The most successful instructors are the ones who earn and keep their students trust. If they don’t trust you to keep them safe and to make diving fun they may not do as well as you’d like them to. That’s in a best case scenario. In a worst case scenario, they will not finish their course, at least not with you, and may tell everyone they know and or come in contact with to avoid you for any scuba training. Sadly, I can name a few instructors who are not very well trusted by their former students. So then, how do you earn their trust?
First, let’s take a look at what trust is. Trust is comprised of Character and Competence, or in other words, integrity and credibility. These two elements must go together to form real trust and credibility. Without both Character and Competence you wont earn the trust of your students and will lose any trust and or credibility you might of had. Many instructors out there are mediocre at best. Most instructors are competent, but lack character. Put another way, they have really good skills and know how to dive well, but lack follow through and or character.
I’m not talking about personality or likability. I’m talking about genuine caring for the students and making every effort to ensure their students are having fun and are safe. All too often I see instructors who want to get their students through the program as quickly as possible, so they can move on to the next group and or course. The cost of operating this way can be extremely high as students go elsewhere for instruction and promote others over you.
I try to emphasize and reinforce with my IDC candidates the idea that teaching is all about the student(s). If you’re going to be highly effective and successful it has to be all about the students and not about you. You need to make every effort to ensure they are safe and having fun or they will go elsewhere for instruction. Stay up to date on the latest equpment trends and new technology.
Secondly, many instructors lack competence. Let’s face it, you could have an instructor who is very honest and may have a lot of integrity, but if they lack competency, you may not want to place your life in their hands. Would you want to be, or would you want your family to be, led by someone who is not capable of ensuring your or their safety?
Bottom line, you need to have both good skills and high integrity. You need to know the standards and you need to get to know your students and their needs. Learn to look for signs that they may not be having fun and address it. Don’t discount how they feel either. If they feel anxious or nervous, take the time to reassure them and or reschedule if necessary to ensure they are having fun.
I can say with all assurance from my own experience, taking the time to earn your students trust makes all the difference in the world.
