Claiming Territory

Have you ever turned down a potential student even though they really wanted to start lessons? 😬 What were your reasons? What questions do you ask potential students either during FIS or during initial interactions in order to get a better sense of whether they…

• Last updated 5 months ago
• attitudes, behavior, behavior in class, behavior issues, challenging behavior, claiming territory, coachable, lesson requirements, misbehavior, negative attitude, negative behavior, prior experience, prior reading experience, reject student, request vs requirement, requirement, requirement based studio, requirement versus request, requirement-based, requirements, requirements in lessons, Robin Keehn, student attitudes, student behavior, students with prior experience, territory, turn down student, vett student

I have a potential adult student who suffers from social anxiety. After attending a FIS she messaged me to tell me of her issue. I had noticed something during the interaction. She also told me that she just wanted to try one lesson. I suggested…

• Last updated 1 year ago
• anxiety, anxious, anxious student, claiming territory, coachabilty, coachable, coaching adults, compassion, compassionate, emotion, emotional, emotional limitations, emotional student, emotional students, emotions, managing emotion, reclaiming territory, Robin Keehn, social anxiety, student anxiety, students controlling the lesson, territory, try it out, trying it out, trying lessons

Hi guys, I have an 11yr old student in ons of my groups who always tries to control the events! I have to manage her alot, bring her back to the room. She is on Foundation 1 and we have just got to Chester. After…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• delay the reading process, delaying reading, outside materials, outside music, outside pieces, outside reading knowledge, outside repertoire, pieces outside the program, previous experience, previous reading knowledge, prior experience, prior reading experience, priorities, reading, songs outside the repertoire, student knowledge, student with previous experience, students with previous experience, students with prior experience, tutorial, YouTube

I would greatly appreciate your feedback in a new situation that has never happened to me before. One of my adult students, who just moved into Book 4, is a retired doctor and used to getting his own way. While he initially was willing to…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• adult, adult lessons, adult students, adults, claiming territory, coaching adults, comp & improv, comp and improv, comp/improv, enjoying the process, explaining claiming territory, life coach roles, music education role, Neil's Responses (YouTube Videos), refusing to compose, refusing to improvise, reluctant students, roles, student reluctant to improv, teaching adults, territory

I have finally gotten good at teaching SM and the studio is quickly growing. My biggest problem is still left over from being a traditional studio. Coaches are not doing their jobs 50% of the times. They won’t sit down at the piano, they won’t…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• alignment with coaches, claiming territory, coach, coach not coaching, coach responsibility, coaches, coaching, distracted coach, holding coaches accountable, importance of life coach, involving parents in lessons, involving the parent, keeping coaches focused, Laurie Richards, lesson requirements, life coach, life coach roles, life coaches, managing coaches, parent, parent involvement, parent role, parent support, parental involvement, parental participation, parental responsibility, parents, reclaiming territory, regaining lost territory ideas, request vs requirement, requirement, requirement based studio, requirement versus request, requirement-based, requirements, requirements in lessons, responsibility, role of parent, selective coaching, territory, unsupportive parent

For those of you who teach mostly in groups, how have you addressed complaints from parents about group lessons and the student to teacher ratio? (Meaning they feel their child isn’t getting enough ‘piano time’ in their new group lesson)? I teach mostly small groups.…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• benefits of group lessons, benefits of shared lessons, class size, complaints, different pacing in group, generative learning, group size, Laurie Richards, learning pace, learning rate, lesson pacing, normal progress, number of students, observatory learning, pace, pace of learning, pacing, progress, rate of learning, rate of progress, receptive learning, slow pace, slow progress, speed of progress, student progress, student to teacher ratio, students speed of progress, time at piano, time on the piano, use of class time

I have run three FIS’s over the past week, and have encountered a number of potential parents who use the phrase “we want to give it a go”. Now, I know this is a phrase we don’t like to hear necessarily – as “giving it…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• 4-song workshop, commit, commitment, commitment to lessons, give it a go, giving it a go, Long Term Relationship, long term relationships, long-term, long-term relationship conversation, LTR, LTR graph, relationship, relationship conversation, relationship graph, sample lessons, sampling lessons, sticking with piano long term, teaching workshops, trail before committing, trial lesson, trial period, try it out, trying it out, trying lessons, workshop, workshop SHMs, Workshops

I have a family of 2 boys that are giving me problems with missed lessons. In the early spring of this past year the mom didn’t want to pay for missed lessons while they went on vacation so had them quit for the summer rather…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• accounting for holidays, answering questions about fees, claiming territory, collecting payment, crediting tuition, credits, fee, fees, holiday, holiday pay, holidays, lesson credits, lesson fees, missed lessons, payments, reclaiming territory, refund, refund policy, refunds, regaining lost territory ideas, sharing fees up front, stating fees, student holiday, student vacations, territory, tuition credit, tuition credits, tuition rebates, tuition refunds, vacation, vacations

Siblings in a shared lesson with 2 others, just finishing Foundation One (12 lessons) Big brother learning faster than average, and faster than his sister. Mom says they are having trouble at home because they are playing the same material, he wants to go faster…

• Last updated 2 years ago
• 30 day notice, claiming territory, discontinuation, discontinuation notice, discontinuation policy, discontinuing, discontinuing lessons, Laurie Richards, lesson requirements, Long Term Relationship, long term relationships, long-term relationship conversation, LTR, no notice ending lessons, notice, quitting, quitting lessons, reclaiming territory, regaining lost territory ideas, request vs requirement, requirement, requirement based studio, requirement versus request, requirement-based, requirements, requirements in lessons, sticking with piano long term, students quitting, territory, want to quit

Who has a nice response to this missive that I received today? “I am happy to pay you for your time, and am overall pleased with the program (and with you especially), but paying for the books is more difficult when they are, quite frankly,…

• Last updated 3 years ago
• answering questions about fees, audio, audio materials, audio SHMs, benefits, CD, communicating benefits, comparing traditional to Simply Music, cost, cost of materials, cost of SHMs, DVD, expense, expenses, expensive, fee, fees, Laurie Richards, material cost, materials, new material, passing along fees, perceived value, purchasing SHMs, Robin Keehn, setting fees, SHM, SHM costs, SHMs, Simply Music's value, student home material, Student Home Materials, talking about cost, using the SHM videos, using videos, value, value of materials, value of program, value of SHM, value of SM, video, video materials, video SHMs, videos