January 19, 2025 • 22 mins
Ever felt like an imposter creating a digital course? You're not alone. Imagine stepping into your first teaching role and realizing that expertise isn't the golden ticket—it’s your ability to guide transformation that truly matters.
Discover how being just a few steps ahead of your learners can be your superpower.
We unravel the myth that you need to be the ultimate authority to make an impact, and instead, shed light on the value of relatability and understanding your audience's journey.
Explore the real heart of teaching through the lens of personal growth and transformation.
Drawing from experiences in digital course creation, we dive into the shift from focusing on personal insecurities to truly catering to student needs.
Through stories like a simple sourdough baking course, we illustrate how vulnerability can foster trust and authenticity in our information-rich world.
Let’s redefine what it means to teach and embrace the role of a guide, empowering you to connect with students on a deeper and more meaningful level.
Think of your course (or your course idea,) like a luxury car. People won’t pay top dollar unless it’s high quality, delivers an incredible experience, and meets their needs perfectly. Teaching Mastery Academy teaches course creators like you how to ‘build’ that luxury-level course—one that students trust, complete, and rave about, justifying premium pricing every time. Ready to take your expertise and ensure your digital course stands out from the crowd? Premium courses (and premium returns) start with the core teaching fundamentals that all the best course creators instinctively do, but now I'm showing you how! Join the VIP waitlist for Teaching Mastery Academy now! Click here to learn more.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome back to Teaching Mastery Academy
.
I'm your host, rinchiska, andtoday we're tackling a big,
sticky topic that I know so manyof you are wrestling with and
I've wrestled with this myselfand it's called the imposter
syndrome.
Let me ask you this have youever thought about creating a
(00:20):
course or teaching somethingyou're passionate about, but
then that little voice insideyour head says who am I to teach
?
I'm not an expert.
Well, trust me, you're notalone.
I went through this in reverse.
I'm a teacher by trade.
I spent 10 years in theclassroom teaching teenagers,
and then I went out and Istarted creating resources,
(00:41):
worksheets for teachers globallyaround the world, but when it
came to actually looking at thedigital marketing side of things
and putting together a courseand being present, showing up on
social media, I felt like animposter.
And this imposter syndrome isso common when it comes to the
digital course creation industry, the online industry, the
(01:02):
digital marketing industry.
Anything that involves creatingand selling a course online
means that you need to have acertain level of teaching or
coaching ability, as well asmarketing, and I think that, if
we look at the teaching side ofthings for a moment, one of the
biggest misconceptions that Isee amongst entrepreneurs is the
(01:23):
idea that you need to have aPhD or years of teaching
experience or be the top expertin your field to create and sell
an incredible course.
Now here's the truth.
Teaching isn't about being anexpert.
It's not about knowingeverything or delivering
lectures from some imaginarypedestal.
(01:45):
Teaching is about guidingtransformation.
It's about meeting yourstudents where they are and
helping them to get where theywant to be.
And we can use the word teacher, or we can use the word coach,
or we can use the word mentor,or we can use the word course
creator.
Premium coaches, mentors,teachers whatever word you like
(02:06):
to use are about guiding thosetransformations and getting the
best possible outcome for ourstudents.
So by the end of this episode,you're going to shift your
mindset from I'm not a teacherto I'm a guide, and you'll walk
away with the confidence to showup as the person who can create
(02:26):
real transformation for youraudience.
Even if you don't feel like theworld's leading authority, do
not worry.
So grab a notebook, settle inand let's rewrite the way you
think about teaching.
Let's start with the elephant inthe room the myth that you need
to be an expert to teach thismyth.
We'll call it a myth is rootedin traditional ideas about
(02:48):
education.
Right, when we think ofteachers, we often imagine
someone standing at the front ofa classroom lecturing on a
subject they've mastered insideand out, and if you're not that
person, it's easy to feel likeyou're not qualified to teach.
But here is the thing onlinecourses are a completely
(03:08):
different ballgame.
Your audience isn't looking fora professor.
They're, in fact, just theopposite.
They're looking for someone whounderstands their struggles and
can show them a clear pathforward.
So being an expert doesn't meanknowing everything.
It means knowing enough to helpsomeone else take the next step
.
You only need to be a few stepsahead, and often that
(03:29):
connection being relatable andapproachable is far more
valuable to your audience thanbeing the world's leading
authority, and at TeachingMastery Academy, that's what we
focus on.
