Introducing lessons - Overview

In this unit you will be learning basic lesson introductions and discussing/setting lesson goals.

Your target for this lesson is simply to feel comfortable when delivering a short lesson introduction. Although your introduction will only be two or three minutes long this section goes into the full detail of the process and will take up to an hour to study.

The information above explains how lesson introductions fit in with the requirements of your Part-Three exam and subsequent Standards Check lessons.

Simple pattern

Lesson introductions follow a normal everyday pattern that you go through when you meet someone.

You say hello, exchange a few almost meaningless words about the weather and then ask a few questions of each other.

If it's someone who you have never met before, you introduce yourself and briefly explain the purpose of your meeting - or what you are doing in that particular place at that time.

As you work through this unit, keep in mind that you already have all the skills you need and use them every day when you interact with friends, family and work colleagues and when you meet new people.

Whenever you meet someone (socially) for the first time, it's normal to be introduced and to introduce yourself. Likewise, when you meet a new pupil you will introduce yourself...

"Hello, my name's John and I'm your instructor, is it OK for me to call you Bill (or whatever)".

Now you have a basic starting point,move on to the next step to discover some other common-sense aspects of lesson introductions that will help with your customers.

Rapport

After introducing yourself (or greeting an existing customer), the next the next thing is a little 'chit-chat' to enable both you and the pupil to 'settle in' to the lesson.

With a learner on a regular lesson this could be two or three minutes (*see the note below), .

This normal interaction helps to develop the rapport that is essential for effective communication between instructor and pupil. At this point the conversation might have little or nothing to do with the lesson.

If you have a new pupil the weather might suffice, with an existing pupil you might ask about 'Aunty Betty's cat' (or whatever). Be genuine and take a sincere interest in all of your pupil's input: "Yes, I agree, it has rained just a little bit harder today than it did last Easter Saturday afternoon!"

This phase moves the pupil from 'anticipation' (sometimes nervous) to a more controlled, calmer state.

*Note: Although you might chat with a learner for three or four minutes it's important to remember that a driving lesson is not a 'social occasion' - instructor's are paid to get a job done. Most lessons work best when they are informal and friendly, but be careful not to waste too much time with irrelevant chatting otherwise you could find that you lose customers because they don't feel that the time is being used to help them to learn.

Next: Step 2 - Lesson Goals