Three tips to decrease the tension of teaching the first class of any course

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Yes, the first class is maybe the most exciting one, it is like a first date, and you don’t want to mess it up.

So, what you can do?

1. Present yourself as you are. Students will love you not because of your knowledge but because of your personality.

2. Show them you are not perfect. Sharing your struggling moments gives you credibility and honesty. This is much more important than the technical content that you can share.

3. Make a Promise. Give them a promise outside the technical aspects of your course and stick to it. Loyalty reciprocates, if you are loyal to them, they will be loyal to you.

Below is an example of what I talked about in the first 20 minutes of today's class. I openly declared that I am not super smart, that I struggled a lot as an undergrad student, and that I have confidence problems with my English. Declaring this relieves a lot of anxiety but also builds empathy. Finally, I publicly promised to support and fight to help them.

Bonus: Explaining your teaching style also helps a lot. Explain why you are teaching in the way that you do.