Market yourself through adult education teaching
by Cathy Goodwin, PhD
How can you gain credibility and exposure for you and your
business, reach a motivated audience, develop a far-flung network,
hone your presentation skills -- and get paid to do it? Many
executives and entrepreneurs have found an answer: they teach
classes in adult education programs.
Adult education is big business. In the new century, "change"
is a hot topic and learning is no longer confined to traditional
degree programs. As people want to grow their careers and enrich
their lives, specialized programs have emerged to reach this
market.
Some teaching venues require at least a master's degree. Others
allow you to share your unique skills, from designing brochures
to tarot reading. Temple University's continuing education program
has offered a half-day class taught by a cleaning lady. The subject?
Speed cleaning.
Continuing Educaiton Can be Anywhere
If a target market exists for your business or if you have
knowledge that people can use on the job, chances are a target
market exists for you in the world of adult education. By entering
this world, you can demonstrate your skills to a receptive audience,
meet some terrific people, learn more than you expected and even
have some fun.
Teaching requires more than a good speaking voice and a
knowledge-filled brain. Every minute you are in the classroom,
you are marketing yourself to your students. You must keep students
involved for up to eight hours.
Since the average adult attention span is about fifteen minutes,
you have to design exercises, activities and questions. You have
to deal with the unexpected. Students will arrive late, ask off-the-wall
questions and challenge your expertise. Occasionally, students
will be rude, insulting or even abusive.
Most people who teach find themselves exhausted after even
a short class, yet also exhilarated. Teaching can be a high when
everything goes well. The secret of successful part-time teaching
is to identify your purpose in teaching and fine-tune your skills
to your target market.
You want to reach students who are also potential customers.
If a school features astrology and visualization, your course
on finding the lowest mortgage rate won't fit, unless you suggest
that people consult the stars to meet their financial goals.
People who have added teaching to their promotional toolkit
report finding success and fun along the way. One public relations
consultant gets forty percent of her clients from adult education
classes. Another builds skills to help develop his core business.
The opportunities are available to almost anyone, anywhere.
Cathy has written a book about adult ed teaching.
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Cathy Goodwin, Ph.D. is an author, career coach, and speaker.
She can help you rebuild, renovate and revitalize your career.
Visit her site http://www.movinglady.com or call 505-534-4294.
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