Looking After Your Voice

Looking After Your Voice Ten Tips for Taking Care of Your Voice Chapters1. Warm Up Your Voice before Singing2. Sleeping Well to Sing Better3. A Good Posture4. Exercise Regularly5. Don’t Smoke6. Rest Your Vocal Cords7. Protect Your Voice from the Cold8. Don’t Speak9. Stop Singing if Your Airways Are Inflamed10. Consult a Speech Pathologist or ENT Specialist“The only thing better than singing is more singing.” - Ella FitzgeraldWhether you’re a singing teacher or a singer performing in a show, you need to avoid vocal fatigue, sore throats, voice loss, and inflammation.  Most people will sing from time to time and it tends to be the younger generation who sing more often.Whether it’s in your car, bathroom, or around the house, lots of people enjoy singing.  Your voice is an instrument and you need to take care of it. Vocal health is hugely important for singers as damage to the vocal folds can lead to hoarseness and other vocal disorders.In this article, we’ve got 10 tips to help you look after it. TraceySinging Teacher 4.92 (13) £25/ h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors PortiaSinging Teacher 4.91 (11) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicolaSinging Teacher 5.00 (11) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JazzSinging Teacher 5.00 (6) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors PerrineSinging Teacher 5.00 (3) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors TiemSinging Teacher £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors TomSinging Teacher £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MiriamSinging Teacher 5.00 (4) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors1. Warm Up Your Voice before SingingYour vocal cords include muscle tissue and the cricothyroid muscle. The latter is used to tense your vocal cords. To sing well, you need to warm up your vocal cords. (Source: TeeFarm)Like any muscle, you need to tense it to use it and it’s recommended that you warm it up before you do so that you don’t strain it.You also need a good lung capacity and vocal endurance to get the most out of your voice.  Preparing your voice is a way to avoid vocal injury.How?Start by singing quietly and doing vocal exercises and ranges before singing more powerfully. Warming up will also help you alleviate stress and stage fright before getting on stage.After all, singing involves a good degree of physical exertion.Find out more about looking after your voice.2. Sleeping Well to Sing BetterYou mightn’t think of it, but fatigue is your voice’s worst enemy.  Sleeping well is important for your energy levels and resting your voice. Sleep also allows you to renew your voice through rest.Poor sleep can lead to feeling hoarse, inflammation, dysphonia, or even voice loss.  If you lose your voice following a viral infection, a good night's sleep can help you get better.When we sleep, we don’t use our voices. The night  is an important time for singers as it’s when your vocal cords regenerate.3. A Good PostureYou need a good posture if you want a good vocal technique and voice. Stand up straight and lift your chin to open the airways. To sing well, you need to be standing up straight, not sitting or slouching. (Source: langll)A good posture can also help you to relax. Singing while tense won’t help you get a good tone out of your voice.  You need to work on the relationship between your body and your voice.  You also need to find the optimum vocal comfort.We recommend using abdominal breathing, tensing your stomach as you breathe out and relaxing it as you breathe in.  Sing standing up with your legs straight first. Then, sing sitting down with your back straight.Then sing lying on your back.Can you see how singing while standing up is much easier?The best position for singers is as follows:Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.Unlock your knees.Ensure your pelvis is in line with your spinal column.Lower your shoulders and relax your arms with your hands apart.Tension in the body affects your vocal cords.Do your best to avoid vocal cord injury.4. Exercise RegularlyExercising comes with many benefits for the human body and limits the risk of disease.Regularly exercising can help improve your breathing. Additionally, a  singer who regularly exercises will also have more endurance.During physical exercise, you’ll consume oxygen and expel carbon dioxide as your blood provides muscles with oxygen which they use when burning energy.Healthy lungs have a higher capacity, allowing them to hold more oxygen.This means a singer won’t have as much shortness of breath when singing. TraceySinging Teacher 4.92 (13) £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors PortiaSinging Teacher 4.91 (11) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors NicolaSinging Teacher 5.00 (11) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors JazzSinging Teacher 5.00 (6) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors PerrineSinging Teacher 5.00 (3) £50/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors TiemSinging Teacher £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors TomSinging Teacher £25/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MiriamSinging Teacher 5.00 (4) £35/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors5. Don’t SmokeWe could have put this tip first since whether you’re a singer or not, you probably shouldn’t smoke.  