How to Create a Good Relationship with your Professor

Photo by Miguel Henriques on Unsplash

Regardless, if you are the type who just wants to pass or the type who is looking for a career in academia, having a good relationship with your Professor is vital in achieving your goals. What do I mean by a good relationship? I don’t mean that you and your Prof. being the best of friends. I mean a relationship where:

• Your Prof. knows that you respect him/her.
• Your Prof. is considerate and able to help you in certain difficult circumstances that you may have.
• You’re able to and you feel comfortable to approach your Prof. with questions.

Developing this relationship is not at all complicated and just requires incorporating a few principles into your student-teacher interactions:

1. Address your Professor with respect: If you’re Professor is a male, always address your Prof, as Sir or Professor. I tend to stick with Sir, because it’s how I was taught in school to address elders and most people nowadays no longer use Sir, so when I use it it makes me stick out from the Prof’s point-of-view. If you’re addressing a female Professor, I would say Professor followed by their surname, like “Professor Smith”. I wouldn’t say Ma’am as this word may make the Professor feel old. The way you address your Professors may seem like something small and inconsequential, but it goes a long way in establishing your respect for the Professor.
2. How to ask a question: Show genuine interest in what your Professor is teaching. Ask thoughtful questions in class. Follow up after class about something you found interesting during the lecture. Ask for their opinion on something they talked about. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t interrupt your Prof. Raise your hand or wait for an opportune time to ask a question.
3. How to disagree with your Professor: If you think something your Prof. says is incorrect or if it’s not clear, then don’t pose your questions/statements in an accusatory tone. Presume that your Professor is much wiser (especially, in the topic they are teaching!) than you. Your questions should come from humility. Don’t say things like “There is a mistake on the second line.”, rather “I think there is a mistake on the second line.” or “Is it meant to be XYZ on the second line?” By speaking in this way you allow yourself room to be wrong and not be in direct opposition of your Prof. If you ask questions correctly, your Prof. will appreciate it and see that you are paying attention. You are allowed to disagree with your Professors, if you do it in the correct manner.
4. Show gratitude: end every lecture with a genuine “Thank you, Professor”.

Professors see hundreds of students every day in order to stand out in their eyes you need to incorporate all four principles. For example, if you only incorporate the fourth principle, then it will give your Prof the impression that you are only brown-nosing. If you only incorporate the third principle it may look like you are only interested in correcting your Prof’s mistakes.