How to surpass the common criteria for being a driving instructor
Experiences with driving instructors vary drastically depending on the teaching style and methods used. A student may have a good or bad experience, and this often correlates with the instructor’s approach. If you want to become the best possible driving instructor, consider following some of these pointers.
Keep a cool head
Teaching someone to drive requires that you keep a cool head. Driving can be stressful, especially when you’re just starting out. A newbie driver will probably make numerous mistakes at the beginning, and pointing out these mistakes is part of your responsibility. However, you should never take it too far and start yelling and berating your trainee. Staying cool and explaining things in a calm manner is the single best way to improve someone’s driving skills. Everyone has been in a vehicle with someone that is agitated at least once, and it probably hasn’t improved their driving.
Dual controls exist so that any major mistakes are corrected by the instructor instantly. Even after a particularly bad error, the driving instructor can get the trainee back on track and explain what they did incorrectly. As long as the instructor remains calm, the trainee will make fewer mistakes and learn more from their driving experience.
Stay friendly, but professional
Not every driving instructor is blessed with great charm and interpersonal skills, but it’s a key part of the job. In later stages of exams, a lack of interaction with your trainee can disqualify you from passing. Your ability to be friendly and courteous accounts for a huge part of your job as a driving instructor, but it’s not all there is to it.
While friendliness goes a long way, you should also do your best to remain professional. Being too friendly could backfire. Keep an air of professionalism, introduce yourself, and encourage your trainees to ask questions. This way, you will keep their attention and help them learn how to drive as quickly as possible.
Work on communication
Communication is arguably the most important skill you can have as a driving instructor. All the driving experience in the world isn’t of much use if you can’t communicate your knowledge to a trainee. Being able to explain concepts and lessons in an easy-to-understand way is critical for driving instructors.
Giving proper feedback is critical when it comes to this line of work. Whether it’s positive or negative, you need to provide extensive feedback during training, as this is invaluable information for the trainee. Don’t hesitate to describe a trainee’s mistakes, and give them tips to better notice and avoid these mistakes in the future. Obviously, any criticism and negative feedback should remain constructive, as being harsh and berating the trainee won’t achieve much.
Work on your patience
Even the most talented and skilled drivers had to start somewhere. It should come as no surprise that new drivers make mistakes. For many seasoned driving instructors, this can cause quite a bit of frustration, especially if mistakes are made repeatedly. As we’ve mentioned, a harsh and berating approach doesn’t provide anything useful to the trainee. Instructors should avoid looking annoyed or frustrated when trainees make mistakes. After all—making mistakes is part and parcel of learning how to drive.
Have patience with trainees that are slow to learn. They might not have the muscular memory or instincts to avoid mistakes right away, but they will eventually get it right. It’s the job of the driving instructor to get them to this point as quickly as possible. Patience goes a long way towards making the learning process as smooth and painless as possible for both parties.
Find a teaching style that suits you
There are many different ways that people learn new skills. Some are visual learners, while others respond better to verbal instructions. Then there are those that use trial and error to get the best learning experience.
Similarly, there are plenty of methods that driving instructors use to help their students learn and improve. Every trainee responds differently to a particular teaching method, so there’s no catch-all solution that you can use. Instead, try to find the teaching style that suits you best. An experienced driving instructor knows their strengths and weaknesses, as well as how to apply their preferred teaching style in an optimal way. By focusing on what you do best, you can provide students with an ideal learning experience.
Pay close attention
For obvious reasons, a driving instructor should pay close attention to their students. Being observant can help you gauge the strengths and weaknesses of your trainees more accurately. This allows you to get a good idea of their skill level and how they are improving as your sessions progress. It’s worth noting that you can always work on how well you pay attention to your students.
Working on your communication is a good start. When you see students having a hard time during a lesson, try to figure out what’s holding them back. If a specific step of the learning process is a hurdle, you can make adjustments to better suit their learning style. At the same time, note any changes to see what they respond to. It’s going to help you create the most ideal personalised learning experience for every student.
Whenever you’re out with a student, make sure that you focus on them. Don’t try to set up additional sessions with others while you’re on the road. It’s bad manners, and you wouldn’t be focusing on their driving skills if you text or make phone calls during this time.
Conclusion
There are many different factors that influence your effectiveness as a driving instructor. If you want to go above and beyond for your students, you might have to make some improvements as you gain experience. Follow some of the aforementioned tips, and you will surpass all of your students’ expectations and provide a fulfilling learning experience for each of them.
