How to choose a teacher, coach or mentor? La selection of a teacher it's a important process as it can determine the quality of learning. Whatever the discipline (singing, piano, guitar, yoga, a sporting activity, a school subject, just to name a few), training is the basis for fulfillment: often behind successful people there are great masters.
A teacher strikes for eternity; you can never tell where its influence stops.
Henry brooks adams
How to choose a teacher or a coach: 5 ways
After talking about like being a good teacher or coach, in this article I suggest 5 ways that will help you identify candidates and make the right choice. The following are the characteristic features that good teachers they should have.
# 1. Avoid someone who remembers a polite waiter
You know the kind of person who always tries to get you feel comforted and serene, to do go smoothly, maybe even with the minimum effort? There: avoid a teacher or coach who has these characteristics! Those who they smile a lot and say things like "Don't worry, there's no problem, we can take care of this later", certainly they are great for being a waiter in a restaurant, but they are bad teachers or coaches.
#2. Look for someone who scares you a little
Unlike the meetings with the good and courteous waiters, those with the good teachers or coaches they are much less "familiar" and tend to being full of emotions such as respect, admiration and even fear. You don't have to look for a friend or parent. You have to rely on someone authoritative, solid and reliable, who inspires trust in you; a person with whom you would embark on an adventurous and dangerous journey. So, look for someone who:
- You look at yourself carefully: is interested in understanding what you want from him or her, where you come from and where you want to go.
- It is action oriented: does not want to waste time chatting; rather he prefers to immediately take action to understand what sensation you transmit to him and vice versa.
- Speak clearly: he tells the truth, even if that makes him irritating. A master's bluntness might hurt you, but accept it. It is not a personal matter; it's just feedback that can help you improve.
# 3. Look for someone who gives you short, concise directions
Most of the great teachers or coaches don't make long-winded, courtly speeches. He does not give sermons or long lectures. In reverse, provides brief, targeted, practical and precise information, which lead unequivocally to the goal. Keep in mind that teaching is not a skill in rhetoric, but is about providing useful information. Only in this way can it effectively contribute to the formation of people.
# 4. Look for someone who wants to teach you the basics
Great teachers focus a lot on the fundamentals, even if apparently small or of little relevance. For example, the way a guitar or a tennis racket is held. It may seem an understatement, but attention to the fundamentals establishes the quality of teaching. The fundamentals represent, in fact, the hub of skills that a pupil acquires.
# .5 Choose someone who has experience
Teaching is like any other talent: it takes time to make it grow. It needs to be refined and improved over the years. Here because the best teachers, coaches or mentors are people of a certain age. The great masters are experts and experience can hardly be a characteristic trait of a young person. This obviously doesn't mean that there aren't good teachers under thirty, nor that every gray-haired coach is a genius. However, all other things being equal, always choose someone older and more experienced.
Conclusions
I hope that the ways I have suggested to you to select and choose a good teacher or coach will be useful to you. If you have had a great teacher in your life, I would like you to describe the salient features and share it with the readers of the blog by leaving a comment below. It would be a nice way to enrich this article. Thanks, Francisco.
