More Teaching Tips: Stay Neutral, Active, Clear, and Play

With the new school year starting, try these tips:
1. Stay neutral on content. Your job is to pass on information but not be so attached to it that if anyone challenges it (not you) you don’t become confrontational.
2. Listen actively. Look people in the eye, use attentive body language and paraphrase what they are saying. They will return the favor when you are talking.
3. Paraphrase to be clear. Restate what you have just shared in a different way. This can clear up the looks of a “deer in the headlights” that you can get every now and then.
4. Play Ping-Pong. Picture yourself standing up front with a Ping Pong paddle in one hand. If someone asks a question or makes a comment, redirect it by sending it back to someone else to answer or build on. This helps the students not be solely dependent on you. They have a lot of knowledge and experience to share, take advantage of it.