There are plenty of illnesses that are caused by smoking including cancers and respiratory problems.There are many benefits to quitting smoking, too:Opening the airways.Reducing the risk of throat cancers.Reducing the risk of irritated vocal cords.Reducing the risk of cancer in the lymph nodes, polyps, nodules, etc.The same could be said of alcohol as well. Additionally, you should drink at least 2 litres of water per day.Here are some singing lessons that may be useful to you.6. Rest Your Vocal CordsAfter having sung a lot, such as during a concert, or spoke a lot (if you’re a teacher, for example), it’s recommended that you rest your voice. To rest your voice, you just need to stop singing or talking. (Source: MabelAmber)A speech pathologist or ENT specialist will probably recommend it, too.Hoarseness can lead to muscular tension in the abdomen and lead to disrupted breathing. It can also cause problems around the shoulders and collar bones.  This will cause you to strain your voice as you try to sing, leading to an alteration in your voice. If you regularly strain your voice, you can damage your voice.  This is why vocal timbre changes; your voice is made by vibrating vocal cords in the larynx.A loss of voice, known as aphonia, is due to a vocal cord malfunction.  Aphonia is caused by injured vocal cords. In the event of hoarseness, it’s recommended that you stop singing completely and rest your voice.Make sure you look after your voice!7. Protect Your Voice from the ColdThe changing of the seasons is harmful to your vocal cords.  This is why you should consider wearing a scarf during winter, to protect your larynx f rom the cold.You can end up with laryngitis, a sore throat, fever, or bronchitis for a few days.  While these infections are pretty harmless, they’re not ideal the night before a concert.You might want to drink some herbal tea, lemon juice, honey, or take some eucalyptus lozenges. Your doctor may suggest antibiotics if the infection is bad.8. Don’t SpeakSilence is sometimes the best solution for a bad voice.  It’s not the easiest thing to do, but you want to use your vocal cords as little as possible while they heal.You might only be able to do this on your days off, especially if you need to speak during work.  However, this is one of the quickest and easiest ways to heal your voice.9. Stop Singing if Your Airways Are InflamedDon’t think that you can take some anti-inflammatory medicine and keep singing.  If you’ve got a sore throat or laryngitis, you need to stop singing immediately.There are four main parts to your airways: the nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx, and the bro nchial tree. If you’ve any inflammation for over 7 days, you must stop singing immediately while it heals.If you keep singing, you’ll strain your voice and damage your vocal cords.Find out about singing lessons Glasgow.10. Consult a Speech Pathologist or ENT SpecialistIf you have any long-lasting problems with your voice, you should see a speech pathologist or ENT specialist. They can help diagnose any issues and have a look at your throat. In some cases, you'll need to see a medical professional. (Source: drshohmelian)Similarly, they’re the first ones to spot any grave illnesses (such as tumours, etc.).  Women are four times as likely as men to suffer from problems with their voices.  So when you sing, make sure you take care of your precious voice.If you want to work on your voice and improve your singing, you might want to consider getting a vocal coach or private tutor on Superprof. They can help you improve your singing, take care of your voice, and provide bespoke singing tuition. There are three main types of tutorials on offer and each one comes with several advantages and disadvantages.Face-to-face private tutorials are just between you and your tutor. The sessions will be tailored to you, your needs, and your strengths and weaknesses. Of course, since the tutor will be dedicating a lot of time to you and your tutorials as well as tailoring them to your needs, this type of tutorial tends to be the most costly . However, it's also the most cost-effective.Discover the best singing lessons online here.Thanks to the internet, webcams, and video conferencing software, you can also get online tutorials. Again, these tutorials are just between you and the tutor with the main difference being that you're not in the same room. With fewer travel expenses and the ability to schedule more tutorials each week, the tutor can charge a more competitive rate for these tutorials.Finally, there are group tutorials. These are more like your traditional classes with several students and one teacher. The cost of the tutor's time is shared between all the students in the class so you can expect to pay less per hour for these tutorials. Unfortunately, this means the tutor can't spend as much time focusing on you and your singing.