We don't focus on how to be aprofessor.
We focus on being able toensure that the content that you
want to deliver is relatable toyour audience, and you, as the
(03:51):
coach, as the mentor, areapproachable.
The engagement strategies thatyou're using opens up your
audience to you.
Think about fitness instructorsfor a moment.
Some of the most successfulones aren't Olympians or
professional athletes.
They're regular people who'veovercome their own challenges,
and now they're helping othersdo the same.
(04:11):
So think about that and applyit to your own course or your
own course idea if you haven'tyet created one.
Your audience doesn't need youto be perfect, my friend.
They need you to be human, andthe human connection outweighs
everything else when it comes todigital marketing and digital
course creation.
And here's an unexpected truthabout this Sometimes being too
(04:33):
much of an expert can actuallywork against you.
When you're miles ahead of youraudience, for example, it can be
hard to relate to theirstruggles.
You might skip overfoundational steps because they
seem really obvious to you, butyou might not realize that your
students are actually quiteoverwhelmed or even lost, and
what they need instead issomeone who understands their
(04:55):
starting point and can breakthings down in a way that feels
achievable for them.
Once again, teaching MasteryAcademy, that's what we show you
how to do with your own courses, how to read the room, in other
words, how to understand youraudience's needs and how to
deliver information to them in away that they'll understand and
be able to process it, becausethat, in turn, leads to trust.
They will trust you, they willcomplete the course, they'll go
(05:17):
on and buy your second and yourthird course, and so on.
So hopefully I have busted thatexpert myth for you.
Now let's talk about whatteaching is really about.
And a spoiler alert with thisone, it's not about lecturing or
showing off how much you know.
It's actually about guidingtransformation.
You need to meet students wherethey are.
(05:37):
Your role as the teacher, coach, mentor, whatever label you
want to put on it is to meetyour students where they are.
That means understanding theirpain points, understanding their
goals and the obstaclesstanding in their way, and you
can do this in a two-stepprocess.
So you start by listening.
What questions is your audienceasking?
(05:59):
What frustrations do they sharein the Facebook groups or on
social media, or inconversations with you or in an
email, or where are you seeingthe frustrations coming through?
So really listen to thosequestions that your audience is
asking.
And then step two is to reflecton your own journey, because
chances are you've been in theseshoes before and you already
(06:20):
know what it feels like to facethose challenges personally.
So reflect back on the littlehiccups along the way that you
had, the little roadblocks.
What did you do to overcomethese?
What are the simple questionsthat might seem obvious to you
now, but when you were fiveyears back in your journey, or
even three months back, whatwere the questions that you
(06:41):
wanted to find out?
So I'll give you an example.
If your course is about socialmedia marketing, think back to
when you were struggling to growyour following.
What did you wish someone hadtold you?
What simple steps would havemade all the difference?
I like to think of it asthinking of yourself as a guide
on a trail, and you don't haveto know every single detail
(07:03):
about the wilderness that you'rein.
You just need to know the wayforward and help others navigate
the path that are following youbehind.
And as a guide, your role is toprovide clarity, so you want to
help your students see wherethey are now, where they want to
go and the steps to get there.
You want to build confidence,so you want to encourage your
students to take action, evenwhen they feel unsure.
(07:25):
You really want to motivatethem and keep the positivity
levels up, and your role is tocelebrate progress.
You want to acknowledge yourstudents' wins along the way, no
matter how small they are.
Keep that positivity going.
So what does this look like ina course.
Well, we can use simple,actionable steps that your
students can follow withoutfeeling overwhelmed.
(07:46):
We can share relatable storiesfrom your own journey to inspire
and connect with your students,and we can create checkpoints
or milestones along the course'sway where your students can
reflect on how far they've comeduring that course.
Because what I'm about to sharewith you now is a fairly
critical mindset shift.
(08:09):
Your job isn't to cram yourstudents' heads with information
.
It's actually to help themachieve a transformation.
Information is everywhere,right, people can Google facts
or watch YouTube tutorials forfree.
But transformation, on theother hand, that is what your
students are willing to pay for.
They're begging to pay for it.
This is what they're crying outfor.
(08:30):
They need someone that is goingto take them by the hands and
show them the transformation.
Let's say you're teaching acourse on baking sourdough bread
.
