Business matters
Great Instructors Are Great Students —Here’s Why By Doug Emerson, The Profitable Horseman
Y
our financial success as a riding instructor is directly related to your teaching effectiveness. Students come back for repeat lessons and refer new students to you because they enjoy learning with you and get measurable benefits. Riding lessons are a choice, not a requirement. As you keep students engaged, encour- mentally exhausting, competition became aged and achieving progress, your busi- highly rewarding. I attribute the success of the team to ness grows. Think back about your favorite the coach, Dr. Gordon Jones. He did three school teachers and riding instructors. They taught you in a way that was challenging things the best coaches do well: 1. He was a polished teachand at the same time they made learning fun. After the er and speaker. Instead of class or lesson was over, you an easy answer of “because” wanted more. If a student was he offered a bushel basket Thinking back to my colfull of “whys” one animal lege days as an agri-business was superior to another in putting in full student, I did well enough in a variety of ways for better a livestock evaluation class understanding. He engaged effort to learn, to be asked by the professtudent concentration and sor to join the intercollegiate focus with his dynamic he put in full livestock judging team. We teaching style. judged cattle, sheep and 2. He never got angry. If a effort to teach. hogs, but unfortunately, team member “busted” the horses were not included. placing order in a class, he The team travelled all over methodically reviewed the the U.S. competing with strengths and weaknesses of other schools in placing classes of livestock each animal and explained the reasoning and then giving oral reasons to a judge as for the correct placing of the class. He to why we placed the individual animals in understood all students have an occathe class in the order we did. sional train wreck to laugh about later. Initially, we practiced for hours at a time If a student was putting in full effort to with classes on the school farm. Much like learn, he put in full effort to teach. learning to ride, it took full concentra- 3. He had a sense of humor. He would crack tion and offered a good dose of frustraa joke whenever comic relief was needtion. Eventually, the team became skilled ed to break tension. Sarcasm and negaand proficient and we scored well in our tive commentary were never offered. As competitions. Though at times judging was he sensed a student’s frustration was
“ ”
32
Fall 2019 | Riding Instructor
building or focus was dwindling, he knew how to tell a funny one-liner or relate a quick story. He understood learning did not have to be entirely drilling and drudgery. A smile got better results than a drill sergeant’s scowl. Granted, you’re not a livestock judge and most likely don’t want to be, but the above story makes good points about the styles and natures of all the best instructors. Yes, adequate technical knowledge is the foundation of all good instructors but knowing it is not enough. Delivery of the knowledge is equally important to the student. When you recall learning from your favorite teachers, most likely they used the same approach as the three points in the story above. In this back to school season, you may want to consider strengthening your skill set by doing the following: • Become a polished speaker as you teach.
Teaching is predominantly talking and no doubt you’ve had the ability to talk for a number of years, starting in childhood. But, speaking with a developed “way with words” is a skill that requires study and practice. Have you ever noticed how some people excel at getting a message conveyed and understood with just the right amount of words and no more? Toastmasters International is a global
organization with local clubs everywhere for you to hone your speaking skill in a friendly and supportive environment. I’ve seen fantastic results for improved speaking by Toastmaster club members. The Dale Carnegie Training organization also offers courses in public speaking which have helped people for decades become skilled at holding the attention of listeners. Night classes are available everywhere for
public speaking. • Audit a clinic or an admired instructor’s
lessons, for the sole purpose of picking up alternate teaching styles that could work for you. Take note and take home different phrases, speech tempos and body language you can experiment with as