French Grammar Rules Distinguishing Between Imparfait and Passé Composé

French Grammar Rules Distinguishing Between Imparfait and Passé Composé Megan L. French grammar guru  Carol Beth L.  is back on the blog with this guide to the  passé composé,  the  imparfait, and when you should use each of them If youve been studying French grammar long enough, you may know that French has two different forms of the past tense: the passé composé (composed past) and the imparfait (imperfect). It is sometimes difficult for those who have just learned them to distinguish between situations that require the passé composé and situations that warrant the imparfait. There are patterns, however, that can help you tell when to use each one. Generally speaking, the passé composé is used for things that happened only once in the past, and that happened at a specific time, not over a duration of time. If you want to talk about the one and only French lesson last happened last Thursday, for example, then you doubly know that you should use the passé composé. It happened at a specific point time (last Thursday), and there was only one such lesson on that particular Thursday. So you might say: Jai eu mon cours de francais jeudi dernier. I had my French class last Thursday. If your teacher asks you if you did your homework, then you probably also both know which homework that was, and either youve done it or not. If you did do it, you hopefully only had to do it once. So if youve done it, youd probably say: Oui, jai fait mes devoirs. Les voici! Yes, I did my homework. Here it is! A side note in this example: “devoirs,” or homework, is plural in French while the English version is singular. As a result, even though it may seem odd to us English-speakers, it is correct to use the plural possessive pronoun “mes” and the plural object pronoun (and under some other circumstances plural article) “les.” Or, you might hear your less diligent doppleganger say: Euh, alors, mon chien a mangé mes devoirs. Ahhh, well, my dog ate my homework. The imparfait, on the other hand, is usually used under different circumstances. The first common situation is a repeated action in the past. Au lycée, je faisais mes devoirs tous les jours. In high school, I did my homework every day. Aux années soixante, il visitait la France tous les ans. During the 60s, he visited France every year. The second common situation is when one enduring event or action is happening, and something else happens during the first one. In this case, the surrounding, more long-term event takes the imparfait, and the interrupting event takes the passé composé. In this sort of situation, the event that is conjugated using the imparfait might under other circumstances require the passé composé â€" sometimes even in an adjacent sentence. Mais cest vrai, jai fait mes devoirs hier soir. Pendant que je faisais mes devoirs, mon chat a sauté sur la table et a marche sur mon travail. But its true, I did my homework last night. While I was doing my homework, my cat jumped on the table and walked on my work. Pendant que nous dinions, ma mere a appelé. While we were eating dinner, my mother called. Lets look at a few examples and see if you can tell whether to use the imperfect tense or the passé composé. 1) Lannée dernière, je (j) __________________ (visiter) la France. Last year, I visited France. 2) Pendant que je (j) __________________ (être) en France, je (j) __________________ (rencontrer) une vieille amie. While I was in France, I met an old friend. 3) Quand nous __________________ (être) petits, nous __________________ (jouer) sur le meme equipe de football. When we were little, we played on the same soccer team. 4) Pendant notre séjour, nous __________________ (voyager) a Strasbourg, une petite ville alsacienne a la frontière allemande. During our stay, we travelled to Strasbourg, a small Alsacien town on the German border. 5) Pendant que nous __________________ (rester) a Strasbourg, nous __________________ (visiter) la Musée dAlsace. During our stay in Strasbourg, we visited the Museum of Alsace. How do you think you did? Here are some answers to check yourself: 1) ai visité (passé composé) 2) étais (imparfait); ai rencontré (passé composé) 3) étions (imparfait); jouions (imparfait) 4) avons voyagé (passé composé); 5) restions (imparfait); avons visité (passé composé) How well did you do? If you missed some of them, dont be discouraged. Keep looking for examples and practice using them. While there are general rules you can use to figure out which one is appropriate, it takes time to internalize the logic of a new language. Remember to keep it fun and enjoy studying French! For more help learning French grammar, study with a private tutor. Tutors are available to work with you in-person or online via Skype depending on your location. Search for your French tutor now! Carol Beth L. teaches  French lessons in San Francisco, CA. She has her Masters in French language education from the Sorbonne University in Paris and has been teaching since 2009.  Learn more about Carol Beth here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo via Wikimedia Commons

Take a deep breath... its exam season!