Let's choose an example likethat.
You're not just teaching thescience of fermentation and I
have heard a lot about thescience of fermentation with
sourdough from friends that havetried that, have bought starter
(08:52):
kits.
But anyway, back to thesourdough bread course.
So you're not just teaching thescience of fermentation, you're
giving your students the tools,confidence and support to bake
their first loaf of bread andexperience the joy of creating
something from scratch.
That is the transformation, notthe science of fermentation.
It is the support to bake theirfirst loaf of bread and
(09:15):
experience the joy of creatingsomething from scratch.
It's the emotion behind it aswell.
Focus on what your students dowith the information, not just
the information itself.
Very passionate about that,because I think that there is a
misconception that teachersfocus on purely information, and
almost to a point ofinformation overload, and
(09:35):
teaching is not that at all.
Teaching, coaching, mentoringall of these skills that sit
underneath the same umbrella ofbeing able to impart knowledge
to others.
A good teacher, a good mentor,a good coach focuses on
transformation, and that is whatthe students will remember, not
the information.
(09:55):
Okay, so now that we'veredefined what teaching is,
let's talk about the elephant inthe room imp.
Imposter syndrome.
This is what we started theshow with.
Imposter syndrome shows up as anagging voice in your head that
says who am I to teach this?
Or what if someone asks aquestion that I can't answer?
Or what if I fail and embarrassmyself?
(10:16):
And when I started out teaching, these were the same questions
that I felt when I stepped footin the classroom for the first
time, I was so nervous I had asea of faces looking back at me
and I really had to fake it tillI made it, in terms of
confidence in my voice andcoming across as if I knew what
I was talking about.
And I did know what I wastalking about to a certain
(10:39):
extent.
But taking knowledge and beingable to impart it in a way that
others understand is totallydifferent.
It's a totally different skill,and so that imposter syndrome
showed up for me as well.
But let me tell you somethingevery great teacher, mentor or
guide has got this way as wellat some point.
All of us do so.
We want to reframe your roleinstead.
(11:01):
Imposter syndrome often comesfrom thinking that you have to
know everything, but remember,you're not trying to be the
ultimate authority.
You're simply guiding peoplethrough a transformation.
Remember, you only have to beone or two steps ahead of your
audience to be able to help themwith the transformation that
they need.
So you can ask yourself thesethree questions that these three
(11:23):
questions will help Can I helpsomeone who's a few steps behind
me, yes or no?
Can I show them what's workedfor me, yes or no?
And can I provide support andencouragement along the way, yes
or no?
If the answer is yes, thenyou're qualified to teach, my
friend, but let's take thespotlight off us as coaches,
teachers, mentors for a second,because it is about our students
(11:43):
.
You're qualified to teach, myfriend, but let's take the
spotlight off us as coaches,teachers, mentors for a second,
because it is about our students.
We want to focus on our studentsand one of the best ways to
quiet that imposter syndrome isto shift the focus away from
yourself and onto your students.
Instead of asking am I goodenough to teach this?
Ask how can I serve my audiencetoday?
Oh, love that.
(12:03):
How can I serve my audiencetoday?
Because when you focus on theimpact, you're making those
self-doubts start to feel lessimportant.
And here's a secret youraudience doesn't need you to be
perfect.
They need you to be real.
When you're honest about yourown challenges and your learning
experiences, it builds trustand makes you so much more
(12:24):
relatable.
And I'm telling you now thatword trust is going to get
bigger and bigger and bigger aswe go on in this course creation
world, because there are somany other ways that people can
access information, and we'vegot AI now, which is mimicking
human behavior, and people wantto know that they can trust you.
People want to know thatthey're interacting with someone
who's real, who's been there,who's done that, who's
(12:46):
experienced the same problemsthat they had, and so we really
want to make sure that yourvoice is authentic, and that
means showing up all your flawsas well as how perfect you are
at this particular subject thatyou're teaching.
So, if you're teaching a courseon launching an online business
, don't be afraid to share thestory of your first failed
(13:07):
launch.
Talk about what you learned andhow it shaped your approach
moving forward, becausevulnerability is an awareness,
it's a superpower that helpsyour students see what's
possible for them.
I've been in the digital courseindustry for 10 years, and when
I pivoted to start thinkingabout creating high ticket
(13:28):
offers, I had a product calledNucleus Floor Plans.
