Advice on Forming Good Bonds with Professors in College
Every college kid knows that you’ll hardly ever become an excellent student if you failed to build a good rapport with your teachers. If your professors respect you, you are on the right way to success. So you’d better take care of this part of your college life in the upcoming new semester. But how to manage to do it? Here are some good tips that might be useful for you.
Be Attentive
The first simple step to follow so to build a good relationship with your teachers is to be respectful and attentive in class. By paying attention to the discipline, you’re showing your teacher that all efforts he or she has put so to prepare and present the information to you and your classmates are worthy. Choose a sit where you won’t be tempted by any distractions and where your professor can make eye-contact with you. Eye-contact is the best indicator that you’re interested and paying attention. This easy tactic can surely help you to make yourself more visible and remembered in the eyes of your teacher!
Introduce Yourself
After listening all lecture carefully and attentively, the next good move will be introducing yourself.
Better not to do it before the lecture because, most likely, your professor’s thought will be focused on the lecture preparations only. During the class, make sure to prepare a couple of interesting questions regarding the information given and ask these questions to your teacher after the lecture is finished. This will be a fantastic way to initiate a small dialog thus making yourself noticed and remembered. Besides, it will be a good indicator that you’re interested in the subject and there is no such a teacher who won’t appreciate it.
No Distractions
Well, spending the better part of the lecture time in your cell phone is actually a good way to make sure your teacher will notice and remember you, but I’m afraid, not in a way you’d wish. A lot of professors allow their students to use laptops or tablets in class so to make the necessary notes, but you should make sure you use them for that purpose only. Your teacher has put in a lot of efforts and personal time to prepare for the lecture and you will only show him or her your disrespect if you just browse the web instead of trying to understand the material.
Believe me, based on all years of experience, your professor will be able to tell when you’re engaged in a chat conversation and will remember that you weren’t attentive during the lecture, and that may obstruct any sort of good relationships you will surely want to form later.
Ask Questions
When you’re listening to a lecturer and there is something you don’t understand, you shouldn’t be afraid to ask your professor to provide you with some clarifications. But you should be careful not to ask the questions which are answered and explained in any of the course materials you have. The more inquiries you have, the better as long as they’re fair and strictly related to the subject of the discussion.