Season 3, Episode 1: How do I feel ready before I walk in to teach?

Tania Huddart: Think back. Did you ever have a teacher who put you to sleep? The one where you watched the clock the whole class? I'd bet you're a good deal better than that. The fact that you worry about it at all tells me something. You care about your clients. And you care about getting better.

Host: Welcome to Build Confidence and Purpose with Pilates. I'm here with Tania Huddart: Pilates teacher, teacher trainer and author of Teach Pilates with Confidence and Pilates & Purpose. Both voices you'll hear are made with AI. Every word Tania says is her own, and she's approved each one.

Last season was about the teaching itself. This season, each episode starts from one of Tania's Journal articles, for the people who teach and run studios. And we're starting with the ten minutes before class. How do I feel ready before I walk in to teach?

Tania Huddart: Start with what you're good at. Not with what you're worried about.

Host: That's not where most of us start. Most of us start with the worry.

Tania Huddart: I know. And I understand why. Nerves before class don't go away completely, and that's fine. But if you only look at the gaps, the gaps are all you'll see.

Every teacher brings strengths into a class. Every teacher has weaker areas to work on, too. Both are true for everyone. So build your confidence on the first part. Sit down and write a list of your strengths. What are you good at? What makes you you, as a teacher?

Then look for what makes you distinctive. Maybe you're good with nervous beginners. Maybe you can explain anatomy so it makes sense to anyone. Maybe people laugh in your classes. That's not nothing. That's your way in.

Host: And if the list is very short?

Tania Huddart: Then ask someone else to write one. Ask another teacher to list the strengths they see in you. It's a little embarrassing to ask. Ask anyway. Their list is usually longer than your own.

Then keep both lists. Read them before class. You don't have to be every kind of teacher. Be the one you already are, and get a little better each week.

Host: Why is that, do you think?

Tania Huddart: Because you're too close to it. The things you do well feel ordinary to you. You don't notice them, because they're easy. Someone watching you teach notices straight away. They see the warm way you greet people. Or the calm voice. Or how you spotted the person who was struggling in the back row. Those are strengths. You just don't call them that.

Host: And the teacher who put you to sleep. Why bring them up?

Tania Huddart: Because it gives you a bit of perspective. We've all had one. The class that dragged. The teacher who didn't seem to notice anyone was in the room. You still remember how that felt.

And notice what that teacher didn't do. They didn't look at anyone. They didn't explain why. They didn't ask how it felt. You already do those things, or you wouldn't be worried.

Now, the fact that you're listening to this at all tells me you're not that teacher. You care about the people in front of you. You want to get better. A teacher who doesn't care doesn't lie awake wondering how class went. So you're already ahead. You just need to believe it a little more.

Host: What about the days when it all feels like too much? A new class, new faces, a plan you're not sure of.

Tania Huddart: Then break it into pieces. Pieces you can manage. You don't have to face the whole class at once. You only have to face the next exercise.

So think about the exercises you've planned. Take them one at a time. And ask yourself, can I link this to something people do every day? If they can see why an exercise matters, they'll care about it. And you'll feel more sure of it, too.

Host: Can you give an example?

Tania Huddart: Getting out of a chair. Everyone does it, many times a day. If you teach people to hinge at the hips, you can show them how that gets them out of a chair without loading their back. Or the side-lying leg work, like Sidekick. That's climbing stairs. That's walking. When you say that out loud in class, people sit up. Suddenly it's not just an exercise. It's their life.

Host: So the focus moves off you, and onto what they want.

Tania Huddart: Yes. Focus on helping your clients reach their movement goals. When they get there, your confidence goes up with theirs. You've helped someone move better. You've helped them make better choices for their body. When your clients succeed, so do you.

Host: How do you make sure you notice when they succeed? It's easy to miss.

Tania Huddart: It is easy to miss. So celebrate it out loud. And be specific. "Good" doesn't tell anyone much. Tell them what was good. Say what changed. "Your knees stayed in line with your hips that time." Now they know what to do again. Specific praise teaches. General encouragement just fills the air.

And here's one I love. At the end of a block of classes, go back through everything they've learned. Remind them of the exercise they used to struggle with. "Remember week one? You couldn't roll up at all. Look at you now." They'd forgotten. Most people do. And when you remind them, you see their faces change. It doesn't need to be a big speech. A few minutes at the end of the last class is enough.

That builds their confidence. And it builds yours. You've just reminded yourself of everything you helped them do. That's real evidence, and you made it together.

Host: Let's come back to those ten minutes before class. Is there anything practical you'd do in that time?

Tania Huddart: Cheer yourself on. I mean that. Write some positive statements about your teaching. Short ones. True ones. Put them somewhere you'll see them. On the mirror. In your bag. On your phone. Something like, "I explain things clearly." Or, "People leave my class moving better than when they came in." Keep them true. You're not pretending. You're reminding yourself.

And before you teach, say them out loud. It puts you in the right frame of mind.

Host: Out loud? Some people will find that hard.

Tania Huddart: Some people will feel very silly. That's fine. Feel silly, and say them anyway. Then, at the end of class, do the other half. Note what you did well. Not what went wrong. What you did well. Celebrate the wins, however small. A cue that landed. A client who laughed. It all counts.

Host: And if none of that works? If you still walk in shaking?

Tania Huddart: Then you walk in shaking, and you teach. Because that's the honest answer. The best way to build confidence is to teach. There's no way around that first step. The first class is the hardest one you'll ever teach. The second is a little easier. The more you teach, the more confident you become. No book, no course and no amount of planning can give you that. You get it in the room, with real people, one class at a time.

And when something doesn't work, and it won't always, you learn from it. You sort it out next time. That's the job. And it's what keeps it interesting. If you knew everything already, you'd be bored.

Host: Why does any of this matter so much? Some people would say confidence is a nice extra.

Tania Huddart: It's not an extra. Two reasons. The first is money. A business has to earn. There's nothing shameful in that. The more confident you are, the better you communicate. The better you communicate, the better you help people solve their problems. And when they get there with your help, they tell other people. That's how a teacher gets busy.

The second reason is the good it does. You're helping people. You're making a difference to their lives. And when someone asks me what I do for a living, I can say, "I change people's lives." That's an extraordinary feeling. I want every teacher to have it.

Host: So, three things to take away?

Tania Huddart: One. Start with your strengths. Write them down, and then ask another teacher to write their list. It'll be longer than yours.

Two. Make it smaller. Link each exercise to everyday life, and keep your attention on what your clients want to achieve. When they succeed, so do you.

Three. Cheer yourself on before class, note what went well after it, and keep teaching. Only teaching gives you experience.

Host: And a question to sit with?

Tania Huddart: What are you good at? Not what you're working on. What you're good at. Write it down this week, and then ask someone who's watched you teach.

Host: You'll find Tania's article, Six tips to build your confidence before you teach, in the Journal at taniahuddart.com. And if you'd like to go further, building a teacher's confidence is what Teach Pilates with Confidence is about.

Next episode, the worry that follows us into the room. How do I stop worrying about how I'm coming across?

Tania, last word?

Tania Huddart: You're better than you think. You care, and that's where good teaching starts. So go in, teach, and notice what you did well. Then do it again.