It was in a totally differentniche.
It was in the architecturaldesign market, because, funnily
enough, I've also got interiordesign under my belt.
I have done interior design,and we wanted to create a
product where we could sellbeautifully designed,
(13:49):
architecturally designed floorplans.
That came with all the bellsand whistles, all the interior
design schedules, the colorschedules, the kitchen design,
everything and we could do thisto universal measurements, so we
would have a NorthernHemisphere style measurement
system, would have a northernhemisphere style measurement
system or a southern hemispherestyle measurement system,
depending on where you are.
Anyway, I invested a lot of timeand energy and expertise and
(14:12):
infrastructure into buildingthis brand and it just didn't go
anywhere and it got to a pointwhere we had to make a decision
if we were going to continuewith it or use our time and
resources elsewhere, and Ithought you know what I'm not
feeling this, I don't have thepassion for this, that I do for
education and so that was a flop.
That was my big flop, but Ilearned so many transferable
(14:34):
skills from it.
I learned about buildinglanding pages and putting in
place behind the scenesinfrastructure and being able to
use virtual assistants and Iuse.
There were so many other skillsthat I learned from that
flopped course that I think haspropelled me forward.
So I think you can always findthe silver lining, even in the
most vulnerable of situations.
(14:54):
All right, so now that I'vedigressed and we've addressed
the mindset side of teaching,let's get practical.
Here are some actionablestrategies that you can use to
guide transformation in yourcourses.
Let's start with small wins.
One of the best ways to buildmomentum is to give your
students quick, achievable winsearly in the course.
(15:14):
This boosts your students'confidence and it keeps your
students motivated.
Achievable wins early in thecourse this boosts your students
confidence and it keeps yourstudents motivated to continue.
So, for example, if your courseis about time management, you
could start with a simpleexercise like creating a morning
routine.
It's a small step, but itcreates a sense of
accomplishment.
We also want to make itinteractive for your students.
So transformation happens whenyour students actively engage
(15:38):
with the material.
We want to look for ways tomake your course interactive, so
we want to be includingworksheets or templates that
your students can fill out.
Maybe think about hosting liveQ&A sessions where your students
can ask questions, or maybecreate challenges or assignments
that encourage your students toapply what they've learned.
Then we want to check inregularly with our students,
(16:00):
with our community.
We don't want to let ourstudents feel like they're on
their own.
We want to check in with themregularly through email updates
or course announcements or evencommunity discussions.
And here's my pro tip for thatUse these check-ins to celebrate
student progress and remindyour students of the big picture
transformation that they'reworking towards, always circle
(16:21):
back to the big picturetransformation.
We want to look at feedback,because feedback is a powerful
tool for transformation, but itneeds to be delivered in a way
that's encouraging, notdiscouraging.
We want to focus on what yourstudents are doing well and we
want to provide constructivesuggestions for improvement.
So, for example, instead ofsaying this isn't right, we
(16:42):
could try.
You're off to a great start.
Here's a tip to take it to thenext level Positivity,
positivity.
We really want to keep itpositive.
All right, okay, so we'vecovered quite a lot.
Let's wrap this up with a quickrecap.
We've covered that teachingisn't about being an expert.
It's about being a guide.
Remember, we want to be theinspiration for our audience,
(17:04):
for our students.
We want to be able to show themthe way, not tell them the way.
We want to be seen as more thanjust the teacher sitting at the
front of the classroom or theprofessor showing off as to how
much they know.
We want to really inspire thepeople that we are serving, our
students that we're serving.
We also covered how our role asteachers or coaches is to meet
(17:27):
our students where they are,show them the path forward, help
them achieve transformation.
We looked at imposter syndromeand it's normal.
It is completely normal.
We all feel like this, we'veall been there, and I don't want
you to think that it definesyour ability to teach.
It doesn't.
When we focus on our students,when we embrace our
(17:48):
vulnerability and remember youdon't need to be perfect to make
an impact, so let's start small, small steps.
We only have to be one or twosteps in front of our students
to be perfect to make an impact.
So let's start small, smallsteps.
We only have to be one or twosteps in front of our students
to be able to help them withtheir own transformations.
And then, finally, we looked atsome practical strategies, like
starting with small wins,making your course interactive
(18:08):
and providing supportivefeedback, which can really help
you guide your students towardssuccess.
