Academic Coaching with NLP for Higher Education
(including Academic Skills Tutoring for undergraduate and postgraduate students)

Freephone 0800 619 00 60

 

Are you a student about to be tutored in academic skills for Higher Education? Why limit yourself? Academic coaching offers so much more than traditional academic skills tutoring alone can do. Whatever the subject area of your academic endeavour, academic coaching can help you achieve your full academic potential, raising your abilities and grades to higher levels than you have perhaps previously believed possible. Moreover, when delivered in combination with powerful taught techniques of creative visualisation using NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) in order to harnish the immense power of your subconscious mind, the resulting resourceful states, positive focus and boosted confidence can dramatically increase the odds that your academic hopes and dreams will turn into winning realities. Read on, and all will be explained.

 

 

What is Academic Coaching?

 

It is important to answer this question by firstly explaining what it is not. Most people tend to think of 'academic coaching' as synonymous with 'academic skills tutoring', but the latter is only a component of the former. Academic coaching is far more holistic in its approach to academic excellence, looking at the whole picture of what will create academic success rather than just the obvious aspects of classroom, assignment  and exam skills. Contrary to popular belief the terms ‘mentoring’, ‘teaching’ and ‘training' are a world apart from the term 'coaching'. Such misconceptions have arisen by the traditional idea of the ‘sports coach’ who not only cajoles and motivates his pupils, but also teaches, trains or mentors them in their given field of sporting endeavour. However, while many sports coaches may perform a certain amount of ‘traditional coaching’ in combination with imparting their specialist knowledge, pure coaching, in the strictest sense of the word, does not require the coach to know anything whatsoever about the subject being coached, regardless of the subject of study. In fact, it can sometimes be a positive advantage for the coach to be unfamiliar with the subject of the coaching sessions. So why is this?

If you doubt the logic or good sense of this then ask yourself why any Wimbledon tennis champion would ever bother to have a coach when clearly the coach could never play tennis remotely as well as their tennis champion coachee. And yet Wimbeldon tennis champions still have coaches when they are at the top of their game. Such sports coaches often teach, but they also coach, which is an entirely different matter, and almost the antithesis of dispensing advice or knowledge. Whereas mentoring, teaching and training involve the imparting of a lot of information and advice, in its purest form, coaching is a rather clever and highly structured process of deep questioning which is designed to bring out the very best in the person being coached, but from within. With permission, advice can be given, but only as a last resort in the event that the coachee runs dry of creative input. The reason why it is essential to not leap in with advice, however well-meaning, is that people generally have their own answers locked away in their subconscious minds, just waiting to be released. The answers produced by the student coachee will, for them, almost always be better, more relevant, more tailored to their specific needs, and easier to take ownership of than if they had received the same or similar wisdom via ateacher, trainer or mentor.

Using tried and trusted coaching models (such as the G.R.O.W. model), coaching methodology is designed to get the coachee to take an objective look in the mirror and to use their own expertise and experience to come up with their own best ideas, solutions, goals and action plans. The style of pure coaching questions are sometimes very ‘left of field’, being deliberately designed to elicit answers from the far more intelligent and creative subconscious parts of the brain, rather than just relying on the significantly weaker, less cooperative, and functionally-divided conscious parts of the mind (often diametrically opposed left and right brain functions of logical and critical faculties versus emotional functions and creative imagination). The coach then helps the student set their own task lists and reviews action points and progress on a mutually agreed basis.

That said, professional coaching for academic purposes very much complements more traditional academic skills tutoring, which I also offer as an important component of my academic coaching services. To make the distinction clearer, academic skills tutoring is all about developing the student's skills in the practical tasks of successfully completing and passing assignments and exams. This can cover a range of essential skills in such areas as research, speed reading, note-taking, essay writing, critical analysis of information, critical debate, bibliographies, citation, memory techniques, exam techniques, and so forth. On the other hand, academic coaching is all about addressing the complete set of issues that will typically affect academic performance and formulating an action plan to tackle these issues on all fronts. This can include, for example, finding one's own ideal academic mindset through honing attitudes and actions in time management, planning, goal setting, progress monitoring, student lifestyle and management of one's study environment. Moreover, academic coaching includes the vital task of developing constructive learning responses to tutor and examiner feedback of marked assignments and projects, for which learning from one's mistakes (while building upon one's strengths) helps to secure higher grades with subsequent academic submissions. By addressing such matters of scholarship holistically (i.e. treating the whole)  and applying yourself in a pro-active process of ongoing progression and self-improvement, the cumulative positive effects towards your final grades should be substantial.

