Five things that any teacher can learn from the best flight instructors

We all remember that ONE teacher or instructor we have had either at school or in training of some sort. That one truly passionate and yet professional person who made us fall in love with a subject or activity that we hated before meeting them. I have heard numerous stories, which always follow the lines of “I really hated math / ballet / fitness, and then we got a new teacher who changed everything…”

Following the last short piece about "what any manager can learn from pilots," here is one for the professors, teachers, and trainers. Being a full-time professor and trainer, I often apply what I have learned from the best of my flight instructors when teaching at university and in my business and negotiation training.

Flight instructors are an unusual bunch. Either they are young and motivated, going on towards their airline career, or (and these are much rarer) the "older" bunch who have been instructing flight, rain or sunshine, for decades. The following is about them and inspired by them:

Instructing flight is challenging. You have to teach the student how to fly, navigate, and communicate, all at the same time (but in precisely that order), also dealing with bad weather and young (often overly motivated) students while never being allowed to forget safety and of course to be a role model. So how do they do it??

So here are five things that I have seen them all do:

1. Don't skip the preflight briefing, but make it BRIEF and fun:

Great flight instructors get you sitting in the airplane fast, but always remember the proper preflight safety checks. They know you want to get in the air, so never waste time on the ground:

People always want to know what the day or session is about. However, they want to hear about it for less than half an hour. Set the expectations and goals at least three points because everyone can read the agenda themselves (and plans will always change in excellent training anyway because we deal with people, not robots).?

Most importantly, though, speak passionately about WIIFT (what's in it for them), and always underpromise at the beginning of the training but overdeliver by the end.

Pro Tip: Make the participants laugh as fast as possible at the beginning of the training. A fun welcome game can perfectly achieve this, and everyone is always somewhat stressed in a new setting or group. Remember: Every time people are smiling or even laughing, you have connected with them a little bit more.

2. Be a role model and inspire: share personal experiences and a great story every time you have something important to say:

Everyone loves a great story and remembers excellent stories, even years later. And all flight instructors have stories about "that one time the engine failed, etc.".?

These stories are the things that connect theory to practice and should be told at the end of every chapter or module of training, hopefully from the personal experience of the teacher (or of other people in similar positions to that of the participants".

Pro Tip: Give your stories a catchy title that can be easily remembered, like "The Story of Humphrey." Repeat the main points at the end of the training using the different little stories you used to end the various chapters. Last thing: If you have pictures/videos/artifacts that add to the report, use them, connecting them to the different senses.?

3. Give confidence, but also know how to challenge and explore the limits:

Some students are faster, some are slower, and everyone can learn something. Even in my best flight lessons, where everything went perfectly, the instructor said I did a good job but said something like, "Now let's try that landing again, but turn one engine off." In a way, when I thought I was done for the day, another unique challenge came.?

Pro Tip: Those moments made me and my brain concentrate one last time and try that one particular challenge before being done for the day. I call it the "Steve Jobs" effect because of his famous "One Last Thing" sentence with which he ended every presentation.?

4. Teach the whole lesson: what to do, how to do it, but also why doing so (later):

An airplane is small and a lesson short. One wants to fly as much as possible and not talk (too) much. But afterward, possibly on a cold glass of beer, I have had the most valuable lessons. The instructor wrote little notes while flying and told me to do something or other, promising to explain it later. I call this technique "bookmarking" since you do not want to waste time at the moment, but I would like to present something later, when not stressed, for example, because you are now lining up for takeoff.

Pro Tip: The "bookmarking" technique is also a great way to deal with the more demanding participants in training who have (too) many questions. Could you tell them you must move on, but you will answer the question later? Just remember to do it - and no worries, they will not forget it!

5. Be fun: make learning a great experience even under challenging conditions:

I have had this flight teacher that I have never seen being stressed or loud. He was ALWAYS calm, no matter how harsh the storm, wind, or rain. And the best part: He could even joke about it, even when we got stuck somewhere overnight, unable to fly back home. Never lose your cool, EVER! And remember the old but so important rule: Hard on the facts, but always soft on the people, leave your emotions at home. A good smile and joke can "break" the most demanding settings.

Pro Tip: The most crucial sentence I have ever learned when learning to fly is FLY THE AIRPLANE FIRST: In aviation, this is a common approach to all flying situations, especially emergencies. Aviation studies have found that pilots get so focused on solving a problem in a crisis that they sometimes forget to fly the airplane.

The same goes for training. Are you having a challenging moment? Participants are demanding? Stop anything else. You may try to solve that problem and then go back to where you're supposed to be going.

Inspired by and written with the excellent pilot and Ph.D. Armelle Gaussian