And here's what I want you totake away from this episode you
don't have to know it all toteach, my friends.
You just have to care.
Care about your students, careabout their goals, care about
their transformation.
That's what makes a greatteacher and that's what makes
(18:28):
your course invaluable.
If this episode resonated withyou today, don't forget to
subscribe, leave a review andshare it with a friend who might
need a little encouragement tostart teaching.
And hey, if you're ready tocreate a course that transforms
lives, then join the waitlistfor Teaching Mastery Academy at
theclassichighschoolteachercom.
Forward slash TMA.
(18:50):
That's T for teaching, m formastery, a for academy.
Until next time, keep creating,keep serving and remember
you've got this.
Bye for now.
Hello and welcome back to Teaching Mastery Academy
.
I'm your host, rinchiska, andtoday we're tackling a big,
sticky topic that I know so manyof you are wrestling with and
I've wrestled with this myselfand it's called the imposter
syndrome.
Let me ask you this have youever thought about creating a
(00:20):
course or teaching somethingyou're passionate about, but
then that little voice insideyour head says who am I to teach
?
I'm not an expert.
Well, trust me, you're notalone.
I went through this in reverse.
I'm a teacher by trade.
I spent 10 years in theclassroom teaching teenagers,
and then I went out and Istarted creating resources,
(00:41):
worksheets for teachers globallyaround the world, but when it
came to actually looking at thedigital marketing side of things
and putting together a courseand being present, showing up on
social media, I felt like animposter.
And this imposter syndrome isso common when it comes to the
digital course creation industry, the online industry, the
(01:02):
digital marketing industry.
Anything that involves creatingand selling a course online
means that you need to have acertain level of teaching or
coaching ability, as well asmarketing, and I think that, if
we look at the teaching side ofthings for a moment, one of the
biggest misconceptions that Isee amongst entrepreneurs is the
(01:23):
idea that you need to have aPhD or years of teaching
experience or be the top expertin your field to create and sell
an incredible course.
Now here's the truth.
Teaching isn't about being anexpert.
It's not about knowingeverything or delivering
lectures from some imaginarypedestal.
(01:45):
Teaching is about guidingtransformation.
It's about meeting yourstudents where they are and
helping them to get where theywant to be.
And we can use the word teacher, or we can use the word coach,
or we can use the word mentor,or we can use the word course
creator.
Premium coaches, mentors,teachers whatever word you like
(02:06):
to use are about guiding thosetransformations and getting the
best possible outcome for ourstudents.
So by the end of this episode,you're going to shift your
mindset from I'm not a teacherto I'm a guide, and you'll walk
away with the confidence to showup as the person who can create
(02:26):
real transformation for youraudience.
Even if you don't feel like theworld's leading authority, do
not worry.
So grab a notebook, settle inand let's rewrite the way you
think about teaching.
Let's start with the elephant inthe room the myth that you need
to be an expert to teach thismyth.
We'll call it a myth is rootedin traditional ideas about
(02:48):
education.
Right, when we think ofteachers, we often imagine
someone standing at the front ofa classroom lecturing on a
subject they've mastered insideand out, and if you're not that
person, it's easy to feel likeyou're not qualified to teach.
But here is the thing onlinecourses are a completely
(03:08):
different ballgame.
Your audience isn't looking fora professor.
They're, in fact, just theopposite.
They're looking for someone whounderstands their struggles and
can show them a clear pathforward.
So being an expert doesn't meanknowing everything.
It means knowing enough to helpsomeone else take the next step
.
You only need to be a few stepsahead, and often that
(03:29):
connection being relatable andapproachable is far more
valuable to your audience thanbeing the world's leading
authority, and at TeachingMastery Academy, that's what we
focus on.
We don't focus on how to be aprofessor.
We focus on being able toensure that the content that you
want to deliver is relatable toyour audience, and you, as the
(03:51):
coach, as the mentor, areapproachable.
The engagement strategies thatyou're using opens up your
audience to you.
Think about fitness instructorsfor a moment.
Some of the most successfulones aren't Olympians or
professional athletes.
They're regular people who'veovercome their own challenges,
and now they're helping othersdo the same.
(04:11):
So think about that and applyit to your own course or your
own course idea if you haven'tyet created one.
Your audience doesn't need youto be perfect, my friend.
