The trial lesson with my new student did not go well, I feel I could have done much better

The trial lesson with my new student did not go well, I feel I could have done much better, the student is now silent and I suspect is not interested in my services anymore. Shall I try or rather what can I do to try to get the student back?

My suggestion would be not to try to get the student back. When tutoring online, even more so if you are tutoring non-locally, the trial lesson is the ‘make it or break it’ lesson; a not-so-clear explanation and/or some technology problems could easily put a student off; after all, why should s/he continue with you after a bad trial lesson when there are tens of thousands of other tutors available s/he can choose from? A bad trial lesson should be taken as a lesson for the tutor to do better next time.

To limit the possibility of failure here are a few tips about the first, trial lesson, based on my experience:

-As a tutor make sure you show up on time, a delay will make the tutor appear less serious, less reliable and can make the student nervous.

-a trial lesson on a very specific topic usually works better than a lesson on a general topic.

The student at the end of the lesson should feel that he or she learnt something useful.

-if, after the lesson has started, you fear that the student is not feeling comfortable with your method (hint: s/he could be rather silent and detached), try to make some changes during the lesson. While some students prefer a more passive lesson, other students like challenges and would rather prefer and get more results with a lesson where they are supposed to actively participate and put in the work.

-carefully check your technology, possibly shortly before the lesson, to make sure that it is working fine. -make sure you have a back-up software and possibly a backup internet connection, should there be any problem with them.

If you found this post useful, agree or disagree with it, we would be glad to hear

from you, just leave a comment below.

Problems with online tutoring, the trial lesson did not go well, how to prepare for a trial lesson, first lesson with a new student.