Talking to Professors: Tips on how to do it?

[ThPreMed]

Hi all!

I've been wondering what seems to be a good way to approach profs. I know that there's not just one set of rules and it probably is not a super big difficulty for most of you regarding this issue. However, I am a little bit shy and I felt awkward when I went to see my profs during the office hours. I couldn't keep the conversation going well like that some other students can do. I myself admire a lot of my professors and would like to get to know them even if I wouldn't want them to write a reference letter or want to find a research opportunity. But the fact that I respect them so much makes me feel uncomfortable talking to them. Partly, this is because of the culture I've been broughtup with back in my country.

Also, I thought maybe it's a good idea to talk to them about their research but to talk about their research actually needs deep understanding and knowledge than what I have learned up to this point. So besides asking them some questions about the stuff I didn't understand, I randomly came up with some questions that seemed to be too general, and maybe too personal?. For example, asking them where they graduated from. lol

 

I was really awkward and I know the profs could tell. And they probably have thought that this student's just weird and not very smart, if they remembered me.

 

Maybe, those of you who feel comfortable talking to profs can give me some ideas about how you approach them... please! Thanks in advance!!

[Doctorinthehouse]

I have never really felt that comfortable talking to a prof either. However, it does depend on which prof. You can tell which ones are more people oriented than others. Hopefully you are talking to profs whose courses you are taking, and so that should give you plenty to talk/ask about. Other than that just be yourself and don't feel self conscious. Everyone has to start somewhere. Remember the profs were in your shoes once. They weren't born profs! lol Best of luck!

[Jochi1543]

Well, I think for starters it's a good idea to find out whether the prof actually likes talking to students and has time for them. For example, if, like my orgo prof, he's got a 3-month old baby at home and also chairs the department in addition to his regular prof duties, the truth is, he probably doesn't have the time to sit around and bull**** with you for an hour. Profs generally like talking to students, but you have to respect their time and privacy. Of course, if he openly states during one of your first classes that he's encouraging you to come see him to introduce yourselves and ask any questions, you got the green light. If you do pop in and visit, make sure it's either during office hours or at a time that is not close to one of his or her classes (they often procrastinate too, and you may find that in the last hour before a class, they are sitting there cramming for their lecture and finishing up grading or Powerpoint slides).

 

Once you've found a good time to visit, you just need to come up with some material for conversation. Take note of any personal things s/he mentions in class (like, in the above case, his baby). Then you can use it to come in and break the ice by asking how the baby's doing or whatever. Also, Google your prof and find out some basics about their biography and things they are interested in. Some profs even have their own webpage on your school's website with pix of their families, lists of their hobbies, etc, which provide some great material for a first conversation. Other general questions you can always ask no matter whether you know any details about the prof or not are things like "So, how did you decide that you wanted to focus on this discipline? What attracted you about academic research as opposed to being a corporate research scientist?" etc (de-nerdify these statements, of course). If you are a first year student or a senior, you can always play that up by asking him or her about their experiences during those times in their university career. Ask him or her about the career possibilities in your field. Don't forget to relate his or her experiences to yourself so that you can casually introduce yourself to him or her as a person. For example, if s/he says "I actually didn't decide what I wanted to do until senior year, and even then I wasn't 100% confident," say "you know, I'm unsure myself....(then list your interests) What would YOU recommend?" The key to any successful conversation is exchange as opposed to monologues (says me, who always hogs the chatroom ).