They need you to be human, andthe human connection outweighs
everything else when it comes todigital marketing and digital
course creation.
And here's an unexpected truthabout this Sometimes being too
(04:33):
much of an expert can actuallywork against you.
When you're miles ahead of youraudience, for example, it can be
hard to relate to theirstruggles.
You might skip overfoundational steps because they
seem really obvious to you, butyou might not realize that your
students are actually quiteoverwhelmed or even lost, and
what they need instead issomeone who understands their
(04:55):
starting point and can breakthings down in a way that feels
achievable for them.
Once again, teaching MasteryAcademy, that's what we show you
how to do with your own courses, how to read the room, in other
words, how to understand youraudience's needs and how to
deliver information to them in away that they'll understand and
be able to process it, becausethat, in turn, leads to trust.
They will trust you, they willcomplete the course, they'll go
(05:17):
on and buy your second and yourthird course, and so on.
So hopefully I have busted thatexpert myth for you.
Now let's talk about whatteaching is really about.
And a spoiler alert with thisone, it's not about lecturing or
showing off how much you know.
It's actually about guidingtransformation.
You need to meet students wherethey are.
(05:37):
Your role as the teacher, coach, mentor, whatever label you
want to put on it is to meetyour students where they are.
That means understanding theirpain points, understanding their
goals and the obstaclesstanding in their way, and you
can do this in a two-stepprocess.
So you start by listening.
What questions is your audienceasking?
(05:59):
What frustrations do they sharein the Facebook groups or on
social media, or inconversations with you or in an
email, or where are you seeingthe frustrations coming through?
So really listen to thosequestions that your audience is
asking.
And then step two is to reflecton your own journey, because
chances are you've been in theseshoes before and you already
(06:20):
know what it feels like to facethose challenges personally.
So reflect back on the littlehiccups along the way that you
had, the little roadblocks.
What did you do to overcomethese?
What are the simple questionsthat might seem obvious to you
now, but when you were fiveyears back in your journey, or
even three months back, whatwere the questions that you
(06:41):
wanted to find out?
So I'll give you an example.
If your course is about socialmedia marketing, think back to
when you were struggling to growyour following.
What did you wish someone hadtold you?
What simple steps would havemade all the difference?
I like to think of it asthinking of yourself as a guide
on a trail, and you don't haveto know every single detail
(07:03):
about the wilderness that you'rein.
You just need to know the wayforward and help others navigate
the path that are following youbehind.
And as a guide, your role is toprovide clarity, so you want to
help your students see wherethey are now, where they want to
go and the steps to get there.
You want to build confidence,so you want to encourage your
students to take action, evenwhen they feel unsure.
(07:25):
You really want to motivatethem and keep the positivity
levels up, and your role is tocelebrate progress.
You want to acknowledge yourstudents' wins along the way, no
matter how small they are.
Keep that positivity going.
So what does this look like ina course.
Well, we can use simple,actionable steps that your
students can follow withoutfeeling overwhelmed.
(07:46):
We can share relatable storiesfrom your own journey to inspire
and connect with your students,and we can create checkpoints
or milestones along the course'sway where your students can
reflect on how far they've comeduring that course.
Because what I'm about to sharewith you now is a fairly
critical mindset shift.
(08:09):
Your job isn't to cram yourstudents' heads with information
.
It's actually to help themachieve a transformation.
Information is everywhere,right, people can Google facts
or watch YouTube tutorials forfree.
But transformation, on theother hand, that is what your
students are willing to pay for.
They're begging to pay for it.
This is what they're crying outfor.
(08:30):
They need someone that is goingto take them by the hands and
show them the transformation.
Let's say you're teaching acourse on baking sourdough bread
.
Let's choose an example likethat.
You're not just teaching thescience of fermentation and I
have heard a lot about thescience of fermentation with
sourdough from friends that havetried that, have bought starter
(08:52):
kits.
But anyway, back to thesourdough bread course.
So you're not just teaching thescience of fermentation, you're
giving your students the tools,confidence and support to bake
their first loaf of bread andexperience the joy of creating
something from scratch.
That is the transformation, notthe science of fermentation.
It is the support to bake theirfirst loaf of bread and
(09:15):
experience the joy of creatingsomething from scratch.
It's the emotion behind it aswell.
Focus on what your students dowith the information, not just
the information itself.