Take a deep breath... it's exam season! Are you feeling stressed by the amount of revision or exams you have? Or do you tend to panic just before going into an exam? Mindfulness and breathing techniques can help you enter your body and mind into a state of calm, helping you to relax and focus.  By simply focusing on nothing but breathing in and out for one minute you can slow down your heart rate calming your nerves and overworked mind. You can practice these easy techniques sitting or standing, eyes open or closed or even as you’re walking in to the exam hall. Easy Breathing By simply focusing on nothing but breathing in and out for one minute you can slow down your heart rate calming your nerves and overworked mind. Here’s how in 4 easy steps: Inhale through your nose gently for two seconds. Hold your breath in for one second. Breathe out through your mouth slowly for four seconds. Repeat for one minute (or longer if you like) and you should feel a difference in your mood! If the 2-1-4 count feels too short, try to lengthen your breaths slightly. As long as you breathe out longer than you breathe in you’ll feel the calming benefit! Top Tip During your breathing, if you find yourself distracted by worrying, try counting each breath, count “one” to yourself as you exhale. The next time you exhale, count “two,” and so on up to “five.” Then begin a new cycle, counting “one” on the next exhalation. This will help you focus and become more mindful. Mindful Moments: Taking a mindful moment can help you concentrate and focus, it will also strengthen your immune system and helps to switch your nervous system out of flight/fight mode and into a relaxed aware state. Repeat this exercise every now and then to deliberately bring your awareness to what is happening in the present moment and to build your resilience to deal with exam anxiety and general pressures around this time of the academic year by cultivating mindfulness in this way. Pause what you are doing for a moment and take one or two deep breaths to help bring you into the present moment. Look around you, and silently name three things that you see in your immediate vicinity Now opening to the sounds around you, silently note and name three things that you can hear right now Bringing your attention to your body, silently name three sensations that you can feel in this moment (maybe warmth, tingling, contraction, coolness….) Bringing your attention to smell and taste, what do you notice in your immediate awareness when you bring your attention to these senses- lightly name what you experience. Mindful advice for parents and tutors: As we enter the exam season, when kids get stressed about exams, teachers get stressed about kids not living up to expectations and parents getting stressed about trying not to nag too much about revision, it's important to stay calm and positive. Andy Cope is a happiness expert, author and founder of training company The Art of Brilliance.  He offers the following advice for parents and tutors in the lead up to exam season The 8:1 Ratio Nagging, punishment and pointing out what's wrong means kids will learn to stick to what they know to be safe which, over time, leads to a fixed mindset (example, ‘I'm rubbish at maths. I'll never be able to learn it').  If you mix in a healthy dose of positive reinforcement you will be rewarded. One of the most effective things a parent/ tutor can do is to use a positivity/negativity ratio of about 8:1.  It may seem a lot and it can be difficult to get it right, but try to catch your child/ pupil doing things well.  Notice the little things and tell them. Celebrate Achievements better: How we behave in a moment of success makes a huge difference.  Parents should aim to be ‘actively constructive', that means celebrating success with genuine enthusiasm. Your active constructive response means they know you're proud. The message is they're proud and you're proud. The result is that everyone feels great and your child will want to repeat that behaviour. Praise for effort rather than talent The advice from positive psychology is that if your child accomplishes something, try to avoid saying things like, ‘Well done, you are such a little genius!' But rather, ‘Well done, you put the effort in and got the reward.' We hope you find these tips helpful! If you need a tutor for the upcoming exam season, you can choose from 1000s of tutors on Tutorfair by clicking here.