 

How is NLP used in Coaching?

 

NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) is a set of ‘mind tools’, which can be accessed via the five senses (sight, hearing, feeling, taste and smell), engaging your mind, your language (both verbal and non-verbal), and your behavioural thought patterns. NLP can be used to conjure up powerful creative visualisations that tap into the enormous latent power of your subconscious mind. The best moments of your life so far are recalled and physically ‘anchored’ to build confidence, self-esteem, happiness, positive focus, motivation to action, and so forth. The feelings associated with these great memories are then enhanced before engaging in a process of ‘future pacing’ in order that you can quite literally re-write an action-oriented winning version of your own ‘future history’. These techniques are now much-emulated the world over by winners from all walks of life, from business people to sportsmen and sportswomen, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students of all types. Moreover, Ace Brains Consultancy can even enhance such potent ‘future pacing’ in NLP coaching by the power of hypnosis and self-hypnosis, which can be taught to students for purposes ranging from stress management to positive motivation. NLP also facilitates a greater understanding and awareness of inter-personal communication, which can be just as useful in business and academic environments as it can be in therapeutic fields.

 

What do I know about Higher Education?

 

Plenty! As someone who has spent no less than 11 years (full and part-time) doing no less than six higher education qualifications, including my achievement of a first-class BA Honours degree and two distinction-grade Master of Arts degrees, I have certainly proved beyond all doubt that I know how to ‘tick the boxes’ of markers and examiners. And that is despite the fact that I was never a 'class swot' and never regarded myself as any kind of academic genius. I was just an 'ordinary Joe' who worked hard while developing a winning strategy of 'working smart' to shift low grades and mediocre grades up to the very highest grades. I am therefore in a really good position to be able to show ordinary people how to achieve their full academic potential because my achievement of three distinction-grade degrees was no fluke - it was a matter of application, positive determination and great professional attitude, a formula that can be replicated across any academic discipline at any level of scholarship. I am also in a much better position that most academic skills tutors to help you achieve excellent results because I also bring to the table my qualifications in counselling, hypnotherapy and NLP professional coaching along with a diverse range of academic knowledge and experience, ranging from Business Studies to Complementary Health, and from Humanities to Musicology.

 

If I can do it, anyone can! From abject failure to massive success!

 

In 2004, the Open University awarded me their ‘top international student award for music’ just before I achieved my MA in Music with distinction in 2005. However, believe it or not, music is a subject for which, as a 14-year old grammar school pupil, I received a dismal grade ‘E’ for my end of third year exam before I dropped it from GCE ‘O’ level choices. Similarly, my cultural history-based Humanities MA with distinction, achieved in 2006, was preceded by a grade ‘D’ for history in the same set of end of third year grammar school exams before I also dropped history from GCE ‘O’ level choices.

It’s true and I can prove it … I went from pre-‘O’ level ‘D’ and ‘E’-grade exam failures to a first-class honours degree and two MAs with distinctions in the very same subjects. So believe me when I tell you that if I can do it, anyone can do it. And I can show you how.

 

Exam Techniques & Memory Techniques

 

Do you worry about exams? I can help. There are various tried and trusted ways of improving your exam performance. Chief among these are a number of powerful memory techniques that can transform your ability to regurgitate names, dates, facts and figures, leaving the rest of your brain free to concentrate on the power of your arguments and the quality of your answers.

 

Exam Nerves

 

As a qualified clinical hypnotherapist, I can also give you support if your student nerves are likely to jangle too much in a way that would interfere with your exam performance. I can teach you self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques that ensure you keep your emotions in check along with a clear head filled with confidence.

Some of the most popular coaching services are listed on my A-Z checklist of NLP coaching services. But whatever your academic discipline, if you would like to know more about Coaching for Higher Education using NLP then call me today for a FREE and CONFIDENTIAL telephone consultation on FREEPHONE 0800 619 00 60. I will be very pleased to hear from you, and will endeavour to answer whatever questions you may have.