Very passionate about that,because I think that there is a
misconception that teachersfocus on purely information, and
almost to a point ofinformation overload, and
(09:35):
teaching is not that at all.
Teaching, coaching, mentoringall of these skills that sit
underneath the same umbrella ofbeing able to impart knowledge
to others.
A good teacher, a good mentor,a good coach focuses on
transformation, and that is whatthe students will remember, not
the information.
(09:55):
Okay, so now that we'veredefined what teaching is,
let's talk about the elephant inthe room imp.
Imposter syndrome.
This is what we started theshow with.
Imposter syndrome shows up as anagging voice in your head that
says who am I to teach this?
Or what if someone asks aquestion that I can't answer?
Or what if I fail and embarrassmyself?
(10:16):
And when I started out teaching, these were the same questions
that I felt when I stepped footin the classroom for the first
time, I was so nervous I had asea of faces looking back at me
and I really had to fake it tillI made it, in terms of
confidence in my voice andcoming across as if I knew what
I was talking about.
And I did know what I wastalking about to a certain
(10:39):
extent.
But taking knowledge and beingable to impart it in a way that
others understand is totallydifferent.
It's a totally different skill,and so that imposter syndrome
showed up for me as well.
But let me tell you somethingevery great teacher, mentor or
guide has got this way as wellat some point.
All of us do so.
We want to reframe your roleinstead.
(11:01):
Imposter syndrome often comesfrom thinking that you have to
know everything, but remember,you're not trying to be the
ultimate authority.
You're simply guiding peoplethrough a transformation.
Remember, you only have to beone or two steps ahead of your
audience to be able to help themwith the transformation that
they need.
So you can ask yourself thesethree questions that these three
(11:23):
questions will help Can I helpsomeone who's a few steps behind
me, yes or no?
Can I show them what's workedfor me, yes or no?
And can I provide support andencouragement along the way, yes
or no?
If the answer is yes, thenyou're qualified to teach, my
friend, but let's take thespotlight off us as coaches,
teachers, mentors for a second,because it is about our students
(11:43):
.
You're qualified to teach, myfriend, but let's take the
spotlight off us as coaches,teachers, mentors for a second,
because it is about our students.
We want to focus on our studentsand one of the best ways to
quiet that imposter syndrome isto shift the focus away from
yourself and onto your students.
Instead of asking am I goodenough to teach this?
Ask how can I serve my audiencetoday?
Oh, love that.
(12:03):
How can I serve my audiencetoday?
Because when you focus on theimpact, you're making those
self-doubts start to feel lessimportant.
And here's a secret youraudience doesn't need you to be
perfect.
They need you to be real.
When you're honest about yourown challenges and your learning
experiences, it builds trustand makes you so much more
(12:24):
relatable.
And I'm telling you now thatword trust is going to get
bigger and bigger and bigger aswe go on in this course creation
world, because there are somany other ways that people can
access information, and we'vegot AI now, which is mimicking
human behavior, and people wantto know that they can trust you.
People want to know thatthey're interacting with someone
who's real, who's been there,who's done that, who's
(12:46):
experienced the same problemsthat they had, and so we really
want to make sure that yourvoice is authentic, and that
means showing up all your flawsas well as how perfect you are
at this particular subject thatyou're teaching.
So, if you're teaching a courseon launching an online business
, don't be afraid to share thestory of your first failed
(13:07):
launch.
Talk about what you learned andhow it shaped your approach
moving forward, becausevulnerability is an awareness,
it's a superpower that helpsyour students see what's
possible for them.
I've been in the digital courseindustry for 10 years, and when
I pivoted to start thinkingabout creating high ticket
(13:28):
offers, I had a product calledNucleus Floor Plans.
It was in a totally differentniche.
It was in the architecturaldesign market, because, funnily
enough, I've also got interiordesign under my belt.
I have done interior design,and we wanted to create a
product where we could sellbeautifully designed,
(13:49):
architecturally designed floorplans.
That came with all the bellsand whistles, all the interior
design schedules, the colorschedules, the kitchen design,
everything and we could do thisto universal measurements, so we
would have a NorthernHemisphere style measurement
system, would have a northernhemisphere style measurement
system or a southern hemispherestyle measurement system,
depending on where you are.