Heart Kicks Off Volunteer Drive For 2015-16 School Year

Heart Kicks Off Volunteer Drive For 2015-16 School Year Heart Kicks Off Volunteer Drive For 2015-16 School Year Heart Kicks Off Volunteer Drive For 2015-16 School Year August 3, 2015 We have officially kicked off our volunteer drive  for the 2015-16 school year and we asking for the community’s support! The goal is to recruit volunteers to be tutors for 350 students by Sept. 17. “Volunteers are Heart’s ‘heart,’ delivering critical skills and confidence to elementary students who need extra help,” said Emily Elliott, executive director of Heart Math Tutoring. “We look forward to growing our dedicated volunteer base to impact the lives of more students in our community.” Adds Elliott, “Math does not have to be a strong subject for volunteers who all follow a structured curriculum that features hands-on activities and math games. Heart provides a fun way to build relationships with students while delivering academic skills crucial to their success.” Heart volunteers commit to weekly tutoring sessions that last either 30 minutes or one hour and can team up with friends, family and colleagues to be “partner tutors.” A Heart staff person is on site at all times to make sure tutors have what they need. Volunteer opportunities are available at the following schools and times: Billingsville Leadership Academy: Monday-Thursday, 8-9 a.m.; 9:15-10:15 a.m.; 1:45-2:45 p.m. Highland Renaissance Academy: Monday-Thursday, 11:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Montclaire Elementary: Monday-Thursday, 7:45-8:45 a.m.; 12:45-1:45 p.m. Piney Grove Elementary: Monday-Thursday, 8-9 a.m.; 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Sedgefield Elementary: Monday-Thursday, 7:45-8:45 a.m.; 1:45-2:45 p.m. Westerly Hills Academy: Tuesday-Friday, 8:30-10:30 a.m. Winterfield Elementary: Monday-Thursday, 7:45-8:45 a.m.; 12:25-1:25 p.m. For more information about becoming a Heart tutor, call 704-931-3209 or email outeerttrn. To sign up online, visit http://hearttutoring.org/become-a-volunteer/. Read the full press release here.

5 Excellent Places to Study on Campus - by TutorNerds

5 Excellent Places to Study on Campus - by TutorNerds San Diego College Tutoring Tips: 5 Excellent Places to Study on Campus College campuses have tons of places where students can study, but some are better than others., Some students want to be around activity and be able to drink a cup of coffee while they finish their assignments while others need, to be in a quiet and isolated environment without any distraction to be successful. Its a good idea for students to think about how much concentration they need for a particular assignment or paper and also consider how convenient a study spot is to their dorm building or other classes. 1.   The library The library is one of the best but most underutilized spaces on campus. Most college libraries have multiple floors where students can find a quiet spot or even a separate room for group study. Different parts of the library will have access to electricity and Wi-Fi so students can use their laptop during longer sessions or gain access to the library computers where they can look up academic journals or articles to use as sources for term papers. Of course, students need to keep the volume down in the library so this option is better for study sessions that require a lot of concentration but not a lot of socialization. 2.     The dorm suite The dorm suite is a convenient place for students to study at odd hours or when they need to be close to home. However, dorms also serve as living quarters and are not especially quiet, so this study spot is better for basic study or review that doesnt require an excessive amount of focus. Some dorms also offer a study space on the first floor where residents can study separately from their roommates. This can be a really convenient option if students need to study early in the morning or late at night (READ: 5 Things to do Before Going Off to College). 3.   Outdoor space When the weather is mild students should take advantage of the many outdoor spaces colleges have where residents can get their work done while enjoying fresh air and the sunshine. Being outdoors is invigorating and helps students push their brains through intense study or brainstorming sessions. Outdoor spaces are a pleasant place to study but students will deal with plenty of distraction, especially when classes get out and 100s of other students wander by. 4.   Off-campus options Sometimes students just need to get off campus in order to get their work done. Most colleges have lots of options for students to study nearby, such as coffee shops or cafés. Also, most towns still have at least one municipal library where students can go to crack the books. Library cards are free, and students will have access to plenty of reference material. Coffee shops near campus are usually full of other studying students, but they are still quieter than the on-campus alternative. Off-campus options are also helpful for commuter students or when several students need to get together to complete a group project. Once students are living in off-campus housing, these types of study spaces become a lot more convenient. 5.   Late night study sessions Its inevitable that students will have to work late into the night when midterms and finals week rolls around. However, its important for students to find a safe and convenient place to study after hours that will make it easy for them to get back to their dorm room or student apartment once they’ve finished their assignments. Some of the best options in this type of situation include study rooms connected to dorm halls or coffee shops that are open late where students can study around other people. Finish the semester strong with the help of private Orange County college tutoring from TutorNerds. All blog entries, with the exception of guest bloggers, are written by Tutor Nerds. Are you an education professional? If so, email us at pr@tutornerds.com for guest blogging and collaborations. We want to make this the best free education resource in SoCal, so feel free to suggest what you would like to see us write.

