Temecula, CA (951) 698–7818 Santa Monica, CA (310) 383-1412
HOW LEONARD WORKS
Working with Leonard Ludovico has been a lesson in being present and being confident. He has a very strong presence and because of that sometimes students underestimate how important his role in their tutoring is.
In order to identify the student’s “subconscious blocks” Leonard must be very aware of the student’s energy, body language, handwriting, and demeanor. This requires him to look at them. So from the time the student comes to a tutoring session with us, Leonard is watching them, which sometimes makes people uncomfortable. I just remind them that he is observing them for signals that will help us identify these “subconscious blocks” that we are trying to fix.
Although Leonard can identify these “subconscious blocks” he does not always know how to practically fix them with regard to the CA Bar Exam, as I said before, he is not a lawyer. So the most efficient way in a timed tutoring session to fix the “subconscious block” is for Leonard to tell me, or the tutor, what “subconscious block” he sees and it is up to the tutor to determine the best way to address the problem. For example, Leonard once told me from the timid way a student entered the room and sat down that she was “detail oriented and won’t see the big picture”. He told me this so I, as tutor, could explore if this was a trend in her writing and to come up with certain exercises she and I could practice so that she wasn’t missing the “big picture” in her writing. Sure enough, this was one of her main problems and I was able to address it with her and fix it.
One hitch with this method, however is that sometimes student’s misunderstand what is going on because Leonard is talking to the tutor about his observations instead of talking to the student. The reason for this is that the student will not know how to fix this problem with regard to learning and studying for the CA Bar Exam, only the tutor will know how to fix it. Therefore, I just remind the students that Leonard tells the tutor what “subconscious blocks” he sees so the tutor can decide how to remedy it.
Finally, Leonard’s train of thought is very fast so he will sometimes interrupt what the student or the tutor is saying in order to point out an issue or “subconscious block” that is important. These interruptions are not meant to be rude, but to catch a behavior that is happening in that exact moment so the tutor can identify it and help the student fix it.
Again, I think Leonard’s insight to identifying a student’s “subconscious blocks” is an essential part of an effective tutoring session and without his teaching and talent, I wouldn’t be as successful of a tutor and my students would not be as successful at passing the CA Bar Exam.
Holly DiFonzo, J.D., LL.M. Attorney-At-Law
After I passed the CA Bar Exam I began to work with Barwinners.com as a personal tutor for students studying for the exam. I really wanted to help other students avoid the problems that I went through trying to pass if I could.
Again, Leonard Ludovico was essential in my training to become a successful CA Bar Exam tutor. Leonard is not an attorney so he does not have any of the practical study tips or knowledge of the bar exam subjects that I do. However, he did train me to read a student’s body language, handwriting, voice, and other underlying clues to pinpoint the main problem that a student might not even know is a problem. I will call them “subconscious blocks” because if the student were conscious and aware of them they would likely fix them.
Generally in a tutoring session I am there as the substantive tutor to teach a student how to write, do MBEs, plan their study schedule, etc., and Leonard is there to help catch any of these “subconscious blocks” that may also be hindering them. One way he spots the “subconscious blocks” is by watching their body language – for example, one student I had would squirm and slouch when I asked him a direct question – Leonard taught me that this indicated that I really needed to teach this student how to give a direct answer. Sure enough, it was very difficult for him to give me a “yes” or “no” answer without a long explanation that I hadn’t asked for. I taught him how to answer succinctly and his practice test scores improved.
Another way Leonard spots the “subconscious blocks” is by listening to the speed and volume of the student’s voice. For example, many students read very quickly and quietly when I ask them to read aloud. Leonard showed me this means they are just trying to race through the material and, subsequently, they are missing important key words and issues they should be noticing. Once I slow them down and show them the words and issues they are missing, they usually get louder and more confident with what they are reading the next time around and they miss less issues.
An additional way he spots the “subconscious blocks” is by a word, concern or question the student keeps bringing up. For example, another student I had kept asking me to clarify what I meant when I would ask her do write a rule down. I had already told her how I wanted the rule written, seen her make notes about what I said, I saw her do a sample and approved it, yet she still asked me to clarify on three separate occasions after that what I wanted her to do. Leonard pointed out to me that at this point it is not a misunderstanding of what I want her to do, she knew what I wanted because I had just told her. It was this student’s way of asking for approval or assurance every time she was asked for something because she wasn’t confident in herself to just do it. So I taught her to just do what she had learned because (a) she couldn’t ask the CA Bar Exam to clarify instructions for her during the exam, and (b) if she got it wrong – so what – I’d correct her and we would move on.
In short, Leonard taught me how to watch and listen to students to figure out and give them what they need to get over the “subconscious blocks”. This is as important, if not more so, than listening to what the student is saying they want because it helps them move past obstacles they didn’t even know existed but that still hinder them.
Holly DiFonzo, J.D., LL.M. Attorney-At-Law
Joseph Denney, Esq.
For the past three years I have worked side-by-side with Leonard Ludovico tutoring law students for the California bar exam. For that reason I have been able to witness first-hand the remarkable results Leonard is able to achieve with students. By paying close attention to subtle verbal and non-verbal cues from students, Leonard is able to pick up on underlying attitudes and beliefs held by the students that negatively impact their efforts to study for and pass the California bar exam. Without fail his perceptions are right on target. Once he makes both me and the student aware of any underlying issues, I am able to show the student how the issue continually manifests itself in their performance on the essays, PTs and MBEs. After Leonard has worked with the students to bring these issues to their attention and resolve them, I consistently see their performance dramatically improve. I highly recommend him to anyone who has set a goal for themselves of passing the California bar exam.