks a lot. I'm glad to share my experience, although it's not that rich, I should say. However, I really like to give this value. Okay. Yeah, and thanks a lot. Thank you for being so kind with me. All right. Yeah, that's true. So, sometimes teachers just think about so many things, but not about themselves, which is actually not the best approach probably. Okay. And I also, a couple of days ago, I follow one teacher blogger on Instagram. So, just something for you to know, in Russia, a lot of teachers create personal blogs on Instagram. And this is the way they actually share their knowledge and experience and at the same time, build their personal brands. So, a couple of days ago, I came across my colleagues' stories on Instagram, and she shared that she has burnt out recently. Like, she doesn't want to teach, she doesn't want to spend time teaching one-on-one classes, and she feels tired constantly. And then she started explaining, like, what's her schedule, and I just thought that she burnt out not because she doesn't like it, but because of the amount of hours she spends on one-on-one teaching. And moreover, she tries to give value in some other areas which are actually not related to teaching itself. For example, when her students come to her classes feeling depressed and being in a bad mood, she always tries to comfort them. She always tries to ask, like, what happened? Sometimes they share stories of being bullied or stories of having troubles in their families, and she is not a teacher at that time. She is a psychologist or a psychiatrist, even. So, from this point of view, we spend so much of our energy, we just don't have time to recharge our batteries. And, yeah, it's not the best approach, probably. So, if you feel like you've burnt out being a teacher, try to look at your teaching from a different perspective, like, do you actually teach or do you do something else? Okay. All right, guys. So, we've been 40 minutes online already, and I believe that we've discussed a lot of things. However, if you still have anything on your mind and you want to ask me something, just feel free to do it right now. Or we will just wrap up today's session, because I don't want to spend too much time on it. Okay. All right. Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing your feedback with me, because usually these live sessions are really challenging. On the first place, I'm not a native speaker, and I'm not the best speaker, probably. So, every time I go live, I try myself. Yeah. So, thanks a lot for sharing your attitude and opinion. I appreciate it. And thanks a lot, guys, for your support and that you come to this sessions regularly. All right, guys. So, I believe you don't have any questions further. So, let me just remind you that this live session is provided by ITTT, International Teflon and TESOL Training. We are presented on various social networks, and we try to give you this value over your favorite social media. So, feel free to connect with us, feel free to stay with us, and let's keep in touch. And if you want to communicate with me personally, you can always leave a comment under videos like this or direct message me on Facebook. I'm an open-minded person. I really like to communicate, and I don't mind if you DM me. Otherwise, I've already mentioned that I created this Facebook group. Let me just quickly share the direct link over the chat box because I know some people don't like to scan QR codes because it's not that convenient. So, let me just share the group link. And, yeah, welcome to the group. If you want to talk to me, please feel free to do that. I'll try my best to help you out. And I'll see you next week, guys. If you have any suggestions for the future live streams, maybe you want any specific topics, feel free to tell me as well. And, yeah, I'll try to give you even more value. Okay? So, thanks a lot for coming and bye-bye.