One of the biggest challenges of any new instructor is making sure that students will want to keep going to your class. Because personalities differ, there is no single surefire way to make sure that everyone comes back. But do the recommendations below consistently and we can definitely assure you your class sizes will grow over time.
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Be sure to do the following if you want students to keep coming back to your classes:
1. Explain the poses
Most people new to yoga don’t know what the heck the poses you’re calling out are. You have to explain how to get into the positions and demonstrate it yourself if necessary. While it’s not always practical to demonstrate all the poses in every instance, it pays to know when you should.
The reason this even has to be said is that there are way too many yoga instructors who forget that not everyone understands the practices on their own level. It’s absolutely important that instructors keep this in mind for classes that accept newbies.
2. Know your student’s names
It’s not easy for everyone to remember names. This is especially hard for some classes where there are newbies coming in all the time. But if you can do it, you will make it much easier to connect with students, which makes it more likely they will keep attending your classes.
Perhaps the fastest way to remember someone’s name is to repeat it, right after they introduce themselves. A simple “Nice to meet you, ______!” can go a long way into helping cement their name in your memory.
3. Get to know your students
We’re not talking about just their names either. It’s important to know why they’re taking the class and what their personality types are. That way you’re better able to choose an instructional approach that will better appeal to them. The periods just before and right after class is the perfect times to get to know newbies better, so be sure to use these times for everyone’s advantage.
4. Connect online
Sometimes students simply don’t come back because they have a lot going on in their lives and they simply forget about your classes. You can leverage social media to connect with students through your own page to remind them about upcoming classes and freebies. This is a great way not just to get students to come back, but also to reach out to new students as well.
5. Be passionate (or at least fake it)!
Passion is contagious. If you love yoga, this will usually come through when you do your classes, and students will easily pick up on this and respond quite positively themselves. If students become passionate about yoga, then they are far more likely to come back to your classes.
You will have your off days though. It’s hard to stay on all the time and there will be times you don’t feel it all. In this case, you can consciously try to show off your passion for yoga. While some people might see it as “faking it”, is it really faking it if you do actually love it most of the time? Besides, doing so is a great way to get into the proper mindset for teaching in any case. Don’t be afraid to play that role for every single class.
What other strategies do you have for keeping students and growing your class? Let us know!
About The Author:
Anne Kamwila is a freelance content writer and a digital marketer. She is passionate to write about health, wellness, and fitness-related guides, news, and books.