THE NEW LEADER's FIRST TEAM MEETING 🚀 Here's some sound advice for first time managers and food for thought for the experienced ones.
☀️For teachers: If you don’t have a PRO Twee account, you can find a PDF with tasks for the video in the comments

💼 Are you a manager or aspiring to become one?
Then this is for you!
In our inspiring conversation, Julia Bondarchuk shared her journey from being a teacher to becoming an academic director (and managing more than 300 people) and back, along with the challenges and lessons learned throughout her career.

HIGHLIGHTS

📚 Educational Insights: Teachers don't need to be experts in the subject matter, but rather teach the English language related to it.

🎯 Feedback Challenges: Giving effective feedback requires a balance of empathy and authority, especially when dealing with experienced teachers.

🤝 Building Relationships: Maintaining professional boundaries while fostering good rapport with colleagues is crucial for academic directors.

🧠 Emotional Intelligence: Without empathy and understanding of the human psyche it’s impossible to manage a diverse faculty effectively.

🔄 Delegation Skills: Trust is essential in delegation, it’s challenging in but vital for effective leadership.

✨ Personal Growth: Julia has grown in her confidence and ability to handle difficult situations without panicking.

💡 Manipulation as a Tool: Understanding how to positively influence and motivate others is a key skill in management.

🌟 You can use this as a podcast to improve your listening skills AND/OR gain some valuable insights into management and organisation.
😌 If you have questions or generally something to add/to say - you’re more than welcome to leave comments.
💥Here are the links to a more detailed summary and the script. https://docs.google.com/document/d/12ffSRaJYFNPfwx88LyELBQu7oHnthEwQ9oog0JpjRu4/edit?usp=sharing
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GNOphf1tFFm9cvEPc398Xt8cy8VTJ_1T/view?usp=sharing

💥JOIN US for an insightful live stream on April 8 at 12.00 with Julia Bondarchuk, a seasoned teacher and former academic director of the prominent business English language school IPT. Julia will share her experiences, challenges, and lessons learned from her journey in the language education sector.
With seven years of experience in the corporate sector, Julia coordinated the work of 300 teachers across the country, and developed programs for companies such as Bayer, Rosatom, Colgate and many others.
During the stream, we will speak about her transition from teaching to leading a large educational institution and back to teaching again. She will provide valuable insights into 👉the day-to-day operations of running a business English school, 👉the challenges of managing expats, and 👉the intricacies of hiring and firing staff.
🤩🤩🤩 Tune in and get ready to be inspired by Julia's story and her wealth of experience in the field of business English education. https://t.me/NP_just_business?livestream

Just feel the groove 😄

Nobody likes learning by heart, right? But we all want to be fluent and accurate, to use beautiful and sophisticated structures and vocabulary without thinking for too long, like automatically and naturally.
Here come the drills!
Today I will share two types of drills that can actually improve your fluency and accuracy at the same time! Moreover, you can practice them on your own!

✨SUBSTITUTION DRILLS✨
Choose a grammatical structure (e.g. the one you find very complicated). Make a beginning (in bold in the example below) and then change the ending by adding different ideas (the more the better).
⭐️Example:
I’ve just/He’s already … seen them/been to their office/finished the project/submitted the report etc.
I will go on holiday IF… I get a promotion/my husband comes with me/I want etc.
I should’ve …known about it/chosen another day/prepared in advance.

✨TRANSFORMATIONAL DRILLS✨
Here you are required to change sentences from positive to negative, from negative to interrogative, or from simple present tense to simple past tense etc. You can use your ideas from the substitution drills.

⭐️ Example:
I haven’t …seen them/been to their office/finished the project/submitted the report etc. yet
Have you… seen them/been to their office/finished the project/submitted the report etc. yet?

I won’t go on holiday unless… I get a promotion/my husband comes with me/I want etc.
Will you go on holiday IF…you get a promotion/your husband comes with you/you want etc.?

I shouldn’t have …known about it/chosen another day/prepared in advance.

