Your teaching style is a double-edged sword. It has the potential to truly delight or seriously disappoint your students.
THE
STATS
90%
of 5 star reviews mention an instructor's teaching style
65%
of 1-2 star reviews mention an instructor's teaching style
Wow, an instructor's teaching style is frequently mentioned in both good and bad reviews
Yup, that means this can really make or break a student's experience in your course!
You might think you sound "professional" when you speak in a formal manner, but students just get bored. Relax and let your personality come through!
Graham Thompson
Student
Many online courses suffer from over-prepared, monotonic boring voiceovers but Bernie's style is a bit like having your mate around to show you how to do something.
Brad Hussey (20-second clip)
Cut the fluff and get to the point. If you wing a lecture, you’ll ramble - so prepare and know exactly what points you want to make.
Ainoon Davies
Student
Rob's bite size videos are so easy to digest. I hate to have to sit down for hours listening to someone rambling as I get terribly impatient & just want to get from point A to point Z. Basta!
Felicia Ricci (20-second clip)
The most important thing is to keep your instruction conversational and show enthusiasm. Also ‐ plan ahead, do a practice-run, and don't ramble.
Friendly tone related Rambling related
Do a solo table read
Write a script (or at least, an outline)
Get in the mood! Listen to playful music like this to loosen up & get excited
Smile :) It's counter-intuitive, but smiling can actually cause you to feel happy & energetic
Exaggerate your enthusiasm (energy gets lost over video). If you feel a little silly, you're doing it right!
Edit out any long pauses or irrelevant material
