During my mock consultation, I was very nervous. I think that was the worst thing about it. Luckily, that is something I know will get better with practice.

Nothing felt overtly unnatural. I did struggle a lot with explaining things. I got nervous and would just start stumbling over myself. There was nothing I could not explain though. I know the information, it’s just a matter of communicating that information.

I did ask if they had any questions, but I still think I could’ve done better to make sure the student was understanding. Another thing I noticed about myself is that I am a very hands-on teacher. I knew this from my time teaching dance; I typically teach via “monkey see, monkey do.” I didn’t know that would translate over to consulting rather than being dance-specific. I should have let the consultee do more instead of pressing buttons for them. In my head, I think I did it because it was faster, but I see that there are benefits to letting the student steer the boat. This is something I will make a note of and try to improve upon.

I think, overall, I just need more practice.

My main problem is just that I was pent-up and anxious during the consultation. I need to rehearse more on my own and go through more mock-consultations. I would like to find better ways to explain things like what a domain is and the difference between a post and a page. I did explain things out of order a bit as well. I think this was because my notes are also slightly out of order. I will adjust my notes to better prepare for next time.