You can do it orally and in writing, but REPEAT and PRONOUNCE from the very beginning every single time. At some moment, when you feel confident enough, try speeding up and continue until you feel you can easily make a sentence with this construction ! 😉

This morning, we had a wonderful conversation with Alyona Atayants, an Embodiment Coach & Mindfulness Instructor about the connection of our mind and body, the influence of our emotions on our physical state and dangers and negative consequences of ignoring and suppressing our emotions.
Alyona shared a couple of easy techniques to handle stress and negative emotions/unpleasant situations. She also invited everyone to her 👉CONSIOUS BREATHING COURSE in APRIL to help regulate the nervous system and improve sleep and general well-being.
You can join her one of these ways
https://taplink.cc/ataiants.a Personal website
https://t.me/mind4ull Telegram channel
https://antitrevoga.ru/ Free mindfulness practices with different trainers (including Alyona)
https://friendly-retreat.ru/ Retreat-vipassana


🌟🌟🌟Here are some bullet points from the stream for you🌟🌟🌟:
- 🔥 Burnout and Lack of Results – Many professionals experience burnout, not due to workload but because they don’t see tangible results.
- 🏗 Middle-Process Syndrome – Employees stuck in the middle of projects (not starting or finishing tasks) often feel unfulfilled, leading to stress.
- 😞 Suppressed Emotions – In corporate environments, frustration is often suppressed, causing emotional exhaustion.
- 💪 Managing Stress in the Moment – Engaging in small physical activities (like squeezing fists or pressing feet) helps release tension.
- 🧘 Centering Technique – A body posture method that helps balance emotions and reduce stress.
- ⏳ Unprocessed Stress Effects – Bottled-up stress leads to chronic health issues, including weakened immunity, autoimmune diseases, and burnout.
- 🛌 The Work-Life Balance Trap – Many professionals suppress illness during work but fall sick during vacations due to accumulated stress.
- 🎯 Importance of True Rest – Genuine relaxation requires no muscle tension and no new mental stimuli, unlike "active" vacations.
- 😊 Power of a smile - When a person smiles, their mirror neurons trigger others to smile, amplifying the smiler's influence and positive impact on those around them, demonstrating the power of a stable and centered individual to positively affect the emotional states of others.

And that’s me reminding you that our live stream IN RUSSIAN with Alyona is TOMORROW AT 11.00 MSK 😉�� https://t.me/NP_just_business?livestream

🚀 UX/UI Designer: a popular and promising profession in the IT sphere!
💼 Why is this job so attractive?
High income: UX/UI Designers are among the highest-paid professionals in the industry.
Quick start: you can gain the necessary skills by taking a specialized course and relatively quickly start your career.
High demand: companies are actively looking for qualified UX/UI Designers to create user-friendly and attractive interfaces.
Remote work: many companies offer the opportunity to work from home, which gives you flexibility and the ability to choose projects from all over the world.
I’ve already had several students from this field and here’s their “Holy Bible” - https://www.nngroup.com/
✨FOR LEARNERS✨:
If you’re a UX/UI Designer or would like to become one and work for an international company, you can find almost everything you need to know there. They also offer a variety of courses, consultations and certifications. There are great articles and videos with very clear speech, perfect to improve your reading, listening and enrich your vocabulary with professional terminology!
Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-RJXW3gJgU
✨FOR TEACHERS✨:
If you have such students, this website will help you to understand the area better and create really useful and meaningful lessons with these authentic materials. There are great articles and videos suitable for B1-B2 level students. Many videos are 3-5 minutes long and can be quickly transformed into fantastic lesson materials with just a couple of clicks in https://app.twee.com.

🌟Do you struggle with complex emotions and feelings like anxiety, anger, grief etc.?
🌟Have phobias you want to overcome?
🌟Maybe you want to get rid of the imposter syndrome and raise the price of your services?🤩🤩

All emotions are reflected in the body. This means we can deal with any situation using a
body-oriented approach!

🤩 Join us for a live interview IN RUSSIAN with Alyona, Embodiment Coach & Mindfulness Instructor on April,1 at 11.00 MSK!
She helps people reconnect body and mind, find resources and a peaceful place within through a science-based approach.

You will know about her way, how she can help you, and even learn some easy techniques to handle some anger/stress/anxiety etc.

Relatable? 🫣😳

Just yesterday one of my students asked me what “PERFORMANCE” means 😂�� https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/performance

LISTENING is a big problem for many learners and it seems to be particularly stressful in a business context.
Here are some listening pieces with exercises for ALL levels!
Before you start listening, remember - it’s ABSOLUTELY NORMAL not to understand 100% of what they say: don’t panic, try getting the key words and the main idea first, then some details. https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/skills/listening

The horror of Q&A sessions
Even seasoned speakers may have troubles dealing with the questions after their presentation/conference or meeting speech. The stress doubles when you need to do it in English. However, with the right approach, you can navigate these sessions smoothly and confidently. Here's a diagram to help you manage Q&A sessions coherently and stress-free in a business English context.

