Non-digital ways of connecting with students and building community
IRL strategies for caring for your students
I don’t need to tell you that an online presence is helpful when you are growing your yoga teaching audience. There are a million and a half different articles and videos and podcasts telling you the best ways to do all of this. And they will all contradict each other. It’s maddening.
But what if I told you there are other ways of building a community around your classes by “marketing” yourself in person? Although much of this info is about authentically connecting with your students, I consider it in the realm of marketing because it does the job of building your class numbers.
I know you spend a lot of time preparing for classes and honing your craft, and when only one person shows up, it feels disappointing. Womp womp. Every single yoga teacher I know has taught a group class to an audience of one at some point. It can be uncomfortable because you didn’t plan the class as a private lesson, nor did the person attending expect it. It’s just a fact about the biz, but don’t let it get you down.
The best methods are both authentic and strategic. Some of these came naturally to me, as I am genuinely interested in the people that attend, but I am also using them to include them in my classes from the get-go.
I can already tell that this is going to be a multipart series. These tips are around the soft skills of caring for your students as individuals. These tips are about helping your students been seen.
Learn your students’ names.
My friends, this is a non-negotiable. But… I’m bad with names! I don’t care. Get better at it. This is a muscle and you need to learn to build it.
The easiest way to learn is to check people into class. You will have a multiple choice pop quiz every time you teach. You can’t pretend you already know their name; you have to be honest when you don’t know it so that you can check them in. I usually say something like, “I know we’ve met before. Remind me of your name?”
This shows you remember them in class. I think this gives them a sense that you care and noticed them.
If you are teaching somewhere that has front desk staff, you have to be a little more creative. Ask the students when you meet them, of course, and do your best to repeat the name sometime that first day. Do the reverse of what your brain says (Don’t mess it up! Present yourself well!). I don’t care if I sound awkward saying my name, because I’m thinking about the other person’s name, and trying to associate it with them.
You can also do a little name sleuthing if you forget. Ask the front desk staff as this person walks by, or check the class list and see if you can figure out which name it is. As another student to repeat it. Or just ask the person to repeat their name. It shows them you cared enough to ask again.
Last tip to learning students’ names is to learn something about the student. This goes into my next point.
Learn your students’ stories.
It will help 1000x to know your students’ names by learning something about them. I am very interested in astrology, and I think it can bring up a lot of interesting conversation about the students’ lives, so a lot of times I ask them what their sun, moon and rising signs are, or at least their “sign” if they have no idea what I am talking about.
This will stick in my head along with their name. For some reason, I can remember Jane is an Aries Rising, Leo Sun and chat to them about what makes sense from what I know abut them.
I also ask about pets (and love to see their photos, please show me your fur babies), know who has kids and approximately what age, maybe what their jobs are (I don’t usually lead with this), where they are going for vacation, or what they did on the weekend. I know about when they broke their arm as a kid, what their hobbies are, what recent concerts they’ve been to, what’s on TV and if they saw the latest weird thing on the internet.
My favorite recent question after my afternoon classes is, “what’s for dinner?” It prompts all kinds of responses and maybe a conversation about a fave new recipe.
I want to chat, so this works well for me. But, people who do yoga are honestly some of the most interesting people. Why wouldn’t they be? You already have something in common.
From my personal experience, when the teacher has taken the time to know me, I feel more connected to their classes. I think part of the reason we go to community classes is to be seen. So, see them.
Learn their stories. Don’t be afraid to ask. I’ve developed genuine friendships with student regulars this way. The whole freakin’ point is building community. Get curious.
Encourage your students to know each other.
Because I’m a front-desk chatter, that usually means I’m mid-conversation with someone when another student walks in. I stop to greet the next person, and then also draw them into the conversation (as long as it’s not a personal subject, of course). Something like, “welcome! Oh hey, we were just talking about how are cats are assholes in XYZ way.”
I am now inviting that person into rather than making them negotiate their entrance around an existing conversation. Then, the students are talking to each other. If I can manage, I also say these student’s names to each other so they start to recognize who goes to class at the same time they do.
There are definitely students who are less chatty, and that’s good, too! I just want to know that they are included.
If I notice two students near each other (before/after class), that have a commonality, I will sometimes point this out to them. “Hey, [first person], you should meet [second person]! They also are an artist.”
Sometimes after class, I encourage students to say hi to someone around them. I might add a little prompt just to make it fun, like, “on your way out, introduce yourself to someone you don’t know and tell them your latest pet peeve.” I usually try to do something topical or silly with a low demand. It’s not an ice breaker if it’s a fun question to answer. 😉 It’s not always, but especially in big classes, I’ll do this.
In conclusion
These skills are similar to playing host at a gathering or party. Because you are the leader of the class, you will set the tone equally to how the crowd sets the tone. If you welcome people in the way that only you can, you will build your community.
The most essential advice I can give to building community is to see your students.
We build community by seeing each other in our wholeness. I imagine you went into the whole yoga teacher thing to explore your own wholeness. We come to yoga to acknowledge that deeper part of us, and that extends beyond the time on our mat.
It’s a win-win.
These tips are practical and maybe even obvious to some, but they work because of their authenticity. I think most of what holds us back from doing these things is fear. Fear of rejection by students (maybe they hate your class or don’t want to tell you anything), of embarrassment of not knowing their names, or of not knowing where to start.
Also! I don’t always have the energy to keep up all the chatting. That’s OK too! Don’t feel like every class has to be social hour. These are just skills to develop and work on over time.
Goat Yoga begins THIS WEEKEND!
Goat Yoga begins THIS SUNDAY and we’ve got tees and tanks! This is our TENTH anniversary season. There is still time to sign up for this weekend!
Here’s a preview of the dates.*
May 18: 9:30 & 11:30 AM
June 1: 9:30 & 11:30 AM
July 27: 9:30 & 11:30 AM
August 17: 9:30 & 11:30 AM
September 7 9:30 & 11:30 AM
September 28: 9:30 & 11:30 AM
*Schedule is subject to adjustments and changes because Katherine and I are humans, and not corporations.
Tickets are $26. Early reservations recommended. Reserve your spot by emailing harrisonfarm13@gmail.com for registration or with any questions. All of our Goat Yoga dates are posted on Facebook, too.
You can pick up a tank for $42 and a tee for $46 at class or online by DMing me and we’ll set you up!
Yes! I offer private sessions.
I regularly coach yoga students and teachers alike in their practice. Lately I’ve been getting increasing requests for private sessions, so I thought I’d share the basics here. I offer 60-minute private sessions for the base rate of $100 each. I offer both private yoga lessons for students of any level and yoga teacher mentorship sessions. Reply to this email with questions.