Anyway, I invested a lot of timeand energy and expertise and
(14:12):
infrastructure into buildingthis brand and it just didn't go
anywhere and it got to a pointwhere we had to make a decision
if we were going to continuewith it or use our time and
resources elsewhere, and Ithought you know what I'm not
feeling this, I don't have thepassion for this, that I do for
education and so that was a flop.
That was my big flop, but Ilearned so many transferable
(14:34):
skills from it.
I learned about buildinglanding pages and putting in
place behind the scenesinfrastructure and being able to
use virtual assistants and Iuse.
There were so many other skillsthat I learned from that
flopped course that I think haspropelled me forward.
So I think you can always findthe silver lining, even in the
most vulnerable of situations.
(14:54):
All right, so now that I'vedigressed and we've addressed
the mindset side of teaching,let's get practical.
Here are some actionablestrategies that you can use to
guide transformation in yourcourses.
Let's start with small wins.
One of the best ways to buildmomentum is to give your
students quick, achievable winsearly in the course.
(15:14):
This boosts your students'confidence and it keeps your
students motivated.
Achievable wins early in thecourse this boosts your students
confidence and it keeps yourstudents motivated to continue.
So, for example, if your courseis about time management, you
could start with a simpleexercise like creating a morning
routine.
It's a small step, but itcreates a sense of
accomplishment.
We also want to make itinteractive for your students.
So transformation happens whenyour students actively engage
(15:38):
with the material.
We want to look for ways tomake your course interactive, so
we want to be includingworksheets or templates that
your students can fill out.
Maybe think about hosting liveQ&A sessions where your students
can ask questions, or maybecreate challenges or assignments
that encourage your students toapply what they've learned.
Then we want to check inregularly with our students,
(16:00):
with our community.
We don't want to let ourstudents feel like they're on
their own.
We want to check in with themregularly through email updates
or course announcements or evencommunity discussions.
And here's my pro tip for thatUse these check-ins to celebrate
student progress and remindyour students of the big picture
transformation that they'reworking towards, always circle
(16:21):
back to the big picturetransformation.
We want to look at feedback,because feedback is a powerful
tool for transformation, but itneeds to be delivered in a way
that's encouraging, notdiscouraging.
We want to focus on what yourstudents are doing well and we
want to provide constructivesuggestions for improvement.
So, for example, instead ofsaying this isn't right, we
(16:42):
could try.
You're off to a great start.
Here's a tip to take it to thenext level Positivity,
positivity.
We really want to keep itpositive.
All right, okay, so we'vecovered quite a lot.
Let's wrap this up with a quickrecap.
We've covered that teachingisn't about being an expert.
It's about being a guide.
Remember, we want to be theinspiration for our audience,
(17:04):
for our students.
We want to be able to show themthe way, not tell them the way.
We want to be seen as more thanjust the teacher sitting at the
front of the classroom or theprofessor showing off as to how
much they know.
We want to really inspire thepeople that we are serving, our
students that we're serving.
We also covered how our role asteachers or coaches is to meet
(17:27):
our students where they are,show them the path forward, help
them achieve transformation.
We looked at imposter syndromeand it's normal.
It is completely normal.
We all feel like this, we'veall been there, and I don't want
you to think that it definesyour ability to teach.
It doesn't.
When we focus on our students,when we embrace our
(17:48):
vulnerability and remember youdon't need to be perfect to make
an impact, so let's start small, small steps.
We only have to be one or twosteps in front of our students
to be perfect to make an impact.
So let's start small, smallsteps.
We only have to be one or twosteps in front of our students
to be able to help them withtheir own transformations.
And then, finally, we looked atsome practical strategies, like
starting with small wins,making your course interactive
(18:08):
and providing supportivefeedback, which can really help
you guide your students towardssuccess.
And here's what I want you totake away from this episode you
don't have to know it all toteach, my friends.
You just have to care.
Care about your students, careabout their goals, care about
their transformation.
That's what makes a greatteacher and that's what makes
(18:28):
your course invaluable.
If this episode resonated withyou today, don't forget to
subscribe, leave a review andshare it with a friend who might
need a little encouragement tostart teaching.
And hey, if you're ready tocreate a course that transforms
lives, then join the waitlistfor Teaching Mastery Academy at
theclassichighschoolteachercom.
Forward slash TMA.
(18:50):
That's T for teaching, m formastery, a for academy.
Until next time, keep creating,keep serving and remember
you've got this.
Bye for now.
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