PS: if you need useful phrases to handle questions (ask for repetition, clarification, check understanding etc.) ASK IN THE COMMENTS.

Math is not mathing, and this Monday isn’t mondaying 🫣

Struggling with business communication in English? 📊 It's tough to stay polite, get your message across, and achieve the desired outcome, especially when dealing with foreign customers. 🌟
I’ve made a little funny table for you! (hope everyone here has common sense and sense of humor =))) 📝 If you need further help, I'm here to assist you as a Business English teacher. Let's work together to boost your confidence and skills. 💪

Congratulations on International Women's Day! Dear Ladies! May the whole world smile at you on this gentle and bright holiday. I wish you to celebrate spring not only in your calendar, but also in your heart!🧡🧡🧡

Your story ? I hope not 🫣

What « warning » would you write? )))

Though it’s almost over, it’s still Friday! Are you ready for spring?😎

JOB INTERVIEWS.
Taking a job interview is always a challenge, and the pressure doubles when you need to do it in English.
Here’s a list or recommendations to help you:
🌟Do get yourself an HR consultant! If you’re not a professional HR with years of experience, then you absolutely need one in order to land a really good job. A decent consultant will develop a plan to improve your CV/cover letters/online image in social media etc and “wrap you up” like a very appealing candy for potential employers.
🌟If you don’t have the opportunity to hire a consultant, follow accounts of HR specialists in your sphere on Linkedin/Instagram/Facebook/Telegram and use their recommendations to work on the areas I’ve mentioned above.
🌟Do get yourself an English tutor! Don’t say you need “to generally improve your level/become more fluent”, ask to prepare for a job interview specifically! Find a person who already has experience in it and knows what they do.
🌟If you don’t have the opportunity to hire a tutor, remember to google and prepare the following things:
👉Self - presentation
👉Most commonly asked questions (in general and for your position)
👉Behavioral interview
👉Hypothetical questions
👉Killer questions
👉Your questions to HR
👉Negotiating conditions
Try improving your CV and cover letter with chatGPT. Proofread and edit it afterwards.
🌟Do rehearse before the actual interview! Even if you’re pretty confident and experienced! You can even make a video of yourself (in Zoom, for instance) and then assess it. When revising, you might notice small things that can hinder your performance and spoil the employer's impression of you: bad posture, parasite words, mumbling, weird/stiff gestures etc.
And as a BONUS here’s a couple of brief cheat sheets for interviews in English (for junior/little experience positions).
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LMJmk9Vtk7mgrFmPO-NkWUJnw0ccrRP_G8ezpYnd2qI/edit?usp=sharing
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1zOvRjCIJcXW37O8CCM3jlIbaMEzWtmE0cd7d1ogX6tA/edit?usp=sharing
If you need proper preparation - text me!

Our dear men! Happy Defender of the Fatherland Day! I wish you the resourcefulness of an infantryman, the fortitude of a tanker, the courage of a paratrooper, the determination of an artilleryman and the cunning of a scout. May circumstances always work out in your favor, and on the professional and personal fronts there will be only victories!

Free discussion time! Ask me questions, I’m ready to share experience and give recommendations in my area of expertise and consider your insights as well! 😌

We’ve made it through the week again! 😎

Hi there!
Here’s another recommendation for you to work on your English !
An app called “EnglishCentral”.

https://apps.apple.com/ru/app/englishcentral-%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B3%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9/id927987414

You can choose business or general English and the level of difficulty, and it will offer you a variety of courses consisting of short videos.
You watch a video, get new words and phrases you can practice to type and pronounce. And the best part - you can discuss the video with AI-powered assistant MIMI.

Check you English Speaking level with this AI-powered tool!

https://www.speechace.com/speaking-test

It offers a very thorough feedback on your level, describing your pronunciation, fluency, grammar and vocabulary use. Certainly, you should understand it’s not 100% accurate as it’s not a real person assessing you. Nevertheless, it’s quite close to reality.
You can choose general or business related questions. 3 questions per block with a minute to prepare before speaking.
TIPS:
💥 Use this minute wisely: make a plan of your speech in order to have a clear structure and not just aimlessly ramble on the topic!!!
💥 Use various linking words for listing/sequencing/adding/contrasting etc. (E.g. firstly, secondly, finally; on the one hand/on the flip side; moreover, nevertheless, as a result, consequently and so on and so forth);
💥 Just speaking quickly doesn’t equal being fluent! Remember about connected speech features, stresses and intonation!
Most importantly - HAVE FUN! 😎💃
PS: You can share your results in the comments 😌