Uloop Morning Mix Hurricane Irma, Michigan State controversy and the angry white college graduate

Uloop Morning Mix Hurricane Irma, Michigan State controversy and the 'angry white college graduate' Hurricane Irmas exact path is still unclear. (Image: YouTube screenshot/CNN) Hurricane Irma gained strength in the Atlantic overnight and was upgraded to a Category 5 storm early Tuesday. The powerful storm, with 175 mph winds, is heading straight for Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The Tampa Bay Times (Florida) reports this morning that, A hurricane warning remains in effect for Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and other Caribbean locations, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a preemptive state of emergency during Mondays Labor Day holiday, allowing emergency management officials to start preparations. Irmas path is still largely unclear, but many forecasters have the storm heading for southern Florida later this week. MICHIGAN STATE FACES A LAWSUIT OVER REFUSAL TO RENT SPACE TO WHITE NATIONALIST White nationalist Richard Spencer attempted to rent space for an event on Michigan State Universitys campus later this month, but the university blocked the move. According to a report from the Associated Press that was published by Yahoo News, An 11-page lawsuit filed Sunday night in U.S. District Court in western Michigan contends that the East Lansing schools refusal to rent a conference room or lecture hall to a Spencer supporter on security grounds violates free speech and other constitutional rights. A student from Georgia State University is  behind the lawsuit, according to AP: The legal action against the 50,000-student university was taken on behalf of Georgia State University student Cameron Padgett, the one who tried to rent the space for Spencer. It asks for a preliminary injunction forcing MSU to reverse its decision, as well as $75,000 in damages. Both Texas AM and The University of Florida have moved to block events by white nationalist groups and MSU cited the events in Charlottesville as a factor in their decision. More developments in the case are expected this week. WILL 2018 BE THE YEAR OF THE ANGRY WHITE COLLEGE GRADUATE? (Image: Pixabay) David Wasserman, writing for Five-Thirty Eight, says that  the 2018 midterm election could feature the most college-educated electorate in American history. His key insight is this: Midterm elections are almost always a  referendum  on the party in the White House. And although college-educated whites narrowly supported Trump over Hillary Clinton last November, there’s evidence they are now among his most intense detractors. If you enjoy political forecasting getting geeky about how things could play out in both the 2018 and 2020 elections, read the whole story here. AND FINALLY ON THIS TUESDAY, THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO SAVING SPACE IN YOUR DORM Um, dude move your stuff. (Image: Getty) Ohio States Elana Goodwin is here with tips and tricks to maximize space in your, um, space. Including the all-important desk organization section. Read all four suggestions here. Thanks for reading hope our Tuesday is great and remember: Hump Day is only one day away, whoo-hoo!

11 tips for a successful teacher phone interview

11 tips for a successful teacher phone interview You might have noticed that a lot of the teaching opportunities on the Teach Away job board require candidates to participate in a pre-screening interview. Psst: Before you can ace your phone interview, you actually have to get the phone interview. Check out these posts for tips on getting your teach abroad job application in shipshape: Why you need to complete your teacher profile Tips for taking a great profile picture These interviews usually take place over the phone and provide the opportunity for you to be matched with a Placement Coordinator (go check out our recruiter team if you’d like to put a face to the name!), who will help you move forward with the application process. In other words, being able to successfully pass a telephone interview is key to getting a teaching job abroad with programs and school that we’re currently hiring for, like the Explore Program in China and Abu Dhabi Public Schools and UAE Government Schools in the Middle East. Here’s our advice to help you nail your next teacher phone interview: 1. Set aside time and space. Book some time out of your day for the interview. Take the call in a quiet location that’s private and comfortable, avoiding interruptions or noise interference. The grocery store, coffee shop, your classroom or your car are not good places to take a phone interview. Ensure that your line has a clear connection and provide a landline number if possible. Each of these steps will ensure the interviewer can properly hear and understand you, showing that you’re taking the process seriously and will also allow you to focus on being the best you can in the interview. 2. Be ready for the phone call. Missing a call for a phone interview is just like missing any formal appointment. It may not spell the end for your job chances, but if the employer has a long list of applicants to speak to, they may not have time to try again, especially if they’re calling from another time zone. Set an alarm and write it in your calendar to remind you of the time and date. Put your phone on a loud ringtone, and keep it in front of you well in advance of the scheduled interview time. 3. Take any phone call from a potential employer or recruiter just as seriously as an in-person opportunity. You might be surprised, but there are a lot of candidates who drop the ball on their pre-screening interviews by failing to recognize the significance of the call. We hear from a lot of candidates requesting rescheduled interviews and cancellations and from those who simply are not prepared for their phone interview because they don’t view it as a very important step in the process. 4. Have quick access to key resources. Before your phone interview begins, make sure you have quick access to your resume, application and the job description. You don’t want to have to flip through papers or search online during the interview. Considering there’s a good chance you’ve applied for more than one teaching job, having the job description handy and reviewing it before the call will remind you which placement exactly you will be speaking about. 5. Answer thoroughly. Always think before you answer and take your time. Listen to what the interviewer is asking you and answer relevantly. Even though your phone interview may seem more casual, interviewers will still be expecting quality answers that show off your skills. One-sentence answers do not explain the complexity of what you achieve with your students on a day-to-day basis. Make sure you prepare typical interview answers in advance and detail solid examples of when you’ve put your methods into practice. 6. Language and voice matter. In-person interviews allow you to play to your body language, facial expressions, and demeanour, but telephone interviews rely almost solely on language and voice. Speak at an easy-to-follow cadence - don’t speak too quickly. Make sure your voice is clear. Use positive language in your responses. Maintain proper professionalism and a broad vocabulary, but avoid using words you don’t fully understand. 7. Eliminate distractions. As well as ensuring your physical space is prepared for the interview, make sure you adjust your phone settings to avoid unwanted interruptions. Silence call waiting features and make sure your phone isn’t receiving distracting notifications during the interview. Sign up to Teach Away today for access to the latest teaching jobs around the world. 8. Take advantage of the phone format. During phone interviews, you’re free to have some key points and examples jotted down in a notebook in front of you. Avoid reading directly from notes because it will become obvious to the interviewer. Brief pointers to ideas and examples that can be built upon are most useful in guiding you to phone interview success. 9. Smile. Studies have shown that body language can be used to impress during face-to-face interviews. During a phone interview, this is one less thing to have to worry about, but remember that the only tool you have to express yourself is your tone of voice and what you say. Maintain professionalism while portraying your manner as pleasant, upbeat and enthusiastic, just as you would in front of your class. To help you do this, make sure to smile - it will come through in your voice. 10. Update your LinkedIn profile. If you’re a LinkedIn user, make sure your profile is up to date and matching the info on your resume (and if you’re not a LinkedIn user, here’s how and why teachers should be on LinkedIn). This is likely the first place interviewers will seek information on the web from outside of the Teach Away site. Having a complete LinkedIn profile with projects and recommendations can be a powerful tool during your interview. If the interviewer has web access, you can guide them straight to your projects and references on LinkedIn as part of your answer. 11. Listen. Like in in-person interviews, it’s important to not only provide good information, but also to be a sponge - absorb all you can because this information could be vital later in the interview or in future aspects of the hiring process. Without the advantage of being in the same physical space as your interviewer, and with the potential to be distracted, active listening during phone interviews takes a little extra focus Need more info on how to ace your interview? Check out our teach abroad FAQs for everything you need to know about the application and interview process for teaching abroad! When you’re done, don’t forget to check out our teach abroad interview tips and tricks, including some great dos and don’ts!